My Heart is personally holy

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 10/22/17

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^NRS  Philippians 3:15 Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. ¹⁶ Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.  ¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. ¹⁸ For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

One Sunday morning, an old, shabbily dressed man happened to be walking through an elegant suburb when he spotted a huge, beautiful church. He entered during the worship service, and took a seat in the rear pew. The well-dressed congregation was unnerved by his appearance. As he was leaving the service, the pastor told the old man, "Before you come back again, please pray and have a talk with God. Ask Him what He thinks would be the proper clothes for worshipping in this church." The next Sunday the old man returned to the church in the same shabby clothes. After the service, the pastor again asked him whether or not he had talked to God about the appropriate attire for church. "I did talk to God," the old man replied. "He told me that He wouldn't have any idea what was appropriate attire for worshipping in your church. He said He's never been in here before."

Today I finish a three-part series on holiness. We began with the challenge for Social Holiness and then followed with the challenge for Financial Holiness. John Wesley remarked that we need to do three things in order to truly fulfill our God given purpose here on earth. Do good in all things, do no harm and to follow the ordinances of God. We walk this earth for such a short while and yet there is more that can be done in that short time in relationship that sets the stage for all eternity.

What does it mean to be holy? What does it mean to be in a relationship with God? These are the questions for this weekend. What does it mean to be holy? It means that we spend our lives modeling them after Jesus. We mimic as much as we can His journey here on earth, His love for the people around Him and His desire to heal the broken people of the world. Now before we get too far, I will admit that my goal is to model my life with that of Jesus. But I am not perfect and my humanness shows through from time to time. When it does I hope that those who know me will show me grace and mercy just as God shows all of us mercy and grace. It is that time of stumbling when we experience the grace of God the most. And we will all stumble. But the grace of God is that when we desire to be like Jesus, the Holy Spirit helps us transform our lives so that we become more like Him every day. Jesus walked this earth being obedient to God in all things. He resisted temptation, focused on prayer and conversation with God and teaching people the things that God had told Him. Our role then is to do the same thing. We can begin that conversation with our acceptance of God as our guide, our spiritual leader, and our creator. We take Jesus into our hearts in love, just as God has already taken us into God’s heart. We use prayer as one of the ways we communicate with God. Just as we do with the love of our life in human life, we desire to learn more about God, to learn the things that make God happy and do the things that keep our relationship strong and alive. Prayer can be done anywhere, anytime and simply requires of us to be in a place where we are willing to talk and listen to God. Recently someone through a survey told me that they felt that I was suggesting that our prayer service is the only way to pray. I thought I was very vocal about how to pray, when to pray and that there is no single time or single method that works for everyone every time. I often pray to God about my needs in silence, use verbal words for many of my intercessory prayers for others and then pray in silence to hear the voice of God. The second thing we must do to maintain and grow our relationship is to read the Bible. It is there we find the stories of God interacting with humans. We find God’s love within the chapters from Genesis to John’s Revelation. We find how we can be obedient and how we are often disobedient. We find grace and mercy amongst the dysfunctionality of the families in the Bible. We find God’s love in the stories of Noah, of Abraham, of the prophets and of course the life of Jesus. When we spend that time in the Bible God will speak to us. And finally we spend time together. God speaks to us through each other. Truth is we often meet on Sunday’s because we are resurrection people and Jesus was resurrected on Sunday. But we can also gather on Wednesday nights at suppers, at Bible studies, at gatherings with other fellow Christians and so on. Wherever two or more are gathered Jesus told us that He would be among us. So we gather to share our stories, our lives and our witness to the power of God. And there we learn to be Holy.

Why be holy? Hebrews tells us in the twelfth chapter, 14 Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” We have been instructed by God to be holy. Jesus told us that the Kingdom of God was at hand. That through his death and resurrection that we are living in the Kingdom right now! And the King, our Lord and savior has instructed us in how we are to live in that reality. And 2^nd Peter reminds us that God has promised and will keep that promise. And when we meet God again, we will be asked how we lived out this holiness in our lifetime. Maybe the simplest reason to be holy is because we are loved, so we should love back.

So how do we live holy lives? We start by not conforming to the world. That is hard to do. The world believes in success regardless of the cost. The world believes that we should all melt in a common pot and look alike, dress alike and talk alike. A funny thing about that! Not everyone is allowed to be equal and blend in. And yet, even that is part of the world we live in. I have asked what would happen if the church became revolutionary rather than constantly being a pacifist. And what if we truly tried to change the world so that it is a better place for everyone? Paul tells us not to conform to the world. But he tells us to live in the world as a new creation. I believe that Paul intended us to live holy lives, loving one another.

Wesley said that we are to be good to all people all the time. That is a tall order to be good all the time and to everyone. Just Friday night I let my humanness show through during a prayer. I regret that. And yet I also share that we are all human and if it were not for the grace of God we would all be condemned. So we endeavor to be good. We share our bounty with those in need, we share our lives with those around us and we try to do the right thing all the time. Will we stumble, sure! But when we do we see the grace and love of God in those who reach out a hand to pick us up. So it is important that we strive to be good. Jesus never denied anyone His time or His teaching. Neither shall we.

Wesley said that we are to do no harm. That means that with our words, our actions and our deeds we are to never cause hurt among the people of the world around us. That is probably more difficult than anything we can do. I teach the children that harm can come as simply saying something mean spirited. And like the toothpaste in a tube that is squeezed out, it can never be put back in. So we need to think about how our actions, words and deeds will impact people before we say, do or act on them.

Wesley said that we need to follow the ordnances of God in order to be personally holy. We have already talked about some of them like constant prayer and daily Bible reading. There are also great devotions that can be obtained and used daily to strengthen our relationship with God. We must also gather together in places where we can lift each other up. I wonder what the world would be like if we worked at being nice to each other? What if instead of gossip we truly shared prayer concerns and then did whatever we could to make that person’s life better?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Two fellas were watching an old cowboy movie and it came to the part when the cowboy, on his horse, at full gallop, was headed right towards a cliff. One of the guys said to the other, "Hey, I’ll bet you 10 bucks that he rides over the cliff." The other said, "You’re on!" Well the cowboy and the horse went right over the cliff. The fella that lost the bet paid up. A while later, the guy who won said, "Hey, I’m feeling a little guilty about our bet and need to make a confession ... I already have seen the movie." The other fella replied, "Well, I have also seen the movie before ... but I didn’t think he’d do it again!"

Our world is changing. Our church needs to change with it. Our lives need to change with it. We must have hope in God if we have any chance to stand before God and receive the gift of eternal life. God loves us beyond ourselves and beyond our mistakes. If we do what we have always done, we will get what we have always gotten. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 

My Financial Heart is Holy

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 10/8/17

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Scripture Reading:

^NRS  Luke 16:1 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. ² So he summoned him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' ³ Then the manager said to himself, 'What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.' ⁵ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' ⁶ He answered, 'A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' ⁷ Then he asked another, 'And how much do you owe?' He replied, 'A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill and make it eighty.' ⁸ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. ⁹ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. ¹⁰ "Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. ¹¹ If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? ¹³ No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

When John Wesley wrote this sermon in 1760, life in England was difficult for the common person. Many of the people of his day had migrated to the towns and cities where jobs were available. The Industrial revolution was in full bloom and many of the factory workers lived lives of scarcity. They worked 12 to 14 hours a day for company script that could only be spent in the company store or numerous bars that sat outside the gates of the factories. Half the population lived lives barely surviving. Gin was cheap and available and Wesley led many a revival to the common people preaching against alcoholism. Religion was on the decline in the institutional church, sounds a bit like today, and the great George Whitefield and John Wesley preached on the streets. In fact many historians report that if not for John Wesley’s revival there would have been a civil war in England. So John Wesley writes this sermon amidst this current reality in his country. It by the way was one of his longest sermons though I will not try to break that record today.

We have all heard it said that money is the root of all evil. Matthew 6:21 reminds us that wherever our treasure is there is where our hearts will be. The only time God tells us to test God is in Malachi 3:10 where God tells us to bring our whole tithe to the storehouse and if we do that, God will open up the floodgates of heaven and pour out blessing in abundance. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 5:10 that whoever loves money never has enough and whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with what they have. And Hebrews 13:5 reminds us to keep our lives free from the love of money and to be content with what we have because God tells us that God will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus spoke more on the love of money than any other subject. Jesus constantly reminded us that we should place God first and God would provide for us. I can honestly say that over the course of my own life God has been constant in providing the things that I needed.

Wesley begins his sermon reminding us what God wants us to know. But he tells us that the fault does not lie in the money itself, rather, the fault lies in how we use it. Personal wealth is provided that we might do well with what we have. He remarked in his sermon that in Jerusalem, the disciples all gave what they had to the common pool that no one may find themselves in need for the essentials of life, food, shelter and comfort. The abundance we have is a gift of God and it is placed in the hands of God’s children to provide food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty and clothing for the naked.

Wesley would tell us to gain all that you can in life. He is saying that we are to work at being successful so that we can receive all the money and wealth that we can acquire in our life. This may seem a remarkable statement considering the scriptures that he has quoted and the direction we expected him to go. But he tells us to work diligently to earn as much as we can as fast as we can. He remands us to work honestly with integrity to earn it, doing whatever labor or skill that God has given us to earn our way. He admonishes us to earn that wealth in ways that do not deceive or steal from others in our efforts to get rich, but to find ways to use our hands and our minds to find success. Do not engage in illegal or immoral behaviors and do nothing to hurt your neighbor as you earn your wages. In today’s world there are so many ways to earn a living honestly if we are willing to set aside our egos and pride. I often struggle with young people in this area who will not move to where jobs are more abundant or will not take jobs they consider beneath them but instead remain out of work fighting alcoholism and addiction. This was true when John Wesley wrote this sermon and it is still true today.

Next Wesley tells us to save all we can. Rather than spend our money on new cars, new houses and new clothes, learn to be content with what we have and put our earnings in places that grow the money and accumulate it for the future. I wish that someone had taught me the 80-10-10 rule when I was younger. The rule is to learn to live on 80% of your wages, save 10% in a place that you will not touch and give the other 10% away to those who are in need. What a wonderful rule to reach our young people. Our children’s moment showed the power of compound interest in just 30 days’ time. We are told not to waste money on extravagant spending that we really don’t need. Marketing people are working hard to separate you from your money and will do anything to convince you how much you need something. We are not to worry about what others will say and we should not spend our money seeking the praise of others. Interestingly Wesley also says that we should not throw money away on our children or save it to leave to them when we die so that they can squander it away. I suspect he is quoting from the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

We have been told to gain all that we can as fast as we can and then to save all that we can. I remember in the 1970’s living in North Dakota, times had been good and young farmers were buying new combines and farm equipment. I worked briefly with an older farmer who had his old tractor and worked at keeping everything in tip top shape. He said that while the price of sunflowers and alfalfa, the two primary crops back then were at an all-time high, that the prices would fall. And when they did, the payments for those new combines would still be due. Wise wisdom from one who had lived through the Great Depression.

So Wesley comes to the final words of this sermon, Give all that you can. Wesley reminds us that we are all stewards of this great creation. That God put us here to care for all of creation. That means that we should care about how the land is cared for, how the air is kept clean from pollution and how the waterways are kept clean for drinking water and recreation. Fish cannot survive when we contaminate the seaways and rivers and when there are no fish to catch, no crops to harvest because the land is no longer fertile and the air is poison, we will all starve. I often wonder at the increase in skin cancer and digestive issues and the reality that our air and water is not the clean water of our grandparents. But John Wesley tells us to give all that we can to the world around us to make it a better place. We are told to love our neighbors and that love is best seen when we assure that no one in hungry, no one is without shelter and warmth. Jesus reminded us in Mark 12:17 to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Matthew 6: 19-20 tells us to not store up treasures here on other that can be taken or will not last but to store up our treasures in heaven where we will receive eternal reward.

Examine all that we do through prayer and guidance from the scriptures that God wants us to know. Gain all that you can as fast as you can, save all that you can and give all that you can. Sounds like a recipe for success.  

Job Chapter 2

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Lesson 2

Read Scripture: Job 3: 1-19

The main idea for this section is Job’s response to the test and his adversities.

Welcome to the second lesson in the study of Job. In lesson one we looked at Job from the perspective of a third party looking into a story. In that we could see what the characters could not see, the battle between God and Satan, good and evil. What we question is the biblical question of why God, whom we have come to know as omnipotent and full of love and grace can allow evil in the world? It is the question we will further explore each week of this study. This section, chapter 3, of the book of Job is described as “Job’s response.” In it, he is the only person speaking. No one corrects him, responds to him or questions him at this point. We assume from the reading that they are listening to him and will see in the next lesson that that has been the case. But what we also see is the anguish and human rawness of Job as he deals with the loss of his world and his health. How would you handle this kind of tragedy? Throughout his response we see raw human emotion. Have you ever encountered this type of emotion in your own life or those around you? How have you dealt with it? Let us hear the words of Job. Have you noticed that the style of writing changed?

^NRS Job 3:1 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. ² Job said: ³ "Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, 'A man-child is conceived.' ⁴ Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, or light shine on it. ⁵ Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds settle upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. ⁶ That night-- let thick darkness seize it! let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. ⁷ Yes, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in it. ⁸ Let those curse it who curse the Sea, those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan. ⁹ Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none; may it not see the eyelids of the morning--¹⁰ because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, and hide trouble from my eyes.

Let us look at his chapter three as divided into three specific areas. First is his curse. The second area shows us his questions that are never answered and then finally his response to suffering. It is interesting here what is said in verses 1 through 10. Shepherd’s Notes suggest that he is reclaiming creation in reverse. Instead of light coming out of the darkness, he is asking for darkness instead of light. In place of the creation of stars, he is asking for the stars to go dark. And he calls forth the mythical creature, Leviathan, who in ancient times symbolized death and chaos. Might this be the chaos of creation that God put structure and form to? And we might ask ourselves the deeper question. Why is it that Job would focus on conception itself? Is it because he knows that conception is of God? Is it possible that Job is trying to put everything into proper perspective here by cursing what God has created in him by creating him? Tough, deep questions aren’t they? We will get back to them in a moment.

^NRS Job 3:11 "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? ¹² Why were there knees to receive me, or breasts for me to suck? ¹³ Now I would be lying down and quiet; I would be asleep; then I would be at rest ¹⁴ with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuild ruins for themselves, ¹⁵ or with princes who have gold, who fill their houses with silver. ¹⁶ Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like an infant that never sees the light? ¹⁷ There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. ¹⁸ There the prisoners are at ease together; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. ¹⁹ The small and the great are there, and the slaves are free from their masters.

It is at this moment that we see Job begin to list his questions. Note that no-one answers him though we can assume that his three friends are sitting silently listening to all that he has to say. And what of his wife who also is suffering greatly. She has lost all of her children, her husband has lost his status and so then has she, and she also must be in great anguish. In fact in the previous verses she even suggests to Job that the best thing for everyone would be for God to strike Job dead. But Job wants to know why. Have you ever encountered the “why” question in the midst of great tragedy? We hear him ask why he was ever born in verse 11. But throughout this response we never hear him talk of suicide. Might we gather from that that Job understands that life itself is one of the greatest gifts of God? How do you feel about that statement? And what of Job’s view of death? Beginning in verse 17, Job talks of death. How do you understand this place in light of Job’s description?

 ^NRS 3:20 "Why is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, ²¹ who long for death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; ²² who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they find the grave? ²³ Why is light given to one who cannot see the way, whom God has fenced in? ²⁴ For my sighing comes like my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. ²⁵ Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. ²⁶ I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes."

The final area of Job’s response is found in verse 20 through 26. Here we see Job describe his view of suffering and fairness. He asks why the good suffer and bad receive reward. “Light given to one in misery” is referring here to the good of the world who suffer and “life to the bitter” is Job’s way of saying that evil people seem to get rewards. And in the last two verses indicate that Job may have had some intuition of what was to come. Have you ever heard of the expression, “Something bad is about to happen because things have been going to good?” What do you make of Job’s final statement, “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes?”

Questions

Answer the following questions in discussion group:

1.    What does Job curse and why?

2.    What would Job have gained if he had never been born?

3.    Read Jeremiah 20: 13-18. What might the similarities suggest?

4.    What might we suggest is Job’s view of death from verses 17-19?

5.    Did Job suspect that something bad would happen to him? Why?

Job - Chapter 1

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A study of the Book of Job

Introduction

The book of Job is one of the most interesting and intriguing works in the Bible. The idea that God and Satan would enter into an agreement that would ruin a man just to prove whether or not he has faith is a stretch for our sensitivities. And yet we study Job because it is a great illustration of faith tested, tried and endured. Some people hate Job while others love it with all that they are. The interesting thing is that I have rarely found anybody that is in the middle of the road. I have had people who want to argue the unfairness of the story grounding their argument on the wager rather than the story. While others want to argue the merits of the test as grounds for testing our faith without regard to its fairness at all. So what we have is a unique story that in the sense of the Old Testament doesn’t fit the chronological flow of the Biblical story of the early people and the story of developing Israel. Nor does it fit the prophetic voice of the Major and Minor Prophets. So it is neatly placed in the stand alone stories Esther and the Psalms, Proverbs and Song of Solomon. And yet, there is within the story of Job, prophetic voice and poetry to lead us through this illustration of faith.

There are many different interpretations of what an outline of Job would look like. Mine is based in part on making this a short eight week study and breaking it where it makes changes in literary style of key points in the story. The outline of Job is:

1      Prologue and the Test (Job 1: 1 – 2: 13)

a.    This section provides and introduction to the story of Job. It is here that we are introduced to the conversation between God and Satan, a conversation that Job never hears nor is made aware of throughout his trial. This is essential in order for us to understand the story and to appreciate Job’s assurance of his own innocence.  

2      Job Responds (Job 3: 1 – 19)

a.    Hear we find the response of Job to his trial and tribulations. We see his pain and his raw emotional response. It is in this chapter that many readers will identify their own response to tragedy and pain as they hear their own words in Job’s emotional response.

3      Friends Respond (Job 4: 1 – 27: 23)

a.    Job’s three friends begin to dialogue in an effort to explain to Job and more likely themselves what is transpiring in Job’s life. Here we receive the benefit or condemnation of their experiences, beliefs and prejudices. To each Job responds constantly confirming in his mind his innocence. In the first two sections the sequence, Elphaz, Job, Bildad, Job, Zophar and Job are followed with Zophar curiously silent in the last section. These themes concerning your infirmities are a result of your own sin run still today in our culture.

4      Trying to make sense – is there any wisdom here? (Job 28:1-28)

a.    In this chapter, which is unique in its writing style and presentation, develops a theme on wisdom from the author. Whether this chapter was included in the original story or added after in order to try and provide some understanding of the story is subject to much discussion among theologians. Regardless of where it came from, our belief in the inspired teaching of the Holy Spirit provides the basis for it to be an integral part of the Book of Job.

5      Job in the mirror (Job 29:1-31:40)

a.    This section could very well be re-titled, Job in Reflection. Here Job reflects on his life and all that God has given him that was good before the test. And then he laments and even lashes out to God about all that has happened in recent days while still proclaiming his obedience to God and his innocence.

6      Elihu, a young man’s perspective (Job 32:1 – 37:24)

a.    Elihu is a young man who has apparently been party to all that has been transpiring in Job’s life. His perspective provides words of wisdom, biblical teaching and guidance and understanding of God to Job. Whether this was included in the original story is also subject to discussion. His words are never interrupted nor countered. This might suggest that his words are meant for the reader to hear the frustration we humans have with life and the difficulties that we encounter and our human response to a God who allows them.

7      THE LORD SPEAKS (Job 38:1 – 42:6)

a.    GOD SPEAKS! Those two words sum the entire section that we study here. God finally decides to answer Job’s lashing out and define for Job his place in the world. Some of the most beautiful language defining our place in the world and the majestic power of God can be found here.

8      How it all ends (Job 42:7-17)

a.    The cleanup section of the Book of Job! For the reader, this section finishes the story and let’s us know “…the rest of the story…” as Paul Harvey used to tell us.

The reader of Job may struggle to answer the most basic questions about God and ourselves. Do we have the right to believe that we could ever understand God? Are we entitled to knowing when God and Satan decide to make a wager with us in the middle, especially when we are on the receiving end? Are we ever going to truly know the “Why” question of why things happen to people, especially bad things to good people? Is faith based on how many blessings we receive or something much deeper than that? When we are finished, none of these questions may be answered, but let’s have fun anyway.

Lesson 1

Read in Scripture: Job 1:1 – 2: 13

The main idea of this first section is to describe its background, time and author, its authenticity, the characters, the course and the test

Theologians suggest that Job may be carved from similar stories that circulated in the Middle Eastern cultures in ancient worlds. Job is the most difficult book for many to understand and it forces us to study carefully our understanding of our relationship with God and who we are in the world. Job is divided into eight sections for this study as given to you in the outline that you have of the study. We will be discussing various aspects of each section each week and it would be helpful for you to have read the section and attempted the questions that will be given to you. As we begin, our hope is that at the end of the study each of us will have a better understanding of who we are in the world and how the test of Job helps us with that understanding. And we hope that we can answer some basic biblical questions. They are:

a.    How is it possible that an omnipotent and all powerful God who

is full of love and grace allows evil to exist in the world?

b.    Is suffering a part of the world we live in or the result of our

actions (sins) in the world in which we live?

c.    Why does it appear that the wicked prosper while the rest of us

suffer?

d.    How is true faith displayed in the lives of the faithful?

e.    Is there redemption from God in the course of life’s adversities?

There is little to tell us when Job may have been written and by whom. Some suggest that it was written before the time of Moses and was incorporated into his written record of the world. When it was written may not be as important as why it was written and what it means to us. There are references to Job in Ezekiel and James and to the land of Uz in Jeremiah. It is thought that the story is written around the time of the age of Patriarchs when wealth was measured in terms of animals owned. By the time of Solomon, precious metals were used to determine the measure of wealth. Job was the head of his household and also the priest of his family which was common in the age of Patriarchs. Abraham was also from the age of Patriarchs. No mention of Moses, the Promised Land, Israel, or any other concept of the Hebrew people is mentioned. And then we also have the uses of God that are used which are Aramaic terms used before the time of the land of Israel.

We have no knowledge of the author of Job. None is given in the story or in any of the historical records that exist. In fact, there are even questions as to whether the complete book was written at the same time. Some theologians suggest that the Elihu section came later as a wisdom section, but there is no conclusive evidence to prove that one way or the other. The land of Uz would likely have been in the northern part of Saudi Arabia or southern Jordan.

The writing is a mixture of prose and poetry which is common to ancient writings from the time of Abraham and before the literary writings of more modern times like the days of David and later.

So what do we learn from Job? That is the question that we will be exploring as we develop this study around the test of Job. What we do know is that without the prologue, the story would have no meaning. We need to be introduced to the characters, Job, God and Satan in order to have any understanding of what is happening to Job. What is truly unique to this story is that neither Job nor any of his so called friends have any knowledge of the test either. They are simply characters on a stage trying to make sense of things, not unlike we humans trying to make sense of our world. And therein may lay the most basic understanding of why Job was included in the canon of the Bible.

We are introduced to Job as a man who is blameless. What does it mean to be blameless? We are told that he has 7 sons and three daughters. These are not random numbers. In the ancient world, 7 had significant meaning. It was considered the perfect or complete number. There are seven days in a week. And he has three daughters. Combined that equals ten. There are Ten Commandments. Ten is another number that in the ancient world meant completeness. And his wealth is also in combinations of three and seven.

Why Job? Verse eight in chapter one provides the clue. God sees Job as the perfect human. And he presents him to Satan as an example of the way humans should be with God. It also provides us with one of the important points of the story. God is intimately aware of each of us. God knows us by name and by our lives and our actions. But Satan will have none of it. Satan suggests that the reason that Job is so good is that God has been good to him. Is this the measure of faith? What do you think? And so the test is created.

It begins as a test of Job’s material wealth. And so God gives Satan control of all of Job’s possessions and Satan removes them through theft and destruction. And what is Job’s reaction? He gives one of the classic lines of the scripture. What God has given, God takes away or in Old English, What the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. But he does lose his faith. In fact we see just the opposite, he stands firm in his faith to God. And so Satan comes again and asks for more. And God grants it. This time Job is allowed to be hurt. And Satan punishes him severely the scripture tells us. What is Job’s reaction this time? Job still stands firm. We begin to see that he fails to understand what is happening, but his faith is still firm. And it is here that we are introduced to his three friends.

Questions

Answer the following questions in discussion group:

1.    What do you think of the statement that Satan is free to roam the world?

2.    How is Job’s character described and why is it important to the story?

3.    How is the test important to your understanding of who we are in the Kingdom of God?

4.    What is the purpose of the test?

5.    How does your sense of right and wrong deal with the test

My Heart is Holy - Social Holiness

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 10/1/17

Click here for sermon

^NRS  Mark 10:17  As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" ¹⁸ Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" ²⁰ He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." ²¹ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." ²² When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Several years ago a small stone created great havoc in my life. For those that have ever had a kidney stone you know what I am talking about. It is hard to believe that something as small a grain of sand can cause such havoc in your body. And yet that is exactly a great analogy for sin, something so small at first maybe, some little white lie, some exaggeration, borrowing something and then never giving it back, all of these are so small and yet they lead to great sin. Sin starts out simple and small and quickly changes to something sinister and large. Jesus asks the young man a question responding to the young man’s question, what does it take to get into heaven. Jesus lists off the Ten Commandments and the young man assures Jesus that he has followed all of them. But Jesus sets the standard so much higher than that. Many years ago I made a six figure income, had my own business with employees and spent time traveling all of the country and in several parts of the world. But Jesus was calling me to something bigger, something better and something awe inspiring. But I had to be willing to let go of the personal stuff to achieve the spiritual stuff. And when I did, Jesus had been providing for my needs all along. It is not an easy path mind you. There will be people who want to take advantage of your good humor, your willingness to compromise and you desire to teach them that they are loved. The young man sadly cannot give up what he has for the promise of eternal life with Jesus. Would you? Each of us will have to answer that question one day. How will your respond? I am not a prosperity theologian. I believe that the message of Jesus is that everyone gets an even break, nothing more nothing less. If you have, then you give to those who do not. If you do not, then you receive from those that do.

I want to digress a moment to understand what it means to follow Jesus or be a Christian. Following Jesus means that everything we do we do in an effort to mimic or imitate Jesus. God sent us Jesus in order that we would know what it means to always place God’s will above our own. God sent us Jesus in order to show us what a perfect human being looks like. And God desires that we be in a perfect relationship with God. When we desire to be in a loving relationship with someone, we want to spend time with them, get to know them and do what they want to do. And we cannot do that unless we desire to do it. If we think that we can enter into a relationship with someone by spending a little time with them and then not having a lot to do with them for the next thirty years, it isn’t going to work. We cannot be who we say we are unless we recommit to the ideals that guide us, strengthen us and prepare us for that day when we cross over. I have begun to believe that when we cross over into paradise the measure by which we will be judged will not be our sins. In keeping with James and Paul, I believe that the question we will be asked is what have you done to further the Kingdom of God? That question will be both convicting and condemning. What did you do while here on earth to build and establish relationships? What did you do while here on earth to foster relationships with God? And how did you respond to the poor, the hungry, the prisoners, the sick and those who are different than us. Matthew 25, verse 45 and 46 sum this kind of thinking of Jesus by saying, “⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." I take it from that chapter that our eternal salvation depends on reaching out to those in the world around us who are in need of comfort and spiritual healing. John Wesley developed his ideals of Christian living. He focused on two equally important aspects, personal holiness and social holiness. We will explore our personal relationship with God in the coming weeks. But what is our discipleship relationship with God?

Jesus asked the disciples to give all that they had and follow him. Each of us comes to this place today with special gifts and unique talents that God has chosen for us. I see a people with love for their neighbors and their families. A people who know what it is to be loved and to love. And yet as we sit here this morning, in this quiet and comfortable place, there are those in our community who are hungry, sick and do not know Jesus. Jesus set the example for us by feeding those who were hungry and healing those who were broken. Jesus placed himself in the company of lepers, mentally ill, and bleeding people. He placed himself there to heal them so that they might be restored to the community and to their relationship with God. John Wesley had three simple rules he followed. Do not harm, do good and follow the ordinances. In other words, do nothing to harm anyone in all that you do. That is a hard task to do. And do the best you can do for the world around you.

There are two aspects of social holiness and we have struggled through one of them – to reach out and help our neighbor. And everyone is our neighbor. The second aspect involves social justice. I have spent the better part of this week dealing with conversations about the world we live in including the issue of whether or not people have the right to stand, sit, or ignore the National Anthem, white privilege and other issues we face every day. In the 60’s and 70’s we fought for social justice for racism and gender equality and those fights continue today. Then it was about the length of our hair, the color of our skin and the gender God gave us. Today those same issues continue to cause us to be divided and bring great harm to our country and to the people in it. I believe that as we sit here today that democracy is in in trouble. But more importantly even than that is that Christianity is in trouble. If we don’t stand up for social justice who will? If we don’t call out the wrongness of off color jokes, gender based issues, and the right of someone to disagree with us even when that disagreement does not sit very well or comments, who will? And I wonder what Jesus will say to us when we stand face to face with him? Maybe like the young man, we will not receive the promise of heaven that we so desperately seek. Today we stand in a world divided by race, by status and by demographics. We decide how we are going to interact in that world. If we draw lines in the sand constantly rather than finding ways to have discussion and learning to compromise for the good of the many, we have no chance. The message of the Bible is unchanged. It tells us to love one another. So why do we divide churches and neighborhoods and people.

The reason we are here this morning is to provide a foretaste of heaven. We are instruments of God’s mercy and grace in the world. If we don’t share the love of God in the world around, no one else will. That is why we are here. Recently I was having a conversation with someone about the spending of the church. Some years ago I had a conversation with a member of the church who said to me with sincerity in his words, if you would stop giving to mission we would have enough money to do what we want. These are the words of the rich young man. And Jesus condemned him.

James would tell us faith without works is dead. In other words, if there is no sign of our faith in our actions, words and deeds, then we must not have faith. In the Methodist faith we would suggest that salvation is at stake. But we all agree that if there is no evidence of that faith walk, then there might not be a faith walk. And right now, right here in this community there have needs that need to be met. There are people hungry, people who will soon need winter clothing, food and heat. We have elderly people in the community who could use assistance with their heating bills but may be too isolated or too proud to admit that need. There are children whose only meals during the week are during the school hours. So much so that elementary schools have added additional opportunities to serve. Extravagant generosity means reaching beyond our comfort zones to give what is needed, not what makes us comfortable. And risk taking mission means reaching beyond our comfort zones to go where the need is. Early Methodists went into the districts where bars and brothels flourished in order to bring the light into the darkness. Jesus himself went among the thieves and prostitutes, the lepers and the demon possessed in order to create relationships. When Christians are made aware of a need, they have to respond. So I want to ask you this morning, how will we respond? Thanksgiving is coming. Are you willing to take your time to serve those who are in need? Will we be willing to offer a ride to those who cannot drive or offer to go to the grocery store or pharmacy on their behalf? Christian charity begins by us stepping out beyond our comfort zones and truly loving those around us.

And when we are asked how we helped build the kingdom, the answer will be there in the people who are witnesses to our salvation. We can make a difference. If you will allow a spark to form in your heart, a spark of hope, of love and of compassions, God will take your spark and the sparks of others and make it a flame. As a community we should endeavor to assure that no one this winter is hungry or cold. And that no child goes without Christmas. A Christian who never reaches out in Christian love is simply a member of the world. If we profess to follow Jesus on Sunday morning, then we must share God’s love with others on Monday and then again on Tuesday. Social holiness means that whenever we see need or injustice, we respond in loving, caring and nurturing ways. We are the rich young man and Jesus is waiting for an answer!