Revelation 3:20
1. Parker Palmer shares this old Hasidic tale – a student goes to his rabbi and asks, ‘why does the Torah tell us to “place these words upon your hearts?” Why does it not tell us to place these holy words in our hearts?’ The rabbi answered, ‘it is because as we are, our hearts are closed, and we cannot place the holy words in our hearts. So we place them on top of our hearts. And there they stay until, one day, the heart breaks, and the words fall in.’
2. that’s what I have been trying to do in these messages from Revelation 3 – placing the holy words of God on top of your hearts until your hearts break & the words fall in.
3. last week I preached on repentance – those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. How many of you repented of something this past week? How many of you let God deal with you to the point where you began to make changes in your life?
4. when the word of God breaks our hearts & drops in, repentance is sure to follow. I pray for broken hearts to spread throughout our church.
5. I want to make a few comments on a wonderful verse that tells us what happens after we repent – Revelation 3:20 – Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. This is good news. Jesus wants to share the meal of his life with us.
The way of grace
1. the church at Laodicea was an established church, about 30 years old. Laodicea had a ‘Christ-problem.’ Their pathetic deeds done in his name revealed that their love & passion for Christ were lukewarm, watered down, compromised.
2. Christ called them to repentance in 3:19. And now in 3:20 he invites them to invite him back into their lives.
3. this is the very same Jesus who is described in chapter 1 as a cosmic, transcendent figure – his head & hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
This is the same Jesus who in 3:16 said the Laodiceans made him sick to his stomach & he was ready to vomit them out of his mouth.
4. but what he shows them is grace. This is the heart of Jesus. For a wayward church. And for you in your waywardness and me in mine. This is good news!
5. in 1987 Gordon MacDonald, who at that time was President of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and was one of the most recognized names in the evangelical church, was forced to resign his position in disgrace. He confessed to having an extra-marital affair.
He tells the story of how he & his wife Gale returned to their home in New Hampshire, broken, humiliated & feeling that his ministry was over. The phone rang. They didn’t want to answer it but whoever was calling kept calling. Finally Gordon answered the phone – it was Billy Graham, the 1st person to call them.
His first words were, Gordon, God forgives you & I forgive you & I love you. His next words were, I know this is a terrible time for you and Gail. Why don’t you move close to Ruth & me for the next year. I want you to help me write my sermons.
6. this is grace, this is love, this is mercy, this is Jesus.
Revelation 3:20 unpacked
Here I am
1. Jesus always makes the first move toward us. He always takes the initiative. He shows up in our lives over & over & over again.
2. This is grace. Right now, always & forever, Jesus is standing closer to us than we can imagine saying, here I am.
I stand at the door and knock.
1. Jesus pursues us. He doesn’t just stand at our lives. He knocks at the door of our hearts.
2. remember, this is a picture of Jesus & the church at Laodicea. These people are Christ-followers. They are the Body of Christ in Laodicea. But Jesus is outside of their lives. They have shut him out. They have excluded him.
3. I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing (3:17). This had become their confession of faith. Their modus operandi – thanks but no thanks, Jesus, we can do it ourselves, we can get along just fine without you, we’ve got all that we need
4. it’s possible to be a follower of Jesus Christ & exclude him from our lives. Have you excluded Christ from yours?
If anyone hears my voice
1. are we listening for Jesus? Do we hear a knock? Do we recognize his voice?
2. one of the devotional books I’m using right now is a book of prayers from Walter Brueggemann called Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth. He has a whole section of prayers on listening to God & our struggle to do so.
Here’s one called
The Din Undoes Us
Our lives are occupied territory… occupied by a cacophony of voices,
and the din undoes us.
In the daytime we have no time to listen, beset as we are by anxiety and goals and assignments and work,
and in the night the voices are so confusing we can hardly sort out what could possibly be your voice from the voice of our mothers and our fathers
and our best friends and our pet projects,
because they all sound so much like you.
We are people over whom that word shema has been written.
We are listeners, but we do not listen well.
So we bid you, by the time the sun goes down today,
or by the time the sun comes up tomorrow, by night or by day,
that you speak in ways that we can hear out beyond ourselves.
It is your speech to us that carries us where we have never been,
and it is your speech to us that is our only hope.
So give us ears.
Amen
Repentance begins with hearing the voice of the excluded Jesus in the sin areas of our lives where we have excluded him.
And opens the door
1. this is where our pursuit of Christ meets Christ’s pursuit of us. He knocks – we open the door. He will not open the door himself or bust it down. He waits to be wanted, waits to be invited.
2. opening the door is a picture of repentance. We say ‘yes’ to Jesus, let him back into our lives, and turn away from our sin.
3. where have you pushed Jesus out of your life this morning?
* spiritual life? like the Laodiceans who started off with Christ but somewhere along the road pushed him out of the car
* work? have your brought Jesus into your job? how does Jesus affect you in the marketplace?
* finances? are you staying out of debt? is your spending out of control? do you honor Jesus by tithing? by giving generously, even sacrificially to his work?
* marriage? are you seeking to obey & honor Jesus by how you love your spouse…for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness & in health, till death do us part?
* goals/future/dreams? are you seeking God’s will for your life?
* past? are you letting Jesus into your past abuse, hurts, woundedness, shame, unforgiveness, embitterments? do you want to be healed?
* sexuality? are you living a life of purity? staying faithful to your spouse if married. staying celibate if single? are you looking at pornography? and this is not just a ‘male’ problem – growing numbers of women are viewing pornography as well. have you excluded Jesus from your sexuality?
* Church life? do you love the church? are you committed to it? do you find joy in service?
* speech? time? hobbies? thought life?
* friendships? is Jesus pleased with your choice of close friends? is he pleased by the things you talk about & the things you do with your friends?
I will come in
1. Jesus desires to come live in our lives. He does not stay apart. He does not remain aloof & impersonal. I will come in, in, in, in.
2. Colossians 1:27 – Christ in you, the hope of glory. God himself, in the person of Jesus, by means of the Holy Spirit living inside of our lives. I’ll never get over this for as long as I live!
3. we discover 3 modes of Christ’s presence to us in this passage:
* 1:13 – Jesus is ‘among’ the 7 sinful churches
* 3:20a – Jesus is standing outside of the Laodicean’s lives
* 3:20b – Jesus comes ‘in’ to their lives.
Among, outside, in.
4. it’s not enough for Jesus to be among us. It’s certainly not enough for Jesus to be standing outside of our lives. But it is enough for Jesus to be let into our lives.
5. repentance is the key that opens the door for the ‘among’ and outside of Christ to enter ‘in’ to our lives.
And eat with him, and he with me.
1. meals in middle eastern culture had great significance when these words were spoken. Meals were signs of acceptance & love. You only ate with those people whom you shared common values, viewpoints & faith. The people you ate with were the people who revealed what was in your heart. Meals were times for fellowship, communion, connection & intimacy.
2. Jesus desires to share the meal of his life with us. This is a promise of spiritual intimacy & communion with Jesus. He’s waiting. He’s knocking. He wants in. He wants to be wanted. He wants to share the meal of his life with us.
3. this truly is a picture of the friendship the Lord of the universe desires with each one of us. But we have to let him in from those places where we have excluded him.
My Heart – Christ’s Home
1. here’s your homework for this week. Pick up a copy of this little booklet as you leave, My Heart-Christ’s Home by Robert Boyd Munger. He writes about our lives being like a house. We have a study, dining room, living room, work room, recreation room, bedroom & hall closet. Have we let Jesus into each of these rooms? Is Christ fully at home in our hearts?
2. the Holy Spirit has used this booklet since 1954 to bring about repentance in the lives of those who read & apply it. Prayerfully read this week. Apply it boldly & courageously!
Revelation 3:14-22
1. I want to begin with 6 safety tips for you this morning:
* 20% of all accidents happen in cars
* 17% in your home
* 16% in air, rail, or ship travel
* 15% walking on sidewalks
* more people die in bed than anywhere else!
* .001% of all accidents happen in church = glad you came this morning, safest place to be in Canby!
2. thanks to Tom Sawyer for preaching last Sunday – all I’ve heard are oous & aahhs!
3. 2 weeks ago I preached on Revelation 3:14-18. Today I plan to tackle just 13 words, verse 19 – those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
Prayer – Dear God whom we know as Father Son & Holy Spirit, I pray that you would bend whatever is rigid within our lives, thaw whatever is frozen, and straighten whatever is crooked. In Jesus' name, amen.
19 – pivot point of the passage
The Message – The people I love, I call to account--prod and correct and guide so that they'll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God (The Message)
Love…
1. Those whom I love. The word Jesus typically uses for love is agape – love that is an act of the will, unconditional love.
2. Here he uses a different word – phileo. This is friendship love, love that feels, love that enjoys being with another.
3. remember just a few verses earlier Jesus said he was nauseated by this church – they made him want to vomit. And now he says he loves them, not by will, but because he feels friendship affection for them.
4. this is friend to friend love Jesus has for this grossly imperfect church that is lukewarm in their love for him.
5. this is powerful stuff. Jesus loves us in our sin, our failures, our imperfections, our weaknesses, our limitations. And if we are going to be like Jesus, it means loving others in their sin, failures, imperfections, weaknesses, and limitations.
Rebuke & discipline…
1. to rebuke someone is to confront them with what is wrong in their lives. Wrong according to Scripture. Jesus in his love for the Laodiceans is not going to let them continue in their lukewarm condition without getting in their face. Hitting them straight up.
2. to discipline someone is to take action against what is wrong in their lives. When I was in high school my parents found out that I snuck into a movie through the exit door. They disciplined me – I was grounded for 2 weeks.
3. God will take action against us. The action in the passage for the Laodiceans is found in v. 16 – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Jesus is ready to remove his presence from the church. As a form of discipline.
4. Hebrews 12:7-11 is worth reading if you want to know more about God’s discipline in your life.
Be earnest & repent…
1. repent is a big-time biblical word. It lies at the heart of Jesus’ message.
2. we begin this life of following Jesus by repentance: the time has come, (Jesus said), the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news! The 1st thing Jesus asks of people is repentance.
3. we progress in this life of following Jesus by repentance. Jesus calls 5 of the 7 churches in addresses in Revelation 2-3 to repentance:
--> Ephesus in 2:5
--> Pergamum in 2:16
--> Thyatria in 2:21,22
--> Sardis in 3:3
--> Laodicea in 3:19
4. what is repentance? It’s very simple. To repent is to have a change of heart and/or mind that shows up in a lifestyle or behavior change:
--> the church at Laodicea = to renounce their self-sufficiency, spiritual poverty & lukewarm service & turn to Christ
--> Zacchaeus = become an honest tax collector (Luke 19)
--> woman caught in adultery = leave her life of sin (John 8)
--> Peter = turn from his denials & recommit himself to loving & serving Christ (John 21)
--> Ephesus = returning to their first love of Christ (Rev 2)
5. another word for repentance is change. As Christ-followers we are to constantly grow & change so we take on more of the character & conduct of our Teacher, Jesus himself.
6. we will never outgrow our need of repentance as long as we are in this world. We become followers of Christ by repentance from our sins & we develop as followers of Christ by repentance from our sins. This is to be part of our spiritual DNA.
7. if repentance is a big-time bible word, if repentance is how we both begin & continue to live as Christ-followers, if repentance is at the heart of Jesus’ message, then why is it so unpopular with us?
--> never seen the word ‘repent’ in a church vision, mission or values statement
--> never known a church to have ‘repentance’ in its name
--> never read a best-selling Christian book with ‘repentance’ in its title
--> never seen a bible study or seminar on ‘repentance’ packed out like I have on other topics
I am just as guilty of avoiding this as anyone else.
8. if Jesus calls 5 of these 7 churches to repentance the odds are pretty good that he is calling us to repentance this morning as well. Last time I checked none of us are perfect – that means all of us have things, words, attitudes, behaviors we need to repent of, change.
Bone scan…
1. Friday I had a bone scan to find out what is causing all the pain in my right heel. I was injected with 25cc of isotope. A radioactive fluid that tags itself to bones where something is not right – infection, stress fracture. They took a ‘before’ & ‘after’ picture of my feet. Next week I’ll find out if anything shows up in the scan.
2. we need a life scan. Inject us with some spiritual isotope. Let it spread itself around our hearts & minds & attitudes. Let it run to the sin that lurks within & manifests itself without. Let it report back to us where we need to stop, change, turn around in the name of Christ.
3. our spiritual isotope is the Holy Spirit (and that’s a whole other sermon).
Life scan report
1. let me play doctor, radiologist. I want to share with you where I think we are in need of repentance. “I” in the sense of me as your pastor seeking God in prayer for our church & myself. This list is simply a start-up list.
2. 1st, is Jesus your Savior? Are you a Christian? Have you humbled yourself before Jesus, admitted you are a sinner, and invited him into your life? This must be the 1st step of repentance for all of us.
Mark 6:12 – They went out and preached that people should repent. The message of Jesus became the message of his followers. Have you repented of your sins & confessed Jesus as your Savior?
3. 2nd, is Jesus your Lord? Lord means that he is your master, your boss, the ruler of your life. Yours is to obey, follow, serve, worship & delight in him. This is total surrender, total commitment. Is Jesus your Lord?
Philippians 2:11 – and every tongue confess that Jesus in Lord.
4. 3rd, are you too busy to spend time with Jesus & serve his mission? Busyness is the curse of our culture. Many of us live desperate lives because we’ve sold ourselves out to “good” things but not the “best.”
We parents are just as impacted by peer pressure as
our kids. Let’s wake up. We want to make sure we keep up with our friends & neighbors – cars, vacations, toys, clothes, sports teams, leisure activities. Our kids learn about peer pressure from us.
We’re over-involved, over-scheduled. No wonder half of us are on anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications. Our lives are crazy. We’re trying to do too much.
And Jesus gets our leftovers - leftover time, leftover energy, leftover money, and leftover service. Our palm pilots, day-timers, checkbooks, and visa statements reveal our priorities & passions. How often is Jesus written into yours?
5. 4th, are your relationships marked by unity & love? Is Jesus pleased by how we treat each other as brothers & sisters in Christ in this church? How would you feel this morning if your emails were made public? If your phone conversations were played over our sound system? If your conversations over coffee at Starbucks were printed & made available on the back table?
Ephesians 4:1-3 – As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Right now there is way too much talking behind each other’s backs going on in our church. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 18 – if we have something against someone, we are to 1st go to them in person. This is love in action. This is making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
This week, let’s make peace. Let’s make unity. Let’s make love our goal.
6. 5th, do we have compassion for lost & hurting people?
Matthew 9:36 – when he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Mark 2:17 – it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but he sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.
Where’s our compassion for the hurting, hungry, lonely, needy people of our community? Do we really care that there are people in Canby who need food to eat? Who need a decent place to live? Who need an advocate? Who don’t have enough money to buy their children school supplies? While we spend hours & hours & thousands of dollars on ourselves for things that really don’t matter?
Our houses & garages & sheds are filled with things that cost us a lot of money that someone has convinced us we need. I propose that this fall we hold a gigantic church garage sale – you bring your stuff here. And give the money away to the poor in our community in the name of Jesus. Who wants to head it up?
Where’s our compassion for people who have yet to personally connect with Jesus’ love for them? I know this is not a culturally correct thing to say today – but people without Christ are spiritually lost. Do we care? Do we grieve? Do we cry?
12 years ago I came to church with a pierced ear, shaved head, and smoked a cigarette during my sermon. My point – typical church people would be more upset by my behavior than they would by the church’s lack of vibrant witness for Christ.
I’ll be honest here – it concerns me when I hear people upset about coffee in the worship center. I understand what you’re saying. I understand why it bothers you. I really do. But on the scale of eternity, it doesn’t rate. I don’t think God is in heaven upset at the Canby Alliance Church because some people bring coffee into the worship center.
What upsets God is people like us who have lost their 1st love & care very little for the lost people around us. I wish someone would write me a hot email or phone me or come storming into my office upset because we’re not reaching people for Christ! In my 20 years here it has never happened! That should bother us & grieve us.
We are disturbed by the wrong things. We are inwardly, selfishly focused. People are dying without Christ all around us – when is that finally going to trouble us into doing something about it? Do we really care? I know Jesus does.
7. is Jesus your Savior? Is Jesus your Lord? Are you too busy to spend time with Jesus & serve his mission? Are your relationships marked by unity & love? Do you have compassion for lost & hurting people?
8. Jesus is saying to us today – it’s time to be passionate about repentance. 120 seconds to sit in silence – he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:14-22
Sermon in a sentence: as people who are prone to exclude Jesus from our lives, Jesus patiently waits for us to let him back in
on Monday afternoon, June 13th, I was walking in a cherry orchard outside of Hood River, praying for our church. I was asking God to speak to me. I was trying my best to listen.
I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me to read Revelation 3:14-22. I began to read & pray & listen my way through this passage, Christ’s message to the church at Laodicea.
by Wednesday I was convinced God wanted me to suspend my series in Genesis for 1 week & preach on Rev 3. The next evening, Thursday, the church burned.
I preached Revelation 3 the 2nd Sunday we met at Bethany. I want to come back to it today. I have been trying to live out of these words for myself. I believe God wants our church to live out of them right now.
Prayer – I pray Father God that you would use the words of your Son Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to correct, rebuke, and encourage us. May you, Jesus, the Living Word of God, address us in the written Word of God. Give us ears to hear what the Spirit wants to say to us. Amen.
Who are the Laodiceans?
Laodicea was part of a tri-city area in Asia Minor – Laodicea, Colosse (to which Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians) & Hierapolis. By the time John wrote Revelation around AD 95 the church was over 30 years old.
Laodicea was the banking center of Asia Minor & the richest city of the 7 mentioned in Revelation 2-3. The city was devastated by an earthquake in AD 60. Rome offered money & tax relief toward its rebuilding. The city refused any assistance due to its vast wealth.
Laodicea was also known for its textiles – their black sheep produced the finest black wool available anywhere. They had a flourishing clothing industry.
their medical expertise put them on the map as well. They produced medicines that were distributed worldwide – including an eye salve that was repudiated to cure eye problems.
the city was known for 1 more thing – they had no fresh water supply. 6 miles away in Hierapolis was a hot springs. Water was transported along a stone aqueduct to Laodecia. As the hot water moved through the aqueduct it became lukewarm & picked up various bacterial particles. If you drank it without boiling it, it made you sick.
Laodicea was US Bank, Nordstrom’s & OHSU all rolled into one with a lukewarm water supply.
14 – description of Christ:
he is the Amen. In biblical usage Amen means absolutely, firmly. Christ is the utterly trustworthy. He is the last word, the solid foundation, the rock of ages.
He is the faithful & true witness. Jesus is the absolutely faithful witness to God. He is true truth. What he says about God, life, anything is exactly so.
He is the ruler of God’s creation. Jesus is Lord & Sovereign over all. Like the fly buzzing around my office as I wrote this sermon – the bombings in London – the growth of the California Redwoods – the summer harvest of Copper River salmon – Bob Cryder’s stem cell transplant – Hillary Abraham’s crazy time in Jamaica – your life – my life – our lives.
This is a magnificent, majestic partial picture of Christ. Christ the Head of the Church. Christ who stands among & in the 7 churches of Asia Minor found in Revelation 2-3. Christ who stands here with us today always.
In Mere Christianity CS Lewis wrote, Jesus Christ produced mainly three effects – hatred, terror, adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval. Mild approval of Christ is what we find in the church of Laodicea.
15-16 – mild approval:
These are hard-hitting words. Jesus tells it like it is. The temperature of the Laodicean’s commitment to Christ made him sick. They’re not hot – not cold. They’re lukewarm, tepid, status quo. The lukewarm water that flowed into Laodicea through those stone aqueducts is a picture of their tepid spiritual life.
Lukewarm deeds, Christ says. Deeds. Their good works, their service of Christ was pathetic. Outside service is fueled by inside passion. The Laodiceans love & passion for Christ had been compromised. They had no fire in their belly, and therefore, they had no energy in their service.
The word Jesus uses for spit is the word for vomit. The Amen, the faithful & true witness, the ruler of God’s creation is nauseated by the lukewarm, mild approval of the Laodiceans.
Hot, cold, lukewarm – what are you? What are we? I believe that Jesus is trying to tell us that we have grown lukewarm in our love for him.
17 – out of touch with reality:
1st the Laodiceans lacked spiritual passion for Christ. And 2nd they were out-of-touch with reality. They lacked self-awareness. The Laodiceans saw themselves as wealthy, rich & without needs. They thought they had it all together.
This church is self-sufficient, independent & autonomous. Their confession – I do not need a thing. What dangerous words. What proud words. Words that separate us from Christ himself.
There’s a huge difference between you say & you are. The Laodiceans had plenty of money. Their theology was solid. They were an established church.
But Christ – the Amen, the faithful & true witness, the ruler of God’s creation – portrays them in a different light. You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Do we have a you say – you are discrepancy in our church? We think ‘this’ about ourselves but Christ thinks ‘that?’ Who cares what we say about ourselves. What does Christ say?
18 – grace: At verse 18 the whole passage turns, goes in a different direction. Verse 17 – Jesus says to the church who thinks they have it all together – you make me sick to my stomach. I’m going to spit you out of my mouth – he uses the word for vomit. He calls them some bad names – wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. You can hear the judgment coming. You can smell the building wrath.
But what happens next is grace. Undeserved favor. Jesus chooses to treat them as they don’t deserve to be treated. From vomit to come to me & I will give you what you really need.
The 2 key words are from me. Jesus has all that the church needs in himself:
Buildings are nice, but they are not our greatest need.
A fall schedule of classes & activities to get things back to normal is nice, but that is not our greatest need.
A very large sum of money from the insurance company would be nice, but that is not our greatest need.
Getting into our new offices this past week is nice, but that is not our greatest need. Money to put your kids through college is nice, but that is not your greatest need. Landing your dream job is nice, but that is not your greatest need.
Remodeling your kitchen & dining room is nice, but that is not your greatest need.
Finding a boy or girlfriend is nice, but that is not your greatest need.
Having your health is nice, but that is not your greatest need.
Our greatest need is Jesus – his life, his love, his joy, his peace, his power, his presence, his life fully alive in our lives.
The Laodiceans were banking on their material wealth – Jesus offers them true riches. They were proud of their black wool & clothing industry – Jesus offers them clothing that will cover their guilt & shame. They were proud of their eye salve – Jesus offers them eyes to see his kingdom. They were hung up in the material realm – Jesus offers them riches from the spiritual realm.
What Jesus wants for them is a radical change of their lives. I counsel you to buy from me… He seeks to be their 1st & only choice. They’ve blown it bad & he is giving them a 2nd chance to make things right.
Jesus Jesus Jesus. Jesus is calling us to himself. He’s calling us to leave behind everything that has taken his place in our lives. It’s time to lay down our idols – anything that takes the place of Jesus in our lives.
it’s time to move from you say to you are & deal with it
it’s time to lay down our pride
it’s time to lay down our independence & self-sufficiency
it’s time to take a look at how we spend our time
it’s time to take a look at our commitments – it could appear to be that many of you parents are more committed to your children’s athletic growth than you are to their spiritual growth
it’s time to be honest with Jesus
are we pitiful? Wretched? Poor? Blind? Naked?
Call to action
I want you to meet Bob Stoddard. United Methodist pastor from the Bay area. Bald, overweight, intelligent and part rebel. We were classmates at Asbury during the years I was working on my doctorate. The 2 of us visited Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee and ran into Elvis at the salad bar at Shoney’s just _ mile from Graceland.
bob was edgy. He had issues. He had baggage. He didn’t like to be told what to do. He was a big, lovable Teddy Bear, sometimes.
after finishing all my classes I went back to Asbury in 1996 to meet with my dissertation committee. While there I heard that Bob was on campus. We found each other.
as we walked up to each other & I could look into his eyes I could see a different look through those eyes. Something had changes. He was more at peace with himself, relaxed, joyful.
as we talked I soon found out why. 8 months earlier he had almost died due to complications from surgery. He told me how he had left his body. He was looking down at a team of doctors & nurses & interns working to save his life. Suddenly he felt a warm light behind him.
he looked around & saw this tunnel leading to a door. What he remembers most was the beautiful healing light & a feeling of love calling him like he’d never experienced in his life. God was calling him home.
but he was given a choice. He said he wanted to go back & make things right, do things differently. And he did.
I’m a changed man. The love of God was so real to me. It melted my heart. It brought healing to me. I now want to live & walk & serve in that love.
Jesus came to him through a near-death experience and touched Bob with his love & changed his life.
took away his pride
took away his dependence upon his intelligence
lifted his resentments
healed his wounds
give him new eyes w/ w/c to see the world
I counsel you to buy from me… Jesus is calling us to himself. Listen up. Hear. Respond. Take him as your all in all.
Beginnings: A Search for Meaning & Identity in Genesis 1-3
#8 – “Caring For God’s Creation”
Genesis 1:26,28; 2:15
June 12, 2005
1. most if not all of us have seen pictures of Mt Everest. It stands 2 ½ times taller than Mt Hood. Awesome, glorious, majestic. The tallest mountain on the face of the earth.
But today Everest is littered with trash – wind shredded tents, 1000s of empty oxygen canisters & abandoned climbing equipment
2. let me pose this question today – what is man’s relationship to God’s created world? This question gets answered in a number of ways:
--> biocentrism = plants, animals & humans are equal inhabitants of earth. An endangered bird is as important as a human life in this view.
--> anthrocentricism = man is the center of the natural world & all its resources are to be used in any way that pleases him.
--> theocentricism = the world belongs to God & should be cared for as God cares for it. This is what Genesis & the rest of Scripture teaches.
3. a theocentric view of creation is not pantheism. We can see God in nature, yes, but nature is not God. God is not everything. God stands distinctly apart from his created world.
4. how should we relate to creation? We begin to answer this question, 1st, by acknowledging that creation belongs to God. To further unpack this I have 8 passages of Scripture I want to look at this morning.
Exploring the Text
Genesis 1:26 & 28: to rule
Genesis 1:28: to subdue
1. I want to take these together – to rule over fish, birds & livestock & to subdue the earth. So often these are interpreted to mean that the earth & the animal kingdom exist solely for the benefit of man. That he can use them & exploit them all he wishes – the anthrocentric view.
2. it is best to read these verses in their context:
--> God has endowed humanity with a double uniqueness: we are made in his image (rational, moral, social & spiritual beings) & we have been given responsibility over the earth
--> God has set humanity midway between himself as Creator & the rest of creation
--> biologically we are like animals – we breathe, eat, reproduce like them BUT we enjoy a higher level of experience similar to God’s in that we are able to think, choose, create, love, pray & lead
--> we combine dependence on God with dominion over his world
3. to rule & to subdue is to act as God’s representative, to be a caretaker over his creation. This is stewardship NOT ownership. We manage the earth for God. We are both created by God & are responsible to him.
Psalm 24:1 – the earth is God’s
1. God is the Creator & Owner of the earth. Ultimately we own nothing. It is all God’s. We are invited guests sharing his urban & country estate.
Psalm 115:16 – the earth has been given to man
1. the earth is ours. This is our home. But not in the sense that God retains no rights to it or control over it. We are tenants, leaseholders, renters, so to speak.
2. this world belongs to both God & us. To God because he made it & to us because he has made us his caretakers.
John 1:3 – Jesus made the world
1. through him (Jesus) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. This is the New Testament way of repeating Genesis 1 & Psalm 24:1. As the Maker of the earth, Jesus has the definitive ownership over all he has made.
Colossians 1:16-17 – the world is made by Jesus & for Jesus
1. Colossians takes the truth of John 1 a few steps farther. All things were created by him & for him. Creation itself exists for the sake of Jesus. We are not the center of this wonderful, fabulous creation. Jesus is & always will be the center.
2. and in him all things hold together. My friend Will reminded me this week that there are four basic forces of physics – gravity, electromagnetism, the weak atomic, and the strong atomic. These keep the world from falling or blowing apart, they order creation.
3. Jesus is behind all the laws of physics that keep a hundred million things of God’s creation running smoothly.
Romans 8:19-22 – creation itself will be liberated one day
1. these words have intrigued me for years. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Spirit, personalizes creation. We groan because of our sinful experience in this fallen world. We wait in expectation for our final deliverance.
2. and so does the created world of rocks, trees, plants, mountains, water, fire, and wind. Creation itself, because of the fall, exists in bondage today & waits to be liberated into the glorious freedom of the children of God!
3. Christ’s coming as the savior of the world does not stop with delivering people from their sins – it continues on to deliver the earth itself from people’s sins. This is the very high view of creation that the Bible teaches us.
Revelation 21:1 – we await a new heaven & a new earth
1. we all await a new heaven & a new earth. Get on the edge of your seats. The biblical view of the future is not about the end of creation but of the beginning of creation. I am making everything new (21:5).
2. it can’t be said any better than Eugene Peterson says it in his commentary on Revelation – the biblical story began, quite logically, with a beginning. Now it draws to an end, not quite so logically, also with a beginning. The sin-ruined creation of Genesis is restored in the sacrifice-renewed creation of Revelation. The product of these beginning & ending acts of creation are the same – ‘the heavens and earth’ in Genesis, and ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ in Revelation. The story that has creation for its first word, has creation for its last word. Creation in Genesis, Consummation in Revelation. God both makes & remakes his world.
3. the Christian faith is the most materialistic of all faiths, meaning that it is the most earthy. Heaven is described by materiality. There’s tangible stuff there – stones, gems, walls, gates, streets, trees, fruit, a river. Darrell Johnson writes in his commentary on Revelation, God originally made us for earth, and in Jesus, God will fulfill that original intent in a new earth.
4. as evangelical Christians we are guilty of not valuing, respecting, guarding & caring for the earth as those who have been appointed caretakers by the Creator. We who pride ourselves on being ‘Christ-centered’ so often seem to care little for the earth that was created by him & exists for him & in him is held together. Like with everything, it all begins, comes back to, and ends in Christ.
Answer
1. I started with a question – what is man’s relationship to God’s created world?
2. I would sum up the teaching of Scripture by saying – we are commissioned to take care of the earth, use it appropriately for our needs, and keep it healthy & beautiful for the glory of God!
3. 1 reason I love the writings of Thomas Merton is for his love of creation. A Prayer to God my Father on the Vigil of Pentecost from his journal: Today, Father, this blue sky praises You. The delicate green and orange flowers of the tulip popular praise You. The distant blue hills praise You together with the sweet smelling air that is full of brilliant light. The bickering flycatchers praise You with the lowing cattle and the quails that whistle over there. I, too, praise You with these creatures, my brothers and sisters. You have made us all together and You have placed me here this morning in the midst of them (Turning Toward the World, p. 120).
4. that kind of biblical understanding of creation, that kind of perspective, that kind of prayer understands that we are commissioned to take care of the earth, use it appropriately for our needs, and keep it healthy & beautiful for the glory of God.
5. how can we express our caretaking responsibilities for God’s creation?
6. We can begin by confessing to God our sin – our waste and pollution of your creation and our lack of concern for those who come after us (A Litany of Penitence). After being in existence for 40-50 years the National Association of Evangelicals has just now added to their platform a concern for the environment.
7. some other expressions:
--> recycle as much & as often as possible
--> we can support efforts to conserve & protect our natural resources (they are not infinite)
--> we can control our human greed & our lust for more & more things, products & materials – as Americans we consume the majority of the world’s natural resources – simply lifestyle
--> we can begin to see the land that we do own from God’s perspective – how does he want us to care for it as his representatives & use it for his glory?
8. I end by calling all of us to become more biblical in our understanding & caretaking of creation.
