Not by Works
Are you mentioned the fact? This is of course a holiday weekend and it's nice to have one of those probably have a sense like I do that. You don't got that beginning of Summer. Where we have Memorial Day and then there's the end of the summer where we have Labor Day in these two holidays and come to be associated with those two seasonal issues rather than really focusing on why we have those particular holidays. This one, of course, came out of the, the abuse has of the American Industrial Revolution. When people were forced to work long hours every day for very little compensation. And as a political movement, there was a move back to protect the labor. Were the people who were doing work day in and day out. So, this holiday goes back a long way, all the way to the late 1800s, where people began to acknowledge that, The issue of it though, is bigger because it's really a foundational issue. Certainly in postmodern America, but it in broader scale. Even than that, the fundamental issue of happy Labor Day. Thank you for your hard. Work is a little bit out of focus but I did said exactly what I wanted to say or one of those start with her or think about because we do have a tendency to Value hard, work, Protestant work ethic is this, the fundamental in our culture and in our country, if you want do well, you have to work hard and people while there's nothing wrong with that philosophy. We can easily, so we can see how people easily get caught up with it and overdue or take it to extremes. And sometimes it creates complications in our lives, especially if we get confused about some other issues.
I'd like to share with you a family story at the beginning here than share some more. But the end many of you know that Terry Grandparents were both immigrants, her father and her grandfather was born in Germany. Her grandmother was born in Czechoslovakia and in the early 1900s, both families, move to Mark, Texas. Little place in Central Texas, and they had Farms next door to each other. The schneiders had seven sons and the wassicks had 4 Daughters. And so these two families, really kind of more than anything else, formed a bitter but I wouldn't want to call it a communist, but it was the men did the boys in the Two. Dads did a lot of the heavy lifting and the women did a lot of the cooking and cleaning and washing and, and taking care of the small animals in various things like that. In these family group grew up kind of relieved. Together, Joyce was a triple cousin. Three of those boys, married three of those blasted girls. And so they obviously made be pretty strong connections. At the first of the year that they were there. They didn't go to school because I needed to get the Farms up and running, but that first fall, when they would just School mr. Snyder call, The Seven Brothers in and said now, you know that the wasik girls don't have any brothers to protect them in school. And he said, I don't want to hear that people are giving them a hard time and those boys talked about that over and over again. Those people hanging with absolutely nothing. And they threw hard work. Dedication intensity were able to go a long way there. Oh, I thought I told you this before, but one Saturday afternoon, Terry's. Grandmother was staying with us during that weekend and I was watching the football game and I knew Terry's grandfather, but I didn't know it. Well, he died fairly early in our marriage but the grandmother came into the room. When I said, did pop like to watch football and she said, pop worked in the afternoon. Okay, we can find our values here, you know it but that's all together and made it. Work was by just getting out there and with the intensity that you had a Dawn till dark and then other things that you could do at that was just the way it works that philosophy. As stated very much. And love, I'm not going to talk to DNA, but the core of our nation, and we value hard work. And then again, there's nothing wrong with that. Even go back to the Bible when Paul says. If it won't work, then they won't eat. Just pretty simple kind of excavation the problem with it comes though is when we start translating who we are in a capitalistic Society from who we are spiritually. And over the centuries. There was some kind of confusion here if you want to be a good person, you're a hard-working person. If you want to be a good Christian.
Our shift is totally in an opposite direction. It's not about work, it's about our relationship to God and sometimes kind of inadvertently. We've made our relationship to God, especially our obedience to God, a work. I have to work at this. It's a challenge. I'm not a conqueror. And its really is very much out of sync and it causes us to be drawn into the Distortion that it's working. That gets us to have it. It's working God, approves up. It's working. That creates a situation where we quote deserve, what God brings to us. And the truth of it is, it's all gift. Now, does that mean? Work doesn't matter? We'll talk more about that as we go along this morning, the passage, I'd like to use his text today. It's Titus Chapter 3. Verse 5. Just simply he saved us not because of right decisions we had done but because of his Mercy he saved us through the washing of rebirth and Renewal by the Holy Spirit. Now. If you were really was kind of a mental image, that he saved us all to be in Broad letters with big color because that's what this is about. God Saves us. He took Mercy on us and he offered to us through the incredibly high price of the butt of his own son. This gift of eternal life. And we approach it correctly by constantly. Remembering. It's a gift, it's a gift.
There's three things I'd like to look at here. The first is what? I'm tiling. The bankruptcy of works that we all understand how the banks works. You know, if you don't have money in the bank then they're not going to cash the check. We understand what insufficient funds are. And this bankruptcy of work is the same thing. You can't deposit enough in your spiritual account where God is
Compelled to cash. The check that you written. When I go to heaven, I don't get to ride it out and this is like that and sometimes we interact on a daily basis points. If I get enough point that I get to go to heaven. I want to do bad things. I lose some points, and so, I'm losing ground. So, I've got to do some more to pay back. If we get into this horrible, spiritual Rat Race when God is trying to come back to us. Soon as I relax, it's my doing It's not your doing. I've used this before. I just like it so much back during the Space shuttle days, the early days of the Space Shuttle. There was a guy who was a technician working at Nasa. The shuttle was already on the Launchpad. They were doing final things are was supposed to be along to the next day or two. It's got trips over his lab coat, and falls into the vent of one of the solid rocket boosters and bins. And it's been so severely, but it can't be replaced on the pad after taking all the way back to the hangar and replace this and then bring it back at a cost of six million dollars.
I think I handled that you think they called him into HR and said, we're going to take a little out of your check every week.
There's no way. And it's good to see for me in real life situations where we get. So overwhelmed like this guy that there was no way he could ever pay that back. It was his mistake. It was his goof. NASA says it was an accident. We were right, it off. No penalty.
Where that same situation with God. We look up and safe. I want to make amends for all the horrible things I've done. I want to pay you back for the way I've hurt you. It hurt other people and God's honest. Answer back to us has six million dollar. 40 million dollars or six billion, or it doesn't even matter. Because the prices unpayable I have a good friend to. Is a? Hospice. Chaplain His mother was very ill. She have Alzheimer's needed to be put into full-time care. And the company that he works for also owns facilities. And so he went and talked to the guy who's the head guy and he said, don't bring her to this certain place and will admit her, and, and my friend. How much is zoom cost? And the owner of this complex, so we're going to charge you $50 a month. In the man that will. That's not fair, it's not fair. That's not meant to be figure. You've been a valuable employee for us, for a long time and you are now in a position to be able to support you in your situation. So if you'll take $50 out of your check for the rest of the time you work for us, What do you think that relationship is like?
Guy friend is so indebted. To this van and the sacrifice that was made so that he could care for his mom that he just passed this incredible attitude about it. It's understandable really is Ephesians. Chapter 2 verse 9 says, Not by works why. So that no one can boast. When you get to heaven. There's not going to be a single person there who can say I deserve to be here. The Patriarchs of the Bible, the great people who brought the light of Jesus Christ to the world, none of them only the godhead would deserve to be there but what would be overjoyed? 3 included in that group. And I know what you're thinking, so Works aren't important and that's where the big rub comes because there are people of religious persuasion who come along and say, okay I'll buy, this is the gift of God. So that means what we do doesn't matter. And there's balance there. And the Bible makes that very, very clear. It's our response to God. I love to God our service of God. Not what we can do, or learn a parable of Matthew chapter 18, where the guy is forgiving, the huge debt. And he goes out and demands of the person who owes him a minor amount of money that he pay back. That's the story that Jesus is telling to give us an understanding of this. Got us are giving us so much that when he asked us to do things toward others. he's asking out of like this boss when they've been doing to my friend, if I could you work a little extra for us but if you need me to do James 2:16. If one of you says to them go in peace, keep warm and well-fed but does nothing about their physical needs. What good is it to you? Without the things of Life? The things they need to survive in life and the Christian says, hey I feel for you buddy. Keep us to prepare live. First 17 in the same way, Faith by itself, if not accompanied by action is dead. Ellensburg, 18, disrupted altogether. You have faced I have Deeds. And if you get stopped at right there, you might want to finish that says that the sentence with and so will agree to disagree. But that's not what the passage as you have faith. I have these. Show me your faith without your deeds and I will show you my face by my dick. Not to earn it but you're responding submission and love to our God has done for us. Second point is the benevolence You don't see a lot of Mercy in our world. We live in a very legal world. What's the contract say? And we often times live by that very, very, very completely. If there's a loophole in the contract, people are delighted to walk through that. It's so it doesn't apply because of this or that or whatever. and so, we're not often in situations, where we perhaps even think about
Providing Mercy, there's a story. I have no idea if it's true or not, but I like the story. A lot there was supposedly an in Alexander, the Great's army, a young man who was charged with cowardice at the time of the attack, he ran away and he is so, Alexander, the Great. What do surprise from what we know of him, condemned the young man, who died That's what the general would do in that situation. Supposedly, according to the story, the young man's mother. Comes to this to Alexander the Great. It says, please please show Mercy to my son. And his responses. But look at all these men who stay and look at all these are not here, but think of the man who actually died, would it be fair for me to give RC? Answer response. Supposedly was if it's fair it wouldn't be Murphy. John about being fair at at when we look at this passage, God didn't give us what was fair. He gave us Mercy.
Scarlet, Jesus's Bible prayer. Your brother's user for giving us as we continue to do that Romans 9:17. So it does not therefore depend on human desire or effort but on God's mercy. I can stand today. In the presence of God. Knowing that God approves. Not based on what I've done. Put on his Mercy that's been shown to me and really every one of us could be on our knees everyday repeatedly. Say God, thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your gift.
Matthew 9 verse 13. But go and learn what this means. And then Jesus says, I desire Mercy. not sacrifice and I think he could tell each of us that you learn about the fact that Mercy triumphs over sacrifice. Well, let's look at the third. Can you quickly and that's the beauty of regeneration? When we lived in Houston, have these little lizards and we called him yet goes, they aren't geckos but not forgotten. What the official formal name is, but the ones around our house didn't have tails. Because the boys were constantly catching them, and they has that escaped ability to this loser Tales. Jonathan came in, when they like, your earrings.
And explaining to the boys about regeneration of a tale was kind of challenging when it's messing with their preschoolers. Like, if you got your arm cut off and I don't know what these lizards tails, will they have the ability to regenerate? What are human beings? Arm doesn't grow back but in your body is constant regeneration. Although we have souls are being regenerated. And so we live, and who we literally are sustained by our physical bodies, through the element of regeneration. And I like that word so much. And in fact, in the English, the SUV sesb the translators choose to use. That's why he saved us not because of work done by us in righteousness. But according to his own word, the excuse me by the washing of regeneration. And renewal of the Holy Spirit.
Been so hot. Does help at all to think about those 10 degree days. Are those zero days and remember when we were having those 0 days we were like we like that we benefit from that regeneration spirits that our world experiences and God looks at us and promises to us and deliver to us. Regeneration. John chapter three. Nicotine was come to Jesus.
What I need to do. Bring the kingdom of God, Jesus salesman. First three. Very truly. I tell you. No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. And verse for, which I will read the first floor tells us about Nicodemus his confusion. How is that possible? And Jesus says in verse 5, very truly I tell you. No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water. Is Spirit.
You go back to what Paul is talking about here and he's talking about the renewal of Reveille of reverse and the impact of the Holy Spirit. These guys are talking about exactly the same thing. This is Jesus's presentation when he's talking to Nicodemus. This is a restating literally I want Jesus with teaching. There's a very famous saying, it's become associated with the Labor Day. We work in our worship. We worship our work, you working or play, we play at our worship. I tried to find out who the author of that is, it's credited to dozens of people. So I don't have any idea who the original author was but thinking about the truth of that. Yeah, when you when you meet somebody for the first time, you changed names of what's. Usually the next question. What are you doing? We're so invested in what we do as work and then we get a little bit of time off. I'm going to buy this week's of equipment or that piece of equipment. I'm going for so many miles this week or I'm going for Paris this week or all the things are. We spent all this time working very hard at what we play at week and there's nothing wrong with that. What's that? Third one is, sometimes the place. Where it all gets out of balance because we just play it our worship. We play at our relationship. But God, when God has given us, so very, very much 2nd Corinthians 5:17.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone. The new is here. And that's a powerful invitation. We all get to places in our lives where we look and say, yeah, I mess this up. I'm not handling this. Well, I wish I have regrets all those kind of things. And God offers, who was newness?
He tells us. Who and why? And how? He saved this one because of his Mercy. How to do reverse? Generation. Do the Holy Spirit.
I shared with you a story about Terry's family.
not long after they had moved to the farm, the local Church Minister came by a Church of Christ Minister and ask the father mr. Schneider if he could have a Bible study with him and now you studied the Bible for a couple of times and on Sunday morning they went and got the wagon out husband and wife and the Seven boys got into the wagon and they went to church and eventually they were all converted. Well, they were so attached to the wasik family, but it felt kind of strange, but the wasik should go to church with them. So, that's what happened. And they all went to church and they mother and dad. And all of the daughters were baptized Is 11 people for the Next Generation. Who were impacted by this one person. Wanting to share the good news that family really, really, really does. Like the look down through the generations and say here and here, here's this guy and I'll tell you this, not as a brag in any shape form or fashion, but in that family ministers were really held the high esteem. And so you got the best stuff at the food table because they just really like to be able to say, we've got three in our family or two in our family or four in our family.
That's what God's plan is for us. In my profession. I have gotten to do. I haven't had the opportunity as soon as I wake to be present for critical life moments. Some of those were in hospitals and some of them were in funeral homes and cemeteries in La lower right there in one of those. and I can, I just sat last night and tried to think of all the people, especially young people, and youth ministry that I had had the privilege of Assisting with Weaver. And what a wonderful blessing that is like God's care enough about us. To say I'm going to send you this really simple symbol. And when you go through this simple process, then you come into contact with the blood of Christ and everything is gone, and you are now living in mind. Worst. Until the day I call you home. Would you go out with me?
Dear God, we thank you for your unimaginable gift. We pray that we utilize it properly. We pray that we walk worthy. Father, we just asked that we might constantly be looking to the source of what's really critical in line. The fact that we're going to be with you, you've worked that out. And now our responsibility is to follow in your footsteps and to help other people do that same direction. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for blessing us. Thank you for saving us. We pray this for your son.
This morning, if you find yourself outside of Christ, we would encourage you not to leave here until you change that situation. And if we can help you do that would be glad to As we sing the song of encouragement together.
