40 Forward Week 6
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I want to again welcome everybody joining us online tonight. I’m so thankful that even though we are not able to be together physically, that we are still able to virtually connect, pray together, and study God’s Word.
That being the case, for the next few moments, I’d like to share something from God’s Word tonight that I hope will be helpful, encouraging, and at the same time challenging in your walk with God.
As I’ve thought about everything that has happened in the past few weeks, it would appear everybody has differing opinions on the situation we are in.
Some believe it’s a result of political sabotage. That in some way the Democrats have orchestrated the pandemic to destroy the economy and prevent President Trump from being reelected.
Others believe that this is an attempt on China’s part to bring the US down.
And then some believe it’s a sign of the end of the world. That what we are experiencing is the beginning of the last days.
And coupled with that are those who believe the Corona Virus is a result of the judgment of God on the US. That because of the depravity of our culture, and our waywardness from God, that maybe God has sent this virus as a form of judgment on America.
To be honest, I don’t know exactly why we are facing this current crisis. But here’s what I do know. I do know that God has allowed it to happen.
First, while we tend to view everything from an American viewpoint only, the fact is this virus is affecting the entire world, not just America. So, if it’s a judgment, then it’s a judgment on mankind, not just America, and I think that’s
Second, while I don’t know if the virus represents the judgment of God, what I do know is that God has allowed it to happen.
Because the fact is, God is in control and nothing happens outside of his will, plan, and purpose.
Which means, God wasn’t caught off guard by this virus, but instead, in His sovereign will and plan He has allowed it.
That being the case, instead of racking our brains trying to figure out why it’s happened and who caused it, maybe a better question would be, “Why has God allowed it?” Which is a question I think we have a better chance of answering.
So, how do we answer it? We answer it by asking
So, what’s the answer? Why has God allowed it?
That being the case, maybe the question shouldn’t be, “Is this a judgment from God”. Maybe a better question would be, “Why has God allowed it to happen?” I think that’s a question we can answer.
What I’d like to suggest to you, and what I sense in my spirit, is that in His love for us, God has allowed the virus not to punish or judge us, but maybe to teach us something, or maybe even to show us something.
Think of it like this. If you’re a parent, and you want to teach your child something important, how do you teach it to them?
Well, there are a couple of different ways. One way is to give them instruction by showing them how to do it or by telling them what to do. And if the child responds positively, that’s typically the best way for the child to learn.
But unfortunately, children don’t always listen to instruction, do they?
So, what’s another way we teach them? Well, another way is to practice what parents call tough love.
Meaning, when the child won’t listen, in order for them to learn, the parent allows them to suffer the consequences of their decisions, with the hope that through the consequences, they will learn the lesson. And for the parent and the child, this isn’t always the funnest experience. Because it’s no fun to be the parent and watch your child suffer through a consequences. And it’s no fun as a child to suffer the consequences. But sometimes, it’s the only way for the child to learn.
What if I told you that sometimes, that’s what God has to do with us. That sometimes, when we refuse to listen, out of His love for us, He allows consequences to take place in our lives.
You might be wondering, “Pastor, how do you know God does that?” I know because that’s what the Bible teaches us. Listen to how the writer of Hebrews puts it:
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
The writer says that part of being a son or daughter of God, is to endure discipline. A discipline that is meant for our good. A discipline that leads to life, not death. A discipline that for a moment seems painful rather than pleasant, but that later yields fruit in the lives of those who have been trained by it. Which is exactly what discipline is meant to do.
What that means then is, sometimes when we won’t listen, God allows what we perceive as a negative in order to produce a positive in our lives.
So, with that as our basis, let’s apply that scriptural fact to our current situation. And let’s just assume for a moment that maybe what we are going through right now as a nation and as a community isn’t the judgment of the Lord, but the discipline of the Lord. A discipline meant for our good. And like all disciplines, it’s meant to teach us something.
That being the case, let’s ask this question, “What is it God might be trying to teach us, show us, or communicate to us through the Corona virus pandemic?”
Tonight, I’d like to suggest two lessons God might being trying to teach us. Two lessons that I believe are specifically for us to consider:
Lesson #1 - Your busyness is distracting you from your relationship with God.
The fact is, we are a busy people. A people always on the go. A people who have our calendars filled with appointments, activities, and things to do on a daily basis. And the reality is, there’s a good chance our busyness has been distracting us from what God might be wanting to teach us or to say to us.
A great Biblical example of this is found in as Jesus visits the home of a woman named Martha. And I know I talked about this story a couple days ago on Facebook live, but I think it deserves another look. Because in this story Martha’s sister Mary learns an important lesson. Listen to how Luke describes the situation:
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke says as Jesus came to a certain village, he was invited by a woman named Martha into her home. So, maybe a good first question to ask would be, “Why did she invite Him?”
Well, we aren’t told why, but more than likely she wanted to provide Jesus a place to stay where he could rest and have a meal. A meal that should would provide. And that’s exactly what she set out to do. Because Luke goes on to tell us:
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
Luke 10:39
Luke says as Martha went about putting the meal together and serving it, her sister Mary decided to sit down and listen to Jesus as he taught. Which would have been out of the ordinary and largely frowned upon, because in that culture, women typically weren’t allowed to learn or be taught. But interestingly enough, only person bothered by it is another woman, and her name is Martha.
In fact, she’s so bothered by it that she actually says to Jesus, “Lord, why are you allowing Mary to sit there and listen when she should be helping me. Lord, tell her to get to work.”
Martha is compeltely put out by this.
So, what’s going on here? Why is Martha so upset? Is it really because Mary isn’t helping her?
Well, that might be part of it. But what I think the passage implies, is that the reason she’s upset, is because like Mary, she wants to listen, but she’s distracted.
What’s she distracted by? She’s distracted by her busyness. I mean she has things to do, places to be, and people to see. She has a to do list that stretches from here to there. And it’s not going to get done if she sits down, especially since Mary has decided not to help. Times a wasting, we have to go, go, go, go, go. Martha is a busy woman.
And let’s just be honest, that’s how a lot of us are, aren’t we? We wake up and automatically our minds begin to spin with everything we have to get done for the day. The calendar is full and time’s a wasting. It’s time to go, go, go, go, go. And if we’re honest, we’re actually proud of our busyness. In fact, when somebody asks us how we’re doing, our first response is typically, “I’m busy” or “I’m busier than ever”.
What if I told you you’re not really busy. What if I told you, what you really are is distracted. Distracted from the needs of others. Distracted from the needs of your spouse. Distracted from the needs of your kids. And maybe worse of all, distracted from what God might be trying to teach to you or say to you.
How do I know that? I know because of how Jesus responds to Martha. Because as Martha complains about Mary, listen to what Jesus says to Martha:
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
:
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
In His response, Jesus confirms what we thought. Jesus says, “Martha, this isn’t about Mary not helping you. The fact is Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. Martha, you are like a chicken with its head cut off. You are running around all over the place, going here, going there, worrying about this and worrying about that, driving here and driving there, and as a result your missing out on the most important thing in your life. Martha, your missing out on me. You’re missing out on what I want to say to you.”
Luke 10:
You see, in this moment, Jesus identifies Martha’s problem, and the problem isn’t Mary or the lack of help. The problem is her busyness. A busyness that is distracting her from spending time with Jesus.
Let me ask you something, “Have you been too busy for Jesus? Is your life so full of stuff to do, that like Martha, you’ve neglected the most important thing. Spending time with Jesus.”
The fact is, the Corona Virus has ended our business. It’s cleared our calendars. It’s forced us to stop running all over the place. And now we have a choice.
Like Martha, we can get mad and say, “Jesus, what’s the deal here. Why don’t you do something about the Corona Virus. Can’t you see I have things to do? Can’t you see there are important matters I need to attend to? Come on Jesus, do something about this.” You could respond like that?
Or, you could be like Mary. And in the midst of this situation, recognize that maybe the best thing, the better thing you could do, is spend some time with Jesus.
Could it be that’s one of the lessons God is trying to teach us right now. That maybe our busyness has distracted us. Could it be that in his love, God is trying to remind us what the most important thing we could do with our time is. That instead of running around like chickens with our heads cut off to event after event, that we need to learn to set our busyness aside, and sit at his feet once again.
This leads us to the second lesson I think God might be trying to teach us.
Lesson #2 - Not only are we too busy, but our priorities are out of whack.
The fact of the matter is, we serve a jealous God. The writer of Exodus puts it like this:
14 the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light;
14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),
14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),
15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice,
14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
In this passage God lays out some a clear parameter when it comes to a relationship with God. And the parameter is simple: When you enter a relationship with Him, you serve Him and Him alone.
What that means then is, God doesn’t want our hearts to be divided between Him and something else.
Now, some might say, “Is God that insecure?”
To be frank, it has nothing to do with God’s insecurity and everything to do with your faithfulness.
Think of it like this, when you get married, the expectation is that you’re not going to give your love or your body to anybody but your spouse, right?
But what if you don’t honor that commitment? What if you flirt with someone else or maybe even give yourself to another person. What’s going to happen then?
What’s going to happen is your spouse is going to get jealous, and rightfully so.
So, is that an insecurity on their part? No. It’s a measure of your faithfulness. It’s a measure of how committed you are to the relationship. Because where there’s unfaithfulness, Jealousy follows.
Spiritually speaking, the same is true of our relationship with God. When we put our faith in Jesus we are entering into a relationship with Him. A relationship that requires faithfulness on our part.
The problem though is, while God is always faithful, we’re not. Too often we allow other things to take precedence over Him as we fail to make him the priority in our life.
Now, you might be thinking, “Ok pastor, I get what you’re saying. But what priorities are you talking about? What do you think we’ve allowed to take precedence over God?”
I’m glad you asked that question, because I’d like to give you my thoughts on that. And to convey those thoughts I want to read something to you that somebody posted on Facebook. Something that I think is spot on when it comes to our priorities being out of whack in this country and with in the church. Here’s what someone wrote:
In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship. God said, "you want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians, I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters. You want to worship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don't want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can't go to church"
“In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship. God said, "you want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians, I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters. You want to worship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don't want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can't go to church"
When I read that I was like, “Wow!”
"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
And it made me wonder, could it be, that’s what God is trying to teach us right now. That maybe we’ve gotten our priorities out of whack? That maybe we don't need a vaccine, but maybe what we need is a time of isolation to reorganize our priorities. To reflect on the fact that maybe we’ve allowed other things, like sports and activities, to take precedence over God.
Listen, I’m going to shoot straight with you, and it’s probably going to make some of you mad. But one of the greatest false gods that so many people worship in this country, and even in our community is the god of sports.
Why has this happened? Its happened because we’ve lost sight of our spiritual priorities. We’ve done exactly what God warned us not to do. Because after reminding us that He’s a jealous God, He goes on to say:
Maybe we don't need a vaccine, Maybe we need to take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal revival where we focus on the ONLY thing in the world that really matters. Jesus.
15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
Exodus
A god that has taken over Wednesday nights.
A god that has stolen Sunday for wrestling tournaments and unofficial practices.
Listen, I know when I say that, I’m ruffling some feathers. But you need to remember, we serve a jealous God. And when we make other things the priority, don’t think for a moment that He’s not going to act. Don’t think for a moment that he’s not going to fight for the relationship.
A god that requires all kids at school to bow down to it or they are ridiculed and shunned by students, teachers, and coaches.
A god that parents will go to hell and back to get their kids to, but won’t lift a finger to get them to youth group.
A community where Wednesday nights are no longer held sacred for church and youth groups.
A community where Sunday’s are now reserved for wrestling practice, tournaments, and non mandatory shoot arounds.
And to be honest, I’m glad this virus has knocked that god off its rocker. Because it’s a false god that has no eternal value for you or your kids. But its a god we are obsessed with.
A community where if a kid doesn’t go out for a sport they are ridiculed and shunned.
A community where parents will bend over backwards to get their kids to practice, but wont’ lift a finger to get them to church.
I’ve never lived in a community where the priorities were so out of whack.
Question #2 - Up until the Corona Virus hit, were your priroities
Listen, I know when I say that, I’m ruffling some feathers. In fact, some of you are getting ready to tune out. But before you do, here’s what you need to remember, if you claim to be a Christian, we serve a jealous God. And when we say we are committed to Him, but we make other things the priority for ourselves and for our kids, don’t think for a moment that He’s not going to act. Don’t think for a moment that he’s not going to fight for the relationship.
And so I have to wonder, could it be our current circumstance are meant to remind us of what our priorities should be, not only for us, but for our kids.
That in order to get our attention, God shut the the sports god, the Hollywood gods, the music gods, and the money god, not as a judgment, but as a discipline to point us and our kids back to Him. To show us, that we can live without the sport, but we can’t live without Him.
And please hear me, there are other things besides sports that can become too much of a priority in our life. But in our context of American, and I think especially our community, it’s a big one.
So, those are two lessons I’d like you to consider tonight. Two lessons that God may be trying to teach us.
The question the is, “How will we respond to the discipline?”
Because discipline leaves us with a choice. We either learn from the lesson, or we don’t.
You see, I wonder if God
We either recognize in this moment our busyness is an issue, or we don’t. We either recongize our priorities are out of whack, or we don’t. We either grow and mature spiritually from this, or we don’t.
So, in these final moments, and as the worship team comes, I want to challenge you to consider the following two questions when it comes to how these lessons apply to your life?
Question #1 - When it comes to busyness, are you a Martha or Mary? Are you the one who is distracted or the one who makes time for the most important things. Are you the one who is mad at the virus or the one who sees it as an opportunity to sit down and spend some needed time with Jesus.
And which will you be moving forward? In other words, when this is all over, will you go back to your busyness, or will you learn the lesson. The lesson that spending time with Jesus should actually be the most important item on your calendar. And if you’re not doing that, then you’re probably too busy.
Question #2 - Are your priorities out of whack? In other words, have you made something else more important for you and your kids rather than your relationship with God.
You might ask, “How would I know?”
Here’s a couple ways to determine that:
If I were to look at your Facebook feed, what is the most prominent subject matter you post about? What do you give the most public attention to?
Or if I were to look at your bank account, what are you spending the most money on? Because often that is our priority.
Or if I were to ask somebody who knows you well, “What is the most important thing in my life?” What would they say? What would they say your number 1 priority in your life is?”
And please hear me,I’m not saying you can’t enjoy sports, and I’m not saying it’s always sports. Sometimes it’s a certain activity. For me, at one point it was body building.
For some it’s a hobby. For others it’s a relationship.
It’s something that overrides everything else in your life, including your relationship with God. What is that for you?
What is it that consumes your time. What is it you find yourself thinking about on a constant basis. What is it you would bend over backwards to get to? What is it that you would go to hell and back for when it comes to your kids? What is it that you’d even be willing to sacrifice your relationship with God for?
What is it that has your priorities out of whack? And more importantly, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to learn the lesson, and make a change? Or, are you going to go right back to putting other things before God?
The writer of Hebrews says:
10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
The fact is, while God is a jealous God, he’s also a generous God who wants to share his holiness with you. He wants to improve your relationship with HIm. But that won’t happen if we don’t heed the lesson.
My prayer is that you would listen. That in this moment of pause, as your calendar is empty and the sports events have been canceled, that you’ll take a moment to listen to what God may be trying to teach you and show you. And in the end, you will yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness because you learned the lesson, and you made a change.
Let’s Pray
You might ask, “Pastor, what do you think God is trying to show us?”
What I’d like to suggest to you is that there may be at least two things God is trying to show us as we face this pandemic, and two responses
Again, I don’t know the answer to that. But I do think there is a better question we should be asking, and you could state it a couple of ways:
One way would be to ask ourselves, “What is God trying to teach us?” In other words, what Is He trying to show us?
A second way to ask it would be, “What do we need to learn from this experience?” In other words, as we face the consequences of this virus, what should our takeaway be?”
And if those are our questions, then I think tonight we can find some answers.