Good morning. It’s another beautiful day, a day in which it is easy to give thanks to the Lord. There are days in which it is not always so easy, yet we are called to give thanks to the Lord every day. In Psalm 145 it says: “Every day I will bless you, and praise your name for ever and ever.”
How often do we pray: “O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!” There are days when we feel what we think is the Lord’s silence to our cries. There are days when we demand that the Lord show Himself. There are days when we want to know “What’s in it for me?”
We gather as the assembly of God’s people to give God our thanks and praise. Yet some people join the gathering hoping simply to be entertained for an hour or so and bask in their own radiant goodness. Some come to hear that God loves them so that they can go back to business as usual in the rest of their lives. Some come to hear that new preacher who seems to know how to get our attention.
In the text from Judges for today the Israelites are still looking for a leader who can hold their attention. Even though Gideon has told them that all their victories are gifts from the Lord, they essentially want to worship (to serve and follow) Gideon. He rejects their crown (something Jesus did frequently) and tries again to tell them that the Lord is the ruler. So they humored Gideon. As long as he was alive they would “worship” his Lord, but when he died they returned to the worship of Baal. The story says: “The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side.”
The book of Acts has a great story to tell us. It’s the story of how the Church came into being. It has a lot to teach us. In today’s lesson Peter, having been arrested, is being questioned by the authorities about a man who was healed. He actually had been arrested not for the healing but for preaching that Christ is risen! Like Gideon, Peter points to the power that healed the man: “This man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.”
The resurrection of Jesus changed everything. The power of God was now seen as eclipsing all the powers of the world and all of the rules of physical life. This was what got the apostles into trouble. This is the basis on which the Church was built: Jesus is alive. This is the basis on which we are called to change our lives. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
And yet….
Still today we want more. One of the most frequent criticisms/comments that preachers receive is that they need to be more relevant. I once even got a complaint that I preached from the Bible too much. The message of Jesus is a life changing message. That is the message that we need to proclaim – over and over again. But you see, that message means that we need to respond to the changes. That message demands that we make a choice between the power of God and the powers of the world. Peter said that this is all that you need to know: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” Jesus didn’t come to take us out of this world. His life and death and victory over death changed the world for us. And in light of that Paul advises us: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure[Philippians 2:12-14].”
The Gospel message is not simply that God loves you. God does love you. The Gospel message is that God loves you so much that if you trust God then you will see that everything has changed for you. How each of us works out our salvation, that is, how each of us lives our lives as people whom God has redeemed, is up to us. Through faith, by grace, the way in which we respond is up to us. But we must respond.
Prayer: Almighty and merciful God we give You thanks and praise for the gift of our salvation; for Your intervention into this physical world in a way that allows us to live in this world as Your faithful children, serving You with all our hearts. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, show us how each of us must live as we work out our own salvation, our own response, with fear and trembling, knowing that it is You that is at work within us. Amen.
Today’s readings are Judges 8:22-35; Acts 4:1-12; John 1:43-51; Psalm 83, 145, 85 & 86.
With the Psalmist [145] let us always declare: “My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless his holy name for ever and ever.” And you shall be blessed!
Pastor Jim
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