HERE'S TO THE OLD GUYS

In Iowa, growing up, we didn't have any professional teams to root for, period. So, I chose teams based on who I saw every week on television, and who gained my attention at that impressionable age. In baseball, it began with the Cincinnati Reds, whose "Big Red Machine" was rolling right along in those days. Eventually, the more local Chicago Cubs (whose AAA team is located in Des Moines) became my "second best" team. In basketball, those were the days the Boston Celtics were winning championship after championship. And when I was entering high school, some midwestern guy, who couldn't jump or run, named Larry Bird, captured my imagination. My dad liked the Kansas City Chiefs, in football. They were the closest to us (about 3.5 hours away) and I actually went to a game with my dad and grandfather one snowy Sunday. But, in those days, at 12 noon every Sunday, I was introduced to the Purple People Eaters defense of the Minnesota Vikings, and the amazing offensive skills of Fran Tarkenton (The Scrambler), Chuck Foreman, Ahmad Rashad and Sammy White. The Vikings were good in those days, going to 4 super bowls (although they lost each of them).


In more recent years, the Vikings "broke my heart", as they made it the NFC championship game, only to get beat and not make the superbowl. In one of those years (1997 I believe), they were 15-1, and could have won with NFC championship if their kicker (who will remain nameless), who had not missed a field goal ALL SEASON (that's right!) missed one near the end of the game, and the Falcons beat "us". In both cases, with these games, I "had tickets" (atleast had the promise of tickets)to the superbowl games if they had won. I was not happy.


Since the early days, I have kept all of "my" teams, including the Vikings. And now that I am old and gray, I especially appreciated and related to the old guy (turning 40 this October) who became the quarterback for MY team this year: Brett Favre. Of course, I "hated" him as a Green Bay Packer, but of course, I LOVE him in purple with horns on his helmet! And after this past Sunday, he is already becoming more of a legend, with the Vikings, if that is possible, after his incredible career with the Packers. He did have the season with the Jets last year, but had a terrible end of the season and retired, again, for the 5th time (or so it seems). I don't like when guys do that. If you retire, then just walk away, right?


But, my loyalties are colored purple, and when I heard he became a Viking, my opinions changed - go figure! This last Sunday, although it wasn't on TV here, I saw that they were down 4, with less than 2 minutes to go and the 49er's had the ball around mid-field. It was "over". So, I got ready for life group at our home and just knew they had lost the game (my typical "glass is half empty" mode I take with my teams). At the end of life group, my friend told me they had won, and I couldn't believe it. And then I saw the replays...


With 12 seconds left, around the 40 yard line, Brett Favre scrambled and fired the ball into the end zone (surprised his arm doesn't fall off at this age). A backup wide receiver, with a great first name, was relieving our star rookie receiver (Percy Harvin), who was a little winded from running 7 long routes in a row. Greg Lewis found the end zone and surrounded by 2 defenders, grabbed the ball, with 2 seconds left, barely getting his left foot in bounds and dragging his right toe, for the legal catch. Unbelievable!


For those of us who like sports and are now old, we relate to these kind of moments. At least, this particular old guy did. Way to go Brett. Can I please have some super bowl tickets? I can always hope!

NOW WHAT? a message

As I approached the 10 commandment series, in our journey through Exodus, I had a couple of weeks to decide what to preach. I felt led to go ahead and jump ahead of the 10 commandments and see what God expected of HIs people after the 10 commandments were given. After studying these passages, I realized that this served well as a good introduction for the 10 commandments series.

I did find this message and the one to follow difficult to prepare and preach. This was especially challenging, since these passages are full of detailed ceremonial laws that are hard, in some cases, to understand, let alone figure out how to apply. It was good for me, personally, to study them, apply them to myslf, and then try to communicate it to everyone else. If you choose to read this message, I pray God will use it to move your heart to action as well.

NOW WHAT?
Exodus 20:22-22:15

Please turn in your Bible to Exodus, the 2nd book of the Bible. Find Exodus, chapter 20.

Coming into the summer, we were making our way through the book of Exodus and made it to chapter 20. We are going to resume in chapter 20, with a series on the Ten Commandments, beginning September 20th. But, before we get there, we are going to look at the other side of the Ten Commandments. That is, after the 10 Commandments were given, God then gave some specific laws for the people of Israel, that were really an application for them, based on the 10 Commandments. But, most of us have not heard much teaching or preaching on the 2nd half of Exodus. And we especially don’t hear much about the particular laws.

The reason we don’t hear about them is because some of them are hard to understand, and applying them is not very easy either. Much of the details of what we read don’t apply in exactly the same way it did back then, and many people wonder if it is even worth the time to read or study it. I have even had friends and other pastors suggest to me, that I skip large sections of Exodus, because of how difficult they are to preach.

But, let me remind you of a truth that has driven me to share every word in Exodus with you.

II Timothy 3:16,17 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

When the Apostle Paul wrote these words about the Scriptures, about the Bible, guess what part of the Bible he had access to at that time? That’s right: the Old Testament, including the book of Exodus, including all the specific laws, that was written for a people and culture a long time ago. So, that means that even the 2nd half of Exodus is God’s Word for our application today. It means that these passages are profitable for us, and will help us be all God wants us to be!

I am always interested when I hear about laws that still exist. These are some of the ones, where I could actually verify they were in the law:

· Alabama:
Section 9.08.010 Spitting.
It is unlawful for any person to spit upon the sidewalks, or upon the floors of places of worship, buses, public halls, theaters or other public places.
(Ord. 63A 3-12, 1977)
No spitting in church – good law I think!

· Georgia
Sec. 4-1-9. Animal giveaway. No person in Athens-Clarke County shall give away any live animal, fish, reptile or bird as a prize for, or as an inducement to enter, any contest, game, or other competition, or as an inducement to enter a place of amusement, or offer such animal as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer was for the purpose of attracting trade.
(Ord. of 12-1-98)
[Goldfish may not be given away to entice someone to enter a game of bingo, for example]

· Oregon
[Babies may not be carried on the running boards of a car].
811.205 Carrying child on external part of vehicle; penalty.
(1) A person commits the offense of carrying a child on an external part of a motor vehicle if the person carries any child upon the hood, fender, running board or other external part of any motor vehicle that is upon a highway.
(2) The offense described in this section, carrying a child on an external part of a motor vehicle, is a Class B traffic violation.
[1983 c.338 604; 1995 c.383 53]

All moms in favor of that law, say I. Did you notice the law is you can’t do it on the highway? But you can in your own neighborhood?

· Minnesota:
[Airplanes may not be landed in city parks].

7-3-3: ACTIVITIES REQUIRING PERMIT:
No person shall engage in the following activities, except pursuant to a permit for the activity:
G. Use park property for starting or landing of aircraft, hot air balloons, parachutes or hang gliders.
(Ord. 662, 1-20-1999)

· Louisiana:
[“Fake” wrestling matches are prohibited.]

RS 4:7575. Sham or fake contests or exhibitions. Whoever conducts or is a party to any sham or fake boxing contest or wrestling exhibition shall forfeit his license and shall not thereafter be entitled to receive any license pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
Acts 1974, No. 553, 1.

If this law was upheld nation wide, wouldn’t that pretty much abolish all professional wrestling?

· North Carolina
[Bingo games may not last over 5 hours unless it is held at a fair.]

14-309.8. Limit on sessions.
The number of sessions of bingo conducted or sponsored by an exempt organization shall be limited to two sessions per week and such sessions must not exceed a period of five hours each per session. No two sessions of bingo shall be held within a 48-hour period of time. No more than two sessions of bingo shall be operated or conducted in any one building, hall or structure during any one calendar week and if two sessions are held, they must be held by the same exempt organization. This section shall not apply to bingo games conducted at a fair or other exhibition conducted pursuant to Article 45 of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes.
(1983, c. 896, s. 3; c. 923, s. 217; 1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1107, ss. 6, 7.)

So, all of you bingo players beware, especially if you are in the state of North Carolina!

· Wisconsin

97.18(4)
(4) The serving of colored oleomargarine or margarine at a public eating place as a substitute for table butter is prohibited unless it is ordered by the customer.

· West Virginia
[A person may be placed in jail for up to six months for making fun of someone who does not accept a challenge.]

61-2-24. Taunting for nonparticipation in duel; penalty.
If any person post another, or in writing or in print use any reproachful or contemptuous language to or concerning another, for not fighting a duel, or for not sending or accepting a challenge, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail not more than six months, or fined not exceeding one hundred dollars.

· Missouri

10.32.100 Climbing into another's vehicle, sounding horn, etc. prohibited without permission.
No person shall, without the permission of the owner or person in charge thereof, climb upon or into, or swing upon any motor vehicle or trailer, whether the same is in motion or at rest, or sound the horn or other sound-producing device thereon, or attempt to manipulate any of the levers, starting device, brakes, or machinery thereof, or set the machinery in motion.
(Prior code 21-28)

· Constitution of Tennessee

Article IX Disqualifications
Sections 1 Ineligibility of ministers and priests to seats in legislature.
Whereas Ministers of the Gospel are by their profession, dedicated to God and the care of souls, and ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their functions; therefore, no Minister of the Gospel, or priest of any denomination whatever, shall be eligible to a seat in either House of the Legislature.

Of course – what would we do if people dedicated to God were allowed in politics?

And, in another country: An Israeli couple was fined 1,000 rou- pees (about $23) after an Indian court found them guilty of obscenity…for what? for kissing… in what circumstance? Their own wedding! Yeah!

Laws have been written in different cultures and at different times, to address particular issues that were important to the law makers; and were based on their perception of what was most important to them. In our country, many people talk about laws being based or not being based on the Constitution; but you probably know that many people disagree on how to interpret the Constitution. It can be a real mess to figure out. However, back when God brought His people out of bondage in Egypt and began to lead them toward the promised land, He gave them His moral law: the Ten commandments. And following that major list, He gave them many specific laws, that were based on their culture at that time, and that were based on the foundational Ten Commandments. They had the 10 commandments, but the question was: NOW WHAT? How did those commandments apply to the particulars of their lives in that day?

I’m just telling you right now: just like some of the laws in our country, some of these God put together may not make sense to you. One of the main reasons they are hard to understand, is because God made those rules for a particular people at a particular time. Many of them no longer apply to us; but many of them laid the foundation for our laws today. So, I would like to approach these laws for ancient Israel this way. We will look at a section of the laws, and see the points of law, the perspective we should have of those laws; and the principle we can apply from them, based on the whole Word of God.

A title, that is commonly applied to Exodus 20:22-24:8 is The Book of the Covenant. The reason for this title is because this is a section of laws and rules, that God gave to the people of Israel, that served as an agreement. This was how they were to apply the Ten Commandments that He had just given them. These laws would reveal the character of God. These laws would give the people an opportunity to demonstrate that what they said was true: Before the 10 commandments:

Exodus 19:7,8 – “So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, All that the LORD has spoken we will do…”

And after these laws were given, following the 10 commandments:
Exodus 24:7 – “Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”

So, the 10 commandments were given, and then the laws that specifically applied those commandments were given; and the people gave the same response: All that the LORD has spoken, we will do. Now, let me remind you, that the name for God here, in verse 22, is LORD, in all capital letters, referring to the Hebrew name YAHWEH or we could pronounce it Jehovah. This is the name for God that refers to His faithfulness and loyalty in keeping all of His promises and desiring a special relationship with His people. Now, the key was, for the people of Israel, whether or not they were going to keep their end – through obedience.
Forty years later, the people of Israel would be getting ready to enter the promised land, and Moses reminded them of this time when this agreement, this covenant was made. According to Deuteronomy 4:15, when God gave them these commandments, the people “saw no form of any kind”. In other words, they did not see God – at all, when these laws were given.

This would become a huge challenge for God’s people back then. It is still a huge challenge for us today. They could not see God, although they could see the results of His presence everywhere. Because they could not see Him, they struggled with fully trusting in Him. And although they said they would do everything He said, they would find it much more difficult to follow through once they were faced with tough trials and temptations, on their journey to the promised land. In our passages in Exodus this morning, and throughout this Book of the Covenant, we learn about God, and we learn about our right response to Him:

1. God is invisible: Listen to His Word (20:22-26)

Exodus 20:22,23 – “And the LORD said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.”

I told you that a huge challenge was that the people could not see God. Why was that a challenge? Because most of us trust in only what we can see; and why wouldn’t we want to see God, you know, to know for sure that He exists and that we can believe Him? Well…that would take away the faith element, which would be a problem. And when people can’t see God, He knew that they would be tempted to make, with their own hands, gods that they could see. It sounds ridiculous, but it is exactly what people who didn’t believe in God did; and it is what even God’s people were tempted to do. That is why the 2nd commandment was this:

Exodus 20:4,5 – “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…” The first point:

· POINT: Don’t make something to replace God

The 2nd commandment made it clear that they were not to make any kind of replacement for God. Because, the true God deserves their wholehearted commitment and dedication, instead of dividing it with other false gods. So, here, following the Ten Commandments, this was reiterated. But, instead of trying to replace God with building idols to worship, they were to build altars on which to make sacrifices to the one and only true God.

Exodus 20:24-26 – “An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.” What does that mean?

In order to worship Him properly, the people were to worship only Him; and were to use their hands to build an altar to make sacrifices. But, that altar was to be made of natural stone and not formed with tools, in a sense, to keep it pure for worship. He didn’t want the altar itself to become an idol of worship for them.

On this altar, they would bring the specific offerings of worship that God would require. This would be a part of them following through by doing all that God would tell them to do.

POINT: Build an altar and approach the worship of God purely

In the culture of that day, and in days to come, people would use nudity and sex to worship false gods. Later, steps would be made in the temple and the priests would wear undergarments, to show modesty and purity as well. God’s people were to demonstrate purity in their worship. Basically, they were to follow the Word of God, as it related to how to worship Him properly. No, they wouldn’t be able to see Him; but God would communicate His Word through His leaders, and the leaders, in turn, would communicate it to them.

PERSPECTIVE: God required their worship and that it be in holiness

God created them and loved them and was therefore rightly jealous when they loved someone else. And as a holy God, He made that the expectation for His people. This was God’s perspective:

Leviticus 19:2 – “…You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”
The Apostle Thomas did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, at first, and said he wanted to see Jesus for himself. Once Jesus appeared to him, he believed, and repented of his unbelief. But Jesus gave a word of encouragement to all of us, when He said to Thomas:

John 20:29 – “Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

PRINCIPLE: You cannot see the invisible God, but you can accept His Word by faith.

This applies to us. Just as with Israel in those days, we cannot visibly see God. What we have is His Word: The Bible. You cannot see Him, but you can choose to trust in His Word. His Word tells you what you need to know about God, about yourself, and about your relationship with Him. Do you find yourself struggling to follow an invisible God? Join the club. You cannot prove God’s existence, but if He lives in you, you know He is real; and you have the completed Word of God to guide you in all truth. God is invisible: Listen to His Word. Secondly:

2. God is just: obey His laws (21:1-22:15)

Again, there is an emphasis on the character of God, just as the people of God are to respond to that character with certain actions. In the case of a variety of laws we have in this book of the Covenant, the people were to obey in order to respond correctly to God’s character. And these laws covered many areas of life, and gave specific instructions that applied to their culture. You are going to think, and rightly so, that many of these details don’t apply to us today. But, do not make the mistake of thinking that these passages have nothing to do with us; because the principles found here have lasted up until today, and certainly apply to your life and mine. He begins with:

· Laws about slaves (21:1-11)

Exodus 21:1-6 – “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s , and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free, then his master shall bring him to God. And he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”

Points:
· A Jewish male slave will be set free after serving 6 years
· The slave can choose to remain with his master for the rest of his life

Exodus 21:7-11 - “When a man sells his daughter, as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing , without payment of money.”

Points:
· A Jewish female slave could have her freedom purchased
· The slave was to be well taken care of, providing for her future

Those were laws that don’t have specific application to us, so let’s get some biblical:

PERSPECTIVE:
God regulated the existing practice of slavery, and provided rules that would take care of their well being, or even to set them free.

Was God condoning slavery here? No. This practice was already in place, but God regulated it in order to protect the slaves. God was not condoning divorce here, but regulating it to protect the women. God chose to use the idea of slavery instead of prisons and prisoner of war camps; to promote His justice and love for all people. There is a principle for us to apply today:

Remember that a Jewish male slave, after 6 years, had the option of leaving a free man or having a nail of sorts put through his ear, and remaining that master’s servant for the rest of his life? The Bible talks about we Christians making that same decision. The Apostle Paul often referred to Himself as a servant, a bond slave of Jesus Christ. This was the word for slave, one who would commit his life to serve His master. So, the principle for us today is this:

PRINCIPLE:
· You can respond to His love by committing to serving Him for the rest of your life

President Abraham Lincoln was instrumental in the first steps toward abolishing slavery. And the story goes that one day he went down to a slave block to buy a slave girl. As she looked at the well-dressed white man bidding on her, she figured that he was just another one that was going to buy her and then abuse her. Well, Lincoln won the bid, but as he was walking away with his legal property, he said, “Young lady, you’re free.” She was silent for a moment, and then she asked, “What does that mean?”“It means you are free.”“Does that mean I can say what I want to say?”“Yes.”“Does it mean I can do what I want to do?”“Yes, of course.”“Does it mean I can go where I want to go?”“Yes, you can go wherever you want to go.”Then with tears streaming down her face she said, “Then I will go with you.”

That is the picture of what every true believe in Jesus Christ does. We are given our freedom in Christ, bought with His shed blood and made alive through His resurrection. And because of His great love, we commit our lives to Him, freely following Him; rather than spending our days in selfish pursuits. He bought us, and so we are dedicated to Him forever! This is the right response to His justice, His grace, His mercy. In fact, the only reason we make ourselves His servant, is became He paved the way by becoming a servant, for our salvation:

Philippians 2:5-9 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Next, we have:

· Laws for crimes requiring death (21:12-17)
Exodus 21:12-14 – “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.”

Today, we call this capital punishment. Here’s the:
POINT: If a man kills on purpose, he must die

Now, if it was accidental, or there were circumstances other than premeditation, then the man who did the killing had Cities of Refuge where he could go for temporary safety, until judges determined his guilt or innocence. But, if it is determined that a man took a life, a part from the law, he would be killed: life for life. This was the justice God set up at that time. There were no prisons for rehabilitation. If you took and destroyed God’s creation, he required your life as well.

These laws are an application of the 6th commandment:
Exodus 20:13 – “You shall not murder.” O.k. Back to:

Exodus 21:15 – “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.”

POINT: If a child hit a parent, the child would be put to death. Wow – isn’t that something? In God’s eyes, that is what a child deserved, if he/she decided to disobey and rebel against God, as it relates to the 5th commandment:

Exodus 20:12 – “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

If you decided to strike your parents, your days were not going to be long. That is what you deserved. It was justice…God’s justice. Perhaps, as some suggest, to strike a parent means to kill them; but that is not certain. We would like to think it would be the discipline for murder; but if a child, in those days decided to lash out at the authority God placed in their lives, they were, truly, lashing out against God. In that day, it brought death.

Exodus 21:16 – “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.”

POINT: If a person kidnapped another person, he would be put to death.

What sometimes happened is this: someone would steal a child, or a slave, or take someone else by force and sell them as slaves, making money on the deal. In God’s sight, this person deserved death. That was God’s justice. They would receive the death penalty because, even though they didn’t take a life, they decided to steal someone for their own benefit, rebelling against God and abusing His created beings.
Exodus 21:17 – “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.”

POINT: If a child cursed his parents, he would be put to death.

Do you really want to know how serious God was about obeying and honoring parents; and how if you didn’t, you would not receive God’s promise about living very long on the earth. This shows it pretty clearly, doesn’t it? If a child cursed his parents, he could be brought before the authorities for Israel and then put to death. Again, we don’t exactly what this means. Does it mean that the child one time curses out his parents? I don’t know. But it is clear, once again, that God takes it very seriously when a child decides to curse God by cursing the parental authorities He has given for their good. Let’s try to get some biblical:

PERSPECTIVE: God’s justice requires that when someone else dishonors life through abuse or murder, the offender’s life is taken.

You might not think this was too fair. But, think about it this way. God was demonstrating His justice; and it didn’t matter who you were: man or woman, slave or free, parent or child – you were expected to treat others fairly and respect life – otherwise, you would lose your own. Yes, today, the grace and mercy of God seem to be most evident. He normally doesn’t take someone’s life just as he did in those days (although He does give the government the responsibility of taking life in some circumstances.) But, this was God’s justice in that day, and it was always right. The people didn’t need to worry about what the rules were, but they just needed to obey. So what about today? What is the:

PRINCIPLE: You are to value the lives of others, as much you value yours

If you live out the command of Jesus:
Matthew 7:12 – “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them…”

Then, you won’t murder, you won’t lash out against your parents, you won’t kidnap anyone – make sense?

Next there were:

· Laws about injuries (21:18-32)
Exodus 21:18,19 – “When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.

POINT: If someone is injured in a fight, the offender will pay for the recovery process.

This isn’t too far off of some laws today, that have the offender pay for time lost when someone is injured and cannot work; as well as paying for the medical bills.

Exodus 21:20,21 – “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.” Skip down to:

Exodus 21:26, 27 – “When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.”

POINT: If a slave is disciplined too severely, the owner will pay.

If he killed his slave in discipline, he would be disciplined by law. If he injured the slave so badly that he couldn’t serve, he would lose out of productivity. If the master would, in his discipline, go too far and the slave would lose use of an eye of lose a tooth, then God’s justice demanded that the slave be given his freedom. That would hurt the master greatly, in financial terms, in the short and long run. Back to

Exodus 21:22-25 – “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”

This whole “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” idea was given by God to His people, in those days, which people even today might refer to in principle: The punishment must fit the crime. Warren Wiersbe writes: “This principle has been severely criticized by some as being barbaric, but it’s just the opposite. In an age when the legal system was developing, this law made sure that the punishment meted out by the judges was equal to the seriousness and severity of the crime, not more and not less. If the guilty aggressor blinded his enemy’s eye, then his own eye was blinded. Nothing could be fairer. If you broke your enemy’s finger and the court ordered you to be blinded, that wouldn’t be fair at all, because the sentence must fit the crime. The only time this principle was not enforced was when a master injured a slave, and the slave’s compensation was his or her freedom.

POINT: If fighting men cause a pregnant woman to give birth pre-maturely, they are held responsible.

If the baby is not harmed, then there would be a fine imposed by the judges. If however, there was harm done, then whatever was lost or damaged by the offender would be done to the offender. That means that if an eye was lost, an eye would be destroyed of the offender. If any body part was broken, missing or destroyed, the same would be done to him. And if this caused death, then his life would be taken from him. Are you getting the idea that God valued life, and in those days, so did the law?

“When Jesus prohibited His disciples from retaliating against those who hurt them, He was dealing with personal revenge and encouraging personal forgiveness. He wasn’t criticizing Moses or interfering with the legal system, because he came to fulfill the Law and not to destroy it. As believers, we have the privilege of waiving our legal rights to the glory of God and not demanding compensation . However, a judge has to see that justice is done and the law is respected.”

Exodus 21:28-32 – “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. If it gores a man’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.”

POINT: If a person’s animal injures or kills someone, the one responsible is punished.

If the animal hurts or kills someone, the animal is killed. But if the animal has done this before and the owner doesn’t contain it, they both die. It seems harsh and yet this was the justice God required. The court could also fine the owner and allow him to pay it and go free. Whether the animal hurt a man or woman, the punishment was the same. If a slave was hurt, there was a particular fine paid.

The Associated Press reported this on March 21, 2002: “A woman whose two huge dogs mauled a neighbor to death in their San Francisco apartment building was convicted of murder, a charge almost never leveled in an animal attack. Her husband was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Marjorie Knoller, age 46, could face 15 years to life in prison for second-degree murder conviction in last year’s death of 33 year old Diane Whipple.” That type of conviction certain comes from the principle of this law in the Old Testament.

Here is God’s:
PERSPECTIVE: Every life is precious, and when life is harmed, the offender must pay a price.

And this goes for man, woman, slave or child, including the unborn. What would God have to say about abortion, spousal abuse or any kind of careless harm that people participate in today? This is the way God sees it: It is not just about life and death; but about how life is treated, no matter who you are. God set it up so that if a slave was harmed, justice would bring his freedom. If an animal, even, does the harming, a price is paid. God is so concerned with the lives that He created, He set up stiff penalties for anyone who did not respect His creation; which by the way, according to the Bible:

Genesis 2:27 – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him male and female he created them.”

PRINCIPLE: You should do everything in your power to treat others as God’s image, and to protect them.

This might mean that you have the authority to discipline others, make the punishment fit the crime, and to direct them to the glory and holiness of God. But, in most cases, this will be about you making sure you are treating every person as someone created in God’s image; and then doing what you can to protect them. Finally, this morning, let’s look at the:

Laws on property damage (21:33-22:15)

Exodus 21:33,34 – “When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.”

Exodus 21:35,36 – “When one man’s ox butts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.”

POINT: If an animal is killed or injured, the one responsible must pay.
The animals were very important, so that they could work the land; and so proper restitution had to be made if an animal was no longer able to work.

Exodus 22:1-4 – “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.”

The 8th commandment:
Exodus 20:15 – “You shall not steal.”

POINT: Depending on the circumstances, a thief may pay with animals, his freedom or his life.

This is what God determined. If someone stole another’s animal, they had to repay more than what they stole. If it was in the night, the owner could kill the thief and there was no penalty. The idea was that finding help in the night was much more difficult and if the owner had to defend himself and his property on his own, and ended up killing the man, he would not be held guilty. If the owner killed the thief during the day, he would be responsible for killing the thief. If the thief doesn’t have enough, he would be sold into slavery in order to pay his fine.

There is a principal here, that depending on what a person takes, he must face the consequences and make restitution. Just like the thief in Montgomery, Alabama.
October 27, 2007 - The unlucky burglar was caught red-handed when Adrian and Tiffany McKinnon returned to their house near Montgomery, Alabama, after a week away.To their dismay they discovered their home had been plundered.

"Tears just rolled down my face as I walked in and saw everything gone and piles of trash all over my home," Mrs. McKinnon told her local newspaper the Montgomery Advertiser.When her husband walked into another room to check what was missing he came face to face with the burglar, who was wearing one of Mr. McKinnon's hats."My husband Adrian caught the thief red-handed in our home. And what is even crazier, the man even had my husband's hat sitting right on his head," Mrs. McKinnon said.Mr. McKinnon held suspect Tajuan Bullock at gunpoint and made him sit down until he decided what to do."We made this man clean up all the mess he made, piles of stuff, he had thrown out of my drawers and cabinets onto the floor," Mrs. McKinnon said.When the police arrived the work-shy burglar had the cheek to complain to them - about having to clean up his mess at gunpoint."This man had the nerve to raise sand about us making him clean up the mess he made in my house," said Mrs. McKinnon. But the police officer laughed at Bullock when he complained and told him that anybody else would have shot him dead. Bullock was arrested on burglary and theft charges and was held in Montgomery County Detention Facilities.

He deserved to die, but grace and mercy was shown. However, the older couple also expected this thief to clean up his mess; which was a part of paying restitution. It just makes sense, doesn’t it?



Exodus 22:5,6 – “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard. If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.”
POINT: If crops are destroyed, the one responsible must pay

With no fences in those days, but just boundary markers, animals could easily cross boundaries and ruin another’s field. It was the owner of the animal’s responsibility to make sure that didn’t happen. Or, if someone was careless and started a fire that ruined crops, they had to pay the full value. Again, even though we live in a different day, many of these laws, and the consequences for disobeying make a lot of common sense; and were supposed to be the foundation for our laws today.

Exodus 22:7-9 – “If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man’s house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, This is it, the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.”

Exodus 22:10-13 – “If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, an oath by the LORD shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.”

Exodus 22:14,15 – “If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution: if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.”

POINT: Whoever is responsible for the loss of the animal, he must pay.

We should be able to trust our neighbors to watch our stuff, right? But, if stolen, or innocently loses the animal while in his possession, he must prove or give an oath before God that he had nothing to do with it; and prove that he is not liable because of carelessness. Whoever is found guilty must pay back double the value of what was lost. The judges would determine who was telling the truth, if it was stolen, if it was an accident; and would decide who was at blame. However, if the owner was with the person he gave his animal to watch over, when something happened, there was no liability.
PERSPECTIVE: Since everything is God’s, even man’s possessions, then those responsible for the loss of those possessions are held responsible by God.

So, let’s say you took something that didn’t belong to you. Even if the law doesn’t demand it today, you not only confess your sin, but pay back more than you owe. It is the principle of restitution. It is a principle we can instill in our children. They may not like it, when they have to hand over 2 toys to their brother or sister from whom they borrowed and broke one, but it will teach them this important principle.

A famous biblical example of this is a man named Zacchaeus. You can read about him in Luke 19. He was a tax collector, and stole from people on a regular basis. But, once Jesus came into his life and changed it forever, he changed as well. In fact, one of the evidences that he truly was changed by Jesus, is found in this declaration:

Luke 19:8 – “And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

PRINCIPLE: You are to pay back more than what you damaged.

Because God is a just God, we are to obey His laws. What does that mean for you today? Are you willing to think about it? Are you willing to pray about it? Are you willing to ask the dangerous question: Lord, what is the one thing you want me to do, in response to your word today? Would you please stand with me? And please take a moment to pray. Then, when the music starts, please join us, as we think about how the holiness of God should affect the way we look at these principles today: Let’s Pray.

Our mission

I am reading Breaking The Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community by Ed Stetzer and David Putman. I am not ready to write a review of the book yet, but I am thinking about this paragraph:

"Missions makes this point: it is not about us and our preferences. It is about his mission and the fact that he sends us. We want to practice our preferences. We want things to be the way we like them. But God wants us to be on mission with him, to be sent to some group of people somewhere, and to minister in a way that meets their needs, not promotes our preferences. When we are functioning as God's church sent on mission, we will go into different cultures, contexts, and communities. We will proclaim a faithful gospel there in a culturally relevant way, and we will worship in a way that connects in that setting. When the connection is made, the code is broken. God does not tell us that we will always like it. He does say that we always need to function as his missionary church."

I have been thinking alot about this. All of us, as individual Christians, pastors, and churches, struggle with making the things the way we personally like them, instead of thinking as a missionary or missionary church. If we go go a foreign mission field, we woudl hopefully understand that we cannot do church the way we do it here. We are there to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ to a different culture that may speak a different language. We cannot be fooled into thinking that, here in the United States, the culture and "language" is all the same.

In my particular case, and with our church, we have been called to be missionaries to Westlake, OH and the surrounding communities. So, here in NorthEast Ohio, in 2009, we must consider how to best communicate the good news of Jesus to these people that God has sent us to. Missions is not just about sending people we call missionaries aroun the world. Missions starts right here, with us heeding God's call to reach people right here, and right now. My prayer is that I will be sensitive to God's Spirit, and be always willing to adjust my thinking, my preferences, and the details of our chuch ministry, in order to be God's missionary church.

LOST AND FOUND - a message

During the summer, I took a break, mostly, from preaching through the book of Exodus. One of th things that I could not shake from my mind, was the urgency I needed to have, and needed to pass on, about helping "lost" people (those who were not followers of Jesus Christ) to be "found". Although it is God's work, He has asked us to be a part of it. It, for different reasons, is one of the harder things Christians are asked to do. I find it challenging myself, even as a pastor. So, God brought to my heart the stories in Luke 15: a lost coin, a lost sheep, and a lost son. Jesus used those stories in response to complaints from the religious leaders that He was spending too much time with "sinners". He talked about the fact that He came to this Earth to save sinners. That was His main purpose. The Bible, of course, also tells all of us who are followers of Jesus that we are to be doing the same thing. This passage of Scripture was incredibly chalenging to me; and I wanted to share it with the rest of our congregation.

The ending challenge I gave in the message is that we would do something tangible to search for the lost like Jesus did. Basically the challenge was this: go and spend some time with people who are not yet followers of Jesus Christ. Build some relationships with them. And in order to allow people the time to do that, we cancelled an upcoming Sunday night service. As a church, if we give a challenge like that, we need to be prepared to help people accomplish it. And further, I knew that I, and my family needed to lead the way by doing something in our own neighborhood. This ended up being an great experience for our family, as we led a block party in our cul-de-sac, had all of our neighbors come, and made good strides in relationship with them.
I hope, as you read this message, even if you have alread heard it, that you might be challenged again, to do what Jesus did. If you would like to listen to the message instead, you can go to:
www.gbcwestlake.org click on an option for "online audio" and select: LOST AND FOUND.

LOST AND FOUND
Luke 15

Please turn in your Bible to Luke 15. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 874.

It was December 7,1988, in Armenia, which is bordered by Turkey to the West and Iran to the South. They called it the earthquake of 1989, even though it happened in December of 1988.This earthquake was off the Richter scales. Altogether 30,000 people died in 4 minutes. Established businesses lay demolished, dream homes into splinters of wood. Green parks blanketed in white rubble.
The father of 10 year old Armond could not drive to his son’s school to find him. Streets were closed. He finally arrives at the school and breaks through the crowds, shouting Armand’s name. There is no answer. He climbs on a rock pile of rubble, looking desperately for his son. He then climbs a tree and scans the skyline. He studies the layout of the rubble of a once thriving school. He tries to figure out where his son’s class would have been at the time of the earthquake.
He stands on the pile of rubble, where his son’s class would have been, and he begins to pull rock after rock, desk after desk, looking for his lost son. After 10 hours of digging, people told him to give up, but he continued searching for his son. A complete day, 24 hours passed and Armand’s father was still digging, searching. People told him that there was no hope and it was time to stop. He refused.

His hands were cracked, his knuckles bleeding, his heart racing; and he continued his desperate search for his son. But, after 38 hours of digging, he pulled a rock back and heard his son’s voice. They were faint cries of “papa , papa, papa…” And finally, with some help, Armond was returned to his father, who never gave up the search, until he found his son. His passion for what was lost was finally paid; as his son exclaimed: “papa, you found me, you found me”!

I don’t know if you have an experience anything like this. All of us have lost valuable things, but there is nothing like the thought that you might lose a child. Perhaps, you have been in a store, or out in public, and turned to find that your son or daughter had walked away; or atleast they were no longer there. Your heart races and there is nothing else that matters at that moment, until you find your son or daughter. And there is no greater feeling of relief or joy to find that your loved ones are safe and are returned to you!
This morning, that feeling is the emphasis of the verses in the Bible we are studying from Luke 15. But, I must tell you, at the beginning, that there is something greater, and brings more joy, than the physical experience of finding something that was lost and highly valued. There is even something greater than finding a person who had been lost. And all of us, this morning, fit into these stories in Luke 15. Let’s begin in:

Luke 15:1,2 – “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Let me set the stage for you here in Luke 15. Jesus was travelling around, teaching all who would listen, about how to get to Heaven and live with God forever, by trusting in and following Him: Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the Son of God. The people that loved to listen to Jesus the most were those who knew they needed help and knew they did not deserve to go to Heaven. These are those classified as tax collectors and sinners. The tax collectors were some of the most hated individuals of that day, and were known as deceivers, cheating people out of as much money as possible. The sinners would be anyone else who did not meet up to the religious leader’s standards.

The Pharisees and the scribes, that we are introduced to, here in verse 2, were the key religious leaders of that day. They knew how to play the religious game. They looked the righteous part on the outside, but on the inside, in the heart where it really counts, Jesus said they were full of dead men’s bones! They were religious but they refused to have a relationship with God by believing in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah – the Savior of the world.

So, they were continually at odds with Jesus, and took all opportunities to criticism Him for something. Eventually, the religious leaders would be instrumental in having Jesus falsely accused and unjustly crucified. Of course, even these evil men, under the guise of spirituality, could not keep God from carrying out His plan: that Jesus Christ would die on the cross, and rise from the dead, so that every person who places their faith and trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, would be able to have eternal life with God in Heaven.

So…the religious leaders grumbled and condemned Jesus for hanging out with people who were known to be terrible sinners. Little did they realize that God considered them to be the worse sinners, hiding behind their hypocrisy. Nevertheless, they were criticizing Jesus for who he spent his time with. They could not believe that He would even sit down for a meal with these sinners; which was considered to be an act of agreement with someone’s lifestyle, if you broke bread with them.

Jesus’ response to this criticism was to tell 3 stories, that would illustrate truth and what was supposed to be most important. Look at:

Luke 15:3 – “So he told them this parable:”

Based on the criticism and misunderstanding of the religious leaders, Jesus told this parable. A parable is a fictional story, but is based on what people experience, it is true to life; and is meant to give an eternal lesson to improve spiritual life. Jesus doesn’t just tell one parable, story, here, but a string of 3, in order to make His points. There are many lessons to learn from these stories, this morning, and some of you have heard teaching on these stories before. But, we are going to concentrate on just a few of the principles that come from Jesus’s stories; and I want to challenge you to allow these stories to change your own actions and attitudes concerning the most valuable thing that is lost, and needs to be found. Are you ready? Story #1:

Luke 15:4-7 – “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulder, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Story 1: A man searches for his 1 lost sheep, even though his other 99 sheep are safe and accounted for. And when he finds the lost sheep, he throws a party.

Why would Jesus tell a story about a lost sheep? That would not necessarily be a story we would choose in similar circumstances today. Well, Jesus chose the story of the sheep, because it was a story his listeners could all relate to. They knew the value of 1 lost sheep, even if 99 were still in hand. They could all agree, that the 1 sheep was so valuable, that they would do whatever it took to rescue that sheep.

Jesus’ point: These sinners, that I am sharing truth with, have as much value as the 1 lost sheep.

Remember, Jesus is responding to criticism that He was hanging out with the wrong crowd: with people who had sinful lives. Jesus told this story about the 1 lost sheep to make the point that these sinful people were the lost sheep; and He was desperately searching for them just like those people would search for the valuable lost sheep. Jesus was giving a earthly story, but He also gave the Heavenly or eternal perspective of this:

The eternal view: There is more joy in Heaven when a sinner turns to Jesus, than over all of those who have already done so.

That was in verse 7. There is joy in Heaven when we obey, no doubt. But, Jesus says: there is nothing like the joy in Heaven, when a sinner, which we all are, by the way, decides to repent of His sins, and turn His life over to Jesus Christ. Every time that happens, Heaven erupts in rejoicing. So, why is it, when a person gives their life to Jesus here on Earth, that we have such a hard time celebrating?

I hope you were able to be at our church at the beach celebration on July 26th. We saw 14 people get baptized, 7 from our church – all of which had already been saved – but were publicly demonstrating their desire to follow Christ, through the waters of baptism. There was applause and celebrating on the beach that day. And by the way, there were other people, not with our group, on the beach, and even some people on boats, in the water, who were able to not only witness the baptisms, but witness our response to people who had given their lives to Christ.

This morning, I want to give us an opportunity to think through a variety of responses we can have when we hear someone give a testimony of repenting of their sins (because they were “lost”, spiritually speaking) and then being found by God, they gave their lives to Jesus Christ. We are going to hear some very brief testimonies of that this morning, and I would like for us to practice some appropriate responses.

Let’s be like those in Heaven, who have an eternal perspective, every time a lost sheep is found! The first response is easy, because many people have used the expression for years. It means: So be it. It is a term of agreement with what has just been said or done. Let’s say it together: [on screen] AMEN.

The next response is the translation of the word Hallelujah, which most of us have heard before. Will you say this phrase with me? [on screen] PRAISE THE LORD! A 3rd appropriate response when we hear of someone being lost and then found is applause, just as we did at the baptisms a couple of weeks ago. It is not to lift up the one who has just given the testimony but to applaud for the great work God has done in that person’s life. [on the screen] Will you join me? [applause]

Another appropriate response is to say the word: Cool! It is from a past generation but seems to be used quite a bit today as well, to communicate an agreement with what has been said or done. Will you join me? [on the screen] COOL! And finally, another great response, to celebrate a lost person being found is to lift our fists in the air and say: YES! Will you try it with me? [on the screen] (lifting fists) YES!

The reason I share these with you, is so that we can learn, in whatever expression we choose, to celebrate whenever we hear of someone who has been found. That is one of the emphasis in Jesus’ 3 stories here in Luke 15. Let’s do it, as we hear some brief testimonies now; and then on the screen a suggested response:

TESTIMONIES:

· Ken Asher - AMEN
· Deb Tyson - PRAISE THE LORD
· Brian Malion - APPLAUD
· Martha Truchon - COOL
· Ken Pycraft - YES (with fists raised)

Jesus then went right into His 2nd story:

Luke 15:8-10 – “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Story 2: A woman searches for her lost coin, and once she finds it, throws a party.
Again, Jesus told a story that all of them could relate to. Now, we might first read this and think: If I lost just one coin, like a penny, or even a nickel, dime or quarter, I wouldn’t care that much, to search so diligently. Probably true. But, if we understand that the word for “coin” that was used here in verse 8, represents one full day’s worth of wages, it would make that coin much more valuable. If you worked a full day, were paid at the end of that day, and then misplaced the cash, would you look for it diligently? Of course you would.

And Jesus’ listeners, even the religious leaders, could relate to the story of the lost coin. But, remember, Jesus is using this story, just like the lost sheep, to make a point about the sinful people that were lost, that Jesus was seeking, just as everyone would for a valuable coin. Just as with the sheep, she had most of her money, 9 out of 10 coins were in hand. But, when she lost the 1 coin, she lit the lamp, swept through every inch of the house, and diligently searched until she found that one lost coin.

And once she found that one lost coin, she did the same thing the man did when he found the lost sheep: she called her friends and neighbors, had them come over, and threw a party!

Jesus’ point: These sinners, who I am sharing truth with, are valuable enough for me to search diligently for them.

Jesus was responding to the criticism coming from the religious leaders, about the time He was spending with sinful people. So, this story was to remind them of the value of these sinners, even just one of them; and His emphasis on how diligently the woman searched for the coin explained the passion of His search for these lost people.

Now, Jesus always talked about the value of people and why He had come to Earth. Would you read the words in bold lettering please?

Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

This was not the only time Jesus was confronted by the religious leaders about spending time with sinners; and in this case, Jesus explains further why he did it and why he came:

Mark 2:16,17 – “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This is what Jesus came to do. He didn’t come to coddle the religious people, who thought they had it all together. He came to save those who were lost and sick and helpless; and would respond to the truth. If people rejected Him, He went to those who would receive His love. And He diligently searched for them, always spending time with people in true needs. And his 2nd story goes back to helping us have:

The eternal view: When one person turns to Jesus, the angels in Heaven erupt in praise.

We read that in verse 10. There aren’t too many things that get the angels excited; and there aren’t too many things the Bible mentions that the angels are doing while in Heaven. They worship and sing praises to God. They are His messengers, to do His bidding. But, one of the other things that we are told, that the angels are doing in heaven is this; when 1 person gives their life to Christ, they rejoice!

This is so important to God, that all of Heaven, and even the angels rejoice with the news of just one person being found and beginning to follow Jesus. It is our privilege to share in that joy as we hear testimonies of people who, in the past, were found by God, and began to follow Him. And let’s respond as we did before, prompted by the screen:

TESTIMONIES:

· Debb Webb - AMEN
· Chris Roth - PRAISE THE LORD
· Ron Kuntz - APPLAUD
· Patty Wills - COOL
· Jim Martin - YES (with fists raised)

Jesus told those 2 stories, but He had one more story to tell, in response to the religious leader’s disdain of His care for sinners. And this story was going to be the longest and most detailed of them all. But, it was going to point out the difference between those who were lost and knew it, and those who thought they had it all together and deserved something from God. Let’s listen in:

Luke 15:11-32 – “And he said, There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

But the father said to his servants, Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate.

Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.

But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!

And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”

Again, there are many things we can focus on here, but let’s limit ourselves to these 3 things. First, let’s summarize:

Story 3: A son squanders his inheritance with sinful living; and then returns to his father, who accepts him and throws a party. The other, more responsible son, responds with arrogance and bitterness.

There is so much in this story, but let’s focus on the context in which Jesus gave it to us. He was spending time with sinners, and the religious leaders, who thought they were fine with God, were criticizing Jesus for it. In this context, Jesus tells this story of the prodigal son. You see, the sinners that Jesus was hanging out with were just like the son who wasted his inheritance on riotous living. They, also, had “wasted” their lives, their money, their relationships, and they had nothing left to offer. But Jesus saw them as the father in the story saw his son. He loved him anyway, and when the son returned, he celebrated and expected everyone else to celebrate as well. So what was Jesus’ point?

Jesus’ point: These sinners, who I am sharing truth with, come to me and are fully accepted and celebrated.

The religious experts could have said of the prodigal son the same thing that they could have said about the sinners Jesus hung out with: the son didn’t deserve the father to open his arms to him, let alone have a party thrown in his honor. That’s ridiculous! He should have been shut out of the house for his reckless living and dishonor that he brought to his father and household. It should not have been tolerated. And yet, Jesus had the opposite view. Because the son did not deserve anything, the father had the authority to show grace and mercy anyway. You see: no one deserves the love of God. No one can earn it. It must be given even though we don’t deserve it. And when we come to God through Jesus, we are also fully accepted and celebrated, regardless of our particular sins, or how we have wasted our lives up to this point.

Now, Jesus was telling these stories about those who had never been saved: the sinners. But, the principles of this story also apply to those who have trusted in Christ, but have not lived like it. With repentance, there is always forgiveness, and a restoration of a relationship.

The eternal view: When a person turns to Jesus, God the Father celebrates and accepts him, despite his sins.

Now, you can probably imagine what the religious leaders were thinking. Who do you think they were, in Jesus’ final story? That’s right: they were like the brother, who thought he deserved a party, because he had kept the rules and been the responsible one. And He responded, not with happiness or love, with the return of his brother, but with pride, jealousy and bitterness. That response demonstrated that it was all a show to him and it was all about him. That is exactly what the religious leaders were doing. They were not committed to God, or they would have been committed to His Son. They were committed to religion, to themselves.

SO WHAT?
Based on these 3 stories, let me ask you 3 questions:
1. Are you the lost sheep, coin and son in these stories?

The Bible teaches us that it is all of us who are lost and God is the one who does the finding. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and to offer us salvation. We must believe in who Jesus was, and in His death, burial and resurrection. And we must do what the religious leaders refused to do…not only accept the free gift of eternal life from Jesus, believing He died for us; but allowing Him to be who He is: the Lord, the master of our lives.

If you have been trying to do it your own way, hoping that you might be good enough to get to Heaven, then you are lost. If you have been a religious person, counting on your knowledge and morality to get you to heaven, then you are lost. If you are the one who is lost, then be found today, by trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. You can make that decision in your own heart; but we would like to pray for you, and help you better understand this truth. So, please let me know, or let someone here at Grace know that you would like to make sure that you are no longer lost, when it comes to your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Challenge: Talk to someone at Grace about how to be “found” in Jesus.

Romans 10:9 – “…If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

2. Are you searching for the lost?

If you have already been found by God, do you have the heart for those who are still lost that God had for you? Are you isolating yourself from those who need the love of Jesus, or are you making yourself available to communicate Jesus’ love to them? Do you have friends that are lost? Do you have people that you deal with in business that need Jesus? Are you making efforts to get to know lost people, developing relationships with them, so that you can show them Jesus’ love?

Yes, we need Christian friends, who will help us live rightly before God. But, we also need to be around people who are spiritually lost, so that we can have the heart Jesus has for us and that Jesus has for them: a humble heart, a compassionate and loving heart: a desire to see them found in Jesus. Because this is so important; and because it is difficult for many of us to make the time to begin, we are going to cancel church.

Now, hear me out. We are not cancelling church tonight. We have a service, will be celebrating the Lord’s table and talking about the application of this message. We will not be canceling all our future services or any of our morning services. We are cancelling church on Sunday NIGHT, August 30th. It is just prior to us moving into September and all the activities that it brings. But, here is the reason for not having church that night. It is because of this challenge:

Challenge: Spend time with someone who is “lost”, to show them the love of Jesus.

Let me be clear. There is no evening service planned for August 30th (2 weeks from tonight). If you normally come to our evening services, the challenge is for you to spend time with people who are still spiritually lost, even if they may be religious. They might be friends, family, neighbors or acquaintances. And the challenge is not, necessarily, to preach to them, or even share the specifics of the gospel that night. The challenge is just to do something with them, and in doing so, you will be showing them that you care. Do whatever you want: invite them over. Take over a gift of some kind. Invite them to go do something with you. Many times we want to do something like this but have a hard time finding the time. Well, we are giving you that time to do just that.

What if you weren’t planning on coming on that Sunday night? Well, maybe Sunday nights don’t work well for you. You can do it the day before, Saturday, or on Friday, or whenever it works in your schedule. What we are going to do, is to invite everyone in our little circle, to come over for a cookout on the 30th; and then just enjoy whomever is able to come. The important thing is not the day and time; but that you are putting effort into searching for those who are lost; even though you are busy. And there is one more question:

3. Are you rejoicing with God and all of Heaven when a person is found and trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation?

Believe it or not, we can easily be like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. We can criticize, doubt and condemn other people, who are making decisions for Jesus; or who are trying to search for and reach those who are lost. The other brother did not rejoice; but whenever someone turns to God, or back to Him, we should be the first ones to celebrate. Right?

Challenge: The next time you hear of someone who was lost, but then found by Jesus, respond enthusiastically

Let’s practice our 5 responses one more time, just one after the other. So, the next time, you hear a testimony of someone who has followed Christ, you can give a variety of expressions of celebration. Ready?
· AMEN
· PRAISE THE LORD
· APPLAUD
· COOL
· YES (fists in the air)

Please pray with me.

Let’s close with one more response of praise and celebration, to God, who promises to continue seeking and saving those who are lost. Let’s sing, with a sense of celebration and thanksgiving, the song Your Grace is Enough.

MY FAVORITE LABORERS

It's Labor Day, so my mind is on those who give of themselves, laboring for something much more important than money. I am thinking today of those who labor with me for the sake of the gospel: the good news of Jesus Christ. In particular, today, I am thinking of those who serve with me at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, OH. These are people who chose to be a part of a small church, and instead of being concerned about being known or praised, they humbly serve for the love of God. Today, I honor those who serve with me for a cause that is greater than any other: to share the good news of Jesus Christ with our community; and to help everyone who comes to us grow in the spiritual journey with Jesus.


I could list every single person who attends Grace, and I could list our missionaries around the world who serve so faithfully. But, for today, I list those who serve on various leadership teams with me, and not only give of their time and effort in ministry, but also lead others in the church to do the same.

Of course, my #1 labor day ministry hero is my wife, Teresa. Without her, I could not serve in the way I do. She works incredibly hard to support me and bring up our 5 children in God's was. She is incredible. Thanks babe!


My staff:
Steve Strong - youth pastor- Steve has served 10 years at Grace; and has been an incredible asset to our ministry. I count him as a good friend and I could not ask for a better pastor to serve with.

Judy Kime - Has served decades here as secretary and is incredibly competent. She knows what to do and how to do it. Thanks for your faithfulness Judy!

Joyce Baker - Has been a great help, along with Judy, as an office administrator. I know that she will always give her best effort; and is doing everything in the best interest of the pastors and church. Thanks Joyce!

Ken McKenzie - Is the greatest custodian ever! I cannot say enough about the great attitude that Ken goes about ministry here at Grace. He is a hard worker, and I never have to worry about how things are being handled in his area. He goes well and beyond the call of duty!

Deacons - Bob Kime, Larry Montgomery, Bruce Baker, Andy Kuyper, Roy Wills, Barry Beutell, Paul Foradora, Tim Lehr and Glenn Bender. All of these guys are great servants, and work with the pastors in whatever area they are asked to serve. I really appreciate each of them!

Life Group Leaders - Phil Dawson, Steve Strong, Mike Yager, Ken McKenzie, Wade Green, Steve Glick, Bob Kime, Paul Foradora and Scott Tyson. I count on these guys and their wives, to care for a small group of people and to help each one apply the Word of God to real life. I cannot think of a more important role in our church ministry. Thanks for caring!

Ministry Team Leaders - Mike Yager, Phil Dawson, Keri Yund, Bruce Baker, Shannon Dawson, Peg Montgomery, Scott Tyson, Dave Anthony, Sarah Strong, Judy Kime, Deb Tyson, Stan Shimko, and Steve Strong. These leaders are on the front lines of our ministry! We as pastors are committed to do what God asks us: to train others to do the ministry. These leaders are key, not only to serving in their area, but leading others to serve. We couldn't do this ministry God has called us to, without them! Thanks!

So, there you have it...a brief listing of some of those are my Labor Day Heroes. To all of you, I repeat the words and sentiment of the Apostle Paul:

Philippians 1:3,5 - "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now."

WHAT'S YOUR S.H.A.P.E.?

Years ago, I was introduced to Rick Warren's book: Purpose Driven Life. In it, he used an acrostic that he used to talk to people about how God had shaped them to serve Him in ministry. I used that acrostic in this message, that was preached at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, OH on Sunday, August 23rd. Following the message, we handed out a ministry opportunity sheet, to encourage people to sign up for helping in various ministries, or at least getting more information about them. I was very encouraged that many, many people responded by filling out the survey. Some new people and some who have been here for a while, but have not been serving at all, are now going to step forward and give of themselves in ministry. Others have been serving, but are now going to give of themselves more, or change the direction of their service, in a way that fits the way God has shaped them to serve Him. That is exciting! May you be encouraged to study yourself, and see how God wants to use you, wherever you are, to glorify Him!

WHAT’S YOUR S.H.A.P.E.?

Please turn in your Bible to Ephesians 2. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 976.

We live in a selfish world, don’t we? A man from Illinois decided to travel to Wisconsin to go duck hunting. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer’s field on the other side of the fence. As the flatlander climbed over the fence, a dairy farmer drove up on his tractor and asked what was going on. The hunter said, “I shot a duck and I’m retrieving it.” The old farmer replied, “This is my property and you’re not coming over here!”Well, this made the hunter mad so he said, “If you don’t let me come over the fence I’ll call my Chicago lawyer and I’ll sue you.” The farmer smiled and said, “Apparently you don’t know how we do things up here. We settle disagreements with the Wisconsin three-kick rule. I’ll kick you three times, and then you kick me three times, and so on, back and forth, until someone gives up.”The man from Illinois liked this challenge because he thought he could easily take the old farmer. The Wisconsin Badger climbed down from the tractor and planted the steel toe of his heavy work boot into the man’s shin. The man fell to his knees. His second kick went directly to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The farmer than landed his third kick to the side of the hunter’s head. The disoriented man slowly got up and said, “Okay, you old codger, now it’s my turn!” To which the farmer responded, “Nah, I give up. You can have the duck.”

Why do we fight over things? The Bible tells us that it is because of our selfish motives. We want something and don’t have it, so few fight and quarrel. This is a part of our human nature. But, it is not what God created us to do. The Bible reminds us that we are each special creations of God; and that we are created to do special things for Him. And that would include resisting the urge to fight and quarrel and get our way; but instead to humbly serve other creations of God.Psalm 139:14-16 – “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” – NLT

There are people who go through this life wondering if anyone cares. More than your spouse, more than your parents, more than your best friend, there is one that has cared for you from the very beginning: God. He made you; and He made you unique and special! He gave you your body type. He gave you your facial features. He gave you your personality. He gave you your life. And then, by the way, He also died for you, so that you might have eternal life – if you believe.

But that uniqueness that He has given you is not yours to use for your own special purposes. This is not for your enjoyment only. He made you unique, so that you could uniquely serve Him. Did you know that? You are in Ephesians 2, and there are some great verses that, perhaps, you have heard before; but I want you to notice a verse that often gets left out:

Ephesians 2:8,9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Those are the verses many people have heard before. They are great verses. They tell us that the way we are saved is by grace, in other words, something we did not deserve. And that salvation, spending eternity with God in Heaven, is a gift, not something you can work for. If you could do enough good works, to receive eternal life, than you could boast about how great you are. But, that is not how God designed it.

Instead, because Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, God offers eternal life as a free gift. However, we have to actually reach out and receive that gift. And how do we do that? As verse 8 said clearly: “saved through faith.” To receive the free gift of eternal life, we must accept what the Bible teaches about our sin, about God, about Jesus, and about how to trust in Him. That is a great message. But, many times, we leave out an equally important message, found in the very next verse:

Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

The word workmanship is from the Greek word poiema which literally means “work of art”, and is the root of our English word poem. I like how the New Living Translation says it: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Let me get right to the main point of this morning’s message. I believe that God has shaped you in such a way, that you can use what He has already given you, to serve Him, to impact others eternally, for His glory! And I want to ask you to take the next several minutes, to think this through with me. But, I don’t want you just to learn something. I don’t want you to just leave this morning with a good feeling about being created uniquely. I desire that you would be motivated, to find out how God has shaped you for ministry, and then to be excited to either begin serving, or to continue serving, with a renewed passion.

This morning, I want us to see what the Bible has to say about how God has shaped us for ministry and I want to use an acrostic, using the letters that spell shape, to consider this truth. The shape acrostic was developed by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, California.

Please turn in your Bible to Romans 12. If you are using the Bible in front of you, it is page 948.

The first letter in the word SHAPE is S and that stands for:
Spiritual Gifts.
This is the first thing to consider as it relates to how God has shaped you to serve Him and others. Let me first, just make a couple observations about spiritual gifts. If you have ever studied or had discussions about spiritual gifts previously, then you know that there are many ideas out there about spiritual gifts. But, let’s focus on a few things that are clear:

I Corinthians 12:4-7,11 – “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good…All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

Let me make some observations here, about spiritual gifts, and these are in your notes:
· Everyone has a spiritual gift.
If you are a Christian, than you have a spiritual gift.
· They are given by the Holy Spirit
We don’t choose our gifts, but God chooses what to give us. Next:
· They are empowered by the Holy Spirit
These are not just physical abilities; but actual God empowered gifts
· There are a variety of spiritual gifts
We don’t all have the same gifts; and that was intended by God.
· The gifts are to be used for the good of the church
These are not for our own personal benefit, although there are benefits to using our gifts. They are to be used for God’s glory and in the lives of other people.

There are some lists of spiritual gifts in Ephesians 4, Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12. There are other places where some of these gifts and other abilities given by God are mentioned. Our purpose this morning is not to list and describe all of the gifts to you; but to make you aware that there are spiritual gifts and God has gifted you to serve Him. You are in Romans 12, so let’s take a look at one of those lists:

Romans 12:4-8 – “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

With this listing of some spiritual gifts, let’s make some other important observations:
· Use your gifts
God has given us our gifts so that we would use them. Important note: sometimes you don’t know what gift you have until you have discovered it through service. Did you know there are people who are not serving God in their church because they are waiting for their spiritual gift to be revealed? Don’t do that. Believe that God has gifted you, and it will be revealed in the right time. In most cases, it is revealed as people just simply get involved in something and serve. Try it!
I didn’t know God had given me the gift of being a pastor/teacher until He actually gave me opportunities to be in teaching/preaching situations. Then, not did I enjoy it, but other people recognized the gift as well. Next:
· Our gifts are gifts of grace
In other words, we don’t deserve these gifts, but God gave them to us. Keep that in mind as you think about what spiritual gift God has given you.
· You might be specially gifted in an area that everyone is to pursue
What does that mean? Well, if you have the gift of giving, that is great; and God will use you to a greater degree. However, the Bible is clear that we are all to be voluntary, joyful and sacrificial givers. If you have the gift of mercy, you will be used in a special way; but even without the gift, we are commanded by God to show mercy to others. Even if you don’t have the gift, God is asking you to pursue some of these things anyway.

Please turn in your Bible to Psalm 37. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 466.

The Apostle Paul was once a sinner who persecuted Christians, but he became a Christian, who gave everything he had to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. He had the gift of teaching or preaching, communicating God’s truth in an understandable way. This is what he said:

Ephesians 3:7,8 – “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

Paul knew it was a gift, that he didn’t deserve it, having received it through the power of God. He also saw the use of it as a grave responsibility, to use this gift to communicate God’s truth to those who did not previously know Him. So, what about you? Are you serving with the knowledge that God has greatly gifted you?

The next letter in our acrostic is H and that stands for:
Heart
Another word for heart could be “passion”. This is a little more difficult to figure out than a list of spiritual gifts. But, this is the motivation that God has placed inside of you, that can help you figure out what He has called you to do. One way to consider this is to just ask yourself:
· What has God laid on my heart to do for Him? Only you can answer that; but if you will sincerely ask that question and pray, God might reveal it to you. You see: God is the one who gives you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 –“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Does this mean that if you follow after God, He will grant your ever selfish desire? No, I believe it means that if you follow hard after God, He will actually give you the right desires that are in your heart; so that you will desire what is good, and what is best. Another way to figure this out, is to listen to yourself. What do I mean?

Matthew 12:34 – “…For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

What is in our hearts, comes out of our mouths. So, ask yourself this question as well:
· What do I talk about, that has to do with other’s needs or ministry for God?
If you will take time to listen to yourself or ask others to do some listening. Your heart for ministry just might be revealed as you talk about what excites you and what desires you have to do something for God. It was when I was 13, that I sensed in my heart that God was calling me into some type of full time ministry. But, later on, God gave me a heart for people, to pastor people, to teach God’s Word to people. And I began talking about, and having this incredible burden on my heart to serve God in that way.

Please turn in your Bible to Exodus 31. It is the 2nd book of the Bible.

Max Lucado, in his book Cure for the Common Life, writes: “Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa, Beethoven created one Fifth Symphony, and God made one version of you. You’re it! You’re the only you there is. And if we don’t get you, we don’t get you. You’re the only shot we have at you. You can do something no one else can do in a fashion no one else can do it. You are more than a coincidence of chromosomes and heredity, more than just an assemblage of somebody else’s lineage. You are uniquely made…

But can you be anything you want to be? If you are uniquely made – now stop and think about this - if you’re uniquely made , can you really be anything you want to be? If you don’t have the sense that takes care of numbers, can you be an accountant? If you don’t have a love for the dirt, can you be a farmer? If you don’t have an appreciation and a devotion to kids, can you really be a teacher? Well, you can be an unhappy one, an unsatisfied one. You can be one of the 87 percent of the workforce that doesn’t like their work – one of the 80 percent of the people that says ‘I don’t use my talents on a daily basis.’ You can be a statistic…Can you be everything you want to be? I don’t think so. But can you be everything God wants you to be? I do think so. And you do become that by discovering your uniqueness.”

That is what thinking through this SHAPE is all about. How has God shaped me for ministry? Let’s continue with the next letter in the word SHAPE: A

Abilities
This refers to natural talents you were given at birth, or that you were able to develop, that can be used for serving God and others. Some people look down on themselves and don’t think they have any abilities. But, national studies have proven that the average person possesses form 500-700 skills. Maybe they aren’t what you consider to be important; but even little ones can be used greatly by God.
A couple things to recognize about our abilities:

· They are God given
Every ability we have, even if we want to argue that it was developed, was still given to us by God. In Exodus 31, we read about how God gave men abilities so that they could then turn around and serve God with them.

Exodus 31:1-6 – “The LORD said to Moses, See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you.”

God gave these men the ability to make these things, so that they could construct the tabernacle, where people would worship God. There are many other examples in the Bible of people using their abilities for God. In his book: Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren gives a brief list: “Articistic ability; architectural ability, administering, baking, boat making, candy making, debating, designing, embalming, embroiderings, engraving, farming, fishing, gardening, leading, managing, masonry, making music, making weapons, needle work, paining, planning, philosophizing, macinability, inventing, carpentry, sailing, selling, being a soldier, tailoring, teaching, writing literature and poetry.” The Bible says:

I Corinthians 12:6 – “There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service.”- TEV

And so it is with you. But, not only are these abilities God given:

· They are to be used for God’s glory

The Apostle Peter writes about using the abilities, these gifts God has given us, so that God will be glorified:

I Corinthians 10:31 – “…whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.”

I Peter 4:11 – “…whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ…”

We have got to remember that this is really what the idea of serving is all about. We serve with the abilities God has given us, so that we can point people to Him.

Please turn in your Bible to Romans 8. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 944. The next letter is P and stands for:

Personality
Some people are introverts and some are extroverts. Some think a lot and some feel a lot. But, regardless of your personality, one thing is for sure:
· It is God given
Sometimes we focus too much on why people are a certain way, and forget that God gave us our personalities, and that is one of the ways he has shaped us for ministry. The Apostle Paul, who we mentioned earlier, said this about himself:

I Corinthians 15:10 – “By the grace of God I am what I am…”
It is by God’s grace, that each of us has been given our personalities. Think about the different disciples of Jesus, and the various personalities they had. God used people who were outgoing and talkative and he used people that seemed to be introspective and given over to discouragement easily. Therefore, when we look at our own personality, we must:

· Be thankful and use it for God’s glory
It is tempting for us to question God as to why He made us the way he made us. I admit to you, that I have often wondered why God gave me the personality He gave me; and I have sinned in coveting other people’s personalities. I can’t do that. Paul wrote in:

Romans 9:20 – “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, Why have you made me like this?”

God created you with your personality, so be thankful for it, embrace it, and use it to glorify Him.

There is one more thing to consider as you learn how you were shaped by God to serve Him. It is the E and it stands for:
Experiences
Sir Edmond Hillary on May 19, 1953, and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, reached the top of Mount Everest. The first two people ever to literally be, on top of the world. After Hillary had climbed Mount Everest, be became an overnight celebrity. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. His name became a household word. He even became a spokesperson for Sears-Robuck and company. And his name appeared on sleeping bags, tents, and boot laces.And He could have lived in his little dwelling of success for the rest of his life.But he didn’t! What did he do? He went back to Nepal. Back to those people, the Sherpas, whom he had grown to know and appreciate and respect and love. And he was also using his fame to bring them help. In his speech some years ago, Hillary recounted how an elderly Sherpa from Khumjung village, the hometown of most of the Sherpas on his Everest ascent, had come to him a few years after that expedition and said, "Our children lack education. They are not prepared for the future. What we need more than anything is a school in Khumjung."So Hillary established the Himalayan Trust, and in 1961 a three-room schoolhouse was built in Khumjung with funds raised by Hillary. In its first decade the fund focused on education and health. Since then the trust has built 27 schools, two hospitals and 12 medical clinics, plus numerous bridges and airfields, and also reforesting valleys and slopes in the many areas of Nepal.He would spent more than half the year traveling the world, raising money for the trust and supervising the various projects undertaken with the funds he’s raised.And he has continued doing this for more than thirty years. The experiences of our lives lead us to find out how God has shaped us for ministry. Things we never thought we would do, because of unexpected experiences, we find ourselves doing. And this is how God designed it.

Perhaps you have already seen a theme for each of these aspects of being shaped for ministry? It is no different here:

· They are God given for our good

It is sometime hard to believe that, but all of our experiences are able to be used by God to help us to grow and to impact others for Him:

Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good…”

Purpose Driven Life gives some good questions to ask yourself, about your life’s experiences:
1. Family experiences: What did you learn growing up in your family?
2. Educational experiences: What were your favorite subjects in school?
3. Vocational experiences: What jobs have you been most effective in and enjoyed most?
4. Spiritual experiences: How have you served God in the past?
5. Painful experiences: What problems, hurts, thorns and trials have you learned from?

Turn over 2 more books, in your Bibles, to II Corinthians 12.

Aldous Huxley said: “Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you.” What will you do with what you’ve been through? Don’t waste your pain; use it to help others.” The other thing to consider about our experiences is that:

· They produce the power of God, working in and through us

The Apostle Paul went through some very touch life experiences; and one of those was some very serious physical pain. Some of you might have experience this in your life. Paul pleaded with God to take the pain away, but instead God said this:

II Corinthians 12:9 – “But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Part of finding your shape for ministry is to see how God has used past experiences, good or bad, to make you what you are; and to give you something to share with others, for their good. If you have been through a particular life experience, who better to minster to someone who is now going through the same thing…than you? Nobody!

Rick Warren asks: “Who could better minister to the parents of a Down Syndrome child than another couple who have a child afflicted in the same way? Who could better help an alcoholic recover than someone who fought that demon and found freedom? Who could better comfort a wife whose husband has left her for an affair than a woman who went though that agony herself?”

I realize there that are so many more things we could look at here, as it relates to being shaped for ministry. But, I think you have enough…enough to consider, to pray about, and to act on. Use this acrostic to evaluate how you have been serving in the past, how you are serving now; and to consider how you should serve in the future. It is possible that you are in the wrong spot, given the SHAPE for ministry God has assigned you. It may be that you are not doing enough, or that you are doing too much. It may be that you need to start a new ministry. I have had people come to me, over the years, and give me a burden that God has laid on their heart. When they do that, I ask them to consider that the reason God has laid that burden on them is because he wants them to do something specific for Him. What about you? Would you take time to pray and answer this question? As it relates to the message you have heard today:

WHAT IS YOUR NEXT STEP?

I am going to ask you to consider applying this message, in a particular way, right now. The ushers are coming to pass out a list to you. I encourage everyone to take one. What is the next thing, as it relates to ministry, that God is asking you to do. This is not a pastor’s job, to do everything. In fact, the Bible is clear. Instead of trying to do all the ministries, we are responsible to help you identify your shape for ministry and train you to be involved in serving God with us here. So, although God might call you to serve Him in other places or ways, there is at least one thing we can do for you as a church; and that is to let you know what kinds of service opportunities are available right here.