Climate Change: Real or Not Real?

As I reflect on today's topic I remember a scene in the Hunger Games movie "Mockingjay" where Peeta asks Katniss "Real or not real?" to help him sort out the truth.  We live in a world today where arriving at the truth seems almost impossible especially when looking at Climate Change, which leads me to raise the question: For Christians does it matter if it is real or not real?  Many in the evangelical world (my tribe) tend to side with the "not real" camp.  This I propose is a blunder on our part.  The real question that we should be asking is: Are we being wise stewards of this resource we call planet earth?  Do our practices work with God's designs or against it?  Do our practices fulfill the curse (Genesis 3:17-19) or limit its impact?  Too often, or should I say for the most part, we fight against the earth rather than working within the design of creation.  I cannot remember the exact setting, but when I was an undergraduate student studying forestry at UW - Stevens Point, one of my professors, Dr. Robert Miller, made a comment that the earth was very resilient and given enough time it could heal itself.  He went on to say the question for us as humans was if we would be around to see that happen.  The challenge that he was really putting out was if we would change our lifestyle to see that happen.  Again will we work with or against creation?

During my high school years, in central Wisconsin, I remember sitting in Agriculture class talking about soil loss to wind and water erosion.  I do not remember the exact number, but rather than the amount jolting us to ask if our farming practices were good or not we chose to rest in the fact that in Wisconsin we had a deep enough subsoil to grow crops on should all of the top soil disappear.  We did talk about things like no till farming, but driving from my southern Wisconsin home to Colorado earlier this month I think it is safe to say not much has changed since my high school days except maybe the size of the monocrop fields.  Rather than practices that build topsoil we continue to farm in ways that lead to erosion and soil degradation.  It does not matter if climate change is real or not what we are doing is not sustainable.

For Christians we should not be getting caught up or lost in the real or not real battle of climate change, but rather educating ourselves on how God designed earth to be regenerative.  Then we should ask are there ways to work with rather than against that design and then how can my lifestyle support that?

For those of us who grew up in a rural setting we tend to smile and laugh when we hear stories of kids from inner cities say that their food comes from the store not the farm, but my challenge to all of us is do we really know where the food we ate today came from?  Do we know how it was raised?  Do we know how many tons of chemicals had to be used to produce it?

The Harder family is on a journey to get most if not all of our food from sustainable/regenerative practices.  We have been on this journey for a while now and are starting to ramp up our efforts.  We have a long way to go and understand that it is not easy, but if we are going to live out our faith it is something that we must do.  I would encourage all of my fellow Christians to join us on this journey and avoid the trap of "real or not real."  Future generations need us to be better stewards.

The Desire for "Fair"

Text: Revelation 2:8-11

Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_0Rc-0lIPs&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=2&t=0s


Intro:  As I prepared for this message I had to wrestle with the fact that I do not like this text....I do not like this letter to the church of Smyrna.  I did not have a problem with the letter to the church in Ephesus (Rev 2:1-7) b/c it was calling them out.  They were being warned of judgment that they deserved....they had lost their first love and they were being called back. The church in Ephesus was going to face trial and tribulation designed to bring them back to their first love.  But the church in Smyrna is one of two churches out of the seven that "did nothing wrong" and yet they are going to face trial and tribulation....I sat back and had to admit that I did not like the unfairness of this...and then I wondered if that isn't how some of us have felt in light of COVID?

Going on the words "the first and last" in the text are there to remind us that God is in control...and yet they are going to be thrown into tribulation even though God is in control.  Again, the question of fairness comes up...life isn't always the way we want it...the question of fairness seems to rise to the surface more often than not in our hearts. But the problem is that this is only true in the short term... not the long term.  In the long term we trust that God is able to and will set everything right.

Other questions that this message wrestles with are:

- Do we long for power?  I mean if Christians were in control.we would set things right....right?

- Do we long for riches?  If we had more money we would....tribulation, slander, poverty are called strengths in this text and yet we see them as tragedy?

- Suffering is bad right?

- Are we running to win or will we pull up short in the face of trials?

- Who was the first recorded Christian Martyr in Smyrna?   Polycarp.  Here is a short article on it.  https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/martyrs/polycarp.html and the longer version https://onlinechristianlibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/The-Martyrdom-of-Polycarp.pdf

Why not take a listen to the message today and wrestle with how fair we want life to be?  Make sure you listen all the way to the end for the answer to that question.

Blessings,
PT

Familiarity breeds...

Text: Revelation 2:1 - 7

Link to message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51ViPOkS8PA&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=2&t=5s


Intro: While I was preparing for this message I had a phrase keep running through my mind.  I launched off with a finish the sentence:  Familiarity breeds ______________________

Some said "Familiarity breeds complacency"  I was thinking "Familiarity breeds contempt."  Either are applicable and I wonder if that is what was going on in the church at Ephesus.  They knew Jesus....they loved Jesus and yet at the time of the writing of Revelation they had fallen into a legalistic pursuit of knowledge or right doctrine and were falling short.  Their love had grown cold.

My wife and I celebrated our 23rd Wedding Anniversary the day I preached this message...if I brought home flowers for her and she said "Thanks they are beautiful" and I said it was my duty or it is what I am supposed to do...how do you think she would respond?  The church in Ephesus knew the right thing(s) to do, but the question becomes did they practice the right things.  If they did them simply because they were the right things to do their love would grow cold.

When you look at this passage you should note again where Jesus is in reference to the lamp stands and where the stars are.  We (the church) are the lamp stands...Jesus is in our midst.  There are times in the midst of trials, including this season of COVID, where it seems like God is far off and yet here we have a picture and an image of Jesus in the midst or middle of it.  Jesus is not far removed from our trials...the question and the challenge for us is "Do we believe this?" We would not pray if we did not believe that God was intimately concerned with our lives, but we also have to wrestle with are we living like Jesus is right here in our midst?  If Jesus were standing right here next to you in this moment would your actions be different? 

Revelation is a both a book or warning and a book of comfort.  Jesus is in our midst that should bring comfort and encouragement, but we also need to pay attention because he is in our midst and knows our actions.  He is both watching over us and watching us.  The text does not say "I heard of your works" but rather "I know your works."  Again, Jesus is so intimately involved in your life that he knows your works as well.  Which begs the question "What robbed them of their love for Christ and what robs you of yours?"  They knew the 2 Great Commands....we know them as well.  The question becomes "Is familiarity breeding contempt or complacency?" Do we presume upon the grace of God? We know that grace is not something we earn...it is not given to us based on our actions and yet because of the grace poured out into our lives he calls us to a higher path...to right behavior.  Does knowledge of all the right answers equal right faith?  Take a look at Matthew 25:31 - 46 and Luke 18:9 - 14.  It is easy to be a "fat head" and miss the mark.

Going with a marriage illustration think of a couple where one spouse professes to be always right and lives like it.  Will that marriage be healthy?  If Christ is truly at the center how would life be different?  Which leads us to verse 4 and the call to action or to Remember, Repent, Act.  Every marriage at some point hits low points and in those moments one must remember the love they had at first and move beyond to an even greater love.  Familiarity does not have to breed contempt or complacency but rather can breed intimacy if we allow it.  Familiarity and the intimacy that it can bring over time can lead to such a richer relationship than it was in the beginning...if we allow it.  Somehow the church in Ephesus got sideways and we can do the same thing in our relationship with Jesus.  This is where we need to remember, repent and act.

Another way to look at this is an illustration by Jeff Vanderstelt when he talks about Fruit to Root and leveraging the gospel to expose the roots that are producing bad fruit in your life so that you can repent and get back to a restored relationship with Jesus.  The church in Ephesus knew the right answers and yet the fruit that they were producing was not in line with a right relationship with God.

Jeff's 4 Questions:

1. What I do? (fruit) flows out of the answer to 2. Who Am I? which in turn flows out of 3. What Jesus/God has done? which flows out of 4.  Who God is? (root).  The actions or fruit in my life flows out of who I believe God to be or the god I am worshiping.  If I am producing bad fruit then I am worshiping an idol and need to remember, repent and act.

Is it more important to share the gospel or demonstrate love?  Or maybe it would be better to ask Can you separate the two?  In this COVID season maybe we should look under the hood of the church in the USA and analyze the response to things like Safe at Home orders.  Hearing stories of church members who think that the church should sue the government seems out of line with scripture to me.  In the same vain I would have a hard time lining up living in fear of COVID with scripture as well.  I think the biblical response is what I have called "compassionate reasonableness."  Take precautions out of respect for those around you who may be in living in fear....challenge those around you who want to sue the government as well. 

Another issue that we need to think through is "How does society define love?" verses "How does the church define love?"  Sadly many times there is not a difference even though there should be.  The church's response ought to look sacrificial or humble...it ought to look like Christ would have responded...yet for many of us our response looks more like how we would expect society to respond.  If right knowledge does not lead to right action it is a waste of time.

Jesus is calling the church at Ephesus (and us) to hear, obey, conquer and endure...as they do this they are demonstrating their belief.  Over and over hear and then obey is God's call to us...in the end live out your faith...a life of faith must be lived out...we are all works in progress...the point of the letter is not that if we stumble and fall or walk around like we know it all that we get thrown out, but rather God allows trials in our lives as opportunities to do fruit exploration...an opportunity to remember, repent and do a course correction.  When Heidi and I get sideways in our marriage it is an opportunity to say "What is going on here?" to stop and remember how far our marriage has come....how far God has carried us through and course correct and move forward. 

Even in a season of uncertainty when it seems that God is far off he is still in our midst. He is still bringing about what he wants to bring about if we let him. The letter to the church in Ephesus speaks volumes to today...written so many years ago and yet it still speaks volumes.

Additional scripture to look at: John 13:34, John 15:12 - 17, 1 John 2:9-10, 1 John 4:16 - 21, 1 Thess 4:9, 1 Peter 1:22-23.  That all point to the idea that faith is more than right knowledge but also right actions.  Lean on God and he will bring about the right fruit.  Jesus is present among us both watching over and watching us.  Let us celebrate this.  Let us also celebrate all the things we need to be thankful for...namely all the fruit that God has produced in an through each one of us.  It is easy when we walk through scripture to always keep pushing for that one more thing...let us not get lost in the busyness of life, but rather celebrate Christ at work among us.

Revelation 1:9 - 20

Text: Revelation 1:9 - 20

Sermon Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEY1w6a9LYY&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=1   (note: intro was missed)

Service with full message: https://www.facebook.com/faithbaptist.church.12/videos/1830827000387714

Discussion Question:  List 5 words that you would use to describe Jesus.

Verses 10 - 16 is a description of who Jesus is.

Long robe/Golden Sash   Daniel 10:5

White head and hair    Leviticus 19:32, Proverbs 20:29, Daniel 7:9  (Jesus possesses eternal wisdom and is the Ancient of Days

Blazing Eyes   Daniel 10:6   Jesus has divine insight and therefore has the ability to reward the faithful and punish the disobedient

Bronze Feet   Daniel 10:6, Psalm 84:11, Isaiah 60:19  represents Jesus Glory and the Glory of God.  Additionally it points to the strength of Jesus

Powerful voice  Ezekiel 1:24, Ezekiel 43:2  Re-enforces Jesus power and strength

Sword from his mouth  Isaiah 11:4, Isaiah 49:2  This equals words of truth and words of judgment

In light of John's vision of Jesus verse 17 provides his response  (worship) and Jesus comfort (Fear not).  There is no need to fear God if you are serving him.

Note the location of Jesus in the midst of the 7 lamp stands and the location of the 7 stars.  Lamp stands = the church, but we need to remember that is us not a building.  With that in mind we all are Jesus lamp stands, under his control, placed where he wants us.  The question is will we shine or compromise?  Will we suffer in community with Jesus?

Application: Have you ever felt abandoned by God?

How are diamonds made?  If I take a chunk of coal can I make a diamond?  Well if I can add enough pressure yes...how does God make diamonds out of us?  By allowing pressure in our lives.  But for diamonds to truly shine they need to reflect the light.

When Heidi and I went shopping for an engagement ring did they pull out a piece of white paper and lay the diamonds on that and say look at these beautiful diamonds?  No they laid them out on black velvet and shined a light on them.  When they did that those diamonds were dazzling.  It is the same with our lives....when God allows trials in our lives we have an opportunity to really shine his glory back to Him. 

In addition to that we have to wrestle with are we learning what God want us to learn in this season?  With the overturn of the safe at home order in WI I have been frustrated.  I have been frustrated b/c I do not want to rush through this season without learning and applying the lessons that I need to learn.  The slow down has been good for me and I do not want to rush back to a busy lifestyle again.  Take the time to sit down and say I believe this is who Jesus is and this is what he wants me to learn in this season.  Or take the time to say "This is what I am thankful for and list them out."

When my dad died a week before my 21st birthday it rocked my faith to its core.  I took the next 6 - 12 months to analyze what I really believed...may you leverage this season to understand and know who Jesus is, understand who you are and let his light and glory shine through you.

Learning the Lessons of Revelation in Season of COVID

Text: Revelation 1:1 - 8

Sermon Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBEfO0tlCGw&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=3&t=7s

Intro Question: What do you know or understand about the book of Revelation?

Warning: I do not take a read the newspaper headlines approach to interpreting the book of Revelation.  We need to understand when it was written, to whom it was written to keep it in context, garner the meaning and bring that meaning forward to today and apply.

What are ways that you are asked to compromise your faith?

Where does pressure to conform come in for you?

Where do we give in to society, family, sin?  How does fear come into play?

Setting the Stage:

Author:  The apostle John (same author as the Gospel of John)

Written around 90 AD

Emperor: Domitian

Not outright persecution, but pressure from the Imperial Cult and cultural pressure from places like Trade Guilds.  Think through all of the economic stimulus that comes from having an Imperial Cult and from the trade guilds.

Genre:  The book is both prophetic (book of warning) and apocalyptic (book of comfort/the Triune God is in control/you will rule with him)

Application:

Do you fear things of this world or God?

Do you take the short term or long term view?

Who is in Control?

Jesus or kings of the earth?  (Verses 5, 6, 8)

What do you do when it seems like God isn't in control?  (Blame, wait, trust, pray, complain)

Have we lost the plot? (Verse 6: Christians are part of God's Kingdom/Royalty...Priests on a Mission we are to be on mission with no compromise.  Courage at the crossroads or compromise?

As I shared earlier the book contains both warning and comfort.  Warning that we should be hearing and doing...Comfort that God's in control.

What if...?

In the midst of this pandemic, Noah and I, like many of you have been binge watching shows on Amazon.  One of our favorites is a show called Stinky and Dirty.  They solve problems by re-purposing garbage and asking "What if?" In last Sunday's sermon I asked several "What if" questions and wrestled with "How than shall we live?"  Here are the quick notes:

1.  What if this is the new normal?

Many of us have been trying to look back and get back to "normal," but as a recent NY Times article points out that looking to the S. Korean experience church services will not be returning to their past forms any time soon.  An example would be no singing of worship songs. 

How than shall we live?  We only need to look to John 13:34-35 for the answer.  Love.  If that is the case then we need to exhibit what I am calling "Compassionate, reasonable understanding."

Illustrations:

There are individuals living among us that are living in fear.  What is the loving thing to do?
Hint: Do not belittle them.

While our churches (FBC and Iglesia Fe) have not had any regular attenders be diagnosed with COVID.  Some have had extended family members (myself included) have pretty severe cases of COVID, but fortunately not die.  There are those living among us, however that have lost loved ones, including both parents within days of each other.  Again we need to ask "How should we then live?"
Hint: The loving thing and walk beside them.

2.  What if I am not learning what God wants me to out of this trial?

Hebrews 3 & 4 speaks to this.

The slow down has been good for me b/c I am resting more and not running at the pace I have been for years.  But last week I found myself reverting to old habits.  I do not want to fail to apply lessons that God is teaching me.

3.  What if this is the last days?

I do not believe the we are in the last days or the tribulation of the book of Revelation.  But this question is an important one and challenges us to think through the what if.

We should always live in Spiritual Preparedness.  With that in mind:

Ask yourself "Am I ready?"  Everyone needs to realize that what they do is not good enough we need a personal relationship with Jesus.

Make sure that your response to these times is Christian.  Ask yourself: "Am I trusting in my circumstances or God?  Leverage this time to search out idols in your life.

See Hebrews 13 for some insight into a Christian response.

Here is the link to the message:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5vQYxL8iuk&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=2&t=737s

Blessings,
PT

April 19 Sermon Notes Letting God Be Just Enough

Title: Letting God Be Just Enough
Text: John 10:1 - 10
Message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVWIReZCnmE&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=3&t=365s

(note we played a song up front so skip to 6:53 for start of message)

In this season it is easy to ask questions like:

- Why is God allowing this?
- If God is so loving why is there disease?

To answer those questions let me start by throwing one more out there:

- Why did or does God lead his people into the desert?

For the past several weeks we at Faith have been looking at what we can glean from the desert situations that God places us in.  This series is based on a series I preached through back in 2018 after returning from a deployment to the desert and on a series by Ray Vander Laan (RVL) titled Walking With God in the Desert.

In previous weeks we learned that God molds and shapes us in our desert moments and in those moments we learn to trust and depend on him as we see his protection and provision.  As RVL says "deserts are a place of danger and peril, but also protection and provision."  But that is if we have eyes to see.

In the shepherding world:

Pasture = Provision and Sheepfold = Protection....but how do shepherds lead their sheep?

Take a moment to read John 10:1 - 10

Main Point: God leads his people into desert moments to train us to hear and listen to him.

In essence to listen and respond to his word.

Here the message walks through and looks at John 10 and briefly Psalm 23

If you were to look at shepherding in Israel you would understand that the place that happens is not in pasture like we in the States are used to, but rather out in the wilderness where the pastures look like places where there isn't even and grass.  But the shepherd leads them along paths where they find just enough grass to live on.  They move from mouthful of grass to mouthful of grass as the shepherd talks to them and leads them.

Lesson Point: God's promises are for those who walk down paths of righteousness following the Shepherd.  You leave the path you leave the shepherd and his protection/provision.

Decision Point:

Follow God and depend on him or play the victim and blame God?

Challenge:  Control what you can control namely your reaction to the trial.

To do this ask yourself:  Do I have enough for right now?

RVL shares a story and a lesson he learned when a rabbi asked him:  Can you handle what is coming in 10 minutes?  How about tomorrow?

We do not know what is coming in tomorrow much less in 10 minutes. But we do know that God provides for and protects those who follow him.  However sometimes that is just enough for the moment.  The rabbi went on to share that"worry is dealing with tomorrows problems on today's pastures."  You see the shepherd provides just enough for right now and will provide just enough in 10 minutes and tomorrow as well.  Another example of this is how God provided just enough manna for today...those who gathered and tried to hoard for the next day woke up to find that it had spoiled.

Lesson Point:  God doesn't change so we know that he will be there providing around the next corner.  God is just enough if we will listen for, hear his voice and follow.

Decision Point:

In the beginning of John we see that Jesus is God's Word.  Is Jesus enough?

Challenge:  In the midst of this desert can you slow down enough to hear the voice of Jesus and will you follow?

Conclusion:  We have a golden opportunity in this season to slow down, listen and follow Jesus.  My prayer is that you and I do not squander this season with fear and worry, but rather embrace it and the lessons that it holds to draw us closer to God.

Blessings,
PT