Sermons

It’s amazing how easy it was for an argument over the Scriptures to erode into a bloody war or how some unwelcome insects dissolved into sarcastic and personal attacks. Yet, these stories are things we can unfortunately identify with because every single one of us has been engaged in some sort of fight or quarrel. And, not just that but every facet of our lives has been touched by conflict―our spouses, our children, our jobs, our friendships, our neighborhoods, our nation. Some of you can’t even drive down the street without screaming at another car! And as we continue our series on the book of James, we find ourselves entrenched in an early Church conflict. I find it interesting that even one of the earliest books of the New Testament already had to remind the Church how to conduct themselves.

Words matter; and, last words really matter. Through the Gospels, we find it’s truly no different with Jesus. In fact, we see there are really seven significant phrases that Jesus said during His crucifixion. And, in this morning’s message, I want to take a look at just three of these famous last words.

Sometimes, we approach the Bible thinking we understand it; we think we know it. But, if we’re honest with ourselves we’re a bit reluctant to really open it up and dive in. Recently, it seems study after study has revealed that American Christians increasingly do not read their Bibles. In fact, a 2012 Pew Research study revealed that less than 20 percent of American Christians read their Bibles daily. LifeWay Research added that only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week and 18 percent never read their Bible. And, it’s not because we don’t have access. After all, nine in ten American homes own a Bible. Among those homes, the average home has three Bibles. This year alone, various Bible societies will distribute over 400 million copies. So, we have the Bible, but we’re not reading it.

We have spiritual blind spots. There are things within ourselves and things God is working around us that we are easily blinded toward. And, it’s not just us. King David had the same problem with spiritual blind spots. In Psalm 19:12, David says, “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.” See, David understood there was sin he was blind to in his own life. Then, in Psalm 139:23-24, David writes, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Again, David was saying that though he may be blind to these areas, God could search him and see his blind spots. But, he needed God’s perspective.

think if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve felt like we were in the middle of one of these emoji conversations at times. We feel a certain way and we’re trying to communicate that to each other—trying to communicate that to God even—and things seem to simply get lost in translation. Sometimes we even begin to wonder if we should feel a certain way. Our hearts tell us, “God, You said you would be close to me, but I feel really alone right now.” And, then we begin to think, “I feel alone; therefore, I must be actually be alone,” and we begin to follow these feelings that we don’t even quite understand ourselves.

Family feuds are no stranger to history. If you have a sibling, then you probably know what we’re talking about, but hopefully not do the degree of Adi and Rudi. But, the in the Old Testament when find some pretty vicious stories of brotherly rivals. Within the book of Genesis alone, we encounter the story of Cain and Abel—where Cain murdered his brother. We find the story of Jacob and Esau—where Jacob stole his brother’s birthright. We find the story of Joseph and his brothers—where his brothers sold him into slavery. And, we find the story of Isaac and Ishmael—who created a feud we still feel the effects of to this day.

Many of us can actually identify with the story of David because if we’re honest with ourselves, we’re all chasing after a throne. It might look like a job promotion. Or, it might be a relationship or raising a family. It might be that bigger house or that new car. It might be our 401K’s and golf appointments. I mean, our throne is whatever we are giving our energy to. It’s whatever we are chasing after in life. And, again, if we’re honest with ourselves, none of these things seem like bad things, right? But, man, we can get so locked into the pursuit of our thrones that we neglect the before-the-throne moments. We can get so locked into how we’re going to get there and when we’re going to get there that we fail to tend to who we will be when we get there—what kind of person we are becoming. And, we can get to these big moments—these throne moments—to find out quickly we’re not at all who God desired us to become.

There are many of us that have attempted to produce change in our lives unsuccessfully or only superficially but, today, God desires to do something new within us. You see, we often look to Jesus to change our circumstances when He really wants to change us. And, so, no matter what your resolution may be—it might be to quit smoking, to lose weight or to get out of debt—it’s not really about becoming healthier or becoming financially wiser. I mean, those are certainly all good intentions. But, we want more than that; we want God-intentioned lives. And, the God-intention for our lives is not simply to be healthier or wiser at the end of 2015; it’s to be closer to Jesus. It’s to look more like Him. It’s to seek His face in the midst of difficult change.