April 26, 2020
Morning Service

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Lam 3:22-24 Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.  (23)  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.  (24)  "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"

 

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

            Last week we tried to make the point that in this ever changing world, Jesus does not change.  He is the foundational Rock that we can stand on knowing He will not be moved.  He is the anchor in the time of storm.  We are complete in Him.  He is our Good Shepherd and we are following Him wherever He leads us.  What we have to understand is that He is always leading us through change.  Life is a series of changes that begins with our parents caring for our every need and sometimes ends with us caring for our parents’ needs.  Change affects every aspect of our lives.  Our career path that seemed so clear and bright can sometimes turns suddenly into a dark alley and we are faced with the reality of having to alter our path.  Our future plans for our kids are all so full of hope and potential, but they sometimes choose to go down a different and dark path instead.  Our health is something we all take for granted and it too can change drastically with one diagnosis.  Relationships aren’t exempt from change either as promises are broken and changes often come that can leave many scars.  The retirement fund that was always our security blanket takes a huge hit and suddenly our future seems less safe and secure.  The life Jesus leads us down is by design one that is full of change.  My point with all this is that we need to put God first in our lives because He does not change.  His love, mercy and faithfulness towards us do not change when our circumstances change suddenly.  Our hope for the future and strength in this moment need to rest fully on Christ alone and His unchanging love.

During this time of being sheltered at home, all of our lives have slowed down and I hope that we have been able to focus in on what is really important to us.  God has been whispering in my ear through this whole ordeal.  I have been given a dose of reality.  I’ve had to actually face the reality that my job and career path of the last 30 years could end suddenly as it did for some of my coworkers.  I have had to face the reality that if my parents catch this virus, they may not recover.  I face the reality of how much I love my family and will never take a random hug or “I love you” for granted again.  I have realized that just how important my church family is to me and the strength I get from meeting together with you is priceless.  In this time, we lost our sister Jan and her beautiful smile and her infinite attitude of hope, and because of these times we were limited in going to visit her or attend her service.   I also lost a friend this week that I knew was struggling, but I was too busy to reach out to him.  I am disappointed that for whatever excuse I can come up with, the truth is I did not reach out as I should have.  All of these realities have opened my eyes to a new perspective on many aspects of my life.  I for one do not want to go back to the “old normal,” I need to change.  This is a quote a good friend shared with me from an author that I found very intriguing in regard to this.

 

“We will not go back to normal.  Normal never was.  Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate and lack.  We should not long to return my friends.  We are being given the opportunity to stich a new garment.  One that fits all of humanity and nature.”

At one point in Jesus’ ministry, He taught some very difficult things to understand.  He told those following Him that they would have to “eat my flesh and drink my blood” to attain eternal life.  Many people who did not fully believe and trust Him left and went back to their “old normal” John describes the event:

 

Joh 6:66-69 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  (67)  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  (68)  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  (69)  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

            Peter knew that Jesus was his unchanging foundational Rock and even when he did not understand, he followed.  In a time that was changing drastically Peter knew where to put his trust; “to whom shall we go?” He had experienced what life was like with Jesus and did not want to go back to his “old normal.”  He didn’t know where this new life would take them, but he only knew he was going to follow Jesus.  He was far from perfect as we all know of his failures, but he never let go of the hand of his Lord who never changes even when he failed.  Even in the midst of his failure, he did not waver in his desire to follow the One who he proclaimed to be “the Christ the Son of the living God!”  When he found out Jesus was still alive, he chose to face Him admitting his shame rather than go back to life without Him.  Jesus restored him on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius as we read last week in a beautiful way.  Though I too fail my Lord, His love and forgiveness does not fail me nor ever change. He offers me the same restoration as He gave to Peter that morning.  John explains how that works:

 

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

            With His unchanging faithfulness, He forgives us upon our true confession every single time and “cleanses us from all unrighteousness.”  It is then up to us follow the same command Jesus gave to the woman caught in the act of adultery; “Go and sin no more.”  True repentance comes with a resolve to not go back to the sin we are asking for forgiveness for; to change.  We all know how hard that can be as our resolve often lacks, but God’s forgiveness never changes.  Sin can change us, but God is always faithful and there to receive us home again.  When we fail we have to look to the Lord and say “to whom shall we go?”  The resolve we need to remain faithful and not ride the sin/forgiveness roller coaster comes from placing our priorities in the correct order.  Think about it, what is it that you are placing ahead of God causing you to sin?  Lust, greed, selfish desire or simply apathy can change us and lead us away from the One we are trying to follow. This lifetime of change is the path God is leading us down and with a purpose.  I challenge you to be real with yourself this morning.  In our ever changing world how do your priorities line up with what Jesus is asking?  Look at your own life and judge for yourself if these commands from our Lord are being shined forth in your life or not.  Are there things that need to change?

 

Mat 22:36-40 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  (37)  Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'  (38)  This is the first and great commandment.  (39)  And the second is like it: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'  (40)  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

 

Mat 6:19-21Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; (20) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  (21)  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

Mat 10:37-39 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  (38)  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  (39)  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

 

Mat 6:33-34 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  (34)  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 

Mat 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  (29)  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  (30)  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

            Each of these scriptures can have great personal meaning and depth to them if you allow the Holy Spirit to speak honestly to you through them.  Changes led by the Holy Spirit are good changes, the ones that God desires from us.  The truth is God desires to be first in our lives and the question is; do we want Him to be?  Use this time to examine your life before the pandemic and during it.  What things do you not want to return to, and what things do you want to be part of your “new normal” My hope this morning is that the “new normal” will place God first and foremost in your heart and mind and that we will allow Him to lead us to the place of rest.  “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Choosing to follow Jesus is really the only part of our life that we can control.  My circumstances can change in a heartbeat; my health, wealth and family may all be taken from me, but God’s love, mercies and faithful towards me will never change.  Choose to follow Jesus.

 

Heavenly Father, please grant to us the vision to see that You are the only thing in our lives that truly matters.  Grant it to us to experience the joy and peace of total surrender.