A good youth sermon title is a hook on which the message can hang and be easily retrieved from memory. A really good title will capture the interest of the youth before you even get up to preach the youth sermon. Here are some key components of a good youth sermon title:

1. A good youth sermon title must relate to the message of the sermon in some way.
   Of course this always implies that the sermon must have a meaningful message to begin with. Whether the title is taken from the Bible text, a major illustration, or some other hook, youth should see the connection when the sermon is completed. In fact, some have said that the best title is ONLY fully understood at the end of the youth sermon.
2. A good youth sermon title should not promise too much or give the whole sermon away.
   With some sermon titles, youth don’t even need to listen to the sermon because you are telling them the main message or key learning point before they even listen to the sermon
3. A good youth sermon title should pique the youth’s interest and keep them engaged and curious.
   It should help to orient the youth before they get to the church. Your sermon title should give the youth enough to draw them in before the sermon begins, but you don’t want to give away too much so your sermon is anti-climatic.

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Genesis 1: Creation of the world
Genesis 2: Creation of Adam and Eve
Genesis 3: The forbidden fruit in Eden
Genesis 4: Cain and Abel
Genesis 6-9: Noah and the Flood
Genesis 11: The Tower of Babel
Genesis 12-18: Abraham
Genesis 19: Sodom and Gomorrah
Genesis 22, 24-27: Isaac
Genesis 28-35: Jacob
Genesis 37-50: Joseph (and the coat of many colours)

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A Good Friday Message

Introduction: Rembrandt

• Rembrandt, one of the Netherlands’ most famous artists, drew a representation of the crucifixion scene.
• In his sketch the individuals are indistinct because the event is most important.
• At his side, on two separate crosses we find the thieves who were crucified with Christ. One is in the dark while the other is in the light.
• But the central image is the cross of Christ, and through lighting our attention is draw to Him.
• Such pictures represent our typical image of what happened.

You can see a larger version of the image here

The cross captures the essence of the Christian message. 

1. The apostle Paul sums up the message of the New Testament as “the message of the cross” (1 Cor 1:18). Galatians 6:14– May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ… (NIV).
2. But what we often forget, is that the cross was a scandal to the Jewish mind and an offense to the Roman mind. To the Jewish mind, being nailed to a cross was such a shameful way to die that they considered any who were crucified to be cursed in God’s sight. For a Jew, To even touch a cross made you unclean. The Romans reserved crucifixion on cross only the worst criminals.
3. Had the early Christian church hired a marketing group to help them come up with a logo for the Christian faith, a cross wouldn’t even be on their list. The image of Christ on the cross doesn’t even appear in Christian art until 300 years after the event.

We often forget the ugliness of the cross

• It wasn’t smooth gold or silver, but rough splintered wood.
• It did not sit on a table between two candles, but on a hill between two thieves
• It wasn’t in a place of honor, but on a garbage heap, a place of public spectacle
• It wasn’t hymns that were heard at the cross, but the curses of thieves and onlookers
• People did not kneel in worship, but instead soldiers gambled at the foot of the cross

But it was for such people that Christ chose the cross. For thieves, for those in the garbage heaps of life, Christ was raised on a Cross so that the lowest and the least might be raised to newness of life with God!

It is Christ on the cross we remember today. Good Friday.
With the cross, Christ made a choice. But other choices were also made on that day. When we remember the skull-shaped hill called Calvary, with its three crosses outlined against the darkened sky we might not recognize that among those three crosses, three choices were made. But Three VERY Different choices.

Choice #1: Upon the cross in the center hangs a man

A man, yet much more than a man – God, having emptied himself, taking the form of man. He who was sinless took our sin upon his shoulders. He who was eternal, took our sentence of death. He who was exalted, humbled himself. Stripped of all his dignity and Pride. Punched and kicked by people – He only wished to save. Spit upon and degraded. Mocked and despised. Angry yells of hatred tore at Him from a hundred throats as the blood thirsty crowd yearned for blood..

While God was giving His best, man was doing his worst.

But it was no accident that Jesus was on that cross.

• It was a choice reserved before the foundation of the world
• It was a choice revealed from a manger in Bethlehem
• It was a choice remembered daily as Jesus ministered among sinful man
• It was a choice reinforced as Jesus prayed in the garden

But it was not a choice that Jesus regretted. Jesus chose the cross!

• Jesus could have saved himself in the desert by accepting Satan’s temptation to rule the world
• Jesus could have saved himself when he prayed in the garden if there be any other way, please God let this cup pass from me.
• Jesus could have saved himself when he stood before Pilate and Pilate demanded that he defend himself but Jesus was silent.
• Jesus could have saved himself at any time on th cross. A simple command and he would have been removed

Christ chose accept all the violence man could unleash, so that through our acceptance we might have peace with God.

It is the central cross we are most familiar with. And on that Cross hangs the Savior of the world who CHOSE to suffer and die for the sins of the world. As Paul says, the message of the cross is the center of our faith.

The Other Choices: Jesus was not alone on a cross
To each side hung another man. In Rembrandt’s sketch, One is in the dark while the other is in the light. TRY to picture the scene in your mind…

• Three crosses…
• Three men nailed to a wooden death sentence
• Three men; suffering, bruised, bleeding,
• Three men all dying.

Now there isn’t much information in the Bible about the other two men. And truly they are of little importance compared to Christ on the cross. But they are significant in the choices they make concerning Christ on the cross:

• Luke 23:32-33 “Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals one on his right, the other on his left.”
• Mt 27:44 “In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.”

They are called robbers and criminals, but not just any kind of robber. The Greek word that Matthew uses (Lestes) means, “one who uses violence to rob openly.” They are violent men!

Choice #2: Rejection

While it seems both joined the crowd in insulting Christ, one is more calloused than the other “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” “If you’re the Messiah, the Son of God, like you say you are, why don’t you get out of this situation? And get us out of here too!” He mocks the claim of Jesus to be the Christ. Instead of being humble and looking for mercy, we are told this thief in Luke 23:39, “railed” on Jesus, he scoffed, was insolent and reproachful. Next to him was a chance for redemption but he instead chose rejection.

We have more in common with this criminal than we would like to admit.

• In the eyes of God, all of us, really are criminals. All of us, have led lives of disobedience and rebellion against God.
• “Do things this way,” God says. And we say, “No, I’ll do things my way instead.”
• Sometimes, like the robber, it is our words that we use to mock him, sometimes it is the way we live.
• We are all sinners and it is because of our sin that Jesus is suffering.
• It wasn’t the Jews. It wasn’t the Romans. But it was us – our rebellion, our blasphemy, our sin – that put Christ on the cross.

Christ hangs on the cross in the middle. He chose to die for the sins of the world. A violent robber rests on the cross at his side. He chose to reject Christ and judgment awaits him.

Choice #3: Repentence.

There is a third cross. I imagine the robber on this cross did not sleep the night before. And it had nothing to do with the hardness of the prison floor or the dampness of the prison cell. I imagine He tossed and turned all night – as frightening images of the Roman soldiers coming for him, relentlessly flashed through his mind. He had seen enough crucifixions to know what was about to happen. All through the night, I can imagine him looking at his hands and his feet – touching the spots where the seven inch spikes would be driven. Morning came to soon. But the new day did not bring hope, It only brought despair and the sound of footsteps as the Roman guards came for him. Like Jesus, violence and pain awaited him. Like the other robber, he was a condemned man. And as he hung from the cross he joined the crowd in taunting Jesus.

But then there was a “change” of heart. To “repent” means to make a change.

This thief watched Jesus for hours – he saw the way he handled everything. He heard Jesus as he prayed for forgiveness for those who were taking his life so cruelly. He observed as Jesus handled pain without profanity, taunting without retaliation, being hated w/o hating. When the thief looked into the eyes & face of Jesus he didn’t see weakness and despair, he saw strength and power. Jesus’ death was SO distinctive that this dying thief realized that Jesus’ claims were true. Instead of continuing to mock Christ, he grows silent, and then rebukes his fellow criminal: “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

• The thief openly acknowledged his wrongs, “We have received due reward of our deeds” (v. 41).
• He recognized the innocence of Christ. “This man has done nothing wrong” (v. 41).
• His final words a request: “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

His words meant, “I choose to believe

I believe that you are a king of the life to come, the Christ. One who shows mercy. Forgive me for the life I have led. Forgive me for the way I mocked you. When you come into your kingdom, have mercy on me. Remember me.” His, is a very different choice from that of the other robber.

And Jesus responds to that choice: “Today shall be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

The thief asked to be remembered, but Jesus promises him a relationship. The hymn writer put it so well, “the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”

With thorns piercing His brow, with face bruised and stained, with blood flowing from the wounds of His body, with the weight of all human sin upon him Jesus opened the way to paradise for a thief.

• He saved a thief
• He gave a hopeless man hope
• He gave a loveless man love
• He gave a violent man peace
• He gave a dying man life
• “Today, you shall be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Why? Because, at that very moment, Jesus was dying on the cross for that criminal’s sins against men and God Jesus was paying for all this man had done as well as all you and I have done. 

Conclusion

Three crosses at Calvary: Three Choices

• One cross holds a man dying for sin. (Choice: Redemption)
  – In his choice, the peace with God becomes available to all who will trust him
• One cross holds a man dying in sin (Choice: Rejection).
  – In his choice, he has rejected God and only judgment awaits him
• One cross holds a man dying to sin (Choice: Repentance)
  – In his choice, peace with God is accepted and eternal life with God awaits.

There were many people who were present in the crucifixion of our Lord. There were the teachers who hated him, the traitor who sold him, the priests who bought him, even the disciples who deserted him. Each made choices. But you and I also have a choice to make.

Remember Rembrandt’s painting of The Three Crosses. Those who view it have their attention drawn first to the center cross on which Jesus died. Then see the two thieves on either side. One thief rests in darkness, but the other shares the light of Christ. People look at the indistinct crowd gathered around the foot of that cross, impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. But people sometimes miss something:

At the left edge of the sketch, right in the middle, there’s another figure, almost hidden in the shadows, peeking into the scene. Art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself, for he recognized that by his sins he also helped nail Jesus to the cross.

Our Choice: We each must also make a choice.

Each of us has a choice to make. We must each admit, “I was there, too”. In a very real sense we were all at Calvary, because it was my sins and your sins which Jesus took to the cross. Christ has already Chosen Redemption on our behalf. Now we also, like the sinners on either side of Jesus must make a choice. We can chose repentance or rejection of what Christ has done for us.

THE CROSS MUST BE CENTRAL TO OUR LIVES AS CHRISTIANS
Unfortunately, too many of us are like the soldiers, playing games at the foot of the cross. Focused on material possessions instead of our spiritual condition. They missed the most significant event in all history because they were too busy looking down, throwing dice, rather than looking UP – and beholding the Christ. Today we all stand before the cross. Its our sins that are on it – our sins that Christ bears. Have we called to him as our Lord or rejected him and mocked him? Some of us made a choice long ago, but like Christ, who affirmed his relationship with the Father and what he came to do at every opportunity, we must continually reaffirm that choice. Our day to day lives must be directed toward the cross.

Call to Decision
Which thief are you? What choice have you made?

• Maybe today you need to make a choice of acceptance
• Maybe today you need to reaffirm your choice

Instead of mocking Christ with our words and our lifestyle, we need to make him Lord!

Don’t leave today until you can also say, Lord, remember me in your kingdom!

Easter Collection

Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

Get more than 80 creative ideas for planning a Youth Easter celebration or Easter Party. You can immediately download my best Easter Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Easter activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!

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Scripture
Numbers 13,14 and Joshua 14:6-15

Preached by Ken Sapp @KPRBC
Sept 20, 1999

Introduction

A little boy was afraid of the dark. One night his mother told him to go out to the back porch and bring her the broom. The little boy turned to his mother and said, “Mama, I don’t want to go out there. It’s dark.” The mother smiled reassuringly at her son. “You don’t have to be afraid of the dark,” she explained. “Jesus is out there. He’ll look after you and protect you.” The little boy looked at his mother real hard and asked, “Are you sure he’s out there?” “Yes, I’m sure. He is everywhere, and he is always ready to help you when you need him,” she said. The little boy thought about that for a minute and then went to the back door and cracked it a little. Peering out into the darkness, he called, “Jesus? If you’re out there, would you please hand me the broom?”

It wasn’t the dark that terrified the spies who entered the Promised Land. It was Giants – giants in walled cities. We all know that twelve spies were sent into Canaan to spy out the land. Can you name the twelve? Most people can name Joshua and Caleb, but the remaining ten are forgotten. Eventually, God raises Joshua and Caleb to become the real giants in the land. By faith they stood on the promises of God. Their faith was bigger than the giants. And God was bigger than their faith.

Someone has said it’s not the size of your faith that makes the difference, but the size of God that we put our faith in.

Jesus said if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains. And as we look at the story of Caleb today, we will see him asking in faith “GIVE ME THE MOUNTAIN” In your life of faith you too face giants, walled fortresses, and discouragement. As we look at the life of Caleb we discover what mustard seed faith does in such circumstances. And it is my hope that you might respond like Caleb “Give me the Mountain.”

Background

We first read of Caleb in Numbers chapters 13-14. We read that the people of Israel are encamped at Kadesh Barnea, an oasis in the Negev desert south of the Promised Land. It has been only a year or so since they have come out of Egypt. The people have seen many miracles in that time:
— the Red Sea opening,
— water from the rock,
— daily manna and quail.
— A pillar of smoke by day and fire by night
— They’ve fought the Amalakite raiders and won.
— Moses has received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai and destroyed the golden calf.
— They’ve built the Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant.

And having their faith built through these events and many more in their journey, the time has now arrived for them to enter the Promised Land. And Caleb is one of those chosen to enter it ahead of the 2 million Israelites.

Comparison to our situation

Like the Isrealites, are on a journey; we are not at the end of our destination. God has not brought us to where we are without reason. As the Isrealites were to lay claim to the promised land, God has laid it on our heart to go and claim the land around us for him – to reach out into the community, and the world in which we live. We’ve seen the faithfulness of God. His faithfulness has proved sufficient beyond measure. The test of our faith is to enter the land we have claimed for God.

Outline
Today as we look at the life of Caleb, we’ll look at three tests of your faith:

1. Faith focuses on the possibilities, the potential, not the problems
2. Faith relies on God’s abilities, not our own abilities
3. Faith is not content with the minimum, the past of least resistance, but asks for the mountain!

TEST 1: Faith focuses on Possibilities- on Potential, not the Problems

We read in Numbers 13:2 “The Lord gave Moses this directive: “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders” Caleb is one of those leaders – the recognized leader of the tribe of Judah, largest of the 12 tribes. He is about 40 years old. One Bible scholar suggests his name means ‘all heart.’ And he sets out on the mission with the other 11 leaders, one from each tribe.

They are on a mission to explore Canaan, the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey. A Jewish Rabbi (Meir Leibush Malbim – 1809-1879) says the Hebrew language has two words for spying. One (latour) means to seek good and has the same root as the modern Hebrew word for “Tourist” (tayyar). Tourists look for good things to enjoy wherever they go. Singaporeans love to be tourists. But the other word for spy (leragel) means to look for weaknesses.

Later in Joshua 2, the second Hebrew word for spy – “seeking out weaknesses” is used, when Joshua prepares to invade Canaan after Moses’ death. Two spies are sent out, who stay with Rahab the prostitute as they seek out weaknesses in preparation for conquest.

But that is not the task of the 12. They are not there to spy out the problems. They are to first examine the potential, the possibilities, the abundance the land has to offer. God commands Moses to appoint a team to spy out the good — to examine the resources of this land. They are to give a general report on what cities are available to be taken, what land is available and how fertile, and what people inhabit it. Since they will be dividing up the land between the 12 tribes, it is important that representatives from all the tribes be in on this initial tour of the land. God wanted these leaders to come back and ignite the hearts of the 12 tribes with delight as they reported the riches and the magnificence of the promised land. God wanted to use these leaders to encouraged the people to take possession of the promised land.

And so Caleb and eleven of his peers are sent to assess the potential of Canaan. They go north along the ridge of mountains that provide the backbone of the country, through Hebron in the south all the way to Rehob at the north end of the land. Perhaps they are posing as traders, we don’t know, but along the way they observe carefully what they see: the nature of the cities and villages, the produce of the land and its potential.

And the land does have great potential. When the spies return, they carry a huge cluster of grapes so huge it took two men to carry it– the fruit of the land — on a pole between them. In the desert they’d probably never seen grapes. In their wildest imagination they hadn’t conceived of grapes like these.

Let’s read what they said. Look at Numbers 13: verses 27-29, “They gave Moses this account: ‘We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. (and I am sure they held up the cluster of grapes for all to see) But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea along the Jordan.”

Wait a second. They forgot their mission. Their mission was to report on the possibilities, the potential – not the problems. Their report is like one of those good news bad news jokes. The good news is the land does flow with milk and honey. The bad news is Mike Tyson already lives there. The Giants- the Anak are all over, the Amalekites own the Negev, the hill country is occupied by three separate peoples and the Canaanites control the coastal region. Its an impossible mission.

Their report started out great but then they lost their focus. When it comes to matters of faith, too often we shift our focus and lose sight of God. Remember when Peter tried walking on the water? At first, when he kept his eyes on Jesus, he was fine (showing off and smiling). But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and began to sink. When Peter shifted his focus from Jesus to the wind, then fear melted his heart– and he sank. That’s what happened to these ten spies. They shifted their focus. They took their eyes off of God and fixed their eyes on the Giants occupying the land.

Once when Martin Luther was feeling depressed, his wife asked if he’d heard God had died. Luther replied angrily that she was blaspheming. She retorted that if God had indeed not died what right had he to be without hope! But this is the same thing that happened with the Isrealites…

As the ten spies continue to report their fear increases and their faith decreases. You can almost see their faith shrinking as they speak in verse 31-33: “We can’t attack these people; they are stronger than we are.’ They said, the land we explored devours those living in it. (Now they think the land will devour them.) And then they concluded in the first part of verse 33,”We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

Grasshoppers! God’s chosen people see themselves as Grasshoppers.

When things looked tough it was not faith that prevailed, but fear. They became pessimists, pointing out the problems, instead of having faith and looking at the possibilities, the potential. Those with faith challenge and motivate and point to the possibilities, but those who have no faith criticize and focus on the problems. When it comes to the Christian life, Giants and grasshoppers are not determined by genes, but by faith. And this test of Giants exposed the Grasshopper hearts of the spies. When it came time to enter and conquer their neighborhood, they stopped in fear. When it came time to live their faith, they fled. Faith that cannot confront the Giants is not faith. Ten of the twelve spies became grasshoppers and thus useless in the midst of God’s people. In fact, they became worse than useless.

In the Bible grasshoppers are associated with destruction. Grasshoppers and Locusts are the same thing. Locusts or Grasshoppers destroy the crops that the farmer has worked so hard to grow. The bad report given by these ten ravaged the faith of the entire nation of Israel in the same way that locusts ravage crops. Moses worked so hard to cultivate the faith of this nation like a farmer works his field. Now, one bad report from Grasshoppers would destroy an entire generation.

TEST 1 APPLIED: Do you want to evaluate YOUR faith?

Ask yourself this question: Are you more likely to point out the possibilities or the problems? Are you more likely to get excited or discouraged? Are you more likely to motivate others or discourage? Are you more likely to challenge or criticize? Are you more likely to be hopeful or pessimistic? Possibilities or Problems?

Don’t get me wrong. There is a time to examine the problems, to determine the obstacles. As a matter of fact, as already mentioned, Joshua later sent spies to the land to spy out the weaknesses, but the first step is one of faith – one of faith in God’s Provision. Our actions are not to be determined by the problems, but by faith that God will provide. Go back and read Numbers 13:2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.” God promised the land to them. God would provide the land. He would give it to them. Your first question is not what are the problems, but what has God promised. What has God provided. You want to evaluate your faith – examine your focus! Are you a grasshopper or does your faith in God’s provision and promises make the giants in your life and this church grasshoppers?

SIDENOTE: Dealing with Problems in Faith

I am not saying that when their are problems that you don’t discuss them. When it does come time to deal with the problems, its not to determine whether we are going to do something or not, but to strategize on HOW we are going to do it. I have never been in a church that doesn’t have its problems. I have never met a person who doesn’t have his / her problems, myself included. But we need to be careful how we handle problems. We need to handle them with faith. For the Isrealites, I would say that giants in the land are a legitimate concern. But their focus became a magnification of the problem instead of searching for a solution. These ten should have pulled Moses off to the side and said look, we have to talk. But instead their unbelief and bad report was devastating.

Look at the first couple of verses of Numbers 14.
[1] That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. [2] All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! [3] Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” [4] And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

The pessimism of the ten men, their lack of faith was devastating. Imagine the scene. We read in (Numbers 1:46) that a census taken at Sinai several weeks earlier that recorded that the number of men over 20 years of age able to fight was 603,550. Add the women and those under 20 years of age and you are looking at close to 2 million people. By nightfall their report has spread throughout the people, and with it the infectious fear of spies. “That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud” (Numbers 14:1). Women were sobbing that their husbands would be killed in battle and their children left fatherless. Across the camp that night you could hear the sound of weeping and anguish. By the next morning everyone was grumbling against Moses and ready to go back to slavery. They were ready to give up.

Application: If it comes to a point in your life when your lack of faith has you focusing on problems instead of the provider; if you are having that grasshopper mentality, you might best keep it to yourself and among leadership until you are willing to focus on God’s provision and God’s promises. You may do inestimable damage to the people of God because you’ve lost your faith. As a result of your grasshopper mentality, you may doom the rest of God’s people to wander in a spiritual desert for next 40 years!

TEST 2: Faith relies on God’s Abilities

Not only does faith focus on the possibilities instead of the problems, but Faith focuses on God’s abilities and not our own! Ten of the spies measured the giants against themselves: we can’t do it, they said. They are stronger than we are. We’re like grasshoppers compared to them. But in the midst of this fear and unbelief, pessimism, two men stood firm in faith and hope — Caleb and Joshua. When the 10 spies were sharing their tale of terror, the scripture reports, “Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (13:30).

Caleb measured the giants, not against themselves, but against God.

To a great God those giants were very puny. The next day, Caleb and Joshua try to sway the gathered Israelite crowds with their faith: “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them'” (14:7-9).

Notice the positive attitude – look at the hope, the faith. Caleb at this point was a man in his prime, aged forty-five. ‘Yeah, we can do it! Let’s go! The Lord is with us – that’s all that matters!’ Notice the explicit mention of the LORD in their words. The 10 spies don’t even mention the LORD, only what they have seen that terrifies them. Joshua and Caleb have seen the same giants and the same heavily fortified cities, but they are not comparing themselves to the task, but God! They see the LORD enabling them to conquer these people.

There are walls and giants we must overcome but there are milk and honey too. If we measure ourselves to the task we will always fall short. But if we measure God to the task we will never be disappointed. Faith focus on God’s Abilities, not our own.

Test #2 Applied

Ask yourself these questions: When I am asked to serve God in a task, do I compare myself to the task before accepting it or do I compare God to the task? When you are asked to serve in the church council, in Sunday School, in training, in the youth ministry, and the multitude of other needs we have as a church in reaching our goals, do you make your decision by looking at your own abilities or at Gods? Do you evaluate what you are capable or what God is capable of? The question should never be “CAN I DO IT?” but “Am I willing to let GOD DO IT through me?”

TEST #3 – Faith Asks for the Mountain
(i.e. faith doesn’t take the path of least resistance – the easy way out)

Look what God says about Caleb in Numbers 14:24, “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it” (14:24, cf. 30). We see a similar quotation in Deuteronomy, where Moses recounts for the children of these rebels what God has said: “… except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly” (Deuteronomy 1:36)

Caleb followed the LORD “wholeheartedly” (NIV) or “wholly” or “fully” (KJV). What a testimony! So often we follow the Lord when it suits us, but when things get tough and we must lean on faith rather than sight we balk. Fear sets in, and we follow our fears instead of our faith. That’s what I like about Caleb: he looks at life as what Robert Schuller terms a “possibility thinker,” one who sees himself walking into the future, not alone but leaning on the strong arm of his God.

Lets jump to Joshua 14:6-15. This is scene 2 of Caleb’s life. After being forced to wonder 40 years in the desert because of a lack of faith of the others, Caleb could have been VERY discouraged. Yet here there was no hint that he was discouraged. Instead he seems ambitious for God! He could have thrown up his hands in angry despair and adopted a ‘What’s the use, with this mob?’ or ‘I told you so’ attitude. He could have sulked and let his anger and frustration at the situation simmer. He could have said, “You got yourselves into this mess, you can get yourselves out.” We see no frustration in Caleb though he had every reason to be upset. Now 45 years later at the age of 85, his faith burns as brightly as ever. When others of his age would have retired years before and been taking life easy ever since, Caleb had no such thoughts. He remained active in the service of the Lord. The Lord had remained faithful to Caleb and Caleb had remained faithful to the Lord. Caleb’s attitude was not one of despair. Nor was it one of frustration or anger. His was an attitude of ambition for God.

Each of us gets disappointed in other people from time to time: they don’t live up to our expectations. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers – but he didn’t give up. Paul, writing with a sad heart told how one of his friends had forsaken him to follow the world. However Paul didn’t cease preaching the gospel because Demas did.

The land is to be divided among the 12 tribes. But before the land west of the Jordan is distributed by lot, Caleb stakes his own claim, based on the promise made to him by Moses: Look at verse 9 – “The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.” (14:9)

Joshua blesses Caleb and gives him Hebron as his inheritance (14:13). Apparently, the grant involved the whole hill country surrounding Hebron. Interestingly, when the lot was cast for Caleb’s tribe Judah (15:1), the tribal land assigned by lot providentially included the portion already given to Caleb. But lets look a little closer at his request!

Caleb’s faith is showing in vss. 10-12. From one perspective he might seem to be bragging, but look closer

1. “Just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years … so here I am today, eighty-five years old!” (10a).
2. “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then” (11).
3. “Now give me this hill country (NIV; KJV “mountain”) that the LORD promised me that day” (12a).
4. “You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said” (12b).

Notice that in three out of the four statements in this section, he mentions the name of Yahweh. “The LORD promised… The LORD promised… the LORD helping me.” Here is a man who has learned to trust in the promises of God and stake his whole future on them. He knows what it is like to have the LORD help him, and he is trusting that the LORD will continue to do so.

“Give Me This Mountain” (14:12)

When Israel finally came into the Promised Land, Caleb – as a reward for his faith – was allowed to pick out any section of the land for himself and his family forever. Do you know what section he asked for? He asked for Hebron. Why Hebron? Of all Palestine that could have been his for the asking, why did he pick Hebron? I think he wanted Hebron because there were the Anakite giants that had so terrified his fellow scouts 40 years ago. It was the most hilly part in the area, infested by giants. Israel’s enemies were strongest here – the most difficult part of the whole Promised Land to subdue.

But Caleb at age 85 said ‘give me that.’ You say there’s a problem… let God use me to handle it! “We looked like grasshoppers in their eyes,” they whimpered. “Bring them on,” says Caleb. “They’re no match for the LORD!” Forty-five years before he had counseled, “Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us” (Numbers 14:9). The giants represent the enemies of Conquest, and Caleb is ready for them. He didn’t ask for the easy job.

This man of faith knew that with God nothing is impossible – if it is done out of faith. There’s a saying that a person of vision and faith does the most difficult thing now and leaves the impossible until later. That was Caleb. Caleb refused to be discouraged, but took up the most difficult task to be used in what God had promised to do.

Test #3 Applied

Ask yourself these questions: Am I content to do the minimum in my service to God? Am I content to sit back and watch others work? Am I looking for the easy way out in my Christian service? Or am I asking God to give me his toughest! Give me the mountain! God USE me! Here I am.. I’m ready…

Conclusion
Caleb’s faith was mustard seed faith to move mountains. When it came time to be a leader he said – Give me the mountain.

In the upcoming months before the new year your faith also will be tested. People are going to ask you to do things that may terrify you. And you’ll either respond as a grasshopper or a Caleb. You may be asked to teach Sunday School, to help out in worship services, to help with Children’s worship, and many other tasks.

When those times come Remember the three tests of your faith?

• Will you focus on the problems, or the possibilities?
• Will you focus on your abilities or God’s Abilities?
• Will you ask for the mountain or flee in fear?

There will be giants! And unfortunately, some around you will be grasshoppers. But how desperately we need more Calebs with faith to lead our church to claim the lost for God. When you are called to act – to serve – will you be a grasshopper or a Caleb? Caleb’s eulogy (Joshua 14:14): he ‘faithfully obeyed the Lord’ (GNB); he ‘wholeheartedly followed the Lord’ (NRSV); or as the Jerusalem Bible translates it he ‘scrupulously obeyed the Lord’. I wonder if they’ll say that about me, about you? Mustard seed faith means looking to the possibilities, relying on his abilities, and asking for the mountain?

Grasshopper or Caleb – The choice is Yours!

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Scripture Focus: Ecclesiastes 10:1-3

“(NIV) As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. Even as he walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is.”

Introduction: Computer Bug
Mars has been a subject of fascination for centuries. Scientists are intrigued about the possibility of life and the possibility of water beneath the surface. One recent spacecraft to visit the red planet was the Mars Climate Orbiter. Its incredible to me that scientists can calculate the gravity of the moon, the effects of the sun and planets, the orbit of the planets, and plot a course that will take a comparatively small spacecraft with very limited fuel and send it on a trajectory to intercept Mars. Two years and a billion miles later the spacecraft reaches it’s target.

Unfortunately, for the Mars Climate Orbiter, something went wrong. It made the journey all the way to Mars but then in its final moments disaster struck. Initially, scientists were not sure what happened, but contact with the spacecraft was lost. Later, as scientists tried to pinpoint what went wrong, they discovered that it was not a mechanical error, but a human one that doomed the spacecraft. Among the thousands of lines of computer programming code someone made a mistake. A small mistake, but a mistake with a very big consequences — one programming team used English units (e.g., inches, feet, miles. . .) while the other used metric units. When the spacecraft fired its engines to take it into orbit, its calculations were off and its journey and a large portion of NASA’s resources were wasted.

A similar rocket failure took place on a Venus probe a few years back. In that case it was a simple hyphen in the computer program that resulted in the rocket’s failure.

A mistake in a computer program is called a “bug.”… In comparison to the whole, the “bug” may seem small — but a “fly in the ointment”. But that small “bug” can lead to disastrous consequences. Assumptions and the decisions based on those assumptions may be miscalculated. Our resources may be wasted and our destination may be forever changed – all on as a result of a fly in the ointment.

Let me read Ecclesiastes 10:1-3 again… This time from the New King James Version.

(NKJV) Ecclesiastes 10:1 Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; [So does] a little folly to one respected for wisdom [and] honor.

THE OINTMENT

Valuable
In Old Testament times, ointments were highly prized and extremely valuable.

• Treasure – Hezekiah displayed them in his treasure house to the representatives of the King of Babylon. (2 Kings 20:13)
• Tribute – They were used for payment of tribute (Hosea 12:1)
• Jesus Feet – In the New Testament Judas complained that the ointment poured on Jesus’ feet might have been sold for a large sum of money (Matthew 26:9)
• Anointing and consecration – Ointments and oiled were used to anoint and consecrate priests, the tabernacles and furnishings. (Exodus 30:22-33)
• Birth of Christ – Two of the three gifts mentioned that the kings brought to baby Jesus were ointments – frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)

Practical
Not only was ointment valuable, but it was also practical.

• Hygene – The anointing of the hair, face, and exposed skin was an important act of hygiene and grooming in the arid regions of the Holy Land. Water for baths was scarce. Oils also provided protection against the scorching desert sun.
• King David – In II Sam. 12:20 we can read of King David, washing, putting on his lotions, and changing his clothes.
• Ancient Egyptian – Historical documents reveal an incident of workers going on strike because of a lack of food and “ointment” for their skin (“Ointment” – Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia).

Medicinal
Ointment was used for medicinal purposes.

• Ointments & cremes – Even today, many of our medicines are applied in ointments & cremes.
• The “Balm of Gilead” referred to an ointment with medicinal value – (Jeremiah 8:22)
• Wounds – Isaiah 1:6 and Luke 10:34 indicate oil was used on wounds.
• Burial – Ointments were also used in embalming and wrapping a body, in preparation for burial.

Ointments were valuable, practical, and medicinal.

FLIES IN THE OINTMENT

Ointment was made by an apothecary (chemist/perfumer). He usually created the ointment by skillfully mixing precious spices, scents, herbs, or medicinal extracts into an olive oil base. The fragrance from these additions to the oil naturally attracted pesky flies. These unwitting flies then became entrapped in the miry, oily substance.

Decay/ stench: 
Not only did the flies corrupt the ointment by their simple presence, but their decaying bodies caused the ointment to spoil and stink. Flies are quite commonly used as a symbol of decay, of corruption, of ruin. We’ve all seen flies drawn to dead animals and spoiled fruit.

Wherever there are flies, ruin is sure to follow. 

• In Egypt: God used a swarms of flies as one of the 10 plagues that devastated Egypt. Of that event, Exodus 8:24 reads “And the LORD did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials, and throughout Egypt the land was RUINED by the flies.”
• In Malaysia: A couple months ago, while I was on a short vacation in Malaysia I was working on this sermon. I ordered mixed vegetables and as I began to scoup them onto my spoon a fly fluttered his wings and said “hello.” I guarantee that from that point, he may have been smaller but he now had a much bigger appetite than I did. It ruined the mixed vegetables for me. I couldn’t eat them. I didn’t even go back to that restaurant again.
• It may be a small fly, but it has great potential
  • to ruin something very valuable,
  • to render something essential as useless
  • to corrupt something used for healing into something that is putrifying.

FLIES IN THE OINTMENT

Word Usage: This situation in which dead flies putrifed the perfume was such a common occurrence that the term “Flies in the ointment.” came to be mean anything that spoiled pleasure of the whole. Interestingly though, this verse is actually being misused today. This is true of many Biblical verses that have found their way into common usage. Either someone misinterpreted the phrase or meaning has changed over the last 3000 years. The issue being discussed is not some isolated blemish (or blemishes) that detract from the pleasure of the whole. The issue is that the dead flies have caused the ointment itself to stink. The fly is merely a precursor to a more serious problem… The ointment is now putrified. The result may be just as nauseating, but the distinction is extremely important. Dead flies can be fished out, but when the ointment has been ruined simply removing the fly does not remove decay and stench.

Yet we often say to ourselves – It’s Just one fly? – Its just a little sin.

Sin brings a noisy clatter where once was a symphony
Sin replaces the Bread of life with moldy breadcrumbs
Sin replaces springs of living water with stagnant pools of decay
Sin replaces delectable fruits of the spirit with worm riddled fruits of the flesh.

Each of these starts small, but the consequences are great.

One un-tuned trumpet in the orchestra,
One spore of mold on the bread,
One polluted water source,
One rotten apple in the fruit basket,
One fly in the ointment.

Small but not insignificant.

One hyphen in thousands of lines of computer programming
One unit in feet among hundreds in metric.
One fly in the ointment and the ointment begins to give off a foul smell.

One hyphen, one bug, in a thousand lines of computer programming is a mistake. The programmer didn’t intend to do something wrong. Yet even with something so small, that wasn’t even a moral decision, the potential for disaster was enormous. How greater is the potential danger of intentional sin – one little sin can lead to potentially disastrous consequences. And the loss of a soul is so much more painful than the loss of a spacecraft, a piece of equipment.

Biblical Examples
It was one bite of the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3)
It was one golden calf that doomed the Israelites to a 40 year holy Land tour. (Exodus 32)
It was one man’s sin that led to Joshua’s defeat in the battle of Ai. (Joshua 7)
It was one little lamb, a woman named Bathsheba, that tempted King David into adultery. (II Samuel 11)
It was one moment of Anger that prevented Moses from Entering the promised land.
It was one kiss that betrayed our Savior. (Mark 14:44)
If only it had been but one sin that nailed our Savior to the cross. Yet for us, we could be lucky if we only had one sin since we woke up this morning… no for us, one is too small a number…
Yet it was the one Son of God died on the cross and took away ALL OF our sins.

Small but not insignificant. 
A virus is the tiniest of living things. But when we have one, we do not consider it a small thing.
One small virus and our nose becomes a stream,
our stomach begins to churn,
all our muscles begin to ache,
and our head begins to throb.
For one virus grows and infects the whole body. The trouble with little sins is that they don’t stay little.

Principle: It has been said,
sow one thought, reap an action
sow one action, reap a habit
sow one habit, reap a character
sow one character, reap a destiny

Watch Out for Those Tadpoles

I read about an incident that took place at a college campus, located in a valley between two mountains. The water tower for that college was located up on one of the mountains. One morning while the guys were taking their showers, the water went off. They thought the girls were playing a trick on them so they quickly got dressed and ran to the girls’ dorm, only to find that the same thing had happened to them.

When they realized that it wasn’t a trick, they called the maintenance crew. When the maintenance crew arrived, they were perplexed. They could find no pipes that were burst or valves that were turned off, so they began the tedious task of following the pipe all the way back up the mountain. Piece by piece they took it apart to see if there was any blockage. Finally, they came to the last piece of pipe that went into the water tower. They opened it, and found an enormous bullfrog stuck in the pipe.

They could not understand how a bullfrog could have gotten into the water tower. There was just no way. Then they realized that it hadn’t come in as a big bullfrog but as a tiny tadpole. It had worked its way in and lived off the algae in the water until one day it was swimming too close and was sucked into the pipe, cutting off the water supply to the whole campus.

So many times, something may seem to us only
a small “indiscretion.”,
a little mistake,
a minor infraction,
a short lapse of judgment,
a momentary loss of control.
But in time, if not removed, that little sin will grow, and before we know it the flow of the Living Water into our lives has been choked off. Our relationship with God becomes stale and stagnant.

Like in the movie “Gremlins”, sin starts out small and cute like the Mogwai (spelling?). But if we feed it, it becomes a demon, and we don’t control it, it controls us, and the result is destruction and ruin.

A fly in the ointment is a picture, an image of sin in the life of a believer. 
I imagine the apothecary represents God.
The ointment and spices represent our lives, our actions, how we live.
And, the sweet smelling aroma or fragrance is the testimony produced by our lives.
In 2 Corinthians 2:15 our life and testimony are similarly described as an aroma. But that aroma can be spoiled by the flies, by the sin in our lives..

New Testament Comparison: Salt Losing its Saltiness.
In The New Testament Jesus speaks of a similar metaphor when he speaks of Salt losing its saltiness.

• In Matthew 5:13 we read, “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses it’s saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”
• Similarly, In Luke 14:34 we read, ” Salt is good, but if it loses it’s saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is neither fit for the soil nor for the manure pile.”
• Furthermore, in Colossians 4:6 we are told “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

The common principle – Salt, like ointment, was used for healing. We can’t be a source of comfort and healing to a hurting world when our lives have been contaminated and our witness has been corrupted.

• What is the fly in the ointment for you?
• What is the sin in your life that is now destroying or has the potential to destroy your witness?
• Maybe you are thinking.. its just a little sin.. But one little sin can have great consequences.
• What is it that brings about putrification and stench in your life instead of a fragrant aroma of Christ?

Sin
It seems the world today doesn’t like to talk about sin.
“Sin” is one of those words that isn’t “politically correct.”

Now when discussing various questionable activities, we replace any references to “sin” with terms like “moral failure,” and “momentary lapse.”

Lilian Holcomb, a grandmother in Pueblo Colorado, tells her grandchildren a bedtime story from the Bible story every night. One night she said, “Tonight we’re going to talk about sin. Do you know what the word sin means?”
Seven-year-old Keith spoke up. “It’s when you do something bad.”
Four-year-old Aaron’s eyes widened. “I know a big sin Keith did today.”
Annoyed, Keith turned to Aaron. “You take care of your sins, and I’ll take care of mine.”
[Christian Reader, “Kids of the Kingdom.”]

Some of you may be thinking the same thing now, “You take care of your sins and I’ll take care of mine.” But we often have no intention of taking care of our sins – we are merely upset that someone else has discovered them.

Fly Collector?
Cockroaches as pets?
If you read the Singapore Straits Times (August 19, 2000), You might have noticed the story about some special pets of students in southern China. They are the latest rage and are even seen as status symbols. The wholesale price of these pets are about S$13 per 250mg. The most prized specimens are said to be from the United States and Australia. What are these treasured pets?

If you read the story you would know that they are cockroaches. Apparently there was a popular Hong Kong television series in which a couple raised a cockroach (named Xiao Qiang) as a pet. Since then pet shops have been cashing in on the demand as students buy the creatures. Personally, I have a hard time seeing a cockroach as a pet. As matter of fact, my natural tendency when I see one is a heavy foot and a satisfying crunch.

When I was a youth I did have a few insects I collected, almost as pets. I raised Monarch butterflies, and I collected beetles. I think that if I had ever brought a cockroach home as a pet mom would have sent me to the nearest psychiatrist and given me roach killer for aftershave.

Even with my relatively benign insects, Mom was always quick to inform me when any of my live specimens escaped, usually with a loud scream that “something was loose and crawling across her foot.”

Entomologists
They have a special name for people who study insects. They are known as entomologists. Unfortunately many of us as Christians have become entomologists ourselves. Not only do we have a fly in the ointment, but we have chosen to become collectors.

But I wonder, what it is you have chosen to collect?

You don’t need to raise your hands on these:
If I were to peer into your collection, what would I find?
Is it anger, bitterness, jealousy, gossip, worry, gluttony, harmful habits or addictions, sexual lust, envy, materialism, little white lies, big black lies, a divisive spirit, an unforgiving heart, a critical spirit, selfish ambition, fear, real or imagined guilt, discontentment, pornography, depression, quarreling, impatience, complaining, deceit, arrogance, self-righteousness, unholy thoughts.

Survey
A recent survey of Discipleship Journal Christian readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:

1. Materialism
2. Pride
3. Self-centeredness
4. Laziness
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness
6. (Tie) Sexual lust.
7. Envy
8. Gluttony
9. Lying

C.S. Lewis – Surprised by Joy (Chap. 14)
“For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practical purpose. And what I found appalled me;
a zoo of lusts,
a bedlam of ambitions,
a nursery of fears,
a harem of fondled hatreds.”

Saving some for later?
A primary 2 student went to his first confessional in his catholic church. He confessed one or two small items and the priest, knowing he was a very mischievous boy, asked, “Do you have any more to confess?”
“Sure” the youngster replied, “but I am saving some for next time.”
[Joseph Young, Saint Cloud (Minnesota) Visitor.]

Pet Sins?
I must confess, as I was preparing this sermon, I had to come to terms with the fact that I have more than one fly in my life. I guess we all do. I also must confess that there are a few I am not really keen about giving up. I have a few I want to save until later. Some of them have become pets. I wonder if you also have a few pets?

Growing Up, I lived in the Texas countryside, surrounded by ranches and farms. The nearest city was 7 miles away. My best friend lived about 14 miles away. While we didn’t live on a farm, we did have a large house on a large piece of land. We had lots of pets.

We had cats and dogs. We also raised ducks, geese, turkeys, chickens and rabbits. Mom also took great joy in feeding the birds and the squirrels. There was even an albino squirrel, one that was all white, that mom considered her pet, even though it was wild.

Because we were so far from the city we had our own well from which we received our water. Water was pumped out of the ground into a large storage tank and then it went through several filters and arrived in the house. We not only used it for the animals and watering plants, but we used it for drinking, cooking, washing clothes and taking showers. On one afternoon I remember mom, who had the most sensitive nose, commenting that the water had a unusual smell to it. In time the smell worsened. Dad was convinced to check the water system and filters and see if something was amiss. He checked the pipes and filters all the way back to the large storage tank. When he climbed the ladder to the top of the tank and removed a cover to look inside, the stench just about knocked him off the ladder. It seemed that one of mom’s pet squirrels had somehow climbed inside to get a drink and took an unexpected swim. Unfortunately, he failed his swimming lesson and drowned. Dad reached in to scoop him out and when he picked it up by its tail, it was so rotten that the fur and skin came right off. And this was water we had been drinking. Obviously we drained the tank, and added a good dose of bleach to purify it before we refilled it with water. We also put wire over the openings to prevent a similar occurrence. A few years later, however, the wire rusted through and another squirrel went for a final swim. It was just one squirrel, but the the results were quite disgusting.

While the water filters helped remove some of the smell, in a sense they only made things worse because it took longer to identify the problem. The problem wasn’t solved until the squirrel was removed and a good cleansing took place.

The same is true in our lives. We can try to clean up, what comes out of our lives, our actions, but the actions will only become clean when the source of the contamination, when the heart is cleaned up.

There is always an emptying before the new life can replace the old. A good cleansing or confession must take place.

Then a little extra protection in those weak spots would be prudent, as well, in order to prevent a return of the pesky little problem. In time, our “pets” get us into trouble.

ADVICE ON FLY CONTROL

Avoid flies
FLEE – “Flee the evil desires of youth…”
FOCUS – “pursue faith love righteousness and peace”
FELLOWSHIP “With those who call upon God from a PURE heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22).

Remove the flies– if you sin, then repent and confess it immediately.
“If you confess your sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

Use Insect repellent– saturate yourself with the Word,
“Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

Remember that Survey?
Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when they had:
* neglected their time with God (81 percent) = (LACK OF FOCUS)
* when they were physically tired (57 percent).

Resisting temptation was accomplished by
* prayer (84 percent),
* avoiding compromising situations (76 percent), (FLEE)
* Bible study (66 percent), and
* being accountable to someone (52 percent). (FELLOWSHIP)
— Discipleship Journal, 11-12/92. “To Verify,” Leadership.

If you do these things, then your life will be “a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour”- well pleasing to the Lord. (Eph. 5:2)

NASA REVISITED
Remember the Mars Climate Orbiter that was lost as a result of using feet instead of metric units. There was something I didn’t tell you about it. When NASA officials were asked about the error, they responded that the error wasn’t the biggest problem. People sometimes make mistakes… that’s common. The biggest mistake, according to NASA officials, was the failure of the system of checks and balances to detect the error and correct it.

I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse (or PURIFY) us from all unrighteousness.”

A FLY IN AMBER. (object Lesson)

I have here a piece of amber. I am an avid rock and mineral collector.

Growing up, my mother, remarking on the vast number of stones and minerals that filled my closets, my drawers, my cabinets and overflowed onto the floor of my room, once told me if I brought one more rock in the house I was going to have to move out to make room for my collection. Of course now she is quite fond of my rock collection as long as it includes rubies, opals, jade, and other stones she can wear.

This piece of amber is one of the prized stones in my rock collection. If you have seen the movie “Jurassic Park” or “The Lost World” you might remember the walking cane with the amber pommel. Amber is actually a prehistoric resin, secreted from a tree. Many of our ointments and medicinal cremes are made from such resins. In the case of amber, the resin has fossilized and hardened. Anything caught in the resin is preserved. The resin becomes a miniature time capsule displaying its contents for all to see. The most prized amber are the specimens like this one that contains a fruit fly – a very long time ago, it was merely A FLY IN THE OINTMENT, a fly that became trapped in the resin of a tree. Now it is fossilized and encased in stone.

Too often our lives are like this piece of amber. Instead of removing the fly in the ointment, we allow it to harden and become fossilized.

For some of us the fly has become a prized treasure.
Some of us have become entomologists – insect collectors.
The closets, drawers, and cabinets of our lives are overflowing not with stones but flies. Flies that over time are becoming hardened and fossilized.

What’s the fly in your life?
What is the sin that prevents you from being the fragrant aroma of Christ the Perfumer, your Creator, intended?
What is it that has entered your life and is slowly putrifying your relationship with God?
Let’s take a moment of silent meditation? Let God speak to you…

Where is the stench coming from? 

• For some of you, this may be the first time you realized the danger of sin in your life… You’ve seen the decay first hand, you’ve experienced the stench, and you’re aware of the destruction one little sin can cause. You’ve looked at your life and you’ve become aware of more than just one fly. But the ONE SON of God came to cleanse you, to save you. I John 1:9
• Other’s of you, have experienced the cleansing, but over time, the screen rusted out, the little pet sins have crawled back in, and you are starting to smell the stench again. Your testimony isn’t what is should be. Your relationship with God has become stagnant and corrupted. Will you let the fly become fossilized, hardened or will you remove it by confessing before God today. I John 1:9 is for you too.

Let’s confess and Let God purify us today, so that we might experience his presence, his fragrance in our lives. Don’t wait. God can restore you, so that you can be an ointment of healing to a hurting world. I know that truth personally as one small fly completely sidelined me from ministry for a time and cause a lot of pain for others. But God CAN restore! One small sin can be a cause of great destruction, but as Jesus showed us on the cross, God can use one life, clean and pure, yielded before Him, to undo that same destruction.

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Walking On Water
“Spiritual Growth: Faith and Obedience”
Text: Matthew 14:22-33 (Mark 6:47-52, John 6:16-21)

Preached by Ken Sapp @KPRBC
May 23, 1999

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (NIV)

Introduction

I read about an interesting Scientific experiment that was conducted a while back. A group of behavioral Scientists put some rats in a tank of water, with smooth sides so they could not escape nor rest and observed them to see how long they would survive before drowning. The average time was 17 minutes.

Then, they repeated the experiment, but this time they “rescued” the rats just before the point of drowning, dried them off and returned them to their cages…. fed them, and let them play for a few days, and repeated the drowning experiment. This time, the average survival time for these rats increased from 17 minutes to 36 hours! The scientists explained that phenomenon by pointing out that the second time around, the rats had HOPE. They believed that they could survive this, because they had received a helping hand before.

In today’s passage Peter went through a similar faith/hope building experience

Peter’s Background

Steps of Faith
Christ is walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee and he sees two fishermen casting their nets into the sea. And upon seeing them, He replies, “Come, follow me and I will make you fisher’s of men.” And in Matthew 4:11 we read “At once they left their nets and followed him.” One of those two fishemen is Simon Peter. Imagine those steps of faith Peter first made. A man of whom he knows nothing or little, asks him to follow him and he immediately drops his nets and obeys. Blind faith? Maybe but we don’t know how much Peter has heard about Christ before this occasion. Obedience. Definitely. But this step of faith is only the beginning, he takes another step of faith in Matthew 14, not fishing in the calm seas of the sea of Galilee, but in a storm.

Eyes on Jesus
In Matthew 9 Peter sees Christ interact with two blind men. After the interaction, their first sight is that of Jesus and they tell the entire region about it. In Matthew 14 Peter also sees Jesus, but then he focuses his eyes on the waves and the storm and begins to sink.

An Outreached hand
In Matt. 8:14 Christ visits the house of Peter’s mother in law who is lying in bed with a fever. Jesus reaches out his hand and touches her, and immediately the fever leaves her and she rises up and begins to wait on Jesus. In Matthew 14 Jesus will reach out his hand to Peter and Peter also will rise up and continue to serve Him.

A Calmed Storm
In Matthew 8:23 Jesus is in a boat asleep while a furious storm heaps waves over the boat and Peter is among the disciples who fear for their lives. And Peter is amazed because Jesus rebukes the waves and the storm becomes completely calm. In Matthew 14 as soon as Jesus steps into the boat, the storm is calmed.

A Lesson Learned
As Peter continues to follow Jesus, he sees Christ cast out demons, heal various diseases and illnesses, raise a young girl from the dead, and teach a great many truths of the Kingdom of God. But in today’s passage Peter learns a truth that will take him one step closer to the greatest truth of all. “Who do you say that I am?” Christ asks. And Peter will reply “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matt 16:16)

Today we look at Matthew 14.

Background of the Passage
News of Herod’s murder of John the Baptist reaches Jesus and his followers. (John is the cousin of Jesus) It is with this news that Jesus withdraws to a solitary place, but the crowds follow him. It is late and the multitude is hungry, so with five loaves and two fishes, he feeds 5,000 people. It’s Jesus’ only miracle mentioned in all four Gospels. Then after he feeds the crowd, he sends the disciples away, dismisses the crowd, and goes up into the hills to pray.

But Jesus didn’t just send the disciples away, Christ commands the disciples to cross the lake, at the exact time that a storm will blow in and we find the disciples in the boat, struggling to reach thier destination, buffeted by waves. And then Jesus “went out to them walking on the lake.” The disciples are terrified! It must be a ghost! But it is not. Jesus identifies himself. Peter, seeing Christ walk on the water wants to draw near to him. So he asks Christ for permission to come to him across the water. Jesus says “Come” and Peter steps out of the boat and begins to walk across the water. But the wind is howling and the waves are high, and for a brief moment, he takes his eyes off of Jesus and he begins to sink. “Lord, Save me” he cries out. And Jesus reaches out his hand and lifts him up.

It’s one of the most famous narratives in the scriptures, but one for which Peter gets a lot of criticism.

Charles Swindoll in his book “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back” tells the story of a farmer who wanted to impress his hunting buddies. To impress them, he bought the smartest, most expensive hunting dog he could find. He trained this dog to do things no other dog on earth could do—impossible feats that would surely amaze anyone. Then he invited the neighbors to go duck hunting with him. After a long patient wait in the boat a group of ducks flew over and the hunters were able to make a few hits. Several ducks fell in the water. “Go get ‘em!” shouted the proud owner to his magnificent dog. The dog leaped out of the boat, walked on the water, and picked up a bird and returned to the boat. As soon as he dropped the duck in the boat he trotted off across the water again and grabbed another duck and brought it back to the boat. The owner beamed with pride as his wonderful dog walked across the water and retrieved each of the birds one by one. Unable to resist the opportunity to brag a bit he aked his fellow hunters, “Do you notice anything unusual my dog? One of them rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Yes,” he finally said. “Come to think of it, I do! That silly dog doesn’t know how to swim does he??” (paraphrased)

Many give Peter much the same reaction. Instead of recognizing that he was the only disciple to have the faith to even step out of the boat, he is criticized for his lack of faith. He draws close to Christ while 11 other disciples sit in the boat, content in their perceived safety.

SERMON OUTLINE:
I. Step of Faith
II. Eye’s on the Savior
III. Helping Hand

I. Step of Faith

As we look at Peter’s step of faith it is important to note the circumstances in which he makes this important step.

PETER IS IN A STORM
Storms can be frightening. Like the disciples in our text we often find ourselves in the middle of storms. Maybe not storms of thunder and lightning, but the storms of trials and difficulty. Even today, you may be facing storms: an economic crisis, a marital conflict, a misunderstanding with your teenager. Others may be in the storms of physical illness, doubts about their faith, balancing a new job, or dealing with a child recently born into the family. You may have a stormy relationship with a member of the church. We all have storms in life. Anyone who tells you Christianity is smooth sailing on a calm sea doesn’t understand the truth of God’s working in our lives. While it is true that sometimes God calms the storms, more often he calms us in order for us to walk through the storms.

Notice that its the fault of Jesus that the disciples are in the storm. According to this passage and the passage in Mark, Jesus “made” or “constrained his disciples to get into the ship.” The word “constrained” means that Jesus ordered or commanded His disciples to take the ship across the Sea of Galilee. The disciples were in a storm because Jesus ordered them to go across in the boat. I believe Jesus, the master of the waves and the winds, knew the storm would come as was frequent for the sea of Galilee. And while they are making their way across “the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.” (Mathew 14:18) And we are told that the ship was tossed or buffeted by the waves. The phrase in Matthew 14:24 is variously translated “beaten, battered, tormented, tossed by the waves.”

When the Lord sends us into a storm… there is a purpose.

Sometimes the Lord’s Purpose is Correction. Let’s look at an illustration of that. Remember Jonah. He jumped on a ship and was going in the wrong direction so God sent a storm and some interesting transportation to get him back in the right direction.

Sometimes the Lord’s Purpose is spiritual growth. The Lord will use a storm to help us grow and mature in our spiritual walk with Jesus–to help our faith and obedience grow. Remember what Paul said in Romans 5:3 and 5:4, We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance produces character; and character produces hope. Remember James 1:2-5, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

I believe that the whole purpose of the storm was to help the disciples grow in their faith. For the disciples, this was not a corrective storm for they were doing what the Lord had commanded them to do. They had to learn to trust Him…even when He was not physically present with them.

Buffeted by the Waves
So in Matthew and Mark we see the disciples, buffeted by the waves, straining at the oars, trying to go where Christ has commanded, but finding the going difficult. We too, when seeking to be obedient to Christ strain at the oars. We’re trying to do what the Lord has asked us to do, but there is resistance. — Perhaps that resistance is the displeasure of other people, differences of opinion, personality conflicts, swimming against the prevailing ideas or traditions. Maybe it is fatigue or circumstances which seem to be out of control. Perhaps the resistance lies within us. Maybe we are content to merely stay in the boat. For some we have chosen a destination and a goal and have forgot that the ultimate destination or goal is to draw closer to Jesus.

Peter’s Step is one of Great Faith, of Great Expectations
William Carey said, “Expect great things of God, and attempt great things for God.” Certainly Peter did! Most of us are satisfied with little things from God, but not Peter. Out of the 12, only Peter asks to join Jesus in walking on the water. A simple command, “Come” was the only thing Peter had to base his faith upon. Relying on the Lord’s promise, Peter climbed out of the boat, stepped on the water, and walked on the sea toward the Lord. From the context of the Scripture, we aren’t sure how far he had walked or how many steps he had taken before he started to sink. But we are sure that he did actually walk on water –overcoming the natural laws of the universe.

First, You see, Peter wanted to be with Jesus regardless of the risk and he knew that whatever God commands of us, He empowers us to do.

Secondly, Peter realizes that it is better to be with Jesus, without a boat, than it is to be in a boat without Jesus.

Peter understood that it was better to be out in the lake, with the waves swelling, the lightning flashing, the wind howling, the thunder rolling, the boat sinking, than to be in the boat without Jesus. F.B. Meyer writes, “Unbelief puts our circumstance between us and God, but faith puts God between us and our circumstances.”

So Peter took a step of faith
• To follow Jesus,
• To be close to Jesus,
• To walk as Jesus walked.

Faith can never be called true faith unless it is accompanied by action, by obedience

So Peter obeyed, Jesus’ command to come and stepped out in faith. James tells us, Faith without works is dead.

Peter began well – he actually got out of the boat! But then he began to sink (literally) back into his old way of thinking. His faith became a bit watered down. Why? He took his eyes off of Jesus.

II. Eyes on Jesus

Matt: 14″…But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink…”

Peter took his eyes off Jesus and as a result begin to sink… Verse 30. Peter began to look at his circumstances; the water, the wind, the waves, the storm about him. And when he did, he begin to sink in fear. Remember the quote from F.B. Meyer? “Unbelief puts our circumstance between us and God, but faith puts God between us and our circumstances.” Suddenly Peter noticed the wind and the waves and as soon as they became the focus of his attention they came between him and God.

You see, the difference between walking on water and sinking in despair is in our eyes. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we’re able to walk on water. Our is desire is only on drawing near to him and nothing will stand in our way. But when we start looking: at our circumstances, at our situation, at the storms in life– We lose faith… And a lost faith causes us to sink.

What we focus on in life will either feed our faith or feed our fear. Which will it be for you? Ever have that sinking feeling? We all have. Peter wanted to be with Jesus, but to do so, he had to keep his eyes fixed on Him, regardless of the circumstances.

Today, attempts are made walk as Jesus walked, often in very difficult situations. When totally concentrating on the Person of the Lord and obeying in simple faith, we can walk on water. As soon as we become intimidated by our circumstances we will sink. But when we sink, are not lost.

Jesus will reach out…

III. An Uplifting Hand

Not a finger pointed in accusation, but a hand stretched out to uplift
While we may remark on Christ’s criticism of Peter’s lack of faith, the greatest element of this story is that Christ Lifts Peter up. He doesn’t merely point a finger in rebuke, he stretches out his hand in help. When Peter is sinking, Christ lifts him up. He doesn’t overlook Peter’s doubt but he does do something about it.. he helps Peter back to his feet. At the crucial moment, the One who understands human weakness completely, immediately stretches out His hand and catches Peter, preventing him from sinking further. The focal point of this narrative is what what happened when Peter sunk, more specifically, how Christ responded when Peter got that sinking feeling.

It is written that “Jesus immediately extends his hand and takes hold of him. It says “immediately.” So it is that Christ took hold of Peter and it is not that Peter grabbed hold of the extended hand.

Doubt? 
Christ called what was going on in Peter’s heart “doubt.” “Why did you doubt?” What is this “doubt” of which Christ speaks? James 1 calls he who doubts a “double minded man.” Peter’s heart had been divided in two. He trusted Christ enough to step out of the boat, but when he began to sink he feared for his life and doubted Christ would save him. As Peter began to sink into the raging waves, he feared for his life, even though Jesus was close by. Our Lord immediately reached out and caught Peter, then made the remark in question. I don’t believe Jesus was calling Peter’s wave-walking faith into question, but Peter’s lack of faith in Christ’s ability to save him after he began to sink. Jesus in effect was saying: “Peter, after bringing you out on the water, why did you doubt I wouldn’t save you, when you began to falter?” You lost sight of me, but that doesn’t mean I am not here to lift you up.

Stay in the Boat?
I really don’t believe Jesus chided Peter for his water walking faith. To buy into this misconception means you should stay safe in the boat until sure you’d never take your eyes off Jesus, which could well mean you’d stay in the boat forever. What God wants and this world desperately needs is more people willing to get out of the boat and walk on spiritual water when Jesus says, “Come.” The Lord knows we’re weak, imperfect and likely to take our eyes off Him and fearfully glance at the threatening waves. The important thing with God is that we obediently try, not that we don’t sink some from time to time. I don’t believe Jesus wants us to be like the 11 disciples cowering in the boat, safe, but not drawing any nearer to Christ–safe and afraid to follow Peter’s lead. Too often we want enough faith to save us, but not enough faith to draw near to Jesus. Jesus wants us to draw near to Him, knowing full well that we are going to sink from time to time when we don’t stay focused on Him. And when we do start to falter and sink, Jesus wants us to remember His rescuing hand is only a quick prayer away.

The Body of Christ is the Hand of Christ Today
But there is another lesson to be learned today about a helping hand. Today the body of Christ is that helping hand. When we see someone struggling in the waves, buffeted by storms, sinking in despair and doubt we need to reach out a hand and help them up. Too often we stop at the proclamation of their lack of faith and never extend a hand to help. I find it strange that so many Christians are quick to criticize but are unwilling to help someone when they are down. I’ve heard people say, “That person should know better. He isn’t a teen any more.” Some seem content to push them under or remain in the boat and point a finger. They would rather point a finger than extend a helping hand. They can be so content sitting in the boat when there are people around them sinking. After all, its the persons own fault they are sinking right? I am sure Peter is thankful Christ didn’t have the same attitude.

Our mission as the Church is not to be filled with judgment but to walk the path of Christ. We need to reach out when a follower is sinking, to be the hope where there is despair, to be the strength where there is no faith, to be the love amidst the hatred in this world. Our mission is a continuation of Christ’s – to reach out and help one another through the storms of life.

Illustration:
Two longstanding church members were in a boat fishing with a new Christian. Fishing is a great time for conversation and each was proclaiming his fervent faith and devotion to God. As they were discussing their faith, one’s hat blew into the water. So he stood up, calmly stepped onto the water, walked over to his hat, picked it up off the water, and walked backed to the boat. The new Christian was amazed how this Christian could seemingly walk on water. As the new Christian was pondering this, the other church member’s hat blew into the water. He also very calmly stepped onto the water, walked over to his hat, picked it up off the water, and walked backed to the boat. The new Christian was overwhelmed at how spiritual these men must be to have walked on the water as they did. Then the new Christian thought to himself, “Well, if these guys can do it, so can I”, and he “helped” his hat blow into the water. He very calmly stepped out of the boat and sank beneath the surface. As he fought his way to the surface, gasping for breath, the two long-standing church members turned to each other and said, “I think we should have told him about the stepping stones.”

We have many people in our church struggling with their faith. They are trying to walk like Jesus, but they are sinking. And they need some of you to be willing to step in and show them where the stepping stones are to a closer walk with Jesus. Are you willing?

Lets look at the RESULTS of Peter’s step of faith….

All of them worshiped Jesus and said: “You are certainly God’s Son!” (Matthew 14:33) And the next day Peter, in the name of all of them, said: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68-69. And I believe it was this incident that took Peter a step closer to the greatest truth of all. “Who do you say that I am?” Christ asks. And Peter will reply “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matt 16:16)

Conclusion:

I heard about a guy out in Texas who invited a lot of bachelors out to his ranch for a BBQ. He got them all around and once he got them all in place he stood up before them and said, “Look over this edge at my little lake on my ranch. I have filled it with crocodiles and alligators.” He said, “If there is anyone willing to walk across these alligators and crocodiles and go from this end of the lake and get out on the other side alive, I’ll give you one of three things. I’ll give you a 500 acre ranch, a million dollars in cash, or the hand of my daughter in marriage. Which ever one you want.” He had no sooner said it than somebody jumped into that lake. “Splash,” he heard it and looked over the edge and there was a guy in that lake who didn’t even take his shoes off. He still had a three piece suit on. He was running across those gaters and crocs as fast as humanly possible. Water was flying everywhere. Crocodiles snapping and alligators chasing him and this guy was going through it all. He made it all the way to the other end. He climbed out soaking wet but without a scratch on him. He was breathing deeply trying to get his breath. The rich Texan went over to him and this is what he said, “Son, I meant this as a practical joke. I didn’t really mean for anyone to swim that lake. But you did it and I’m as good as my word. Which one do you want, the five hundred acre ranch, the one million dollars in cash, or my daughter’s hand in marriage?” The young man looked at the rich Texan and said, “I don’t want neither one of them. I just want to get my hands on the man that pushed me! That’s what I want!”

[You know, I have found out that to get some church members to step out of the boat sometimes you have to nudge them a little bit.]

Application

I want to nudge you a bit as well. If you see someone sinking in their faith, don’t point your finger, extend a hand to lift them up. Maybe you need to invite some of the young adults over for a BBQ (without the alligators and crocodiles please) and reach out to them in love.

Jesus has called us all to walk in his footsteps… to step out of the boat and to follow him, draw close to him, and to walk as he walks. Are will you merely sitting in the boat? I want to give you a push. Yeah there is a storm out there… there may even be a few alligators and crocodiles but you’ve stayed in the boat too long. You are struggling with the oars trying to go places for God when Jesus wants you to draw near to him. Don’t be content with just enough faith to be safe, step out and draw near to Jesus, focus on him and not the circumstances and the storms, and if you get that sinking feeling remember he wants to reach out his hand and lift you up and expects you to do the same when you see someone else faltering.

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Then Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathering them around him And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Then Simon Peter said, “Do we have to write this down?”
And Andrew said, “Are we supposed to know this?”
And Philip said, “What if we don’t know it?”
And Bartholomew said, “Do we have to turn this in?”
And John said, “The other disciples didn’t have to learn this.”
And Matthew said, “When do we get out of here?”
And Judas said,’ “What does this have to do with real life?”

And Jesus wept.

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