Start Right-Finish Strong

 

July 18, 2021               NOTES NOT EDITED
Starting Right—Finishing Strong
Philippians 3:10-21

SIS: Starting right and finishing strong are the keys to true success and real happiness.

A man had been battling his weight problem all his life and once more found himself on the scale at the Doctor's office.  Now, every year his doctor would tell him, "you have to lose weight."  Every year, the man took same action:   he found a new doctor.

So, here he is on the scale.  This doctor took a much different approach.  He was very upbeat and very positive.  Right off the bat the doctor said, "Well, it looks like your diet has been working great.  There's just one small problem."  The man said, "Well, what's the problem, Doc?"  The doctor smiled and said, "According to our charts your weight is fine, but you are eleven feet too short!"

So often in life, as we pursue happiness and success, we come up about eleven feet too short.  We don’t see the kind of happiness and the kind of success we really want in life.

We can change that.  We can achieve true success and real happiness by “Starting Right and Finishing Strong” in our faith.  Paul uses the word picture of an Olympic runner to teach about success. In a footrace the two most important parts are “how you start and how you finish.”  I’ve watched racers get a great start and in the middle of the race fall down, but get back up and finish first. Starting right and finishing strong are what really matter in a foot race, and it is what really matters in life.

Here’s what Paul said about finding true success and real happiness in life.  in Phil. 3:10-21.  Let's read that together:

10 _⌊My goal_⌋ is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,  11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.  12 Not that I have already reached _⌊the goal_⌋ or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.  15 Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal  this to you also. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever _⌊truth_⌋ we have attained. 17 Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross  of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory  is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, 20 but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious  body,  by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.

Take note of this:  positive change doesn't just happen.  It takes real effort. Someone once called the Christian life:  a long obedience in one direction.  True success—godly success—and real happiness—for this life and forever—requires we “Start right and finish strong.”

Paul outlines FOUR NECESSARY COMMITMENTS to finding true success and real happiness.

❶ First, reaching forward requires that
            we must START RIGHT (7-9)

For a time in Junior High, I ran track.  My brother was a varsity long distance runner, and popular with girls, so I thought I’d give it a shot.  It didn’t work out on the track or with the girls, but I did learn an important lesson. Many, maybe most, races are won or lost at the starting line and how you get “out of the blocks,” as they say. 

This is even true in NASCAR racing.  The most coveted position awarded to the driver with the best qualifying time is the “pole position.”  I read this about the pole position:  “Inside of the first row is the so-called pole position. The pole is a highly valued position in NASCAR, often associated with cash bonuses from the race sponsor, the driver’s sponsor and, perhaps, the car’s owner. Beyond the cash prize associated with the pole position, there are considerable advantages in the race for the driver and team in that position.”

To win in life and achieve true success and real happiness, you must get started right.  Look at what Paul describes as “getting started right” in life.  Read with me Phil. 3:7-9

⁷ But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.

Paul speaks of giving up everything in life in order to  “know Jesus.” v8.  Paul is not describing a casual knowledge ABOUT Jesus.  Paul is speaking about LIFE-CHANGING encounter with Jesus that caused him to give up everything.  Compared to a “saving relationship with Jesus Christ,” everything else in life is  “dung” (horse manure!).  Notice, that this  “suppassingly valuable  relationship  Christ Jesus”  does not come from  “keeping the laws of religion,” which is only a “self-righteousness,” but a saving relationship is based upon  “the righteousness from  God based  on faith in what Jesus did FOR us on the cross.” 

Getting started right is not based upon “self-righteousness” but upon a Savior’s righteousness.  The Bible says ( 2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB)

21 He [God] made the one who did not know sin [Jesus] to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

To get started right you have you have to give up your life and receive the new life as a free gift from God.

❷ Second, true faith and real happiness require a commitment to  STAY FOCUSED (12-14, 19)

A key principle of this passage is "focus"--an intense and consuming passion to do "one thing" as Paul says in verse 13-14:

¹³ But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind  and reaching forward to what is ahead, ¹⁴ I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. 

Let me go back to my Jr. Hi. track days.  Over and over and over again the coach told us: “Never look back! Never, never, never look back.” In fact, if you watch relay races you will notice that even when a new runner is receiving the baton from the previous runner, he or she never looks back.  Looking back is a formula for losing the race of life.

Circle these words in verse 14:  I . . . pursue . . . my . . . goal!  Now, underline “my.”  We don’t look back, and we don’t look AROUND!  Everybody must run their own race.  It doesn’t matter what other runners are doing, it only matters what you are doing.  Worrying about what other people are doing with only distract you from the race God called you to run.  Stay focused on “your goal.”  Look at v19.  Here’s a description of an OUT-OF-FOCUS life:

19 Their end [that is non-believers] is destruction; their god is their stomach [what they pursue]; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly things.

In this passage Paul uses the image of both a foot-race, and a chariot race—or any race really.  Every athletic contest has rules to play by and a goal to achieve.  In archery, the goal is to hit the bulls-eye.  In a foot-race there is a finish line.  To win, a contestant must focus on the goal.  Winning is all about, "the goal."

Have you ever heard the saying, “It is not whether you win or lose that counts, but how you play the game?”  The only team that believes that is the “losing team.”  It does matter whether we win or lose—especially in spiritual matters.  Yes, playing fair and following the rules are important, but the “goal or objective” is to win the game of life—that is “finish strong in your faith” by seeking to please Jesus Christ with every thought and action. 

Paul admonishes us through his own example to have a single-minded, intense focus on the "goal" -- the one single goal -- of winning the prize (another word for goal refers to a "trophy" for winning).

The noun, “goal, (skopon, v14), comes from the Greek verb meaning, "to guard, spy, or scout"  The noun means, "something that is guarded or watched with great intensity and focus." We are not to "focus on many things," but focus on "one thing" and that is expressed very well in verse 10:

10 _⌊My goal_⌋ is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.

Notice Paul describes what it means to be "out of focus" in verse 19:

19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory  is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things,

It is extremely easy to become "unfocused" in our lives when we allow too many worldly distractions to creep into our daily activities.  Paul is also making a reference here to "religion" being a huge distraction.  "Their glory is in their shame" refers to those who think that focusing on religious ritual will bring you eternal glory.  The Word says, it will bring you shame.  Only one goal matters:  “pursuing a relationship with the resurrected Jesus!”

Have you ever noticed they put blinders on a racehorse so that all they can focus on is "forward."  They have one goal and that is to reach the finish line as fast as possible once they are out of the gate.

❸ Success and happiness requires a commitment to
STAY FIT (13)

13 Brothers, I do not  consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind  and reaching forward to what is ahead.

The word picture expressed here once again vividly enhances the truth of God's Word.  With the eye of a master painter, Paul paints the mental picture of a charioteer straining every muscle to stay balanced on the narrow platform between two large wheels while being whisked around the arena by powerful stallions.

We are accustomed to seeing pictures of the ceremonial chariots crafted in ornate bronze or perhaps even covered with gold.  These were not the common chariots of battle and competition.  They were nothing much more than a flat platform between two wheels.  The charioteer had to be extremely strong and stretch forward to remain upright in the chariot.  Charioteering took great skill and immense strength.  That's why the NIV (ESV)  translation is perhaps a better fit for this language:

13 forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead,

When a charioteer was racing you could see his muscles bulging as he “strained” to stand on the narrow platform. The same is true watching a runner “stretch out” across the finish lines with every muscle in their body straining to finish strong.  Success in athletics requires long hours of strenuous training along with disciplined eating to “STAY FIT.” 

How many of you have “Covid Love Handles” from being locked up inside for over a year and practicing “Death By Drive-through?”  It is easy to get out of shape, but it takes real effort to STAY FIT—that’s true physically, and even more true spiritually.

We need to exercise our spiritual muscles by serving in our church and community.  We need to “eat healthy spiritually” by reading our Bible daily and seeking to apply the sermons we hear weekly.   

True success and real happiness require we STAY FIT spiritually.

❹ True success and real happiness requires Starting Right, Staying Focused, Staying Fit, and,  STAYING FAITHFUL (15-17, 21)

15 Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this to you also. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever _⌊truth_⌋ we have attained.  ¹⁷ Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us.

The Apostle Paul records God’s call upon our lives as believers to “pursue maturity in our thoughts and actions.”  By this, the Bible does not mean we are “perfect” (as the KJV and some Bibles translate the word), but that we are “gaining or pursuing maturity in our Christian life.”  Simply stated, “we are GROWING in our knowledge of and service to Christ.”  Of course we will fail in our Christian lives.  We will make mistakes. The key to STAYING FAITHFUL is to seek God’s forgiveness often and move forward.  1John 1:8-9 says,

⁸ If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

STAYING FAITHFUL requires continual confession of our sins and the receiving of God’s forgiveness.  FAITHFULNESS does not mean we never “fail,” but it means we “never ACCEPT failure.”

There’s the oft-told (maybe too often told) story of Thomas Edison and his attempt to find a filament that would glow inside a vacuum tube but not burnout quickly, in order to have a lasting electric lightbulb. After trying over 700 different types of filament materials each of which failed, someone asked Edison, “Aren’t you discouraged after having so many failures?”  Edison supposedly replied, “I’m not discouraged at all.  I now know 700 things that won’t work!”

STAYING FAITHFUL DOES NOT MEAN NEVER FAILING—FAITHFULNESS MEANS NEVER ACCEPTING FAILURE.

Paul writes that when we have failures in life, God lovingly “will reveal the error of our ways to us” (v15).

This simply means that in some way God will show us where our attitudes and actions do not line up with the “examples we have in the Bible (v17).”

STAYING FAITHFUL requires constant reevaluation of our lives.  This reevaluation happens when we read our Bible, pray, and spend time in church with fellow believers. 

God does not leave us on our own to STAY FAITHFUL.  God in His Glorious Providence gives us the power to STAY FAITHFUL.  Look closely at verse 21.  

21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.

Let me sum things up this morning by saying, “We’ve all been to the doctor’s office” in regard to how we are pursuing true success and real happiness. 

Perhaps you realize that you have not been making the NECESSARY COMMITMENTS it takes to achieve true success—godly success—or real happiness—temporal and eternal.  Perhaps the spiritual scales are telling you today that your weight is perfect but you are about 11 feet too short spiritually.

Don’t change doctors – change your ways. Start Right and Finish Strong.

Rules of the Road

 

July 11, 2021           Notes Not Edited
Rules of the Road
John 1:43-51 

SIS— Following the simple instructions in the Bible on our journey of life will lead to unparalleled joy and adventure and eternal bliss. 

Life is full of rules.  Most of these rules make sense and help up live a civil, safe existence in the world.  Take for example the “rules of the road” for driving in America.  We drive on the “right side” of the road.  This is a very important rule that keeps us safe while we zoom along at 55 to 65 miles per hour in opposite directions!  A good rule.  There are many rules such as that which keep us safe.  Some rules of the road, however, don’t make much sense or leave one scratching one’s head. 

SLIDE SHOW—CRAZY ROAD SIGNS

❶ Take this sign, for example.  OK, it says 45 M.P.H.  Nothing crazy about that.  The additional small sign says, “Good Luck.”  Considering the main “multi-directional sign” above, “Good Luck” seems quite appropriate.

❷ I appreciate government signs that warn us of danger.  It’s good to know Uncle Sam is looking out for us.  But, in the case of this warning sign, it seems a person just can’t win:  “Touching Wires Causes Instant Death--$200 Fine.”

❸ I know all of you have been on a long trip and you looked forward to finding a lodging place to rest for the night.  Ah! There it is:  “Lodging Next Right.”  It’s that additional sign below that might make you think twice:  “State Prison.”

❹ Now, I have actually seen this next sign with my own eyes.  Many times my Mom and Dad would drive us to the Pittsburgh International Airport to catch our flight home after a nice vacation.  This sign reminds you that you want to be careful not to miss the turn to the Airport because the next stop is the “Moon.”

❺ One last road sign before we begin our “road trip” this morning.  It seems that some government employee in the “sign-making shop” may need a little more training.

Some government employee needs a little more training it seems.  This sign gives a bit too much information if you ask me:   “Secret Bunker: 180 yds Ahead.” Well, seems the cat’s out of the bag now.  (Actually it’s a decommissioned Cold War bunker that is now a tourist attraction). 

Life is full of “rules.”  Some are more helpful than others.  Some are just silly.  Other rules, especially in religion, are devastating to one’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.  When it comes to experiencing true happiness, the fewer the rules the better.  Someone has said, “Following Jesus is a journey filled with strange and exciting opportunities . . . we must defy the man-imposed rules that keep us from experiencing abundant life.”

Today, I want to share with you three “rules” of discipleship that will place you on a road to experiencing unparalleled adventure.  Let’s read our text that gives us these three simple rules. 

JOHN 1:43-51

As our story opens Jesus is on the road with His disciples.  Jesus is departing from the place of His baptism by John, likely near the Dead Sea in Southern Palestine, and trekking toward His home turf of Galilee some 65 to 70 miles (three to four day journey) in the north.  He has already picked up two disciples to join Him in His mission:  Simon Peter and Andrew, his brother.  In our text today Jesus will add two more disciples, Philip and Nathanael.  As we join Jesus and these four disciples on this “road trip,” three important “rules for discipleship” surface.  These rules demonstrate the basic foundations for living a life of devotion and service to Jesus Christ.  Following the simple instructions in the Bible on our journey of life will lead to unparalleled joy and adventure.  Now, keep in mind we are not talking about “rules to get us into heaven,” which is religion, but rules to get heaven’s principles into us, which is holiness.

Rule # 1:  CONNECT—a DECISION  (“Follow me,”) v. 43 

⁴³ The next day He decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus found Philip and told him, “Follow Me!”

Every journey begins with a decision.  Our texts says that Jesus, “decided to leave for Galilee.”  The interesting fact about that word translated, “decided,” in the original language is that it is not really that interesting.  It is a common verb expressed in the “indicative mood.”  Mood is one of the aspects of a verb that contributes to its range of meaning.  A verb describing a simple, ordinary act in the real world would be in the “indicative” mood, as “He decided.”  A word describing a hypothetic act, like a wish, would be in the “subjunctive” mood. 

Now, let’s look at the words Jesus spoke to Philip.  “Follow Me.”  The Holy Spirit inspired John to change the mood of the verb, “follow.”  It is not an simple, ordinary act nor a “wish,” but it is a command.  The word translated, “follow,” is in the imperative mood.  Sometimes this mood is called the mood of a “polite request,” but that is misleading.  The matter is not “optional” in the eyes of Jesus.  It is imperative, meaning necessary or vital.  For example when my father would say to me as a boy, “Clean your room.”  It may have grammatically been a “polite request” but in Dad’s mind it was a “command.”  It was NOT optional.  Knowing that the belt around Dad’s waist served another purpose besides holding up his pants, I knew to “clean my room.”

The first and most important rule of discipleship is to “Connect” to God through faith in Jesus Christ.  “Follow Me” indicates a complete and total surrender to Jesus Christ.  He is the Leader.  We are His followers.

There is no option to “not choose.”  A non-choice is a choice to reject the grace of God as demonstrated through the life and death of Jesus Christ.  As someone very brilliantly stated the matter:  “When you come to a fork in the road—take it!”  You must choose who you will follow.  But, make no mistake about it, even the choice you make to follow Christ is a matter of God’s initiative (grace) and not man’s.  Look again at verse 43:  “Jesus found Philip.” God is ever the “Seeker,” or “Initiator” in the matter of our salvation.  Grace is a “free, undeserved” gift.  We either accept it or reject it.  We either “Follow Jesus” into eternal bliss, or we go our own way into eternal damnation.  Jesus is Lord and “commands” us to follow Him. When we do, we become His responsibility and His “power” protects us and flows through us.  When we say, “Yes, I will follow you,” we get connected to God through Christ. 

Now, let me take that “connection” one step further.  Look at vs. 45: 

Philip found [aorist tense] Nathanael  ^u and told him, “We have found [perfect tense] the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets ): Jesus the son of Joseph,  from Nazareth!” 

Philip had joined Peter and Andrew in surrendering to Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives.  That’s the “we” in the next clause.  Then Philip, now a believer, “finds” Nathanael and says, “we have found the Messiah.”  The word “found” is used twice. The first time when Philip was doing the “finding” of Nathanael it is a regular (aorist) past tense.  When Philip speaks of his life after “following” Jesus, the word “found” is used in the perfect tense.  This is very important because the perfect tense in Greek describes a past action or event that has continuing affect indefinitely.  In other words, once God calls to our heart in grace, and we respond to Him in humility, we are “CONNECTED” to Him for all eternity.  Nothing can change our eternal relationship with Jesus Christ.

However, we can “disconnect” ourselves from blessing through disobedience like disconnecting a power cord from the wall outlet through disobedience, but we can never stop being a child of Almighty God once we put our faith in Him.

So, RULE #1:  Follow Jesus and continue to follow Him in obedience.

Rule #2:  INSPECT—a DUTY  (“Come and See”), v. 46 

⁴⁶ “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered.

Just like the words, “Follow Me,” the words “Come and See” are imperatives.  Again, it is a necessary action, an imperative action.  If we want to be effective disciples of Jesus Christ in a world that grows darker by the day, we must continually investigate the Truth of God’s Word.  We must “see it for ourselves.”

Nathanael had some doubts.  There are no direct prophesies relating to Jesus “coming from Nazareth.”  There are veiled allusions that might apply like the word, “branch,” in Isaiah 11:1.  The words, Nazareth and branch share the same root in Hebrew.  For whatever reason Nathanael was not convinced that Philip and the others had “found” the Messiah.  He needed convincing.  What some might have seen as a stumbling block, Philip saw as an opportunity.  The antidote for doubt is “investigation.”  Philip was convinced that if Nathanael were to “investigate the facts” of the matter, he would come to the same conclusion—Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God come in human flesh.

Many Christians fear engaging in conversation with non-believers because they, themselves, are not “sure” of the facts.  Ignorance breeds fearful silence in the life of a believer.  Every journey requires that we continually gather new information.  I mean, isn’t that the purpose of a road-trip in the first place?  We cannot hope to gain much if we travel the road of life wearing a blind-fold.  Do you know what they call someone travelling who is wearing a blind-fold?  A HOSTAGE!  The facts of faith help us see more clearly and allow us to help others see more clearly.

Rule #2 is:  Inspect.  “Come” refers to a personal quest and “See” refers to a passionate “inspection.”  The word for see (eidon) means more than to simply perceive with the eyes.  The word also means, “to have a feeling” about something you see.  Inspection of the facts about Jesus Christ will have an emotional component.  The word for “see” also can mean to “take a special note” in regard to something. 

Matthew 9:2 uses the word in this way, “So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town.  ² Just then some men  brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” ³ At this, some of the scribes said among themselves, “He’s blaspheming!”  ⁴ But perceiving their thoughts,  Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts?

Jesus “saw” their faith.  Faith is a principle so it is not referring to “physically” seeing faith, but perceiving they had faith by their actions.  Also, the word translated, “perceiving,” their thoughts is the same root word.

To “inspect” literally means to “look into with earnest.”  We must continually search God’s Word with earnestness and passion. 

More and more people are becoming what religious researchers call the, “Nones.”  These are people who respond to the question, “What is your religious affiliation” with the answer, “None.”  Currently, the number of “Nones” stands at about 20% and rising.  The number of outspoken atheists—atheistic activists—continues to climb.  The Internet allows atheists to spread lies about Christianity easily and profusely—and they do.  One Christian writer has made this observation, “Churches are not properly equipping their members to combat the lies being spread about Christianity.”  I would agree, but add, that most Christians are not willing to do the “hard study” that it takes to answer attacks against the faith.

Is abortion murder?  Not according to the law.  What is the Christian answer?  Is the cosmos thousands of years old, or billions like so many believe?  What is the Christian answer?  Did God create the universe out of nothing in six days, or did He use evolution as the means to bring life to our planet?  Is Christianity responsible for many wars and millions of deaths as secularists teach?  What is the Christian answer? 

Rule of the Road # 2 in the journey of the Christian is, “Inspect.”  Disciples must constantly be learning the Word of God to give reasonable answers to people of the World.  Peter exhorts us to:

^{1Pet. 3:15} Honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. 

Rule #3:  Expect-a DREAM (47-51)

“You shall see greater things!

Before Philip had found Nathanael, Nathanael had been sitting under a fig tree.  When Nathanael met Jesus, Jesus told him, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree” (v. 48).

To that, Nathanael responded in what seems to be a rapturous moment of overwhelming insight, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” (v49).  The event to which Jesus makes reference could not have been some mundane moment in which Nathanael was simply biding time.  Nathanael knew exactly what moment Jesus was speaking about.  Remember the word for “I saw,” (eidon) means much more than simply seeing, or even knowing.  It can reference also a “time of special note.”  Was Nathanael praying to God?  Was he perhaps asking God about the Messiah?  Look at what Jesus says about Nathanael even before they meet physically:

⁴⁷ Here is a true Israelite, in whom nothing is false.

Nathanael was not a Jew by nationality, only.  Nor was he a Jew by religion only.  He was a genuine Israelite longing to see the promises of God unfold in His lifetime.  The supernatural insight of Jesus overwhelmed Nathanael’s heart and washed away any doubt as to the true identity of Jesus.  Look at the Lord’s response to Nathanael’s newfound faith (50-51):

⁵⁰ Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe only because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” ⁵¹ Then He said, “I assure you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God  ascending and descending  on the Son of Man.”

Nathanael’s life was captivated by the supernatural revelation of Jesus—it was a miracle, pure and simple.  How many of us would long to be the recipient of such a miracle?  Would such a miracle not cause us to live distinctively Christian lives, passionately pursuing the work of the Kingdom?  Just one miracle would do it wouldn’t it.  Well, the answer is, “no it wouldn’t.”  Miracles don’t make disciples, faith does.  We don’t need more miracles—we only need more faith.

Several times in the course of three years Jesus would rebuke the disciples saying something like, “O ye of little faith” (Mt. 8:26)” or some similar admonishment.  Over the course of the disciples “road trip” from the Lord’s baptism to His cross, the disciples had seen numerous miracles—the blind received sight, the lame walked, the demon-possessed were delivered, the sea was calmed, the multitudes fed, and even the dead raised.  Yet, where were the disciples as the Lord hung upon the cross?  All but John fled in fear.  No, miracles do not make disciples—faith makes disciples.

And yet, even having said that, the Lord clearly points out that His faithful followers can anticipate seeing things that we can not even imagine.  Greater things.  “Heaven open, and angels of God descending on the Son of Man” (v51).  I don’t really know what that means, but it sure sounds fantastic!

Rule #3:  Expect.  The faithful follower of Jesus Christ should expect to see God work miracle after miracle as we, His followers, carry the Light of the gospel into a dark world.  If we are following the rules of the road on our journey of life it will lead to unparalleled joy and adventure.

Nathanael was mesmerized by the miraculous, prophetic word of knowledge that Jesus shared about Him.  I can imagine, that had Jesus spoken in our vernacular His words would have been, “You ain’t seen nothing, yet!

I believe we as God’s church need to “dream again.”  I don’t think we “expect” enough from God.  I believe that if we can “conceive it—God can achieve.”  But if our concepts are small, our achievements will be small, also.  Everybody needs a dream.  Everybody needs to anticipate something miraculous happening just down the road.

I think it was the great pioneer missionary, William Carey, who said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” Carey left England for India in the late 1700’s.  Carey also wins admiration for his sheer physical stamina. The expected lifespan of an Englishman in rural India in the late 1700s was six months. Yet in spite of the humid, unsanitary conditions Carey lived in (especially during his first six years), he survived malaria, dysentery, cholera—not to mention tigers and cobras. Carey was an iron man.  During those first six agonizing, bitter years, Carey produced not a single convert. What kept him going—his expectation that he would see “greater things from God.”  He was driven by a dream.

There are many rules of the road in this life.  There are three foundational rules for disciples on a road trip with Jesus:  Connect.  Inspect.  And, Expect.  A decision, a duty, and a dream.  Some of you may have taken a detour in life that has led you away from the Lord.  Some of you may have broken down on the side of the road to pleasures.  Regardless of where you went off the road or why you went of the road, you need to get back on again and follow the “Rules of the Road for Disciples.”  There are probably better sources for a preacher to quote in this regard than Willy Nelson, but not many as memorable.  Willy didn’t always follow the “rules of the road,” but he does inspire a dream.  Here’s the words—you supply the twang of his old guitar:

On the road again

Just can't wait to get on the road again

The life I love is makin' music with my friends

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The Declaration of Incompleteness

July 4^th, 2021                                            NOTES NOT EDITED
“The Declaration of Incompleteness”
Galatians 5:1; et. al.

SIS – Freedom has several components, the most important being the spiritual component; and it is not so much something we attain, but something we constantly pursue. 

245 years ago our country made our Declaration of Independence from England.  With that document, a nation was born.  Our Constitution would not come for another 13 years, but American Freedom was born July 4^th 1776.  It was the beginning of a continuing struggle to “be free and remain free.” 

There are many “declarations of freedom” in the Bible.  I’d like us to read one of the most powerful together.  Let’s read Galatians 5:1. The majesty of the KJV is unmatched in this verse:

5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

The word translated “stand fast” is a form Paul seemed to prefer over other alternatives and synonyms.  It is a particularly “strong” construction that indicates an ability to stand that is gained by a relationship with God.  It is in the imperative mood meaning it is a command. It is in the present tense meaning it is a “continuing” action. Our declaration of independence from sin is, like our declaration of independence from tyranny, also a Declaration of Incompleteness.  The battle continues.

There are several components that are necessary for a person, or people, to have true freedom.  In fact, as we examine these various components of freedom, we will come to understand why I feel God led me to entitle this message:  “The Declaration of Incompleteness.”

Absolute freedom is not something we attain, as much as it is something we are in the constant pursuit of.  The moment we take our freedom for granted and are not constantly at the ready to defend it, we are in danger of losing it altogether.

This is what the writer meant when he wrote:  “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”  It is only when we are pursuing and promoting all the components of freedom that we are, indeed, truly free.  At present, our freedom is neither complete in its composition nor its progression.  Freedom is under attack by a new band of “mask-wearing, power-grabbing, God-hating” petty potentates.  This brings me to the first component of freedom I want to discuss.

1.  The NATIONAL component.

Let me state what I mean like this:  “We are not truly free if we ignore any threats from any nation, any group, or any despot who wishes to violate our borders and do us harm.

Our national borders are under attack as with no less gravity than the attack at Pearl Harbor 80 years ago.  There are those that would do us harm flooding across our borders. The border crisis is simply one symptom of a much greater ill—apathy! Too many Americans simply “don’t know, or much less don’t care” that our nations foundations are crumbling and the “chains of tyranny are already being forged. No greater chains can be forged than the chains of apathy.

Most people do not realize that in the economy of God, He established the right to national borders.  He did this when He, Himself, set forth the borders for Israel.  The Book of Numbers says,

34 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries [borders^CSB]: 

Actually, The Book of Numbers does not completely outline all of Israel’s borders.  Genesis 15:18 gives a more comprehensive survey:

⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. 

That’s a border stretching from Egypt to Iraq, north to Syria and South down into the Sinai Peninsula. 

I won’t go into all the arguments concerning how America’s borders were established.  They are now established.  Israel is God’s “visual aid” for all nations.  Just as God expects Israel’s borders to be recognized – and one day they will be recognized in toto – we have a right as a nation – no, a responsibility as a nation – to secure our borders and defend our citizenry. 

Much more could be said, but for our purposes today it is sufficient to say that the Bible recognizes the right of national borders.  Freedom has a national component.  I am a Christian, but I am an American, too. This is my God-ordained nationality (Acts 17:26).

26 From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.

The battle for our national borders remains incomplete.

2.  Freedom has a POLITICAL component

Let me say it like this: “We are not truly free as long as we let tyrants rule from the bench of OUR high court or act like kings in the halls of OUR congress.

I think it could be argued that our most dangerous foe does not lie beyond our borders, but has taken up residence in our politics.

Our greatest enemy in the on-going struggle to protect and promote our freedom, is “political apathy.”  When we don’t care what they do in Washington, we get what evil, fallen, men and women of sin will give us:   t r o u b l e!

The Founders of our Nation and the framers of our Constitution, took their cue of how to form a government from the Bible.  They proactively and distinctively rejected the corruptible form of government commonly called a “democracy” – the rule of the majority.  Instead, they chose a form of government, Benjamin Franklin, called a “Republic” – the rule of law.  And the “law” they saw as the rule was mentioned in the Declaration: “the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God.”

Some try to make of this that the Founding Fathers wanted a “godless” nation ruled by the laws of nature.  However, the term “Nature’s God” is capitalized for a purpose because it refers to the “Creator,” the God of the Bible.  It was a rhetorical device of the Founder’s choosing to show great reverence for God and establish Him as the Only True Sovereign.

So, where in the Bible would they get an idea for a “representative republic?”  This idea is mentioned several times in both the old and the N.T.  One such time is in Exodus 18:19-23.  It is repeated to a new generation in Deu. 1:6-13. 

¹⁹ Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. ²⁰ Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. ²¹ But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²² Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. ²³ If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” 

When this command is repeated in Deuteronomy God uses a key phrase that shows the beauty of “representative government”:

¹³ Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.” 

Notice the command in verse 13:  “You choose,” meaning “you choose for yourselves.” The people who are responsible for government are not the leaders who are chosen, but the people that choose them.

It would be – and is – foolish for any American to think that we can send someone to Washington to work on our behalf and then not hold them accountable.  BUT – that is exactly what we have done on a large scale since at least as early as the 60’s.

And, what have we received in return for our apathy?  We are a nation in crisis by about any form of measure you wish to apply:  economically, socially, physically, educationally, or spiritually.  We are a nation that cannot even unequivocally decide on whether the only valid arrangement for a marriage is between a “woman and a man.” 

Until we reestablish the principles of Christ upon which any nation is “exalted,” we will continue to slide further and further into the dust bin of history. 

True freedom has a political component that we as Christian ignore to our own peril.  The political battle for our freedom remains incomplete.

3.  True Freedom has a MORAL component.

Let me say it like this:  “We are not truly free as long as we let a “pro-choice” agenda endanger our weakest citizens.”

Here I want to beat the drum for a “pro-life” agenda as the platform not only of the Republican Party, but as the platform upon which our entire body politic rests.  Only when our nation fully embraces the Biblical doctrine of the Sanctity of Human Life will we have any hope of revival in – and survival of – our nation.

This is not a “political issue.”  This is a moral issue.  Let me direct your attention to a very old story in the Bible.  This goes back to the very first conflict (at least recorded) in the history of man.  Turn to Genesis 4:9:

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you are under a curse.” 

Just the blood spilled from one innocent life sent a cry up to God and brought a curse down to a man.  How much more does the blood of millions of innocents cry out to God and bring a curse upon our land?

We simply cannot be blessed as a nation with the blood of one and one half million babies a year – or over 65 million innocent babies we know of since 1973.  We have blood on our hands as a nation and a curse upon our head like Cain.  That decision may have been the death blow to our nation, and embracing homosexuality may be the nails in our coffin.  Morality counts!

None of us experiences true freedom when our weakest, most defenseless citizens are not even free to have “life and the pursuit of happiness.”  Unless we continually fight to reverse Roe v. Wade’s assault on the unborn, we as Americans will labor under the “Curse of Cain.”

America has many other moral failings that threaten our freedom, but none is so important as the failure to protect the most innocent and vulnerable in our society – the unborn.

As it was in Hitler’s Germany, so it can easily be in America:  the assault began first on the unborn, then the unable, and finally the undesirable until the stench of Germany’s immorality filled the sky in a black smoke and the nation was lost.  America’s battle for godly morality wages on.

Freedom has a moral component.  Freedom has a national component and a political component as well.  But, the most important component – the only component that brings eternal freedom –

4.  is the SPIRITUAL component

Let me say it like this:  We are not truly free until we have been set free from the bondage of sin and are freely sharing the gospel with other people.

This brings us back to where we began this morning in our text of Galatians, chapter five:

5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 

The slavery Paul is speaking of here is “slavery to sin.”  The sin serving as the jailer in this verse is . . . wait for it . . . “religion!” By religion the Bible means, “seeking salvation by keeping the Law.” Look what Paul says in verse 2:

² Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 

There is absolutely NO VALUE in religion and it actually wraps more chains around your heart and makes it harder for you to “ever find freedom in Christ by God’s grace.” Religion is a “man-centered” approach to eternal life that will have you climbing the ladder of ritualism only to find the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. Religion is a “slave-master” that exacts an eternal toll.

Salvation is the essence of “true salvation.”  The national component, the political component, and the moral component all contribute to what was declared to be a human beings inalienable right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” 

But, these three components:  national, political, and moral have no power by themselves or together to bring about the true freedom that only comes when we appropriate for ourselves what Jesus provided for us when He died in our place on the cross.

We still live in the freest, greatest, most abundant nation on the face of the earth, but unless we have personally been freed from the penalty of sin, we have nothing.  As the Bible reminds us (Mk 8:36)

“What shall it profit a person to gain the whole world and yet forfeit [or lose] his or her soul?” 

Paul goes on to say in Galatians 5:13: 

¹³ You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴ The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Sin is a hard task master and wicked dictator.  You cannot be truly free until, by the grace of God, your old sinful nature is put to death and replaced by the nature of grace, which produces a spirit of deep love for others.  This battle will be “incomplete” until the Lord comes to take us home.  We must fight sin on a daily basis.

The story goes that as Benjamin Franklin emerged from Independence Hall at the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 18, 1787, a woman asked him, “Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”.   Mr. Franklin replied, “A republic, madam – if you can keep it.”  Just a few short years after the initial Declaration of Independence, men like Franklin and other Founding Fathers (especially Jefferson) realized that “Independence” was not, and would never be “complete.”  The same declaration of independence was also a “Declaration of Incompleteness.”  Freedom requires constant vigilance—this is stated so often as to be in danger of becoming a cliché, but it is true.  For Christians, this applies to our spiritual “freedom” as well.  While the victory may ultimately be assured, the fight is not, and never will be over, as long as we are in this flesh

My declaration to us as a people of God today is a Declaration of Incompleteness. 

I do not feel that we are as free today as we might be if we would turn in humble confession back to the God of our Founding Father, and to Jesus Christ, the Founder, or Author of our salvation.

On this, the birthday of our great Nation, may we resolve to be “truly free.”  May we say with sincere and longing hearts:  GOD BLESS AMERICA!, and really desire for a full and complete freedom for every man, woman, and child in America and around the world.