Luke 14:7-14

August 29, 2010
Josh Broward

Luke 14:7-14

I have found this passage really difficult this week. Sometimes, understanding a text is really easy. Sometimes, I have to dig and dig in the commentaries and on the internet and in prayer before I really get a feeling what the text says for us and to our world. Other times, like this week, after all of my research and prayer, I’m still scratching my head, standing outside the text asking questions.
Instead of forcing a message based sermon here, today I want to invite you into the questions I’ve been asking. I am honestly not sure about all of the answers, but maybe just asking the questions will give God space to work among us. Sometimes questions are better than answers - especially when I don’t have the answers to give!
What I’d like to do here is talk about a few of the things I’ve learned as I’ve studied this text. Then, as we work through the text, I’ll share some of the questions I’ve been asking.

The first thing we need to understand is what is going on with the guests. In ancient Hebrew culture, where people sit at a dinner is “a public advertisement of one’s status.”1 So, when each person enters the room, they start mentally calculating their public value compared with the other guests: “Well, I’m more important than him. Her farm is twice as big as mine. His father is a Rabbi, but I’m the host’s cousin.” There is the sub-verbal or even open measurement of each person’s status and “value” to the community. Then, people are seated like a ladder of importance, with the most important, most connected people sitting closest to the host.
That phrase “a public advertisement of status” really struck me, and it got me asking some questions. What are the “public advertisements” of our status? How do we try to show other people how important we are? Do we “advertise” ourselves through our cars, our apartments, our furniture, our clothes, our phones? How do we try to show other people how cool we are? How important is it to us to watch the right movies, to listen to the right music, to download the “cool” podcasts, and to wear the right brands?

So Jesus advises people to step out of the status advertising business. He says we don’t need to be self-promoters. Instead, we should intentionally choose the lower, humbler seats. It’s almost as if Jesus tells us to advertise our humility.
And that’s all too easy, right? “Look at me. Look how humble I am. I’m willing to clean the dishes or get the water when no one else was. Look at me. You’ll never see a name brand label on my clothes because I don’t care about labels. In fact, I don’t care so much that you should think I’m cool for not caring. I’m not going to buy the best and latest of everything because I don’t care about technology like you other sell-outs.”
I saw this posted at a site criticizing the emergent church. “I’m not so arrogant as to think I’ve arrived at the truth about anything, but I’m pretty sure everything you say is not only dead wrong but really, really stupid, too.” I have been far too close to this, far too many times. We can get really prideful about our humility.

So that raise a series of more complicated questions. If self-advertising is an ever-present danger for us, then how do we avoid it? What is the line between trying to look decent and using our clothes to show our importance? Should we never pay attention to what we wear? What about fashion? Should we care what is in style or out of style? Wouldn’t we all end up looking like dorks? Should we care if we look like dorks?
What about money and possessions? What is the difference between making sure we have reliable transportation and buying a car that’s a little nicer than we really need? Is it OK to choose a job because it pays more money? How much we consider money when making our decisions about where to work and how much to work?
For apartments, how big is too big? How do we decide? Is too big for you the same as too big for me? Is there a certain number of Pyeong or square feet that are acceptable for each humble Christian in the family?

In the second half of our text, in a step of boldness and maybe rudeness, Jesus tells the host that he has invited all the wrong people to the party. In the social system of Jesus time, dinners and banquets were hugely important. They were the central venue for the establishment of social status. Powerful people gathered took turns throwing lavish banquets so that they could impress each other with their wealth and style. If you wanted to be upwardly mobile, then you wanted to invite people at your level and up to a few social levels above you. After enjoying your banquet, those people higher up would be obligated to invite you to their next banquet, thus raising your social status. The ancient Middle East was like a non-stop gossip column about who was eating with who and where.
Jesus tells people to step out side of that status based favor system. Jesus says we should be completely countercultural and invite people lower than us, all the way down to the lowest economic levels: the poor, the blind, and the lame. Jesus says, “Don’t give out favors just so you can get favors. Give to those who can’t give anything back.”
At first, we are all nodding our heads and agreeing. This is obviously good and true. The poor most need our help, but the poor are also the least likely to get help with the normal social rules. It is obviously better to be generous and giving than selfish and self-serving. Nobody likes a “good old boys club.”
However, things get a little more uncomfortable when we start asking questions. What kind of favors do we give out? Who do we talk to after the worship service? Is it the people we want something from, the people who make us feel good? How generous are we with our smiles? Do we smile often at our family, at our bosses, at the bus driver, at the lady checking us out in Lotte Mart? Who will do you usually eat lunch with? Do you eat with the poor in spirit, those who are blind to their own pride, or the socially lame?

I’ve really struggled with this passage this week. Here are a few examples.
As a pastor here, part of my responsibility is to help our church have a good relationship with KNU. Recently, something really good happened. Nazarene Publishing House does this little devotional book that goes along with the adult Sunday School curriculum, and NPH has been having different Nazarene universities around the world write a few weeks worth of devotionals in each quarter’s booklet. NPH asked me to be the coordinator for KNU’s two weeks of devotionals. This is great for KNU and great for our church, but it raises lots of questions in relation to our text.
There are 14 days worth of devotionals, so 14 people will each write one. Which 14 people should I ask to write? Should I ask the most powerful people in KNU or the least powerful? Do I have an obligation as a pastor to use this opportunity to advance our church’s social status within KNU and to earn some favors for us in the future? Should I ask some people because I owe them a favor, and this would be a good chance for them to get something published? Like I said at the beginning, I don’t have a lot of answers here.

Here’s another example. When we went to Bangladesh, I bought all kinds of little gifts. Some were “Thank you’s” for people who helped us go to Bangladesh, but others were specifically designed to gain favor with the staff of KNU. I told one of our team members the subtext of the gifts: “Here’s a little gift from Bangladesh. Please sign the form or help us out the next time we need it.” That plan worked OK until I got home and realized that I hadn’t bought enough gifts. Then, I had to start thinking about who really needed to get the gifts. Who do we really need to keep good with? Who do I really want to like us so that they will be a little more likely to help us out next time? Is this person more important than that person?
I didn’t really think much about this ... until I read this week’s text. Suddenly, I was on the wrong side of Jesus’ story.
So back to the questions. Is it OK to give gifts to court favor, or is this pandering and exactly the kind of stuff Jesus was talking about? What’s the difference between being a wise player in a large system, and “exalting myself” or our church? What do you think? Was it right or wrong for me to give out gifts to build favor? Would Jesus have done it if he were pastor here? I know, I know ... Jesus would be healing people and raising the dead, so he wouldn’t need favors ... but if Jesus were me, would he give favor gifts? Or would he ... um ... get crucified?

And let’s not just ask questions about me. What about you? What do you do to earn favors from others? How do you try to build your public image? Do you ever give gifts or compliments simply because you want something from that person? And are we giving up a reward from God, in exchange for these little favors from people? What is that reward from God anyway?

Things get a little more uncomfortable when we realize that Jesus is actually doing something really radical with this story. He isn’t just telling us to give to the poor and the outcast. He is telling us to eat with the poor. When we give to the poor, we are giving from a position above (those who have helping those who don’t). When we eat with the poor, the blind, the lame, the awkward, the different ones, then we are inviting them into our social circle. We are experiencing them as equals. We are becoming friends with them.
More of those nagging questions: What does this mean for us? It’s pretty easy for us to give some money or some old clothes. It’s easy for us to talk about establishing some church programs to welcome new people. It’s easy for us to say “Hi. How are you?” to that awkward person at our workplace. It’s much harder to open our homes and lunch tables to people who are different from us.
What does it mean for us to follow Jesus with this text? Should we be less guarding about our private times? Should we change the way we think about our homes - less of a refuge from the world and more of an open space where others feel welcomed and loved? What about our needs for boundaries? What is the limit? How much do we care for others, and how much do we care for ourselves? If we’re always inviting the poor, the blind, and the lame, when do we spend time with our families? Do they become our new families? Are we missing out on Jesus and Jesus’ life because Jesus is actually present in the poor, the blind, and the lame who are NOT present at our tables?
And what does this text have to say about our church? We do a pretty decent job of giving to the poor. We give out kimbap to homeless me. Some of us volunteer at an orphanage or a single mom’s home. We occasionally help people in our community who have a financial crisis. But what would it mean for us to eat with the poor? Our church is remarkably upper-middle class. How much of that is because of language? And how much of that is because we haven’t been all that welcoming? How could we spend more time eating with migrant workers? How could more of us eat with the widows and orphans in Bangladesh? How can we welcome more people from more diverse backgrounds into our social circle as a church?

Here’s the last thing I learned about this text. This text isn’t really about seating charts and invitation lists. This text isn’t even really about humility and hospitality. Fundamentally, this text is about value. Jesus is aiming at the roots of our personal value.
What is the source of our personal value? Do we find our value as a person in the opinions of others? What makes us feel like a good person? What makes us feel worthwhile in the world? Is it our social status? Is it our business success? Is it our education? Is it our clothes? Is it our cool-factor? Is it our popularity? Is it our money?
The subtext of Jesus’ little parable is that God loves us all equally. Nothing can change God’s love for us. Whether other people like us or don’t like us, God still loves us. Whether our social status goes up or down, God still loves us. Whether people owe us favors or whether people give us headaches, God still loves us. Whether we succeed or fail, God still loves us. Whether we write 100 books or doodle in our journals, God still loves us. Whether we get rich or go broke, God still loves us. Whether we lose weight or gain wait, God still loves us. Whether we get married or stay single or get divorced, God still loves us. Whether we make the right decision on this issue or screw it up, God still loves us.
God still loves us, no matter what. God’s love for us will never change. He loves us completely, utterly, 1000%. It is impossible for God to love us more, and it is impossible for God to ever love us less. God’s love for us will never change. That is the core of who we are. That is the source of our value. No matter what, God still loves us.
And God loves everyone else just as much as he loves us. That is the core of our actions and attitudes in the world. She is not just another competitor for the approval of others. She is a child of God. He is not a failure or a waste of time or a loser. He is a person deeply loved by our Father. She is not just someone who might be able to help us some day. He is not just a big man in a position of power. They, too, are children for whom God’s love will never change.
What does it mean for us to live like God’s love for us will never change? How would that free us?
What does it mean for us to live like every person we meet is a person loved by God? How would that free us?

Stuck in the System (Luke 12:22-38)

Josh Broward
August 8, 2010


One of the hardest jobs in the world is trying to help a prostitute stop being a prostitute. A prostitute is part of a huge web of power and money and lies and relationships. Just like a spider’s web, the web of the sex trade is incredibly sticky. Once you get in, it’s hard to get out.
But how do you get in? Most prostitutes started in the business by age 14 or younger. Most often, they are from a troubled or abusive family. Frequently, they have run away from home and living on the streets. These young girls, find themselves broke and alone, without job skills or any hope of supporting themselves. They report feeling like they don’t have any other choice.
Another surprising phenomena of prostitution is that the women often “fall in love” with their pimps (the men who “sell” them to customers). These pimps shower the girls with affection and compliments and gifts, so girls who felt no love at home suddenly feel respected and cared for and valuable. Eventually, they will do anything for these men, no matter the personal cost.
Pimps have a wide variety of ways of keeping prostitutes under their control. First of all, they cut them off from other relationships. The pimp is their sole meaningful connection to the world. Without the pimp, they would feel lost and powerless.
Second, they frequently introduce the girls to drugs. Once she is addicted, the pimp becomes the supplier of the girls’ most needed substance: crack, cocaine, heroine, etc. Now, they can’t leave prostitution because they can’t give up the drugs. Lastly, and most notoriously, pimps get violent when their girls don’t obey. Pimps will use all forms of abuse to keep the girls in their control.
Not surprisingly, prostitution is very damaging to the people involved. Within five years, most girls have a serious disease. Prostitutes have almost a 70% chance of experiencing post traumatic stress disorder. Those are the same chances as a soldier in Afghanistan. Experiencing prostitution has deep and sustained physical and emotional consequences.
So in most large cities there are a few Christian groups trying to help girls leave the life of prostitution. However, this is not as easy as it may sound. First of all, most of the girls won’t even talk to the Christian workers. They have been hurt and burned so many times that they don’t trust anyone. The first step toward reaching them is establishing a trusting relationship.
Second, the girls have to want to get out. Some rescue agencies report that most girls won’t leave the trade until they’ve been in it for at least 4-5 years. It takes that long for the pain to get stronger than the lies. For many of them, a huge step is simply believing that they are worth saving. Many girls are simply amazed that God loves them just as they are - no matter what they’ve done or who they are.
Third, they have to believe that they can get out. Hopelessness is deep among prostitutes. Even if they trust you, even if they want to get out, most of them don’t actually believe there are any other options for them. They don’t believe they can do anything else. They don’t believe they can give up their drugs or ever be able to find another job. However, the beauty of the gospel is that there is always hope. God can give anyone a fresh start.
Next, to leave prostitution, many girls enter a half-way house. This is a house on the streets that will help the girls transition to a new way of life. They have to reintegrate into healthy society. They develop healthy patterns and set limits in their relationships. Slowly, slowly, slowly, with two steps forward and one step backward, and a lot of community support, they are able to break free from the destructive system of prostitution and live the life God intended for them.
This is what the Church is all about - helping people break free from the destructive systems that use and abuse them. These systems lure people in with promises of adventure and pleasure and security, but in the end they become deadly spider webs, wrapping around us, trapping us in their nest of problems. Slowly, slowly, slowly, they suck the life out of us. The Church is a rescue ministry, a half-way house, a support community to help us live free.

OK, let’s transition here. The webs of prostitution are not the only dangerous systems that threaten our world. There are other more common, more subtle systems which threaten us.
Our epistle lesson today from Revelation 17 and 18 draws an amazing parallel between prostitution and the financial system. “Babylon the Great” was a code-word for Rome - the wealthiest and most powerful city in their world. The text calls Rome “the great prostitute,” and it says that the kings and merchants of the world “committed adultery with her.” But when the text describes their “passionate immorality,” the language is all economic. “Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich” (18:3).
The book of Revelation describes the world’s systems of power and money as this great system of deceit and trickery. It lures people in with promises of a beautiful, satisfying life, but in the end, the financial systems are just as deceitful and dangerous as the systems of prostitution.
Just like prostitution, the financial system gets people when they are young. From childhood, we all want to be rich and famous. Companies around the world try to establish their brands with us as soon as we can walk and talk and see logos. Dave Ramsey, a Christian financial counselor, was furious when Visa reached a deal with a toy maker to add tiny plastic visa cards to doll sets. Visa’s plan was to teach toddlers that building up debt is the normal way of life.
Also like prostitution, most of us feel like we don’t have any other options. The world’s dominant story is all about making money and spending money. Most of us never seriously consider that there is another way to live.
But like prostitution, most of us have no hope that we could live outside the world’s financial system. We need money to live. Unless we are going to go live in the wilderness or roam the streets, we have to have money for basic life.
But the real issue is not that we need to have some money to survive. The real issue is that we are addicted to our nice stuff. Just like the crack-addict prostitutes, we are addicted to our computers and cars and clothes and bank accounts. We can’t imagine living without our luxuries. We don’t WANT to live without our luxuries.
So we stay in the system and live by the system and for the system. When our “pimps” (also known as bosses) tell us to work harder and longer, we agree - even though it means less sleep, less prayer, less time with family, less relationships, less life. When our other “pimps” (also known as advertisers) tell us we really, really need this or that, we lay down the credit card - even though we know it will mean more work, less freedom, less giving, more stress, and less life.
The whole system is really driven by fear. We are a deeply anxious people. We are desperately afraid that we will fall behind. We don’t necessarily have to be #1. We are realistic enough to know that not very many people can be elite, but we definitely don’t want to be below average. We want to keep up. We want to be “good enough,” and we are desperately afraid that our job or our apartment or our clothes or our kids will not be “good enough.” And this fear drives almost everything we do. It eats at our souls like a cancer.
Work, stress, and anxiety are some of the leading causes of physical illness in the developed world. But even if work and stress and the desire for more don’t make us sick, they can still ruin our lives. They rob us of real life. Real life is rooted in God and his kingdom. Everything real flows out of that. Listen to what Jesus says about the financial system in our Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:22-38.


If the financial system is a trap just like prostitution, how do we get out? The Church is our half-way house. The Gospel is our cure. The process for us to become free from the financial system is very similar to the process for a prostitute to break free from the chains of prostitution.

First, we have to develop trusting relationships. Our financial system is pervasive (everywhere, in ever part of our culture and lives). And our addiction is deep - down to the core of who we are. Just like an addict who joins a 12-step group, we need the support of others to persevere on the difficult path to freedom. Surround yourself with friends who also want to live free lives. Don’t just hang out with people on the upward track: more, more, more. Make sure you have some genuine friends who are committed to simplicity, and talk about your journey together with them. The odds are against us anyway. Living free is almost impossible without friends.

Second, we have to want to be free and believe that we can be free. In Jesus’ words, we have to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else.” Our deepest desire needs to be for God’s way of life. Basically, we need to believe the gospel. Most of us don’t actually believe the gospel. Most of us, most of the time, don’t actually believe that God’s way of life is the best way or even possible for us.
We need to take a step of faith - believing Jesus when he says, “If God cares so wonderfully for the flowers ... he will certainly care for you.” We need to take a step of faith, and believe that living God’s way of life - living free from possessions and giving to those in need - will store up treasure for us that is outside the financial system, treasure that cannot be measured with numbers or figures, treasure that can never be taken from us. We need to take a step of faith - believing that when Jesus says, “Your Father already knows all your needs ... and he will give you everything you need,” he means it. If we are going to live without fear, we will have to really believe that it gives our Father great happiness to give us the Kingdom. We need to take a step of faith and believe that God’s way IS the best way and that we CAN actually live it.

Third, we have to understand where our value comes from. Our value comes from God’s love. We are God’s treasure, his special possession, his pride and joy. God values us so much that Jesus died on the cross so that we could be adopted back into his family. We are special, valued, treasured children of God, and that is the root of our worth.
Most of us know this here (in our heads), but we don’t know it here (in our hearts). Or we forget it. We know it; we sing about it; we talk about it in church. But then we go out and live like our value comes from our stuff, our jobs, our money. We know our value really comes from God, but we teach our kids that their value comes from their grades and their success in life.
We are forgetful people. We need to remind ourselves again and again - every day, several times a day - that God loves us. God loves us just as we are. No amount of money or stuff or power or success or failure will change that. So as we go about our days in and around the financial system, we are rooted to a different power source. Our identity does not depend on whether our boss likes us. Our value will not be enhanced by that beautiful shirt. Our personal future is not threatened by an economic downturn. Accepting our value in God’s love is like an anchor in the financial storm.

Fourth, if we want to be free, we will have to learn some different life habits. Just like the prostitutes who have to learn how to function in the “real world” without their pimps, we will have to learn how to live in and around the financial system without being stuck in its traps.
Jesus gives us a basic financial habit that will help to make us free. Put your money where you want your heart to be. Jesus said, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Luke 12:34). I’ve heard preachers preach on this for most of my life, and their usual explanation goes like this. “Look at how you spend your money, and that shows what you care about. Wherever your money is, that’s what you care about. Therefore, we need to change our hearts to care about God’s ways more.”
That’s true. It is definitely true that our hearts drive our spending, saving, and giving. How we spend our money says a lot about what we value.
But I’m not sure that’s what this passage is saying. I think this passage is saying, where your money goes, your heart goes. Where you put your money is what you will end up caring for most. Your spending determines your caring.
If you spend lots of money on a new apartment, you’re going to treasure that apartment. If you buy a new computer or a new IPhone, that will become your treasure or your focus for a while. The more you have, the harder and harder it is to give it up.
Similarly, if you hear a story about a poor child in India, you may feel sad or concerned for a few minutes, but if you are giving your money each month to pay for the education and health care for a child in India, your concern for that child in India is now much higher.
Also, if you occasionally drink a Pepsi, your concern in the Pepsi Corporation is pretty much: “Does it taste good?” and “Can I get one when I want it?” However, if you purchase stock in Pepsi, suddenly your concern level goes up. Now you are interested in their distribution system, their marketing, their strategy for competing against Coca-cola.
Our hearts, our concern, follows our money. So, then, Jesus’ teaching starts to make more sense. If you want to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else,” then “sell your possessions and give to those in need” because “wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” If you want to care more about the poor, give more to the poor. If you want to care more about the church, give more to the church. If you want to care more about God and your relationship with God, give more to the things God cares about. Your money follows your heart, but your heart also follows your money. Put your money where you want your heart to be.

Our financial system is a great trap that can steal our lives, but God can make us free. Close your eyes and listen to Jesus’ call to be free.
“I am the good shepherd. ... Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:9-14).
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it” (Matthew 10:39).
“And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:29-32).

Money Trouble (Luke 12:13-21)

KNU International English Church
Josh Broward
August 1, 2010


“Money” by Pink Floyd (1974)
Money, get away / Get a good job with more pay / And your O.K.
Money, it's a gas / Grab that cash with both hands / And make a stash
New car, caviar, four star / daydream / Think I'll buy me a football team
Money get back / I'm all right Jack / Keep your hands off my stack
Money, it's a hit / Don't give me that / Do goody good bull----
I'm in the hi-fidelity / First class traveling set / And I think I need a Lear jet

Money, it's a crime / Share it fairly / But don't take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say / Is the root of all evil / Today
But if you ask for a rise / It's no surprise that they're / Giving none away
Away ... Away ... Away ... Away...

We have money trouble. We Christians have this love/hate relationship with money. Our attitudes are mixed like this Pink Floyd song.
Money, get away ... but give me a good job with more pay.
Money, get back ... but keep your hands off my stack.
Share it fairly ... but don’t take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say, is the root of all evil today ... but they’re giving none away.
Some preachers talk like God wants everyone to be rich, and if you’re not rich, then there’s something wrong with you ... but others talk like God wants everyone to be poor, and if you’re not giving all your money away, then there’s something wrong with you.
We know that life isn’t about money ... but we spend most of our lives trying to get money and spend money.
We know that too much money can be a problem ... but we all want just a little more.

We have money trouble. We will be talking about money for the next 2 weeks. That’s never fun - for you or for me. This might be a good time to explain how we get our sermon topics each week. Sometimes, we go through sermon series on a particular topic, like family or community. You can blame me for those topics. Other times, we work through a weekly plan called the lectionary. The lectionary is a plan to help churches talk about all the important parts of the Bible within the scope of 3 years. You see, preachers - and church members too - have a tendency to read only the parts of the Bible that we like. We read our favorite stories or verses again and again, and we often ignore the difficult or challenging parts. The lectionary is designed to solve that problem. During the summer, when we’re preaching through Luke, we’re following the lectionary.
So when things get uncomfortable today (and they will), keep two things in mind. First, I didn’t choose this text. People wiser and smarter than me decided that it’s really important for Christians around the world to hear this story. Second, Jesus is the one who told this story in the first place. Sometimes we think Jesus talked all about love and being kind to people - “turn the other cheek” and stuff like that. But Jesus talked a lot about money, a whole lot. Money was one of Jesus’ most frequent topics. Jesus cares deeply about what we do with our money.

OK, enough introduction. Let’s read Jesus’ story about money. Luke 12:13-21.

The first thing for us to notice here is that this story isn’t actually about money. It’s about greed. The rich guy’s problem isn’t that he is rich. His problem is greed.
Greed is listed as one of the “Seven Deadly Sins,” which was a list developed in the 4th century to warn Christians of the most dangerous sins. Paul seems to agree. Our epistle lesson today says, “Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolator, worshipping the things of this world” (Colossians 3:5). That’s pretty serious. Greed = idolatry. Greed is acting like stuff or money is more important than our relationships with God or people.
Steve has been telling me for a while that I need to start listening to this guy Timothy Keller. This summer I finally subscribed to his podcast. His sermon about money1 has really helped me make some connections between this passage and our world. (Thanks Steve.)
Keller says that one of the most dangerous things about greed is that it’s deceitful. Greed makes us blind to our own greed. Almost nobody thinks they are greedy. We live in one of the richest nations in the the world in the richest era in human history. We have tools, resources, food, medicine, opportunities, entertainments, and travels that would only be accessible to the outrageously rich at any other time in human history. All of us have more money in our bank accounts right now than 50% of the world will make this year. Most of us will spend more money on food at lunch than 20% of the world will make this week. And yet we don’t think we are rich!
The problem with greed and assessing our richness is that there is always someone richer. It’s those people over there who are rich, not me. No matter how much you make, there’s always somebody richer. Unless we are listed in a magazine as one of the wealthiest people in the world, most of us probably don’t think we’re rich.

Maybe we should pause here and take another look at the rich man in our story. I want to find a reason to condemn him. I want to say, “Look at that rich ------. He’s cheating his workers. He’s using unjust business practices. He’s taking advantage of others. He’s in trouble because he is getting his money in the wrong way.” I want to say that because then I’m different from him. I’m not a farmer. I don’t have barns or employees, and I’m not cheating anyone. So I must not be like this evil rich guy.
But the text won’t let me say any of that. As far as we can tell, the rich guy didn’t do anything wrong to get his money. He just had a good farm on a good year. He runs a good farm as a good business, and it all pays off. And he is smart enough to know that if his farm did well, all of the other farms probably did well, and the price of grain will be low at harvest time. So he plans to save his crops until the market is right and the price goes up. He is smart and rich, but God say’s he’s a fool.

Why is he a fool? He is greedy. He is acting like stuff or money is more important than his relationships with God or people.
Keller says that money tends to have this deep power over us. We make money act like our god.
First, we try to find our significance in our money or stuff. We feel like we are worth more if we have a bigger apartment, a nicer car, a faster computer, better clothes, better jobs, more savings, more travels. We don’t say it out loud, and most of the time we don’t even think it consciously to ourselves. But let’s all be honest here. We tend to put our significance in our stuff. When we have good clothes, we feel good about ourselves. When we see our investments go up, we pat ourselves on the back for being so smart. When we visit our neighbor’s apartment that is newer and nicer than ours, we return home to our older, smaller apartment, and we don’t feel as good about being us. (So we tear down our barn - or sell our apartment - and get a bigger one.)
Second, we try to find our security in our money or stuff. We surround ourselves with nice things. We work really, really hard. We build our bank accounts. We push our kids to get really good grades so they can get really good jobs. Why? Because we trust money to give us a good future. We believe that life is all about possessions. We believe that if we have enough money we’ll be OK. That’s the most important thing. Just make sure you have enough money.

So this rich guy is a fool because he is making money his god. He is finding his significance and security in his possessions. “And I’ll sit back and say to myself, ‘My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” (Luke 12:19)
But money can’t give us significance or security. Money and stuff will always disappoint us. We could talk all day about this, but let me just give you two little examples.
I remember reading years ago a little story about Matthew Perry, Chandler on the hit TV show Friends. The story told of his struggle with addiction to alcohol and some of the lessons he has learned as he has journeyed through rehab and AA. He said something that I’ve always remembered: “You can have all this money and a big house and be all alone and sad inside.” Money will never be enough.
This summer, we visited my grandparents in Arkansas. Every week, Monday to Friday, they always go to their local senior citizens center. They sit around and play dominoes and drink coffee and gossip. Then, they eat lunch. Then, they go home and take a nap. Whenever we go to visit them, we usually go with them to the senior citizens center (partly because that’s one of the few times of the day they are actually awake!).
This year, I was sitting at the table when some people started talking about how much money one of the couples at the table has. They have over 1,000 acres of land (400 정보). One of the big things in that part of Arkansas is that people have recently discovered oil and gas under normal farms and forests. So this little retired couple with a decent patch of farm land is now very rich with several dozen oil and gas wells.
The other old people at the lunch table were kind of teasing them about it. But then the woman said, “It doesn’t make me walk better. I still wobble about.” After lunch, when they were leaving, I watched them go. The old man walked carefully behind the old woman, and he had his hand firmly around the belt of her pants - kind of giving her a wedgie. He had to hold her steady just so she could walk out the door. All the money in the world couldn’t help her walk without falling down.

And so Jesus says, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own. ... Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:15, 21).

But how? How do we guard against every kind of greed? How can we break free from the power of money?
OK. Here it comes. This is the hard part, right. You all knew it was coming. If we want to deal with greed, then we actually have to do something.
Before I get into this, I need to remind you that I am not just a pastor asking for money. “Money, money, money - that’s all churches care about.” Remember, I didn’t choose this text, and Jesus told the story, not me. As a pastor, my primary concern is your life - your relationships with God and your relationships with people. Your relationships are WAY more important than your money.
But here’s the thing: your money reveals a lot about your relationships. Do you trust God more than your bank account? Are you thankful to God for blessing you? Are you using well what he has given you? Are your committed to the health of others? Do you care about the poor? Do you care enough to give some of your money to help others? I’m doing this because I care about you not your money.
OK, that’s enough of the disclaimers. I want to challenge you to do three things to battle greed in your life.
First, GIVE. You all knew I was going to say that. But I want to challenge you to give in two ways that you might not have thought about.
GIVE as a regular practice. Make giving one of your life habits like exercise or eating well. Make it a spiritual discipline. Make it part of your worship every Sunday. Even if you usually give your tithe all at once, also give a little each time you worship. It’s a little way for us to remind ourselves that money is not the most important thing in our lives.
And make sure you’re tithing. (That means giving 10% of your money to God through the church.) Tithing is a basic minimum standard in the Bible. This is a way for us to say every month that we trust God more than our money.
I’m just going to come out and say this because there’s really no way around it. If you’re not tithing, then you have a problem with greed. I know that’s hard to hear, but it’s true. Every adult in this room makes a decent living. There is absolutely no reason why we can’t give 10% of our income away. The only reasons to hold onto our money are greed or fear, and fear is just another form of greed here. We are afraid we won’t have enough money for a secure future. If we aren’t tithing, then we are trusting our money more than God. There’s no way around that. God cares about you not your money. But if God doesn’t get your money, then he doesn’t have you.

But don’t just give money. GIVE away something you love. Let me make a confession. I’m kind of a clothes horse. I love having lots of clothes in lots of different colors. When I go into a store and I see those racks of ties with all the beautiful ties lined up in a row with the shades gradually changing from red to pink to blue, I want to buy 10 different ties. And I don’t even like ties! So I’m trying to battle my greed for clothes. If I get a new shirt, I give a shirt away. 1 for 1. I love my clothes, so I could get more and more and more. I’m trying to battle my greed by giving stuff away.
What do you love? Is it shoes or movies or books? Do you love nicknacks or furniture? Maybe you’ll decide to give away your favorite shirt or that one picture that you just really love. Take your stuff down to the thrift store over by the KNU soccer field. They’ll be glad to find it a new home.
Giving is powerful. Giving is like taking medicine for greed. Giving something we love is like upping the dosage, taking a stronger medicine.

Here’s the last thing I want you to do today to battle greed. TALK. Talk about money. Money is a taboo subject. Most people don’t talk about money or sex, and if we’re going to be healthy, we really need to talk about both. Keeping everything secret just gives our darker desires more power. So be bold. Start the conversation. Talk here. Talk at snack time. Talk later at lunch or dinner. Talk in your small groups. Talk with your husband or wife. Talk with some of your coworkers over lunch. Just start talking. Let’s get money and greed out of the dark corners of our lives and out into the open where we can help each other think about it.
In fact, let’s start talking right here and now. Get into groups of 2-3, and talk about the first question.


Questions:
Why is talking about money so hard?
For you personally, what is the hardest part of dealing with money?
How do you decide how much money you give away?

Dealing with Darkness (Luke 8:26-39)

June 20, 2010
Josh Broward

Luke 8:26-39

This is one of the weirdest stories in the Bible, and it’s in the Bible three times. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell the story of when Jesus cast the demons into the herd of pigs. Maybe it was just too weird to pass up. Maybe people back then were interested in the weird and freakish just like people today. Maybe a little bit of tabloid-type newscasting made the Jesus story more interesting. ... Maybe ... and maybe ... just maybe ... there is an important message here - even for us modern people who find this story so uncomfortably weird.
To get at this meaning, we’ll have to unpack some of the weird stuff.
For starters, the flow of the story is out of sync. Luke tells the story with all of these flashbacks and asides. Instead of telling the chronological sequence of events, Luke has rearranged the material so that it centers around Jesus showing up. Everything changes when Jesus shows up.
Then, there are several cultural issues. Jesus and the disciples have now traveled to the east side of the Sea of Galilee. The Jewish Messiah is now landing in Gentile territory. Gentiles are “unclean.” They don’t believe in Israel’s God. They eat pork and worship the Roman gods. This is a bad, bad place for a good Jew to be. It was something like a priest taking his seminary students (complete with black shirts and white collars) into a full-on bikers bar. They were out of place - in hostile territory.
In the passage just before this one, while their boat is crossing the Sea of Galilee, a storm comes up and almost sinks the boat. In ancient Jewish culture, the sea is this symbol of chaos and evil, so for the disciples, it’s as if the forces of evil were trying to suck them down to Hell. Jesus finally stands up in the boat and calms the storm. Even the wind and the waves (these symbols of evil) obey Jesus.
Then, just as the boat reaches solid ground, they are confronted with more forces of evil. There’s a deeply crazy guy who says he is filled with thousands of demons, and before the disciples get the boat docked, he’s already screaming at Jesus and thrashing on the ground. (If I were a disciple, I would probably just get right back in the boat. “OK. This was a nice trip. Let’s go home.”)
In today’s world, we would probably say this guy was crazy. He was naked. He was apparently a danger to his community. He lived in the tombs. He was so out of his mind that he was half-dead already.
Then, the story gets weirder. Jesus seems to enter into negotiations with the demons. Jesus tells the demons to come out, but they start bartering with Jesus: “Please don’t send us into the Abyss.” The Abyss may be the place of the dead, or it may be a special place of punishment for evil spirits. (See Revelation 20:1-3.) Jesus seems to give into the demons. He lets them go into the pigs instead of the Abyss. But then the pigs freak out and run off a cliff into the Sea and drown. That has got to be one of the weirdest scenes in the whole Bible. There are thousands of pigs jumping off a cliff like screaming lemmings. Just imagine the pile of dead, mangled pigs in the water. That can’t be good for tourism! Some people think Jesus allowed this to show the sheer number of demons in this guy (and thus Jesus’ own power). Others think, it was kind of a joke on the demons, “OK, go into the pigs instead of the Abyss ... oops, they’re taking you to the Abyss too! Na, na.”
The story wraps up with the guy completely restored. Before Jesus, he was full of demons and out of control. With Jesus, he is demon-free and in his right mind. Before he was naked, shouting, and wandering in the wilds. Now, he is clothed, calm, and sitting at Jesus’ feet in the position of a disciple. Before he was homeless. Now, Jesus tells him to return to his home with a mission to tell people about how God has restored his life.
Even after Jesus sets the crazy guy free from his demons, Jesus is still not welcome in town. But maybe that shouldn’t surprise us too much. Jesus has just destroyed ruined the local economy and created quite a scene. Most of us would rather have a calm, normal life than one injected with an uncontrollable God.

So where do we go from here? How do we cope with this crazy story? Do we need to start doing exorcisms here - maybe after communion time? We can joke about this because we feel like this story is so far from our reality. As far as we know, most of us have absolutely no personal experience with demons or evil spirits ... as far as we know.
However, many of us have heard stories of demons and exorcisms on “the mission field.” When we went to Indonesia, our translator was Samuel Suarez, a pastor from East Timor. Samuel regularly prays for miraculous healings and confronts demons and evil spirits who are oppressing individuals or houses in East Timor. Samuel and his church members regularly lead new converts to burn the talismans and tools of witchcraft that are so common in East Timor houses.
When I was in Papua New Guinea, I heard a missionary tell a story about a time when he and some other Christians were traveling through an area known to be dominated by witch doctors. One night an “evil presence” confronted them and a fire swept through the forest. Yet, the Christians stayed in their hut and prayed for safety against the evil spirit. The fire burned all the way around the house but did not burn the house at all.
I could go on and on with stories like this, but these stories only raise another question. Why are there so many stories of demons and witchcraft in the developing world, but not many stories like these in the developed world?
Well, some people think that many of the experiences labeled as “demon possession” are actually physical or mental illnesses like epilepsy or schizophrenia. Some of the stories in the Bible do sound surprisingly like these: seizures, voices, antisocial behavior, foaming at the mouth, etc.
Other people say that Satan chooses more subtle tactics in developed nations. Several people have said, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.” The idea here is that evil is far more difficult to contain if it is hidden.
Some believe that there is an innate connection between progress and goodness. God desires health for all people at all times. So, as we learn how to live in healthier ways, there is a corresponding sense that we are learning to live in more experience of God’s life and health. With this line of thinking, God is working through medicine and science to push away the forces of evil and disease.
Some people say that there are less “demonic” experiences in the developing world because fewer people are intentionally pursuing the dark spirits. However, in cultures where people engage in witchcraft and the “dark arts,” there are more openings for evil spirits.
There may be some truth to all of these opinions. However, it is important for us to realize that evil is real. There is a real force of evil in our world, and it takes different shapes and forms. We may not understand all the why’s and how’s of evil, but I think we can understand that evil is here among us and “out there” in our world. Whether we understand it or not, whether we like it or not, there is a battle between darkness and light, and we are in the midst of it. We may or may not call it “demons” or “spiritual warfare,” but we can all recognize it as darkness.
What are the areas of darkness that we face? Where is the darkness in our lives?
addictions (alcohol, relationships, cigarettes ... even gaming)
pornography (That internet is ever-so tempting.)
eating disorders (eating too much, eating too little, eating for all the wrong reasons)
bitterness (which often accompanies culture shock, by the way)
materialism (wanting more and more and more)
greed (disregarding the health of others and our environment so that we can make our money and keep it for ourselves)
old wounds (those old pains and fears that just don’t seem to go away)
depression (which can also come along with culture shock)
negativity (There’s always something wrong with everything, right?)
judmentalism (There’s always something wrong with everyone, right?)
low self-esteem (those nagging voices of not being good enough)
gossip (It’s just so fun to pass on that bad news and to put down those other people.)
despair (It’s never going to get better.)

We may or may not call these our “demons,” and they may not be actual “evil spirits.” But I think we can all agree that these are dark places in our lives. And we can all agree that God wants to bring healing and light to these dark places. The great truth of our story about the crazy guy from across the lake is that Jesus can bring light no matter how dark the darkness.
So how does it work? How does God bring light in our dark places? How can we find healing for our darkest places? We need to let Jesus move us toward light in four basic ways.

First, if we want healing in our darkness, we need to let Jesus move us from isolation to community. Remember the guy filled with demons. When the darkness was destroying him, he lived alone - away from his family and away from his friends.
Battling darkness almost always leads to isolation. We don’t feel like being around people. We don’t want others to see our dark places. Whether we’re sinning or just struggling, we tend to hide. This is the worst possible thing we can do. Isolation gives strength to the darkness. When we are isolated, we are alone and without help. As John Jewel explains: “The longer the isolation continues ... the more dangerous the isolation becomes.”1
If you are struggling with some darkness, the first thing you need to do is to reach out to someone for help. Run to people, trustworthy people - not away from them. Talk to them about your darkness. Pray together with them about what’s going on inside you.
If you have a friend who is pulling away, go after them. If you see someone here at church who comes alone, sits alone, and goes out alone, reach out. Reach into that isolation and build community. Your friendship can be a light in the darkness.

The second move Jesus takes us through is from denial to truth. Evil is like a fungus that grows in the darkness. When we pretend it isn’t there, it just grows in strength. When we try to keep it secret, we only make it stronger. When we bring evil into the light of truth, its power shrivels.
We can make this move to truth in several ways. First, name evil for evil. Jesus asked the demon what its name was. Naming something gives you a measure of power over it. Name the darkness.
It’s not “getting a buzz.” It’s getting drunk.
It’s not “shading the truth.” It’s lying.
It’s not “pampering yourself.” It’s materialism.
It’s not “just something that happened a long time ago.” It’s a deep, personal wound.
It’s not “working hard.” It’s working too much.
It’s not “taking in some eye candy.” It’s lust.
Be honest. Call it what it is, and you will find that its power over you goes down.
We can also move from denial to truth through accountability. Find a spiritual partner in your battle against darkness. You need to be able to say, “Hey, man, I sinned this week. I knew I shouldn’t go to that site, but I went anyway.” You need to have someone ask you, “Did you gossip this week? Were you respectful with your words and actions?” Just talking about it openly is a big step in overcoming the darkness. It’s like Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
If you really want to be like Jesus, then you will name the darkness in those around you. This is hard, but this is what it takes for us to become the people God wants us to be. We are often blind to our own darkness. We need each other to call us out and to show us what we’re missing. Gently but honestly say to your friend: “I’ve noticed that you seem to struggle with this issue. Is there any way I can help you or support you in that?”
Some of us may need help from a professional counselor or psychiatrist to deal with our darkness. Don’t feel bad about that. We are blessed to live in a time with so many resources. Taking a pill or talking to a counselor may not seem like battling darkness, but God can work through all kinds of things. Use every tool available.

The third move as Jesus sets us free is the move from despair to hope. The guy in our story had been living alone in the tombs “for a long time.” The people from the town had given up on this guy living a normal life. They had stopped trying to help him. There is a real sense of despair here.
Many people in our world are stuck in despair. I hear a lot of Koreans talk with despair in their voices about the educational system or their work expectations. The system is broken, and nobody knows how to fix it. Parents tell me that they feel bad for their children. They don’t want them to study so much, but they feel like they don’t have any choice. Workers tell me that they don’t want to work such long hours, but they feel like they don’t have any choice. Suicide rates here in Korea are among the highest in the world. Despair is deep here.
We can radically change our world simply by giving hope. Things can change. Your life can change. Your system can change. You don’t have to keep living in the same ways. You can be different. You can be a pioneer. You can live by a different standard. You can step out of this broken system and live by your own rules (in God’s ways).
Jesus brings hope. No darkness is too dark. No system is too broken. No situation is unchangeable. Be an agent of hope. Have hope. Act on hope. Give hope.

The final move happens at the end of our story. It is the move from shame to testimony. I imagine that the man filled with demons felt a deep sense of personal shame. In his moments of sanity, however rare, he must have felt so ashamed of himself. He was naked and dirty. He lived in a graveyard - eating who knows what. That shame strengthened his isolation, and his isolation strengthened his darkness.
But when Jesus set him free, his painful history was no longer shameful. Instead, it was his story of healing. Jesus sent him out as the first missionary. Jesus didn’t send him to seminary to study systematic theology. Jesus told him to go tell the folks back home “how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).
We are so quiet about how God has worked in our lives. The most convincing thing we could say to our friends is the story of how God has changed us. Better yet, be willing to tell people how God is still changing you. If you don’t know how to get the conversation started, just start by asking about their spiritual story. Most of the time, people will return the favor and ask you about your story. Tell them what your life was like before you met Jesus, what happened when you God began to work in your life, and how your life is different now.

Darkness is real. In some places and times, it is obvious and strong. Other times, darkness hides in the corners and pulls at our ankles when we pass by. Whatever you believe about the darkness or evil or demons, believe that darkness is real.
And more importantly believe that the light will overcome the darkness. Jesus is stronger than whatever dark powers we face. No demons can defeat him. No darkness can destroy him. No evil can keep its hold on our lives. Jesus is the Light of the World, and he will always shine in our darkness.
Let Jesus lead you out of darkness into light, out of isolation into community, out of denial into truth, out of despair into hope, and out of shame into testimony. Jesus is greater than the darkness, and his light is changing our world!

The Simon In Us (Luke 7:36-50)

June 13, 2010
Josh Broward

Luke 7:36-50

All my life I’ve tried to do the right thing. I listened to my parents (for the most part). I paid attention when my teachers were talking. I didn’t nick fruit from the farmers’ market. I didn’t squelch on my chores. It always bothered me when the other guys talked about women like they were there for the taking. Like I said, I always tried to do the right thing.
Most of all, I’ve always had a hunger for God’s teachings. From the very beginning, when my grandfather told the stories of Adam and Abraham, Moses and David, something stirred within my heart. I learned countless psalms by heart so that I could sing them as I walked along the road or worked in the field.
As I grew into a man, I began to spend more and more of my time in serious study of the Bible. I became more and more serious about doing exactly what God teaches us to do. I longed to prove myself to God as faithful follower.
God’s ways are so beautiful and so good. They have captured my heart. Sure, God’s way is demanding, but isn’t that the point? If it was easy, everyone would do it. As it is, God’s blessings are reserved for those who are willing to work for them. At least, that’s what I’ve always believed.
Like I was saying, I’ve always had this hunger for God’s Word. I’ve made it a habit to listen to all of the great teachers. God’s Word is so deep and so profound that I don’t think we will ever get to the bottom of it. We’ve always got to keep learning.
About 10 years ago, word started to spread that there was a new teacher who had all these fresh perspectives on God’s ways in our world. He taught from the same Bible, but the word on the street was that he was able to get at the heart of it more than anyone in recent memory. Some said he was the greatest preacher in our generation. Others said he might even be a real-deal prophet, like in the olden days.
The truth is that he was a rather controversial character. He was ... um ... unconventional. He challenged some of our long standing traditions and called out some national leaders as fakes. But he put on such humble appearance that many wondered if he himself was a fake. Some people said he was just one more socialist in a long string of power-to-the-people types.
But I wasn’t willing to be put off by other people’s criticisms. Reformers are always unwelcome - especially for the people who need to be reformed! I wanted to see him for myself. I wanted to ask a few of my own questions and to see him with my own eyes. If he was a real teacher or even a real prophet, I wanted to learn everything I could from him. At the very least, I figured we’d have some interesting discussions.
So I invited the teacher to come to my house for dinner and conversation. I also invited many of my friends - especially those who were also serious about living God’s way. Some of them weren’t necessarily excited about sitting down with a controversial teacher, but maybe they came for the sake curiosity, that and the off-hand chance that this guy might be for real.
So we were all gathered together for the meal, and it was a real feast, with several appetizers, fruit and cheese trays, a main course, and then tea and dessert. I wanted to make sure that we would have plenty of time for a nice long conversation. (And of course, I wanted everyone to think well of me.) It was a beautiful night, and we were relaxing at the table, leaning on our cushions in the style of our day.
Some people of the neighborhood had gathered in the courtyard of my house to kind of listen in and maybe to get a bit of the food passed their way after it was removed from the main table. I didn’t take any offense to that. To tell you the truth, I was honestly happy that they had come. A large crowd was both an honor and an opportunity to show my generosity.
As the dinner progressed, I began to feel pretty good about myself. This was shaping out nicely. This big-name preacher was here in my house and had created quite the buzz. His take on the Bible was quite astute. He definitely knew it inside and out. So far, he hadn’t said anything to make even my most conservative friends uncomfortable. The dinner was going perfectly.
Then, everything fell to pieces. I heard some strange mumbling among the people nearest the door. Some movement caught my eye. To my horror, I saw the town prostitute enter the room ... into my house ... to my table. Oh, this was terrible. This was a disgrace. Would people think I had some kind of relations with this sinful woman?
What happened next seemed to surprise everyone. This sleazy hooker knelt down behind this famous preacher. Why him? Of all my guests, why him? I wondered if some of my enemies had paid her to do this. Were they standing in the streets laughing into their sleeves at my disgrace? Were they cackling among themselves at how I would try to rescue my house from this shame?
Things went from bad to worse. She started to cry - not just a few tears running down the cheeks. She started to cry buckets. She was raining her sin-infected tears all over the preacher’s feet. God only knows what she was thinking. Her body was shaking and tears were pouring out of her just as if she’d poured a cup of water out on his feet. Then, she seemed to have noticed that she was getting the preacher wet, so she took down her hair and tried to dry off the tears ... with her hair!
Now, I had heard that this controversial preacher was a “friend of sinners,” but nothing prepared me for this. This went beyond all propriety - way beyond all moral bounds. A woman was not even supposed to touch a man in public, and her hair was a private treasure of her husband. A good woman would keep her hair tied tightly at all times outside her own home. Of course, she was anything but a “good woman,” but none of us had ever seen a woman act like this.
As if all of this was not enough, she made it a full-blown social scandal. She took out a jar of extremely expensive perfume, and she proceeded to give him a personal foot massage complete with unlimited kisses on his feet - right there in front of God and everybody. Gasps went throughout the crowd. We were horrified. This was ... this was ... obscene!
Well, I decided right then and there that there was no way in God’s creation that this guy was a prophet. If he was a real prophet of God, he would know who this woman was. He would know that she was a slut! He would know, and he would tell her to get away from him. If he were a prophet, he would not allow himself to be defiled by her. If he were a man of God, he wouldn’t just sit there and let her rub her sin all over him. No way. No way at all. This man was far from a prophet. No matter what he said, no matter how slick his words were, there was no way this man could ever speak for God.

I have spent the rest of my life thinking about what happened next. In all of my many years, those next few moments have changed me more than anything else.
Jesus, the famous preacher, looked at me and said, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” The sinful woman was still there kissing and crying and massaging his feet, making a fool of herself and insulting us all.
I looked at Jesus, and I thought that nothing could make this night any worse, so I might as well hear what he has to say. “Go ahead, Teacher. I’m listening.”
Then, he started telling this story, and my first thought was: “You’ve got a woman from the streets crying behind you and rubbing her lusty perfume all over your feet, and you want to stop to tell me a story?! You are off kilter. Your elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top, preacher man.”
But he keeps on with his story. It was pretty simple, and I’ve fairly well got it memorized, since the scene keeps replaying in my mind all the time. “There were these two men who both owed money to a banker. One of them owed 500 pieces of silver, and the other one owed 50. But neither one could pay up, so the banker cancelled both their debts. Which one would be more grateful?”
And I’m thinking, “Bankers, debts, who cares?! You are being defiled right here before our eyes. Your reputation and mine are sinking to the gutter, and you want to tell a story about some losers who couldn’t pay their debts?” But I pushed those thoughts to the side, and I decided to continue to play his game - whatever his game was. “I suppose the one who was forgiven the larger debt would be more grateful.”
Then, Jesus piled insult upon injury. He turned away from me and looked at the woman at his feet. He looked at her, but he was speaking to me. He said, “Do you see this woman here?”
Duh! Everyone saw that woman there. She was all anyone could think of!
Then, he began to cut into my heart. Jesus’ words were like knives cutting away all my defenses, removing all the shields and barriers that protected my inner self from the outside world. Jesus exposed my naked self.
“I am in your home as your guest, but she is acting as the host. You are playing the role of great hospitality, but yours is hollow. Hers is real. You fed me a big meal, but you left my feet dirty and dusty from the walk over. When I arrived, you didn’t give me the customary kiss of greeting, but she can’t stop kissing my feet. You offered me nothing to help me freshen up after walking in the heat, but she has willingly covered my feet in expensive perfume - filling the whole house with the aroma of her love.
“You sit there and judge her because of her history. Yes, I know all about her past. I know all about her sins, but they are forgiven. We all know how bad her record was, but her slate has been wiped clean. She has been given a fresh start, and that’s why she’s here. She is grateful. Forgiveness fuels her love. Extravagant forgiveness leads to extravagant love. Minimal forgiveness leads to minimal love.”
That was the pivot of my life. My life folds like a book on that moment.
Before that moment, I was proud and sure of myself. I was sure that Jesus didn’t know who that woman was. I was sure that I was better than him (and better than most other people, too). I was sure that Jesus was NOT a prophet and surely didn’t have anything valuable to teach me. I was more sure than ever of my own righteousness - even if these two had brought me into an unfortunate scandal. I was already thinking of ways to reestablish my public integrity.
After that moment, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is a prophet of the most high God. First of all, Jesus had looked into my heart and read my thoughts. He saw me more clearly than I saw myself. I had accused of him of not knowing who the sinful woman was, but the real truth was that I didn’t even know my own self. Jesus knew who she was, and he knew who I was, too.
Secondly, Jesus showed that he understood the depths of God more than any of us had ever imagined. At heart, the one true God is a God of mercy. Just as David sang many years ago, “The sacrifice [God desires] is a broken spirit. [God] will not reject a broken and repentant heart” (Psalm 51:17).
I have thought and thought about this beautiful disaster of a dinner. I have tried to figure out what led this woman here to my house to offer such an outrageous sign of love. She was obviously a woman with a bad history. Everyone in town knew that she made her living through sexual favors, and apparently she was quite good at it. She must have spent a small fortune on that perfume.
Obviously, this was not the first time she had met Jesus. She was deeply grateful to him for something. As the scandal hit the rumor mills, some people said that Jesus had saved her from stoning. Others said that Jesus had set her free from the oppression of demons. Still others said that she was simply a prostitute trapped in her profession until Jesus showed up.
Jesus had this amazing habit of loving every single person he saw. And this amazing love gave people strength and hope. Jesus’ love and unconditional forgiveness gave them hope that they could “change their stars” - to put it in pagan terms. Jesus’ love somehow connected them with God’s love, and that changed their lives.
Knowing God’s ultimate forgiveness seems to set people free to become the people they were originally created to be. Forgiveness on that deep level causes an inner revolution. It changes people. They aren’t stuck. They don’t have to prove anything to other people. They are loved. They know it deep in their bones, and that love makes them free.

I spent weeks and months and years thinking about this sinful woman’s great experience of forgiveness and great outpouring of love. I thought about Jesus’ words: “Extravagant forgiveness leads to extravagant love.”
And always, always, I remembered Jesus next words that burst like a bomb within my heart: “Minimal forgiveness leads to minimal love.” Minimal is the worst possible criticism for one who is called to: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” God calls for our maximal love. God asks for everything.
And I’ve been trying to give God everything. Like I said, I’ve always tried to do the right thing. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more and more serious about doing the right things in the right ways at the right times. I keep the rules. All the time.
Yet, Jesus’ simple story and explanation, revealed the hollow truth of who I am. I’ve been trying to prove myself to God. I’ve been trying to earn God’s love by giving him my sacrificial obedience. I’ve been trying to show God how good I am so that he will accept me ... so that others will accept me ... so that I can accept myself. I have stood in my religious house, wearing my religious clothes, reading my religious texts, judging everyone who is less religious, less disciplined, less holy, less together. I maximized others’ faults and minimized my own.
All my life I have gone through all of the religious experiences of forgiveness. I go to the Temple. I give my offerings and sacrifices. I sing of god’s mercy. I listen as the priests announce God’s forgiveness for his people. But it was all ceremony. It was all outside, not inside. I knew it here (head) but not here (heart). After all these years of religion, I still did not believe deep in my heart that God forgives me.
But through that short moment with Jesus, I saw that God accepts me just as I am. God has this unlimited forgiveness that is available to every person who has ever breathed. There is only one condition: unconditional acceptance. The only condition for receiving God’s unlimited forgiveness is that we accept it freely. We can’t earn it. We can’t buy it. We can’t build up to it. It is radical. It’s extravagant. The truth is it’s scandalous. God’s amazing grace is the same for prostitutes and preachers, crooks and monks. God loves us all. God forgives us all.

Oh, how many times I have wanted to replay that dinner at my house. Of course, I would show Jesus hospitality from the depths of my heart - with a warm embrace and a kiss. I would gladly wash his feet myself. I would give him the best perfume money can buy. But most importantly, when that sinful woman came in, I would welcome her as a guest of honor. She is another who is loved by our extravagant God. I would sit with her next to Jesus and say, “Here is one like me.”

Luke 7:11-17 - Deep Inside and Out

June 6, 2010
Josh Broward


Her only son. Her only son. He was her only son. She had already lost her husband. Now her son. Her only son.
We don’t even know what happened. Maybe he got sick. Maybe there was an accident. Maybe a Roman soldier killed him. We don’t know.
But we know he was her only son, and she was a widow. Her life was over. Many from the village joined her parade of sorrow now, but they would avoid her within the month. She was doubly cursed. God must be punishing her for some secret sins. She could beg for bread. Maybe she could survive by going through fields after the harvesters picking up the left-overs. Maybe - if she still had anything to offer - some men might pay for a night with her.
Her life was over. Her only son! His death was her death - separated only by a matter of time and circumstances. Her only son ... her only son ... “OH MY GOD! MY ONLY SON! HOW COULD YOU LET HIM DIE? MY ONLY SON! My only son. My only son.”

What is your widow’s pain? What is the widowed place in your own heart? What part of you cries out? Where do you have that deep heart-shaking loss?
Maybe it is something from your past. Maybe you were abused or abandoned. Maybe those who were supposed to love you most were too busy for you. Maybe a teacher wounded your soul. Maybe somebody’s cruel words still ring in your ears.
Maybe it’s something from your present. Maybe someone you love is dying. Maybe your marriage is struggling. Maybe your children are hurting. Maybe you hate your job but don’t know how to change it. Maybe you have lost hope.
Maybe it’s something from your future. Maybe you are terrified about a change coming your way. Maybe you keep worrying about money. Maybe your great pain is fear of what to do with your life.
Go into that hurting place. Take a risk with me now. Close your eyes, and shut out everyone else in the room. Walk on your parade of sorrow with the widow going outside the town. Go down deep into that hurt. Can you see it there in your soul?
Cry out to God your widows cry. Cry out of that pain and tell God how much it hurts. Sit in that pain and feel it. Know your own soul and feel those wounds. Imagine yourself in that widow’s place. Walking out of town on a walk of sorrow - your deepest pain on display.
...

Now, Jesus comes to you just as he came to her. Jesus meets your parade of sorrow. Jesus’ heart is overflowing with compassion for you. He feels your pain. He feels your sorrow. Jesus walks over to the coffin, and he touches it. The parade of sorrow stops. There is a long pause in your soul as Jesus touches your deepest pain.
...

Then, Jesus speaks. Jesus speaks to the dead man, “Young man, get up.” Jesus reverses death. Jesus restores life.
In your parade of sorrow, Jesus touches your pain, and what does he say? See Jesus there in your place of deepest pain. Feel his compassion for you. Feel his touch on your pain. Listen for his voice. What does Jesus say in your place of deepest pain?
Let Jesus speak a word of healing for you in your place of deepest pain. He may not reverse the pain, but he does have new life for you. What is Jesus’ word of life in your place of pain? Listen. Just listen for his voice.
...

“Something Beautiful” -- Special Music
Something beautiful,
Something good;
All my confusion
He understood;
All I had to offer Him was
Brokenness and strife,
But He made something beautiful
Of my life.
...

The first call of the Gospel is to let God bring healing in our places of deepest pain and shame. God forgives. God heals. God gives new life.
The widow’s cry is within us all. Death is deep within us all. But through Jesus, life is at work within us all. God is bringing new life and new hope to all of us from deep within us. Our first call is to go deep with God into our own pain so that he can heal us there.

The second call of the gospel is to go deep with God into other’s pain so that he can bring healing there. We move beyond the surface. We don’t bring solutions or 4 Spiritual Laws or theologies. We just go with God into the pain and let God bring healing there.
I want you to listen to what Reggie McNeal has to say about this. In this clip, he was speaking to a group of Nazarene leaders in Kansas City, USA in 2007.

--- Reggie McNeal M7 clip -- watch only 2:22:40 - 2:30:23 ---

Transcript: We sang about the blessing of Abraham. What was the point of the blessing? “I’m going to bless you so you bless the nations.”
Now we get in on the deal. There’s a reason for the church, but I don’t have time to talk about it. But it is this ... it is to bless people.
That’s why I tell people - Quit evangelizing. ... Don’t have an evangelism strategy. Have a blessing strategy. In fact, if you’re going to go external, you better figure this out ... because most of the stuff we want to go external with, please don’t take it out there. You’ll scare people off. If you want to go external, missional, it’s about getting in the streets. It’s about serving people right where they are, right with what they need, with a word of hope in the name of Jesus.
Now, I know that sounds too simple, and I know the Devil obfuscates and complexifies. I think the medieval mystics were right. At the heart of the universe is simplicity. This is why Jesus said ... you know the question by the lawyer, Pharisee trained, “Hey, could you put these 613 laws in order for us?”
And Jesus said, “Hmmm, let’s see ... Love God with everything you’ve got, and love your neighbor as yourself. That’ll take care of it.”
“No, it’s got to be harder than that.”
“No, that’ll take care of it.”
As a matter of fact, I even hear some people talking about the first and second commandment. That’s one commandment. That AND in the middle of it: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart AND your neighbor” ... That AND folds that sucker right back in on itself. It’s two sides to the same deal. You can’t say you love God if you don’t love your neighbor. You can’t love your neighbor unless you’re serving God. It’s that simple. If we don’t tell them the truth, then we aren’t loving them. All right, all right, all right.
If I was at your church Sunday, I’d probably challenge everybody in the church, “Go out and bless three people this week. And make sure one of them doesn’t deserve it.”
I was out in California (the buckle of the Bible Belt, as we all know), and I challenged this congregation. “Hey as the people of God we are free but responsible to bless everybody. That is our covenant. And what do you think would happen to our evangelism if our blessing went up?”
In fact, if we don’t learn how to learn how to serve people, we are not going to earn the privilege to share the gospel with them in this culture where we are now. They aren’t going to listen. They’re tired of the bullhorn. They’re tired of the Holier-Than-Thou. All right ...
So I was in this church in California, and I was challenging them to go out and bless three people. So this guy, the next time I was there, came up to me and said, “Do you remember when you told us to go out and bless three people?”
I said, “Yeah.”
He said, “Well, I did that. Let me tell you what happened. The next day I went to a sporting goods place, and the manager there was having a rough day. I could just tell. I go there some, and he just seemed all grumpy.”
He says, “And I felt the Spirit pinch me: ‘Bless this guy.’ So I went up to him, and I said, ‘You’re having a rough day, aren’t you?’ And he said, ‘I wish I was anywhere but here.’” And this is the manager of the store - actually the owner, not the manager.
This guy did a profoundly courageous thing. Here’s how he decided to bless this guy. He said, “You know what? I’ve had bad days. I’m going to pray for you.”
Low and behold. He didn’t take out the four spiritual laws. He didn’t trot out an evangelism track. He didn’t open up with, “You know you’re going to hell and going to fry like a sausage if you don’t ...” We have terrible pick-up lines. We wonder why nobody wants to go home with us.
He just said, “I’m going to pray for you.”
Now, gang, in case you don’t know, there is nobody in America who turns down prayer. That limo driver on the way here - who brought me from the airport - he believes in prayer, believes in healing. In fact, most of our churches would not be spiritual enough for him, I will tell you. Because we’re doing church, and he’s looking for God.
This guy, in this sporting goods store, looks at this church guy in Southern California, and he says, “Are you serious? You’re going to pray for me?” Now gang, this is a sporting goods store. This is a manly man’s store. This is not a touchy-feely place. I mean they sell stuff in here that kills people. ... So this is not a warm, tender, precious moment, but this guy stops and says, “You really will pray for me?”
And he says, “Yeah, I will.”
This guy goes on ... and by the way, I should tell you this. The guy says, “Well let me tell you something. This store is killing me. I’m working 80 hours a week. It’s killing my marriage. I’m losing money. I just don’t know if I can go on.”
Now let me tell you something. To do what I’m talking about, you have to believe God not just believe in God. There’s a huge difference. See, because, if you believe God, you don’t have to fix it. You don’t have to know how God’s going to work. All you have to say, though, is what my friend said to this guy, “Let me tell you something. I’m just going to pray that God will help you.” You’ve got to believe God to do that.
Now you’ve got God on the line. And us church people, we’re scared to put God out there because He hasn’t done anything to us in a long time, so why would He act out for this person? I mean, He hasn’t needed to show up.
You know sometimes, when I’m with church people who have been church people for a long time, I say, “When was the last time Jesus changed your mind about anything?” Listen, I’ve been married 25 years, and my wife is still changing my mind about stuff. She was helping me get a new perspective on the way here, for a matter of fact. That’s what happens when you’re in a relationship people. They mess with one another. So I’m praying that Jesus will mess with you.
Now, where was I in that story? It was on Friday. The guy goes back, and -- you all quit interrupting, and I’ll get to this. This guy said ... He just upchucked ... This is the thing you see ... You have to be careful because people will tell you stuff, and now you’re in it. He goes back on Friday, and the manager sees him coming and says, “Come here, come here, come here. Have you been praying for me?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not going to believe this. A guy came in here and wants to buy my store. I’m going to sell it and make money. My wife has agreed to go to counseling.” This is in four days - four days.
So here’s all I’m going to do, all I’m going to do: Just go out there and bless three people this week. And make sure now, that only two of them deserve it.

----------------------------

“The LORD ... said to [Abraham], ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ... All the families on earth will be blessed through you’” (Genesis 12:1-3).
God has blessed us. God has met us in the place of our deep pain. God is giving us hope and healing and love. God has blessed us.
“I will bless you ... and you will be a blessing to others.”
God has blessed you. Now bless others.
God has blessed you. Now let God bless someone through you.
This week, go deep with others. Don’t just talk about the weather and the world cup and TV and fashion and work. Go deep. When you see someone struggling, go on and ask them what’s going on. Don’t walk past their pain. Don’t step past their funeral procession and let them pass on by. Don’t be so afraid to disrupt their privacy. Get beyond the surface stuff and down to the stuff that really matters. That’s the first challenge.
Here’s the second challenge. Bless them. Bless them there in that pain. Be bold enough to say a prayer for them. Maybe you will be so crazy as to pray for them right then and there - in the classroom or on the subway. If you’re not bold enough for that, then pray for them and check back a few days later. Just say something simple like, “Hey, I’ve been praying for you, and I’m just wondering how you’re doing.” You don’t have to solve their problems. Just go with God into their problems.
Make sure at least one person you bless this week doesn’t deserve it. We need to notice something about this story from Luke. That widow coming out of the village of Nain didn’t have any faith. She didn’t ask for help. She wasn’t one of Jesus’ disciples. She didn’t deserve any special treatment. She was just there.
Find someone who doesn’t deserve anything and bless that person. Maybe you’ll give her a cup of coffee. Maybe you’ll speak a word of hope and encouragement. Maybe you’ll say something really good about someone who has hurt you. Be like Jesus, and bless someone just because they are there.

Here it is. This is what it’s all about.
Go deep with God into your own pain. Let Jesus bless you there. Let him touch your pain. Let him speak a word of life in your soul and begin the healing process.
And go deep with God into others’ pain. Move beyond the silliness and the surface fakery, and go deep with someone. Get real with somebody. Then, bless them.
And that will change our world.

---- prayer of response ---

This is so important that we’re going to practice this today. In a few minutes, we’re going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This is a living sign of God’s great blessing in our lives. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God pours out his Spirit into us and strengthens us deep within.
After you come and experience this time of blessing, don’t return to your seat. Move around for our “greeting time.” But today, this isn’t just a “Hi. How are you?” greeting time. This is Blessing Time. After you celebrate God’s blessing with the Lord’s Supper, go around and bless each other. Ask someone how you can pray for them. Then, right then and there, say a quick prayer. Just bless them. Ask God to be active in that person’s life this week. Start blessing people here, and you’ll get enough practice to bless people “out there.”

The Gospel and Evangelism (Gospel Series: Week 3)

This is an older sermon that I forgot to post.

KNU International English Church

Josh Broward

February 6, 2010

Once upon a time there was a farmer who forgot how to farm. One day he was walking along the edge of his house when a fierce wind came and blew a tile off his roof. The tile landed right on his head and knocked him out. When he finally woke up, he seemed to be normal. He could walk and talk. He could remember his family and count to one hundred. But he had forgotten how to farm.

Most people didn’t notice at first because it was harvest season, and he still remembered how to harvest. He took his sickle out to the fields and collected all his wheat and rice … just like every other year. He gathered it into bundles and took it to the barn … just like every other year. Throughout fall and winter, life continued as normal … just like every other year.

However, when spring came, people began to notice a change in the farmer. He didn’t plow his fields like he did every other year. Instead, he made much smaller lines by bending over and dragging his sickle through the dirt. He didn’t put out fertilizer like he normally did. Instead, he took one bag of manure to the center of the field and cut it open with his sickle. He didn’t plant his seeds like he normally did. Instead, he threw a hand full of seeds into the air and whacked them with his sickle like he was playing baseball. He didn’t use his hoe to tend the fields. Instead, he chopped at the weeds with his sickle, but this brought down many good plants as well.

Farming this way was much harder work than the previous years. A sickle just isn’t designed to plow or to plant or to tend the field. The farmer was very disappointed at harvest time. His harvest was much smaller than years before. After working so hard, he had so little results.

The next spring, when it was time to plow the ground, the farmer said, “I’m not going to plow this year. It didn’t seem to produce results last year.” When it was time to put out the fertilizer, the farmer said, “I’m not going to bother fertilizing the fields again. It didn’t seem to help last year.” When it was time to plant, the farmer just couldn’t bring himself to do all of that hard work of planting when he had gotten so little results the year before.

When it was time to harvest, the farmer went out to his fields, and he swung his sickle all over that field. After working for weeks to harvest his fields, the farmer had gathered only a few sacks of grain.

The farmer cursed his fields for yielding so little wheat. He cursed his hard rice paddies for giving so little rice. He complained to his friends about how unlucky he was, about how his fields were so hard and unresponsive. He cried out to God that it was not fair to put him in such a barren place.

This farmer remembered how to harvest, but he had forgotten how to farm.

Throughout the New Testament, evangelism is often described through images of farming.

Ÿ Paul said, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Ÿ Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens” (Mark 4:26-27).

Ÿ In another parable, Jesus says that God’s message is like a seed planted in our hearts. The seed grows or fails depending on the “soil” it finds in our hearts. (See Luke 8:4-15.)

Ÿ Another place, Jesus tells his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields” (Matthew 9:37-38).

We are often like the farmer who forgot how to farm. We still remember how to harvest, but we have forgotten how to farm. We take our harvest tools and go out into the fields of the world to “harvest” people for Jesus, but we usually end up with low results and high frustration.

Not many people respond to our efforts to “tell people about Jesus.” Many people are not interested in going to a traditional church service. Many people don’t want to hear what we have to say about the Bible.

We easily get frustrated. We can blame the world: “They have hard hearts.” We can blame our preachers: “They don’t know how to communicate.” We can blame the church: “Christians aren’t holy anymore. They live just like everyone else.” We can blame the methods: “Why don’t we just let them come to us? Why do we have to go to them?”

There may be some truth in all of this, but the fundamental truth is that we have forgotten how to farm. We are so concerned about the harvest that we have forgotten how to be good farmers. Evangelism is about farming not just harvesting.

Maybe part of the problem is that we have forgotten what evangelism really is. The English word “evangelism” comes from the Greek word euangelion or “Good News” or “Gospel.” Evangelism is Gospel-ism. Evangelism is to do the Gospel, to proclaim Good News, to bring Good News, to be the Gospel.

Evangelism is becoming the Gospel. Remember, the Gospel is that God sets us free through Jesus to come home to God, to be healed by God, and to join God’s mission of healing the world. Evangelism is living freedom and inviting others into freedom through Jesus. Evangelism is engaging the healing process for ourselves and inviting others into the healing flow. Evangelism is living out a deep hope that our world can be healed and is in fact being healed through Jesus’ work in and through us.

On Tuesday, I listened to missionary Dave Hane’s lecture at the Nazarene Mission Camp. I like how he defines evangelism: “Evangelism is the overflow of a life saturated with God’s love.” Evangelism is being so full of God’s love that it spills out onto others.

So let’s return to the imagery of farming. Evangelism is like farming. Inviting people to participate in the Good News of Jesus Christ is very much like the process of farming.

The first step of farming is always preparing the ground. This involves a lot of hard work – removing boulders and rocks, cutting away tree stumps. We can’t even plow until these are gone. In many places around the world, the spiritual soil is very hard, but we can’t really blame this on other people. In many ways, we have created the rocks and barriers.

Jesus last words in Matthew’s gospel are the famous Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). In the developed world, the Church is failing with this Great Commission because we are committing the Great Omission.[1} We are omitting or failing to fulfill Jesus’ greatest teaching. Jesus said, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

We will never be able to make disciples of Jesus until we first obey Jesus’ most basic teaching. Love God with everything we are, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

The Church in the developed world has a credibility problem. We say we believe in Jesus. We say we want to follow Jesus. But mostly, we don’t believe, and mostly we don’t follow. And everyone can see that.

Ÿ When 1/3 of the world lives on less than $1 a day and struggles just to survive …

Ÿ When we know people drink diseased water every day, but every day we buy cokes and coffee …

Ÿ When we buy big screen TVs while others can’t afford school books …

Ÿ When we build bigger churches while children sleep in the streets …

Ÿ When we care more about sports or movies than AIDS or malaria …

… Then, people know that we are not really following Jesus. No matter what we say, we aren’t loving our neighbors as ourselves. The ground is hard because we have made it hard. The first step to learning how to farm the “Gospel” is to get serious about serving the poor and changing the world.

Imagine what would happen if Christians:

Ÿ Ended world hunger

Ÿ Solved the clean water crisis

Ÿ Provided universal access to medical care

Ÿ Guaranteed education for every child on earth

Ÿ Gave a home to every orphan in the world.

Richard Stearns, president of World Vision, says that if we would take Jesus seriously when he says to love our neighbors as ourselves, then:

The global social revolution brought forth by the body of Christ would be on the lips of every citizen in the world and in the pages of every newspaper – in a good way. The world would see the whole gospel – the good news of the kingdom of God – not just spoken but demonstrated, by people whose faith is not devoid of deeds but defined by love and backed up with action. His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. This was the whole gospel that Jesus proclaimed … and if we would embrace it, it would literally, change everything. [2]

This would plow the ground for the gospel more than anything else we could possibly do or say.

The second step in farming is fertilizing. After the farmer gets out the rocks and breaks up the hard ground, he needs to fertilize the ground. The farmers spread manure (cow poop) all over the fields. This is what gives farms that … um … “fresh farm air.” It smells, but it helps the seeds grow better.

Before we can plant the seeds of the gospel, we need to get the ground soft and fertile. How do we do that? The answer again is love. We can get the rocks out through love on a global scale. We Christians get together and get serious about changing our world. But then, we apply the fertilizer through local love.

No one is going to become a Christian if they think all Christians are jerks! One of the first steps to becoming a Christian and experiencing the gospel is simply having a Christian friend whom you respect and like. When we throw a birthday party for the lonely person at our office, when we show extra care for one of our students, when we listen to someone who has a problem, when we invite someone out to dinner, we prepare their hearts for the gospel.

The next step is planting. Finally, we get to the planting part. Here, we usually think of preaching or “telling someone about Jesus” or “presenting the gospel.” Sometimes the Gospel is planted in this way, but usually these are most effective at the next stages of “watering” or “harvesting.” Seeds are small. If a farmer wants to grow apples, she doesn’t plant a whole apple tree or even a whole apple. The farmer starts with a very small apple seed.

Planting the seeds of the gospel is similar. Often by this time, if we have prepared the ground through service and love, our friends will start asking us questions. “Why do you live like that? Where can I get a good Bible? Why are there so many churches?” This is great! These kinds of questions mean the plowing and fertilizing is working. But we don’t need to give our friends a whole sermon. We can plant little gospel seeds that will grow in them and entice them to ask more questions. Just answer their question or give them a Bible, and then follow up with them later. Don’t try to cram an apple tree down their throats. Just plant one little seed.

If they aren’t asking questions, maybe you can ask a few gentle questions. “Would you mind telling me your spiritual story? Everybody has a spiritual side, so what’s yours?” Or maybe, “I was wondering. What do you think about Jesus?” That gets the conversation started, and signals to your friend that you are interested in talking about spiritual things. Then … you … wait.

Remember, Jesus’ parable: “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come” (Mark 4:26-29).

It takes time for a seed to grow. It’s a process. We can ruin it if we get out that harvest sickle too soon. We can’t forget the fourth step in farming: tending and waiting. Farmers have to tend the plants, pull the weeds, and water the fields. If we want to make disciples, if we want to be farmers of the Kingdom, then we have to tend to our relationships. We need to actually maintain those friendships. Once again, this is love. We keep watering those seeds of the gospel with love. We make space for questions. We make space for dinner guests and house guests. We keep dropping little seeds, and we love, and we wait.

Finally, if we have been faithful and patient, it will be time to harvest. One of the most beautiful experiences in the world is helping someone become a Christian. It is amazing to be there when someone starts to “get it,” to understand that God really loves her, that she really can have a new life, that our world really can become new. Sometimes, we can help the person say a prayer to put their trust in Jesus for the first time. Other times, people kind of grow into following Christ, and it’s so slow and gradual that they can’t say exactly when it began. But just knowing that we have helped someone experience God’s healing and become part of God’s healing mission – this is so deeply beautiful and satisfying deep within our souls.

So we love and we share and we plant, and slowly, slowly the seed grows and the grain ripens. People grow in the sunshine of God’s love. And then a beautiful thing happens, these people who we’ve been loving and tending and praying for … they become part of the mission. They start plowing new ground and loving new people and planting new seeds. The become part of our loving community that changes our world.

May God make us good farmers because this will - in fact - change our world!

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[1] Richard Stearns, The Whole in Our Gospel, (Dallas: Thomas Neslon, 2009), 189.

[2] Ibid, 219.

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This sermon is part 3 of a 4 week of a series on the Gospel.
Week 1: The Gospel and the Bible
Week 2: The Gospel and Salvation
Week 3: The Gospel and Evangelism
Week 4: The Gospel and the Church