Burns Church of Christ

The One enthroned in heaven laughs! Psalm 2:4

There is something that makes God laugh. It is not that it’s so funny but that it’s so sad. God laughs in derision at those who think they can accomplish things without him. Those who think they can breathe without His oxygen. Those who want to live without His food and water. Those who forget God and the world HE has made.

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21) Why plan without God. Why makes any move without saying If God is willing. (James 4:14) Without divine support and help, no human effort can really be successful.

I should be in Tauranga, New Zealand when you get this bulletin. The time there is 17 hours ahead of Tennessee time. That means that it is already Monday here. Many of you have expressed to me that you will be praying for the work there. I received a call from Miriam Masters Tuesday night and she wanted me to know that she is praying for the work in NZ. Please keep praying!

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. (Psalm 127:1)

I should return, Lord willing, on March 18 and will be back in the Burns pulpit on March 21. Matthew will bring good lessons and you have the opportunity to hear Jeff Kuhns once again.

I try to live by this verse: Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. (Proverbs 16:3)

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

If we have oozed out of some slime millions of years ago and have reached the present state of being a humanoid, who are we and of what value? How do we place a value on us humans? Is it because of the chemical makeup of our physical natures? Do we arrive at great value because we can think about things and plan ahead? Are we valuable because we are ahead of others animals in our evolutionary process?

Any evolutionary theory of how man came to be winds up being degrading to humans. If all we are is more advanced animals, where is the super value we put on humans. Why not just bury the death and shoot the wounded in Haiti and let other animals take their place?

You must understand that humans are of immense value. Not because they have evolved more than other animals but because there is a God in heaven who has put his mark on his creation and man is the climax of his creation. He who created Adam from the dust and Eve from his rib breathed into them the breath of life and man became living beings in his image.

Man has fallen – oh how he has fallen – but he remains in the image of God. He is valued because he is created by God. We don’t just ignore the suffering in Haiti because they are men and women, boys and girls created in the image of God. Being special creatures of God makes them valuable.

Man has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, But no matter how far man falls he still retains the glory of God. God thought so much of His creation that he sent his son to make us right again. How valuable is that?

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. James 1:19

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius once wrote:

I am going to meet people today who talk too much –
People who are selfish, egotistical, ungrateful.
But I won’t be surprised or disturbed
For I can’t imagine a world without such people.

As people living in a fallen world we are battered by outward circumstances that seem bent on our destruction. It is easy to fall victim to the old diabolical adage that we have no control over what happens to us. So we spend our lives blaming others or basting in self-pity.

God is never happy when we fail to take personal responsibility for our thinking, attitudes and actions. “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV)  Through right thinking we can move to godly faith.  When we move to godly faith we can begin to squeeze out of life hidden good that life has to offer.

What do you expect to se in your life?  Most of us are aware that we get out of life more than we expect when we walk withy God. When we walk against God or treat Him with indifference, what could we expect?

What kind of people are you going to meet today?  Will they all be kind and accepting of you? Will they offend you by their rejection?  Will you be angered by others actions and reactions?

Maybe we could learn to listen more and talk less.  We might be able to control our thoughts better and feel less rejected when people don’t do what we expect. What kind of people do you expect to meet today?  Since we don’t always have a choice of what people we might meet in a given day a better question is “How will we respond?”

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

Knowing and learning are the tools of the preacher.  He must always be reading and studying to be sure that he speaks from the overflow and not drain the brain before he completes a lesson. The ministry of study is a choice that preachers must make early in their ministry or they will not last long in the pulpit.

The problem that I have is that the more I study the more I realize my ignorance. The wider my knowledge becomes the more I know I don’t know.  It is only the ignorant who know everything and can be positive. It is only the ignorant who become fanatics. The more I learn, the more I know I need to learn.

Many years ago I heard a prominent preacher say that he had not changed his mind on a subject since he was very young.  That seems to be a rash statement to me.  I am ever learning as I study my Bible.  I learn new truths and desire to share them with others.  I did that last Sunday and I will have another go at it this Lord’s Day.

The Bible is an ocean of God’s truth and none can swim the Atlantic.  We study and learn and grow and prepare.  We open the books and wade into the ocean of truth and put into action the things we learn.  It is a wonderful day when we give up on perfect understanding of the Word and just do the parts we understand.

It is a happy day when we realize that it is because of the death of Jesus that we can be right with God. Christians are not perfect people but people who have been perfected by the grace of God found in Christ Jesus.

Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1      James

What causes fights and quarrels among you? James 4:1

There are few of us who have not had a share in some conflict that has arisen among us.  Churches and communities are alive with external and internal fighting. We have been fortunate to have avoided any bad fights for the last seven years.  Praise God!

The verse above is in the context of wise leaders who are peacemakers and not peace destroyers. 3:17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.18  Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

Strife is never initiated by wise leaders who are peacemakers.  It is not something that is necessary in a local body.  It is of the devil and fits with his desire to make people miserable.  Strife that is destructive is when men allow the devil to get inside.  It is internal “among you”.

Human nature is in the grip of an internal invasion.  Satan’s army of occupation is on the prowl eagerly ready to devour. Satan’s natural aim is to cause as much confusion and conflict as possible.  His diabolical mind knows that one way to discourage the work of the Lord is to get disciples discouraged.

God’s Spirit is in control in the Christian’s life.  The evil desires of Satan cannot be allowed to invade and make a home base. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (4:7).

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Matthew 3:8

Welcome to the New Year.  I had just gotten used to writing 2009 and she is gone.  2010 is like a new page in the book of our life. We begin a new year with the page blank and we begin to write our life for 2010.

God is still in the life changing business. He awaits our decision to make this the best year of our lives.  He is not interested in any outward change and resolution that won’t last past the first temptation that comes our way.  He is interested in changing us into the image of Jesus.

Producing “fruit in keeping with repentance”, means that changes in our approach to the New Year are inward. The Pharisees and Sadducees came to John for baptism because they thought it was a popular thing to do.  John would have none of it.

“What do you think you are doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not your skin.” (The Message)

It’s a good time of the year to examine ourselves and make inward changes that can make a difference in our personal lives, family lives and church lives.  What inward change would your need to make to write a good year on the 2010 page of your boo?

As a preacher for 50 years I have always encouraged us to be involved in the local family of God.  Belonging to a church reinforces our faith.  A Christian without a church is like a football player without a team. It’s like a Marine without a unit.  It’s like a family meal without a family.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14

If an angel suddenly appeared to you what would be your first reaction? I would look for the trick and at what is going on that could cause this trick. Maybe you would just accept it as real and go with the instructions the angel gives.

An angel appeared to Zechariah as he ministered in the temple. His reaction was expected. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. (Luke 1:12)

Next on Gabriel’s agenda was a visit to a young virgin of Nazareth. Her reaction is also expected. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. (Luke 1:29)

When Joseph had learned of Mary’s pregnancy he considered his options. Then the angel came and helped him make the right decision. Matthew 1:20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Imagine how the sleepy shepherds must have felt as they were recipients of a visit from and angel. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. (Luke 2:9)

After Jesus had resigned his flesh to suffer his fate on the cross, An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. (Luke 22:43)

The Bible ends with the testimony of an angel. (Revelation 22:16) We remember the angel and we rejoice!

Can Ethiopians change their skin  or  leopards their spots? Jeremiah 13:23

Change doesn’t come easy. Some have given in to the devilish idea that a person cannot change. What one is is destined and there is no power to change.

People in Jeremiah’s day felt the same way. We have little or no power to change the direction of our lives and we should just accept the way we are and make the best of it. What a defeatist attitude. Human beings become like a dog with instincts or a lemming that cannot help but rush into the nearest ocean and drown.

“Choose you this day whom you will serve” says Joshua to his people. He understood that men were created with the freedom to choose. What we choose, we are accountable for the choices we make. Accountability makes no sense when there is no choice.

We often complain of living powerless, of living by the expectations of others and being prevented by external circumstances from making real change. “Since I was a child I have felt” (You fill in the rest). I was born with Ethiopian skin and I cannot change. I have the spots of a leopard and I have no hope of change. Look again at the verse from Jeremiah. Can Ethiopians change their skin or leopards their spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil. (NRSV)

We are not passive victims of life. We do make choices. We do have the power to change the major directions of our lives. We struggle and we fight and we make better choices then the outcome will be better.

Pride goes before destruction, A haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

“Pride is the root of all evil,” so some have declared. Pride led Adam and Eve to make bad decisions. Pride led the people of Babel to choose the wrong direction. Pride has been the detrimental cause of many a fall.

Pride puffs up the chest. Pride seeks to be the center of attraction. Pride wants to be the focus of every gathering and the source of all attention. In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. (Psalm 10:4) When pride comes, then comes disgrace. (Proverbs 11:2)

This verse leads to another problem with pride. There is a kindred emotion to pride that can so devastate you that recovery can become impossible. Once you have flexed your muscle of pride you can fall into the emotion of shame. When pride begins its destruction, shame follows closely behind.

Shame will cause you to hide from God. Adam and Eve felt the need to hide in the Garden and could have lived in shame for the rest of their lives. God was not willing to let them live in their shame and he came to them with a new way for living that included moving from the Garden.

When the fall occurs because of pride you have the tendency to avoid. The erring husband avoids going home. The worker avoids going to work. The offender avoids facing the questions from his constituents. The Christian might even avoid the only help that is available to him. He will avoid the church.

I have found that church people are the most forgiving of all the people in our world. We are taught to say “But there for the grace of God, go I.” We understand that we are forgiven to forgive.

When pride seeks to destroy don’t let shame keep you down. When a haughty spirit causes you to fall, let Jesus help you up.

All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble  character. Ruth 3:11

Boaz has checked it out; Ruth is a woman of character.  Her character is known in the town.  He does not realize that he and Ruth are destined to become the ancestors of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He only knows that she is a woman of character.

“Character Counts” is a program that caught on a few years ago in the nation’s schools. Our nation was being buried in the manure of character failures.  We had reached the epitome of degradation and character failures.  It was time for us to regain the old ways that brought the character of individuals to the forefront.

We had moved from the character ethic to the personality ethic.  Stephen Covey is his book The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People notes this change in emphasis in our nation.  He found that the literature in early American focused on qualities of honesty, integrity, virtue, and faithfulness.

Today the literature shows a dramatic shift toward a personality ethic that focuses on learning to manipulate, look good, personal satisfaction and a move people toward goals. There is a growing awareness that somewhere we have taken a wrong turn.  Our jails are full of young and old who attempt short cuts to happiness and find the road is full of potholes and pain and disappointment.

God has always shared with us that Character Counts:  3 we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5)  Without character there is little room for hope.  We need to get our nation back to attending church, studying the Bible and living the way we were designed to live.  Only then can we become a great nation. People who have no knowledge of God and His word have a hard time with character. Let’s get with God’s program because Character Counts.