A FULL LOOK

As I’ve said, Lent was not part of my upbringing. In fact, between the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas and Easter Sunday, there was very little except Palm Sunday to mark the journey. By the time I was old enough to know the difference, the Easter Bunny and candy eggs had totally insinuated themselves into the church’s highest and holiest day!

For the record, my favorite candy at Easter is the Reese’s peanut butter cup egg! I’m not promoting abstinence from activities and goodies that you may use to celebrate with friends and family. I am, however, inviting you to slow down. 

What path are you walking down? Where is it leading? What decisions are you making on the daily basis that are, over time, shaping the course and direct of your life? If you call yourself a “follower of Jesus,” are you following Jesus?

The poet Thomas Hardy wrote, “If a way to the better there be, it exacts a full look at the worse.”   In other words, you and I must be willing to see the darkness of our sin-stained heart in order to be free of it and continue walking in the light of Jesus.

The smeared ash on your forehead is gone by now. Do you remember what it symbolized? 

It reminded us that we are finite and fallen. It reminded us that are but human beings and limited in our power. Moreover, we are fallen from God’s righteous plans for our life.This is what the Bible calls being lost. 

Joseph’s brothers had no idea the drama that was unfolding around them. All they knew was that their families were in need of food. When they arrived in Egypt the second time, little did they know that they would look at their dark and hidden secret from the past. But, instead of being lost in that darkness, there was a bight and gracious light shining on them! 

They were lost. And, by God’s grace, they were found. All those years ago when they sold Joseph into slavery in a fit of jealous rage, they had intended him harm. But, Joseph reminded them, “God meant it for good,” (Genesis 50:20).

Apart from God’s promise, the harder we try, the further away from the good life we get! It’s often in the madness of doing more and trying harder that we meet Jesus’s grace and mercy. God’s promise brings rest to my soul.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:28). 

Jesus brings rest for your soul.

Go Out of Your Land

What did you give up for Lent?

Has anyone asked you this? Have you asked someone that question?

In comparison to those who grew up in churches observing Lent, I am a relative newcomer to season of Lent and the fast that many Christians observe during the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. It started for me about 20 years ago. Since then, I’ve come to appreciate it and find that the time has become very helpful in my own journey of faith. 

But, there’s something about that question that bothers me. It’s the two words at the very end: “for Lent.”

Fasting is encouraged in Scripture. In fact, Jesus taught his disciples how to fast. In Matthew 6:16-18 Jesus instructed them, “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others.” What is the purpose of the Lenten fast? Let’s be honest, we are temped to take pleasure in other people’s pity for us! 

“You are giving up chocolate for Lent? Whoa!”

“No television for the entire time? No way!”

And so, when we say, “For Lent, I’m giving up…” a very common way of talking betrays an all too familiar spiritual trap that disciples fall into. The good deed becomes the end in and of itself. Instead of giving up television so that I can spend more time with Jesus, Lent becomes this contest or parade of abstinence and suffering. Worse, it becomes motivation to diet and enhance myself.

People of the promise have counted the cost of following Jesus. They have walked away from all the false promises of riches, good needs, recognition, popularity, education, social standing, or whatever ash-faced god that betrays their heart’s true desire. 

The Bible traces our spiritual lineage back to Father Abraham. If we are the people of the promise, then Abraham is the father of us all. He went first. He believed that God would give him a son. He obeyed God all the way to the Mount of Moriah, his long awaited son following him.

“Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you,” says God to Father Abraham. Like Stephen, Abraham emerges out of total obscurity in human history and right in to the heart of God’s promise. “  will surely bless you,” God informs Abraham, “and I will…multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore,” (Genesis 22:17). 

Abraham gave up his place and his people, was willing to give up his son, to take hold of the promise God made to him. Instead of thinking that you have given up something for a religious season, think of your fasting as a way of turning down the noise of all other would-be promises.

“Be still, and know that I am God,” (Psalm 46:10).

Stephen, a man full of grace and power

Had you met Stephen before? Had you heard his story before we got acquainted with him yesterday?

We will be getting better acquainted with him the next several weeks. Read ahead in Acts 7.

First, its like this man comes out of nowhere! He is chosen to serve as one of the first deacons in the early church. His faith in Jesus and humble service in the community qualified him to be a deacon, which was like a waiter in the church. He was especially focused on caring for the elderly and needy (Acts 6). This serving and giving reflects the saving life of Jesus among those who have been saved and made members of the church.

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are self-conscious and ashamed of themselves. As a result, they hide from each other and God. Unfortunately, the members of the church are tempted to allow guilt and shame keep them at a safe distance from others. In Christ, we are standing on the promise of hope and salvation, no longer stuck in the quicksand of shame and guilt. We have been covered by God, like Adam and Eve were covered by God. 

The result is that we, like Stephen, emerge with “grace and power.” Our courage and humility to serve is used by God to call others out of the darkness of shame and into the light of Jesus. Stephen was an ordinary man filled with the Spirit of God and speaking the Word of God!

Instead of being covered with fig leaves and peeking out over a rock out of fear and panic, Stephen stands before his accusers full of faith and with his “face like the face of an angel,” (6:15). Having been found and cared for by God, we, too, stand confidently in God’s grace — no matter what!

To be sure, God’s people are ordinary people who have placed their faith in Jesus, the promise of God. We have received an unmerited gift in Jesus. We are people “full of grace and power,” who are able to withstand the enemy’s attempt to take us back to fig leaves. Now, like Stephen, we are able to stand in wisdom and speak with the Spirit of God.

What area of life does the enemy point to that takes you back to the fig leaves — hiding, shame, regret?

Instead of giving up on you, God comes looking for you, “Where are you?” The God who found you crouching in your sin and shame has filled you with his Holy Spirit. He deposits His Spirit in you and from there comes wisdom and power into every aspect of your life. As such, you are a child of the promise!

What passages of Scripture did you hear in this week’s sermon that lingers with you?

What prayers are you praying this week? 

Do they sound like a person in possession of God’s promise or just a person who is panicked?