God’s will – Salvaged Faith

The Center of the Universe

Posted on May 8, 2022Leave a comment

Text: Revelation 5: 11-14

Last week as we gathered for worship, we focused on the basic message at the core of the Book of Revelation:

“Jesus is coming and he will sit on the throne… and the world and all its powers will not. Our work is to allow God to make us into a kingdom, to serve as priests, and give God praise.”

As John of Patmos receives this vision, this revelation, he also receives a word for seven churches.

The number “seven” we talked about last week can also mean completion, or totality, or all that is heaven and earth.

So in many ways, this is a message for all the churches.

There are some who started faithfully, but as they faced trials, they got tired and worn out.

Some who are going to be facing intense persecution.

Some who are torn apart by false teaching or who have a wishy-washy lukewarm faith.

Some who are on the brink of death and need to be resuscitated and others who are holding on even though they have nothing left.

And we are invited to see ourselves somewhere among this lot.

In the midst of the powers of the world that are competing for our attention are we serving God… or have we given in?

Are we as faithful and energized as we were at the start… or have we given up?

Are we sharing the love and message of God with the world… or have we embraced some other kind of message?

This opportunity to reflect and to hear a word of truth about our ministry is followed by a vision of what God ultimately desires for us.

https://www.fullofeyes.com/project/revelation-4

And so chapters 4 and 5 of Revelation give us glimpse of heaven itself in all of its weird and wonderful splendor.

We are shown the throne of God and the scroll that will show us how everything will come to pass.

It is a vision of what Craig Koester calls “a rightly ordered universe in which God is at the center.” [1]

Four creatures, full of eyes and wings represent all of creation and the elders represent the community of the faithful.

But not just these representative figures… the text goes on to talk about all living creatures.

Magrey DeVega describes, “dogs, elephants, hyenas, praying mantises, muskrats, and turtles… all of them… also human beings… regular, ordinary, common Joes and Janes. Not just one or two, but a legion of them… what John is painting here is a picture of concentric circles… and it all centers on a focal point.”[2]

And all of them join their voices in worship…

They understand that God is at the center of the universe… and they are not.

They relinquish power and turn it into praise… or as the familiar hymn reminds us:

Holy, Holy, Holy, All the saints adore thee, casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea.

In our scripture for this morning, all of creation fixes its attention the throne and the one who sits on it.

All of creation erupts in praise.

God is the center, the source, the creative force of all life in this universe.

And that means that you are not.

That might be an obvious kind of statement, but how often do we act as if the world does revolve around us?

How often do we trample on the needs of others for our own comfort?

How often have we used and abused this creation, plundering its resources, rather than seeing it as a gift we are called to steward?

How often have we rallied around our own positions and policies – lifting them up as gospel truth?

How often has our nation declared itself a savior, the light of the world, the beacon of liberty?

How often have we claimed that our economic system is the only one that can truly bring happiness and wealth?

How often have I turned inward and focused on my own selfish desires rather than think about what I could do to bless my neighbor?

In the message to the seven churches, we are called to take account of our place in this world.

Are we serving ourselves? Or are we faithful to the kingdom of God?

Have we turned our gaze towards the powers of this world? Or are we focused on the one on the throne at the center of all creation?

This isn’t just about the ultimate end of the world as we know it… it is about the attitude and attention that we embody right here and right now.

There is only one who sits on the throne… and it isn’t you or me.

All throughout the season of Lent, we focused on the words of the Lord’s Prayer… the prayer that Jesus taught us.

We prayed for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

We prayed for God’s will to be done.

And within these chapters of Revelation, not only do we see the throne, but we also catch a glimpse of God’s will.

There is a scroll, closed up with seven seals, that represents the message, the story, of how we are going to get from the world as we know it… full of disease, disaster, and death… to this reality.

An angel cries out – “who is worthy to open the scroll?”

I don’t know about you, but I have this image of the sword in the stone, or Thor’s hammer… everyone is waiting and anxious and worried that no one will come, that none will be worthy.

But the faithful elders remember the promises of God.

One of them leans over to John and whispers – “Don’t weep. Look! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has emerged victorious so that he can open the scroll…” (5:5)

So… John looks!

And what John sees is not a powerful lion, not a victorious king… but a lamb.

A lamb that has been slaughtered.

A lamb with seven eyes and seven horns.

A lamb who takes his place with God on the throne.

Worthy is the lamb.

Eugene Boring calls this “one of the most mind-wrenching reversals of imagery in all of literature… the one who has conquered did so not through violence, but by sacrificing his own life. This is the power that enables him to take the scroll from God’s hand and execute its contents, the divine plan for bringing history to a worthy conclusion and establishing God’s justice.”[3]

The one who comes to save us, to unite us with heaven…

He does not come with violence or power, but with mercy and sacrifice and love, poured out for others.

Only the Lamb that was Slain can answer the prayer “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”

Now, I mentioned to you that we aren’t going to really dive into all of the difficult, weird, messy, complicated details of the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls.

But in many ways, the echo the chorus of the new song that all of creation is singing in Revelation chapter 5:

Only Jesus is worthy to take the scroll and open its seals.

Jesus is worthy because he was slain and by his blood he bought us all.

By his love and sacrifice he ransomed us all, redeemed us all.

And he made us into a kingdom so that we might serve and worship God on earth.

What we find repeated in the message of the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls is actually the story of how sacrificial love and mercy is what will transform the world.

It is not the four horsemen who unleash disaster and death…

It is not the plagues and locusts…

As the story of God’s people in the Old and New Testment show us – judgment and destruction do not lead people to repentance. They harden their hearts and continue to follow the powers of the world.

They are caught and tempted by the spiritual forces of evil and simply cannot escape.

God wins, empires fall, evil is defeated, not by the sword but by love.

Sacrificial love.

Jesus dies for his enemies.

And God’s army, the faithful ones, the witnesses, they are the ones who imitate the sacrificial love of the lamb and show God’s mercy to others.

They will know we are Christians by our love.

It is the power of God’s love that helps us withstand disaster and famine and overcome violence and war.

It is the power of God’s love that helps us hold on to hope in the face of threats and destruction and terrible news in the doctors office.

It is the power of God’s love that helps us focus on the Lamb, rather than the beastly forces of this world.

And it is the power of God’s love that will ultimately usher in the new creation – the new heaven and the new earth.

And the good news is, we don’t have to wait until the end of the world in order to live in the power of God’s love.

It is here, right now, all around us.

As Easter people, Jesus believe Jesus is coming and he will sit on the throne… and the world and all its powers will not.

Our work… right now… today as the church… is to allow God to make us into a kingdom, answer the call to serve, and to pour out love into this world.

May it be so. Amen.

[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/preaching-series-on-revelation-2/commentary-on-revelation-41-11

[2] A Precher’s Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series Vol 2, p. 199

[3] The New Interpreters Study Bible, p. 2221

Sometimes… God’s will can kiss my @$$

Posted on March 7, 20124 Comments

This week started out rough. I thought I had an inkling about something very amazing about to happen – but it was going to bring a whole lot of added stress into my life as well. I spent three whole days psyching myself up about it – so much so that I had pretty much accepted it was going to happen and was excited.

I had a moment however on Monday night when I realized I should pray about it. I realized that just because I, personally, wanted this to happen, did not mean it was the best thing in the world for me or my ministry or my family. And that’s kind of what I preached about on Sunday, so I figured I had better take my own advice. or Paul’s advice. whichever.

So… I committed to not only praying about it, but that the next morning I was going to ask the small group at the church to pray with me that God’s will would be done in said situation.

Tuesday morning at 8:45, the news came. It wasn’t going to happen. The thing I had suddenly been excited for wasn’t going to work out. End of story.

(I know I’m being cryptic here… but bear with me… sometimes we can’t tell all of our secrets!)

I wrestle at times with making firm statements about God’s will. John Piper has recieved a lot of flack this past week for claiming that the tornadoes that ripped through the lower midwest and southeast were God’s will. I tend to hesitate when making proclamations about nature. I hesitate when one person who prayed fervently was spared and another who prayed fervently was killed. I do believe that God acts and moves among us. I do believe that God is present with us in every situation. But do sometimes things just happen? Does nature just run its course sometimes? Our sinful decisions have consequences and sometimes we have to blame ourselves rather than God.

But then there are all of these places in the scriptures where God brings out the battering ram and thunder and lightning and seems to lay the smack down. I would not for one minute say that God doesn’t have the power/ability/just reasons to unleash holy terror. Heck, I try to be benevolent and good and sometimes I want to call down a thunderbolt or two upon my youth! (just kidding… I love you guys… most of the time!)

All of that to say, I never know what to do about God’s will. I don’t know when to claim something was God’s will or not. I am not always sure how to discern God’s will.

In our weekly lenten study, I shared that one the greatest tools we have available to us in the Wesleyan tradition are the means of grace: prayer, bible study, christian conferencing, communion, tithing, visiting the sick and in prison, etc… But we have to DO them in a way that really focuses our attention to God. We can’t go through the motions. For an example: When I put my money in the offering plate, I have to say to God – I’m giving this to you… I’m trusting you with it… I’m trusting that you will help me to be faithful with it and all of my resources. It’s not just about doing our “duty” – its about learning to truly depend upon God. It is about aligning ourselves with God’s will.

And I have been trying to do that. I have been trying to trust and pray and listen a whole lot more intentionally lately.

So when I decided Monday night that I truly wanted God’s will to be done… I meant it. And I meant it that I was going to ask others to pray with me. I truly wanted to know God’s will. I wanted that to be the guide for this situation.

And on Tuesday morning… I didn’t like the answer I got.

In other times in my life, I wouldn’t have even thought about God. I would have thought about how dumb the situation was. I would have had a little pity party for myself. But because I was trying so hard to listen, the simple reality of God’s will smacked me upside the head.

I don’t like it. I’m not sure I completely understand. I wish the answer would change. And part of me really does want to say, “kiss my @$$,” and go do my own thing.

But if anything, this time of Lent has taught me, personally, that our lives are not our own. If I want to follow Jesus – I have to follow him all the way. And that means there are some really good things in this world that I don’t need.

Tonight, we sang in worship a really upbeat version of – “I have decided to follow Jesus.” It can be sung SO slow, but Lent has been all about joy, so we just owned it and sang it with some gusto. It was a reminder that I may not like God’s will, but I have decided to follow. I have decided to keep the cross before me. And I’m not turning back. I can do this with God’s help. I truly believe that God will help me. So be it. Amen.

Do Not Conform

Posted on March 4, 20122 Comments

Weekends in the fall seem to be a portrait of contrast in my life. I experience in those two short days each weekend my best moments and my worst ones.

You see in my family… Saturdays in the fall are good for only one thing: Hawkeye football games (okay… you Cyclone fans can insert yourselves in here to, just change the words in your mind).

Now, I’m not sure that this would be a big problem, if it weren’t for the fact that while enjoyable… and while a great source of community and family time… I also have some of my worst moments during football games

I get very wrapped up in my Hawkeye football.

A bad call? I’m jumping up out of my seat and yelling at the zebras.

A dropped catch? That poor Marvin McNutt heard plenty from me last year.

Yes, even Kirk Ferentz… especially Kirk Ferentz… gets an earful from me.

Now – never mind you that I’m sitting on a couch at my parent’s house or in my own basement and they are at least 30 miles away.

It doesn’t matter to me. My whole self – mind, body, and soul – is focused on that game. It gets very personal. I’m sure my blood pressure is rising just thinking about it. I want to see them win and succeed and when they don’t, it is disappointing. And when they intentionally do dumb things and make mistakes… well, then sometimes a curse word or two slips in there.

I am NOT the same person during a football game that I am when I come to church on a Sunday morning. And you might not be the same person at work on a Tuesday afternoon that you are here in worship either. We have become so comfortable with putting on and taking off our holiness and exchanging it for the ways of the world. We do it seamlessly… without blinking… without even being aware of it ourselves.

In fact, we do it so well that we begin to blur the lines between the two. We look at all of the good things that sports and work and shopping and national pride and money and the like provide that we start to see them as goods that are on the same par, the same level as our divine calling.

So it is no big deal with we give up a Sunday morning for a round of golf or skip our morning devotions in order to be at work early. They are equally good and important in our lives.

Eh… except, they’re not.

In our gospel lesson for this morning, we find Peter making a similar mistake. He knows that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ and he is so proud of himself for correctly identifying his Savior.

But then his mind goes to other places….

I want to invite you to hear this scripture again, this time rewritten by Kyle Childress:

Jesus starts asking them questions about what people are saying about him. Who do they think he is? And more, what do you fellows think about me? Of course, Peter spoke first, “You are the Messiah!” Jesus responded, “Yeah, but you guys need to be quiet about this. Let me explain what being the Messiah is.”

Then he began to teach the hard stuff; he began to teach that he would suffer and die and be raised. Peter interrupted, “No, No! We’ve got a good thing going here. People are having their needs met and more and more of them are joining up. For Pete’s sake, we have a movement started. We’re going to be successful. Some of the boys are already drawing up the blueprints for a new Center for Ministry complex inCapernaum. James and John want to be co-directors and I’m putting together ‘Jesus Tour: A.D. 31’ with t-shirts and kid’s action figures and a possible book deal. Jesus, just think, you could become an author. People might even start quoting you.”

Jesus whirled around, “You don’t get it! The stuff you’re talking about is satanic! It’s the complete opposite of what God wants and who I’m called to be.” And Jesus got back to the hard teachings: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me …”

Ministry centers might be good. T-shirts with your ministry on them, definitely good. Books about Jesus – awesome…

But the problem is, those things have nothing to do with what God wants right now. They have nothing to do with God’s will at that moment. They directly contradict God’s plan for Jesus and for all of human history.

There are so many competing goods out there in the world, and our lines get blurred and sometimes we can no longer tell the difference between divine things and human things, between what we want and what God wants.

So what do we do? How do we weigh the options? How do we choose?

Human things vs. Godly things: How do we tell the difference?

A) YOU don’t: when we come up with these things, we excuse our human actions.

Daniel Deffenbaugh writes:

In our sin and unbelief, we like to think of ourselves as “free thinkers.” In reality, we are only thinking like Satan and like the fallen world system in which we live. Our culture constantly seeks to shape us. Like teenage children, we think we are expressing our individuality and independence when we differ with God. In reality, we are merely following the world, the flesh, and the devil in rebellion and unbelief. When we give our lives to God, we give ourselves over to His influence and control. When we turn to God in obedience, we turn away from the world’s shaping influence on us. Its influence should diminish, and God’s infinite wisdom, contained in Scripture and conveyed by His Spirit, should begin to transform our thinking and our actions. Giving our lives to God as a living sacrifice is the decision to be shaped and influenced by God and not by our fallen world.

B) Not talking about a list of right or wrong – something we can post on a wall and check-off… we are talking about something written on our hearts.

This might be different for everyone… a different choice, not a universal set of ways of being.
Take someone which a gift for public speaking who has a successful job at a corporation. A) stay in job, use money for God’s will, B) quit job and become preacher, c) stay in job, volunteer on the side
Really reminds us of the importance of discernment… and not not imposing our ways of following God upon others.

C) HOW does it get written there?

We have to spend time with God
You are who your friends are… be friends with God.
Letting God shape our lives/fixing our attention on God
Means of grace in the Methodist tradition: Prayer, bible study, small groups, communion, worship, service, visiting the sick, tithing
We really have to do these things intentionally… we have to do them so that we are paying more attention to God and what he wants for our lives than we are to our own wants and desires. When you spend time focusing on God, there starts to become less room for your own base thoughts.

When we let God transform our hearts and our minds, then we will KNOW what God’s will is. The best of God will be dwelling in our hearts. It will spill out of us when we talk, when we listen, when we act in this world.

If I started my Saturdays in the fall with prayer… If I spent some time reading the scriptures with my breakfast on those days… If I spent some time with a person in need before the football game even started – my whole attitude and energy would be in a different place. I would understand that its only a game… a good human enterprise… but that it doesn’t need to take such a huge spot in my life. I would be able to enjoy it for what it was, knowing that I don’t live and die on the outcome, but on the grace and mercy of my God and Savior…