Jesus Christ

Some years ago, I had just finished doing a wedding when one of the groomsmen approached me in the foyer of the church.  He said, “There’s something I have always wanted to ask a minister.  Do you have a second?”  I should tell you at this point that weddings are one of the most stressful parts of my job.  Don’t get me wrong; I am honored and privileged to officiate a wedding.  But while preaching in front of hundreds of people each Sunday feels easy and comfortable, standing in front of the bride and her mother frankly scares me to death.  Then I consider the fact that a good number of the people in that crowd probably aren’t churchgoers, and therefore never get to hear a presentation of the Gospel, so I know this is a unique opportunity.  On the one hand, I am trying not to drop the ball and ruin the wedding for this young woman and her mom, and on the other hand I want to make sure that everyone there hears about Jesus.  So when this young man came up to me after the service, I knew that—in spite of the fact that this was what I would describe as a redneck wedding, the stuff of reality TV—God had brought me an opportunity to speak a word of truth to someone.  So I said a quick, silent prayer and said, “Sure, I’ve got time.  What’s your question?”  “Well,” he said, “You know how people say Jesus H. Christ? What’s that H stand for?”

You'll have to come to WBC this Sunday to find out how I handled that one.  But there's a better reason why you should be there.  As we seek to represent Christ in a non-Christian culture, we are going to need the supernatural power of God to be made manifest in our lives.  That only happens when we pray in the name of our Lord.  Praying in the name of Jesus means acknowledging in prayer that we can only come before God because of what He did for us on the cross; and it means praying in a way that is consistent with His character.  So between now and Easter Sunday, we’re talking about some of the names our Lord is called in the New Testament.  This Sunday, we’ll start with the name He is most commonly called these days: Jesus Christ.  Where did this name come from, what does it mean, and how can knowing Him as Jesus Christ change our lives forever?

Call on His Name

Once years ago, I was calling a church member on the phone.  They weren't home, so I left a message on their answering machine.  At the end of my message, instead of saying goodbye, for some unknown reason I heard my mouth say, "In Christ's name, Amen."  I was mortified at that point, because it was just a bizarre thing to say on a phone message, and there was no way for me to take it back.  I had been taught all my life to end my prayers with those words.  I must have said them thousands of times in my life, so often I didn't even think about them when I said them.  That explained why they slipped out of my mouth at an inappropriate moment.  But why was I taught to pray that way? The short answer is we're commanded in John 14:12-14 to pray in the name of Jesus.  But what does that mean, exactly?

 We are ambassadors for Christ.  Our mission in life is to help people reconcile with God.  When I look at the people in Scripture who represented God well in godless times, they had certain characteristics in common.  One was that they were men and women of supernatural power.  They changed the world by calling on His name.  Scripture tells us that at the name of Jesus, demons flee.  At the name of Jesus, someday every knee will bow in Heaven and Earth.  But it’s not a magic trick.  Acts 19 tells the story of seven young men who fancied themselves exorcists. They were trying to cast a demon out of a man by saying, “In the name of Jesus who Paul preaches, come out of him!”  The demon spoke from within the man and said, “I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you?”  He then pounced on these seven guys and beat them so severely, they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.  We also know it isn’t a matter of just tacking “In Jesus’ name” onto the end of your prayer, like I was in the habit of doing.  After all, in the model prayer Jesus gave us—we know it as the Lord’s Prayer—He ends it with a simple “amen.”  So for the next six weeks—from now until Easter—we’re going to talk about how we can experience the power of Jesus Christ.  We’re going to look at the various names He was called in the New Testament (names like Jesus Christ, Son of Man, Son of God, Lamb of God, and My Lord and My God), so that you and I can know more about this God to whom we pray.  This Sunday, as we start this new series, let’s look at where this idea of praying in the name of Jesus comes from—and what it really means.

By the way, the title of this sermon has had me singing this song in my head all week.

When We Feel Weak and Discouraged

Do you know the song, “There is a Fountain”?  (Click here to hear one version of the song) It was written by a man named William Cowper (pronounced "Cooper").  Cowper wrote many other hymns that were sung for years.  He is also known for his poetry, one of the many great English poets of history.  But what many people don’t know is that William Cowper was also a man who struggled mightily with depression.  He was actually converted in his thirties during an 18 month stay in an asylum after attempting suicide.  After his conversion, he lived for many years in Olney, where he attended the church pastored by John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace.  He and Newton became close friends, and together wrote an enormously popular and influential hymnal.  Newton later said he couldn’t imagine any person having a closer walk with the Lord than Cowper.  But Cowper had a relapse, and attempted suicide again.  For years, he fought against this terrible gloom and self-doubt.  Many years later, on his deathbed, Cowper apparently caught his first sight of the glory that awaited him, and his last words were, “I am not shut out of heaven after all.”

           
Some people seem to think that a good Christian should be full of joy all the time.  Certainly God wants us to live joyful lives, but in truth, every believer goes through times of despair.  It happens because we are human.  For a time, we take our eyes off of God’s goodness, stop trusting His providence, and all we can see is our problems and pain.  I have told you about Cowper, but I could go on to tell you of many, many other Christian heroes who also reached the end of their ropes.  Did you know that even happened to Elijah?  Elijah is one of my favorite biblical figures.  To me, he is the Dirty Harry of the Old Testament, a man who fearlessly faced--and defeated--the enemies of God.  1 Kings 18 tells of him facing 450 pagan prophets on Mount Carmel, and bringing fire from Heaven in the sight of all Israel.  It was a fantastic day for Elijah...perhaps the best of his life.  But in the very next chapter, we find our hero literally giving up.  If that could happen to him, believe me, it can happen to you and me. 

So how does God respond when we're ready to quit?  And what should we do at that point?  This Sunday, I will talk about how we can be exactly who God created us to be--ambassadors for Christ, reconciling people with their Creator--even when we are at our breaking point.  I hope you can be there, and that you leave feeling lighter than you came in. 

When We Doubt

My father-in-law had a saying that served him well: "Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see."  He knew the danger of being naive and gullible in a world where deception is a finely-honed art form.  Jesus told us in Matthew 16:10, Behold, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves, so be as wise as snakes, and as innocent as doves.  God may love childlike faith, but He knows that naivete about the things of this world can be deadly.  Sometimes, doubt can be a healthy thing.

But what about when we doubt the things God Himself tells us?  It’s our job as ambassadors for Christ to represent Him well in a non-Christian culture.  And sometimes we ourselves doubt the very message we’re supposed to be communicating.  For some of us, this happens when tragedy or hardship strikes: A loved one who we fervently prayed for dies anyway.  Or a job we desperately wanted goes instead to a person who is not a believer.  At moments like that, we doubt God’s power or His love.  “Lord,” we think to ourselves, “either you’re not as strong as your Word says, or you don’t really care about me.  Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened.”  Others doubt God’s mercy.  We’ve done things that fill us with so much shame.  Even though intellectually we understand the Gospel, and we have heard about His forgiveness and grace, deep down inside we just don’t see how He can love us.  Still others begin to doubt God’s very existence.  In your study of Christianity, you’ve come across Bible stories that don’t seem to make sense, details that don’t seem to square with science, or teachings that are difficult to accept.  Or in light of the arguments of unbelievers who you respect, faith in Christ suddenly seems like a belief in dragons, fairies or unicorns.  You’re wondering how long you can hang on to this faith, or if it’s even worth it. 

            Chances are, some of you right now are wondering how I knew that about you.  You’re wondering if I am reading your emails, your journal, or even your mind, and am preaching this sermon just for you.   I assure you that’s not the case.  What if I told you that you’re not alone?  I would be willing to bet that almost every one of us has experienced some sort of doubt at some point in their walk with Christ.  What if I told you that one of the greatest, most courageous followers of Jesus once doubted whether He was really the Messiah?  This Sunday, we’ll look at that story.  We’ll learn two important, life-changing truths about doubt.

When Our Faith is Unpopular

In a scene in a recent, major motion picture, a presidential candidate, during a debate, is asked about his religion.  He says, “I'm not a Christian. I'm not an Atheist. I'm not Jewish. I'm not Muslim. My religion, what I believe in is called the Constitution of United States of America.”  That happened in a movie, not real life.  But it illustrates a key fact about our culture.  This nation was founded on the concept of religious freedom; that is, the freedom to worship any god we choose in whatever way we choose, or the freedom to worship no god at all.  But from its founding, our national culture has tended to strongly favor Christianity.  And the reason should be obvious; since the founding of this nation, Christians have comprised the vast majority of this country.  Many here can probably remember a time when it made good business sense to be involved in a local church.  In fact, some banks would ask a person who applied for a loan, “Are you a member of a church?”  When my parents were growing up, their school—a public school—cancelled classes the day the movie “Ben Hur” was released.  This was done because Ben Hur was a movie in which the story of Jesus played a major part, and it was assumed that for kids to able to see the film with their parents was more beneficial than a day of education.  To this day, most government meetings, from County Commissioners’ Court to the US Congress, begin with prayer, and it is almost always a Christian prayer. When a president takes office, he places his hand on a Bible to be sworn in.  The line of dialogue from the movie I mentioned highlights the fact that no one has ever been elected President of this nation who didn’t at least put on a show of orthodox Christianity.

            In short, we Christians are used to having things our way in this country.  So we often forget how unusual that is in this world.  After all, our movement began with the unjust execution of our founder.  Most of His original disciples were martyred for their faith, and there is a long line of names to add to that list of Christian martyrs.  Today, in places like Iran and much of the Middle East, as well as China and North Korea, following Jesus can be a death sentence.  We as Americans have never faced that sort of persecution for our faith, and given the tolerant nature of our culture, we probably never will.  But it’s easy to see that Christianity’s favored status within our culture is fading.  Again, it’s pure mathematics.  The fastest growing religious group in our country today is those who have no religious affiliation.  Many of those people—often referred to as the “nones”—come from a Christian background and continue to believe in Christ, pray and try to live out their faith.  But an increasing number see religion as the problem, not the solution.  Spend some time around irreligious people and solicit their thoughts on the institutional Church.  Whenever there is an article online about a religious topic, take the time to read the comments below.  What you read will be enlightening, to say the least.  Ask some of our high school or college students about some of the comments they get from kids who find out they attend church.  In the eyes of an increasing number of our fellow Americans, we are the bad guys.  I’m not here to talk about better PR for Christianity, because that’s not important.  And I’m not here to talk about fighting to maintain our freedom of religion, even though that IS very important.  The question I want to consider this Sunday is this: How can we effectively represent Christ among people who disrespect our faith?  Because—I’ll just say it bluntly—if you don’t know anyone who has negative feelings about the Church, you need to get out more.  They are all around us.  They aren’t going away.  Jesus loves them.  What can we do?            

            I think our starting point is to look at how Jesus and His disciples responded to far worse treatment.  Peter is a great example: Here’s a man who was beaten by the ruling council of his own people, then commanded not to preach any more in the name of Jesus.  Later, he was arrested and sentenced to execution, only to be rescued by an angel in the middle of the night.  Ultimately, according to church tradition, he was crucified upside down in the vast persecution of Christians under Nero following the burning of Rome.  He wrote to fellow believers who were surprised at how poorly they were being treated by their non-Christian neighbors.  In 1 Peter 4:12-19, he gives them--and us--instructions on how to respond when under pressure.  We'll take a close look at three instructions from this passage this Sunday.   

In the Marketplace of Gods

This year, I’m preaching about Representing Christ in a Non-Christian Culture.  Last year, I asked you to tell me the hardest things about living for Christ these days.  Here at the start of the year, I am taking those obstacles you mentioned and asking, “What does Scripture tell us about this?”   One of the things you said you struggled with was relating to people of other religions.  Many of us grew up in a very Christian-dominated environment.  I might be an extreme case, but I didn’t know anyone who was of a non-Christian religion until I went off to college.  Today, our culture is more religiously diverse than it has ever been.  Many of us have close friends or relatives who are members of Non-Christian religions.  Most of us have neighbors, co-workers, or acquaintances who are of a different faith.  And all of us regularly pass by synagogues, mosques, temples, Kingdom Halls, and other buildings of Non-Christian faiths.  And that diversity will continue to increase.  We’re nice people, and we want to get along with our neighbors of other faiths.  We’re also Americans, so we treasure the freedom to worship as we see fit, and we don’t want to do anything that would infringe on that.  But most of all, we’re followers of Christ, and our obedience to His call should trump everything else.  So what instruction do we find in His Word about relating to people who worship other gods? 

This Sunday, we'll be looking at Acts 17.  Paul lived in a world even more religiously diverse than ours.  At one point, he found himself in Athens, which was, more than any other city (even Rome) where cultural thoughts and trends were formed.  In that sense, it functioned much like New York or LA does in our culture.  Athens was a city of many gods.  There was an ancient proverb that said, “In Athens, there are more gods than men.”  V. 16 says that Paul’s spirit was provoked within him as he saw all these gods.  The Greek word that’s used there has an implication of anger, even rage.  So what did Paul do?  We'll talk about it Sunday.

When Moral Standards Are Collapsing

This year, President Obama invited an Atlanta pastor named Louie Giglio to pray at his second inaugural.  Giglio is the founder of the Passion conference, which brings as many as 60,000 young Christian adults to Atlanta every year.  Moreover, he is a major figure in the fight against modern-day slavery, and since this year is the 150^th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Louie seemed like a great choice (To show you what a small world this is, years ago Louie Giglio served as a collegiate intern at my wife’s church, where he met and married a friend of Carrie’s family).  But a website called Think Progress found a sermon Louie preached fifteen years ago, in which he cited biblical references that call homosexual activity a sin.  The website urged people to protest his inclusion in the inaugural event.  Last week, Louie withdrew from the event, saying, "It is likely that my participation and the prayer I would offer will be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration." This all comes less than a year after “Chick-Fil-A-gate,” in which the president of Chick-Fil-A caused great controversy by stating in a magazine interview that he and his company supported “the biblical definition of marriage.”  Here’s why this is important: Not so long ago, perhaps as little as ten years ago, such statements wouldn’t have caused even a ripple in the media.  It shows us how much things have changed in our culture, and how quickly that change has happened.  It shows us that there is a wide gap between evangelical Christians and an increasing number of our fellow citizens when it comes to certain moral issues.   

            This is not going to be a sermon about the political issue of gay marriage.  I’m preaching all this year about representing Christ in a non-Christian culture.  Here at the start of the year, we’re looking at some of the main obstacles we face today.  In this message, I want to see what Scriptural principles we should put into practice when the moral standards of our culture change.  My prayer is that I can do this with great sensitivity and precision, knowing that this is a very personal issue for many people in our church, as well as people we love outside the church.  So here is the question we’ll be seeking to answer Sunday: In a culture where an increasing number of our friends, co-workers, classmates, and fellow citizens, including the media, think that our views are backward or even dangerous, how can we conduct ourselves in such a way that we represent the name of Jesus so well that everyone we meet is drawn closer to God just by knowing us, and some actually become reconciled with God?  Pray for me, that I would share the Word of God effectively, and for us, that we would represent Him well.