Category: Sermons

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God Chooses the Foolish to Shame the Wise

The majority of stories in the Bible that have to do with wars being won, people becoming strong leaders, and, generally, people changing the world through faithfulness, all have one thing in common–the leaders are most often underdogs. From small town timid people like Jonah to farmers like Amos, the Bible is replete with stories of faithful people who didn’t believe in themselves yet accomplished huge feats. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

Likewise, Deuteronomy 7:7-8 says, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” God constantly chooses what is foolish and weak to shame those who think they are wise and strong.

Even Isaiah prophesied about the messiah who was anything but majestic: “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2 ESV). God doesn’t choose the weak to prove to them that they can accomplish great things. Rather, he chooses them to prove that He can accomplish them. When we do great things, it should always point people to God instead of us.

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God Can Do Far More Than We Ask

close up shot of a bearded man in black knitted sweater praying

One of the cornerstones of our faith is prayer. Paul told the Ephesians not to lose heart over what he was suffering for them, which was to their glory. He continued, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. . .” (Ephesians 3:14, 15 ESV). Paul is fervently praying that the Ephesians would be strengthened in their inner being so that they can fully comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge.

What he says next ought to make us all pay close attention! “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. . . ” (vs. 20). God is able to do far more abundantly than anything we could ever ask him, or even think of! That’s pretty incredible. So often we limit our potential because we pray small. Or we think small. God will not just automatically give to us for no reason. God listens to the righteous. He expects a lot from us.

As James says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). It is always good for us to make it a discipline to pray, pray for others, pray often, and pray big!! The bigger we pray the better. The Bible has plenty of examples of righteous people who were not afraid to pray very big. And we need to do that, too, for the sake of God’s kingdom.

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Kindness Benefits Yourself

be kind lettering on white surface

Proverbs 11:17 says, “A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.” This is true on many different levels. Kindness always prevails. It doesn’t mean that those who are kind will be free from trouble. In fact, we know that kind people are often martyred for the sake of Christ. But being kind benefits the person who exhibits kind behavior. People who are kind have more friends because they are warm and inviting. Cruel people are lonely because nobody wants to be near them.

The scriptures don’t stop with kindness. We are told to go beyond kindness and love our enemies. Jesus himself said that it is of no benefit to love those who love us back. He continued, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

The scriptures have a lot to say about loving your enemies. This is not easy, nor should it be. Love is a discipline. But when we exercise love and mercy, people see the goodness of Christ living in us. And the word of God becomes more attractive to people who are in need of salvation.

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Have Compassion

macro shot of heart shaped cut out

Dr. Diane E. Levin, a professor of early childhood education at Wheelock College in Boston, coined the term “compassionate deficit disorder.” She uses this term to describe the influx of children who lack empathy and meet their needs by exhibiting bullying behavior. Dr. Levin attributes these problems to an increased amount of screen time (causing anti-social behavior), an increase in toys mimicking screens, families who have to work more due to financial stress (thereby increasing screens as a means to occupy their kids), and parents planning activities outside of the home to occupy their kids, where playtime with peers is substituted for time with adults controlling all activities.

In a nutshell, Dr. Levin said to counter this trend adults need to model healthy social behaviors. We all need to model compassion and talk our kids through their problems, rather than punishing them for being anti-social. Our schools are pushing academia over teaching social curriculum. A perfect scriptural summation of the solution is found in Colossians 3:12-14: “Put on, then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

Wow! If adults made this their mantra for the remainder of their lives, our children would have ideal models of healthy, biblical social behaviors. It should not surprise us that as we move further away from biblical norms our societal norms will shift towards chaos. We have the perfect model to imitate in the scriptures!

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Gideon: God Does A Lot With a Little

The Israelites failed the conquest when they entered into the land of the Canaanites. When they entered the promised land they had judges rule the people. Gideon was the fifth judge and was considered a warrior hero. When an angel approached Gideon, Gideon replied: “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13 ESV). The Lord turned to Gideon and replied, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” (vs. 14).

Gideon said that he belongs to the weakest clan in Manasseh and he was the least in his father’s house. God replied, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man” (vs. 16). Gideon asked for a sign and God granted the sign. Gideon began with 32,000 men ready for battle but God said he had too many men, otherwise the Israelites might boast and say, “My own hand has saved me” (7:2). God eventually dwindled that number down to 300 men who would defeat the Midianites.

In the end, Gideon’s 300 men defeated thousands of the Midianites. This story is not entirely unique. God constantly uses weak, poor, and remnants of people to accomplish huge feats. When Paul said that he was straining toward the goal, he never assumed the path would be easy. In fact, it was the exact opposite. But Paul trusted God that, so long as Paul remained faithful, He would do the heavy lifting and bless many people. And that’s exactly what God did.

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Jacob’s Well

Jacob’s well is mentioned only once in the Bible in John chapter 4, though the land is mentioned in Genesis 33. In the Genesis account, Jacob bought a piece of land for a hundred pieces of money in the city of Shechem. This eventually became the capital of Samaria and tradition has long held the idea that the well here belonged to Jacob. When Jesus entered Samaria, “he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph” (John 4:5 ESV). “Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well” (vs. 6).

Wells have always been an important source of clean drinking water. Wells are found in abundance throughout the Bible. When enemies wanted to weaken people and their economy, they would stop up their wells. Jacob’s well is still providing clean water to this day, thousands of years after it was hand dug. Wells are essential for life.

Jacob’s well would be the scene for Jesus’ discussion with the Samaritan woman about Jesus being living water. The woman asked, “Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock” (vs. 12). Jesus informed her that people who drink at Jacob’s well will get thirsty again. But, he said, “The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (vs. 14). We know the rest of the story; how the woman came to believe in Jesus as the source of living water (salvation). We are honored to partner with an organization to bring both physical water and living water to lost and thirsty people across the world!

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The Great(est) Commission

person holding world globe facing mountain

Jesus’ great commission to his apostles is well recorded and is not a very lengthy conversation. In Matthew 28, Jesus’ eleven disciples went to Galilee to a mountain to which Jesus directed them. Matthew records, “And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted” (vs. 17). The fact that some doubted is not surprising. This isn’t the first time they doubted. Thomas doubted. But so did others who didn’t believe Mary’s testimony that Jesus’ tomb was empty.

Jesus’ next words are the last words recorded in the gospel of Matthew: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (vs. 18-20).

This is known as the great commission, but it really should be called the greatest commission! We literally have the last recorded words of Jesus before he ascended into heaven. This commission is still just as important as it was 2,000 years ago. May we always strive to carry out the great(est) commission!