An Enemy on the Inside

This morning, I came across this shocking news story about a Polish man who leads an institute investigating war crimes from World War II; evidenced has surfaced of him offering the Nazi salute, and making statements sympathetic to Nazi beliefs: https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-head-of-polish-institute-researching-wwii-crimes-photographed-giving-nazi-salute-1.9559008

Right away, I thought of the irony of this man leading an organization designed to fight what he believes. My guess is that he’s a mole – intentionally placed there in order to thwart the work of that institute! How fitting an illustration this is of the internal battle we all have with sin. We can’t trust our own hearts to lead us in the right direction, because they are deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9, Genesis 6:5). There’s an enemy on the inside – our flesh! There’s a battle between the flesh and the Spirit within us (Romans 8:4, Galatians 5:16-18, 2 Peter 1:4). Paul himself shared openly about his internal struggle (Romans 7), but he reassured us that the same Jesus who forgave our sins will rescue us “from this body of death” when we trust in him (Romans 7:24).

The Problem of Good

The problem of evil might be the most common objection to the existence of God today.  But a powerful response is the counter-question: what about the “problem” of good?  I am not the first one to make this argument, but I thought I might share how I am using it in an opening illustration to preaching James 1:2-4.  Here it is:

All around us, we see senseless and gratuitous evil, as well as horrifying disasters.  Terrorist attacks… Hurricanes… Earthquakes… Senseless wars and brutality toward children… Cancer…

Probably the most common objection I see to the Christian faith today is what is often called the “problem of evil.”  This objection essentially says this: If God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and good, then we shouldn’t see evil in the world like we do.  If He’s all-powerful, He CAN eliminate evil.  If He’s all-knowing, He is AWARE of all evil.  And if He’s good, He HATES evil and wants to eliminate it.  Yet, evil still exists in the world, in great and terrible measure.  Thus, God must not exist (at least not in the biblical concept of God).

[There are significant unwarranted assumptions that this objection makes, but I’m not getting into that in this Sunday morning sermon.]

When we encounter this objection, we should NEVER be dismissive of the real pain that people experience… Never be insensitive…

But at the same time, we can begin with a couple of responses.  If someone says that the problem of evil is damaging to the credibility of belief in God, what about the problem of GOOD for the credibility of NON-belief in God? If – according to their argument – the existence of evil counts as a pile of evidence AGAINST the existence of God, then what does the existence of a WHOLE LOT of good in the world count as evidence for?

What about the good of beauty? Of marital love and sex within marriage? Of parental selflessness and sacrifice? Of gorgeous sunsets and the paintings of Rembrandt? Of Beethoven’s symphonies? Of the intricate design of just your eye, not to mention the rest of your body? What about the good of the existence of life itself, and the UNIVERSE? I think the atheist has a bigger “problem” to answer in the problem of GOOD, especially when we understand the problem of evil in the light of the fall of man through sin.

And on top of that, the existence of God gives us hope in the MIDST of evil.  We can look at evil and disaster and understand from Scripture that evil is NOT pointless or meaningless.  Instead, the Bible teaches us that God has a purpose and plan that He is sovereignly working out through ALL circumstances, turning evil into good (Romans 8:28).  And our text today (James 1:2-4) helps us see some of God’s purposes in the lives of His people through evil, persecution, trials, and temptation.

 

This might help you intro or illustrate James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:18, and many other passages – as well as get some apologetics into your preaching along the way.

 

Tags: Romans 8, 2 Timothy 3, James 1, 1 Peter 4

German Town Pranks Neo-Nazis

Here is the link for this story and an accompanying video: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345711/-German-town-pranks-annual-neo-Nazi-march-with-clever-counter-protest?detail=facebook

I won’t explain the whole story, since that is found on the post above. I will just say that I think this story could be a great illustration for passages that refer to God sovereignly working in spite of evil, and even through evil. This might include Genesis 50, Job 1, Job 2, Job 42, Romans 8:28, Romans 9, or others.

IMB Commission Stories: Harper Family

Yesterday I received a publication in my mailbox called “Commission Stories,” from the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Here is a PDF of the document.  Pages 18-20 tell the story of the Harper family (name changed), who went to a very dangerous place in Southeast Asia to share the gospel.  There are actually two amazing stories about them in the publication – the first about their gospel witness in the face of government opposition (and the local believers who partnered with them, risking and giving their lives for the gospel), and the second about Mary Harper’s return to the US in the face of a diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s disease – which ultimately took her life.

After Mary passed, her husband John spoke Job’s words: “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.  Though He slay me, I will trust in Him” (Job 1:21, 13:15).  You should read the two short articles.  They are great examples of faith in the Lord in the face of persecution, suffering, and death.  Not only that, John is a self-professed “hillbilly,” who speaks with amazement of how the Lord used even him.

These powerful stories could be shared together or separately – depending on the nature of your biblical text, how much time you have, and the main point(s) you are making.

Some passage ideas for the first article, which focuses on their witness in a hostile place: Jeremiah 38, Daniel 3, Matthew 16:24-28, Matthew 24:9-14, Mark 8:31-38, Mark 13:9-13, Luke 14:25-35, Luke 21:10-19, John 15:18-25, Acts 4, Acts 5, Acts 7, Acts 9, Acts 12, Acts 14, Acts 16, Acts 19, Acts 28, Philippians 1:12-20, Philippians 1:27-29, Hebrews 12:1-13, Revelation 2, and Revelation 6:9-11.

The second article, which focuses on trusting the Lord in the midst of suffering and death: Job 1, Job 2, Job 13, Romans 8, 2 Corinthians 11, 2 Corinthians 12, Philippians 1:21, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and James 1:2-4.

Finally, John’s statements about the Lord using him in spite of him being a self-professed “hillbilly” could help illustrate passages that talk about God using us in spite of ourselves: Exodus 3 and Exodus 4 (the call of Moses), Judges 6 (the call of Gideon), 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, 1 Corinthians 15:9-11, and 1 Timothy 1:12-17.

The Presidents’ Club – Healing Amidst Tragedy

Still reading The Presidents’ Club.  The book talks a lot about the power of current and former presidents working together, but it also describes disunity and vitriol that has occurred between these men over the years.  One example of this took place between Truman and Eisenhower, despite the fact that they had been friends who greatly respected one another while Truman was Eisenhower’s commander-in-chief.

Truman was a Democrat, Eisenhower a Republican.  Eisenhower was immensely popular because of his heroic record during WWII.  Truman decided not to run again in 1952 and had supported Eisenhower’s candidacy before Ike’s party affiliation became public.  Even after this information was out, Truman was friendly to Ike while remaining loyal to his own party.  But several misunderstandings along the campaign trail combined with the divisive influence of Senator Joe McCarthy, with the result that the men had become bitter enemies by the time Ike’s inauguration rolled around.  The interactions between the two administrations on that day were some of the coldest and most awkward of any Inauguration Day before or since.

The bitter, very public relations between the two men continued all throughout Eisenhower’s eight-year presidency and into the Kennedy administration.  That is, until November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated.  Tragedy changed everything, and the grievances of the past seemed to pale in comparison with the events of that day.  On the day of Kennedy’s funeral, Ike overheard that Truman, for some reason, did not have a vehicle to transport him to the service.  He quickly reached out to Truman and offered for the two men and their wives to ride together – an invitation Truman accepted.  At the end of that very long, very difficult day, the Eisenhower’s were dropping off the Truman’s and were about to drive back to their farm in Gettysburg, when Truman turned back to the car and said to the Eisenhower’s, “How about coming in for a drink?”  They accepted, and with these two small actions in the wake of a national tragedy, a great presidential healing took place.  The two families spent the afternoon together, eating, drinking coffee, and genuinely enjoying one another’s company.  The bitterness never returned.

 

I’ve given a lot of detail here, but that’s probably because it was a story I was unfamiliar with and really loved learning.  I’m guessing most of your sermon audience would feel the same way.  This could be used to illustrate Habakkuk 3:17-19, Romans 5:3-5, Romans 8:18, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 3:13, 2 Timothy 1:8, James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 2:19, along with other passages that speak of God growing us and bringing about good in the midst of evil.  I think the story could also illustrate passages that talk about Christians comforting those who are hurting and doing ministry in the midst of crisis, because it demonstrates the human tendency to be open to true change when given a new perspective through tragedy and suffering.  In the midst of suffering, we have opportunities to show Christ’s love.  Example passages of this: Job 1, Job 2, Job 3, Psalm 23:4, Ecclesiastes 4:1, Isaiah 61:1-3, Matthew 25:31-46, Romans 12:15, 2 Corinthians 1, and 2 Corinthians 7.  This story could probably also be used for some passages that deal with bitterness, forgiveness, and reconciliation, too – like Matthew 18:15-20 and Hebrews 12:15.

Chandler: Human History from Heaven’s Perspective

In his book To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain, Matt Chandler makes a great statement about how, once we are in heaven, history will be rewritten for us: “The day will come – perhaps today – when you will die and see all of history being effectively rewritten from the halls of heaven.  The annals of history will not be filled with wars and kings; there will be one story, the heroes will be missionaries, and the victor will be seen clearly as Christ.  Knowing this, who cares if friends or enemies mock you?  Do not be ‘frightened in anything by your opponents’ (Phil. 1:28).  Be willing to get on a plane and go to dangerous places.  Be willing to take the pay cut at work to do what’s right.  Be willing, no matter who your opponent is, to be fearless.”

Chandler is illustrating Philippians 1:27-28 here.  I pictured history being rewound and then replayed for me, and most of the moments that I thought were big didn’t even show up in the footage, and tons of moments that I didn’t even know about loomed large in God’s TRUE version of human history.

 

This thought is helpful for Philippians 1 as Chandler uses it, but also would work with passages about suffering like Matthew 5 (esp.  verses 10-12), Romans 8 (verse 18), 2 Corinthians 11, or 2 Corinthians 12.  Also, it fits with any of the passages about Christian martyrs, like Acts 7 or 12.  You could also use it with missions-oriented passages like Matthew 28 or Acts 1, or passages that speak to the perspective of earthly approval/fame vs. your soul/eternal rewards – like Matthew 16 (verse 26 in particular), Matthew 25 (esp. verse 31 and following), Revelation 20, or Revelation 22.

The Songhai of West Africa

Found this in the International Mission Board‘s 10th edition of a prayer guide called “Loving the Lost of the Word Through Prayer.” I can’t find a PDF of it online, but you can order it for free here.  It’s a good resource to order in bulk and distribute to your church to get them thinking and praying missionally.

The Songhai of West Africa, descendants of an old African empire, don’t sing – they think that singing is the work of slaves.  Missionaries are working to reach them, so that the song of Christ may fill their hearts.

The miracle of the gospel leads us to worship through song – there’s a surface-level illustration here.  But not only that, the belief of the Songhai that singing is for slaves is interesting.  Essentially, from the Christian perspective, they’re right; we are slaves to Christ, and we sing in joyful acknowledgement of the slavery that has truly set us free.

 

I think this could illustrate these (and, of course, plenty more) passages: Matthew 25, Romans 6, Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Peter 2, Ephesians 6, Galatians 5