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Judgment or Grace?

Judgment or Grace?

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind–just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you–so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Message Judgment or Grace? Thomas E. Williams
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! You remember Chicken Little. An acorn fell on his head and he paniced and started declaring that the sky was falling. Before long he had Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey all convinced that he was right and everyone was running for shelter.
How many Chicken Littles have come and gone? I don’t know for sure. Hundreds or thousands I’d guess. I did a quick research on the World Wide Web and found the following:
  1. In the 1530s, Anabaptists assumed control of the German town ofMunster and hailed it as a New Jerusalem awaiting the return of Christ. Jan Bockelson declared himself the “Messiah of the last days,” took multiple wives, issued coins that prophesied the coming apocalypse and in general made life hell for everyone in the city.
  2. 666 is described as the “mark of the beast” in the Bible’s Book of Revelation. So it was no surprise that Europeans worried as the year 1666 approached.
  3. William Miller began to preach about the world’s end, saying Jesus Christ would return for the long-awaited Second Coming and that Earth would be engulfed in fire sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844. When that end didn’t come, Miller changed the date to Oct. 22. When Oct. 23 rolled around, his loyal followers explained it away yet again.
  4. The Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society, founder, Charles Taze Russell, had previously predicted Christ’s invisible return in 1874, followed by anticipation of his Second Coming in 1914.
  5. Pentecostal pastor William Branham claimed he met with seven angels who revealed to him the meaning of the seven seals from the Book of Revelation, leading him to predict that Jesus would return to Earth in 1977.
  6. Harold Camping’s prediction that the world will end Saturday, May 21, 2011, is not his first such prediction. In 1992, the evangelist published a book called 1994?, which proclaimed that sometime in mid-September 1994, Christ would return and the world would end. Camping based his calculations on numbers and dates found in the Bible and, at the time, said that he was “99.9% certain” that his math was correct. But the world did not end in 1994. Nor did it end on March 31, 1995 — another date Camping provided when September 1994 passed without incident. “I’m like the boy who cried wolf again and again and the wolf didn’t come,” Camping told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1995. “This doesn’t bother me in the slightest.”
  7. Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth, which was the best-selling nonfiction book of the 1970s, predicted that the world would end sometime before Dec. 31, 1988. He cited a host of world events — nuclear war, the communist threat and the restoration of Israel — as reasons the end times were upon mankind. His later books, though less specific, suggested that believers not plan on being on Earth past the 1980s — then the 1990s and, of course, the 2000s.
  8. Edgar Whisenant published a book in 1988 called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988, which sold some 4.5 million copies. Whisenant once famously said, “Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong.” When 1989 rolled around, a discredited Whisenant published another book, saying the Rapture would occur that year instead. It did not sell as well, nor did later titles that predicted the world would end in 1993 and again in 1994.
  9. Y2K. For months before the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2000, analysts speculated that entire computer networks would crash, causing widespread dysfunction for a global population that had become irreversibly dependent on computers
  10. David Koresh led his Branch Davidian sect to its doom in a compound near Waco, Texas, in 1993. How did he do that? He convinced his followers that he was Christ and that they should hole up at what was called the Mount Carmel Center to prepare for the end of the world.
  11. A New Age belief cites 2012 as the year humans will undergo a physical and spiritual transformation, while some people predict that sometime that year, Earth will collide with a black hole or a planet named Nibiru. But perhaps the most popular belief is attributed (falsely, many scholars argue) to the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar from the ancient Mayan civilization. Interpretations suggest that the fourth world, in which we live now, will end on Dec. 21, 2012.
When will the world end? I don’t know. But it seems that all I have to do to build a following of Henny Pennys, Ducky Luckys, Goosey Looseys, and Turkey Lurkeys is use some unsound science or theology and shout it with enough conviction.
I’d want to set the date just far enough into the future so that word had time to spread and more people could ‘tune in’ to my message. And, hey, I could get lucky and the world would end when I predicted and no body would be around to laugh at me.
There is so much interest in end of the world prophesies that all manner of books, movies and TV shows have been written about it. And if you really want to see how wide spread the belief in the end of the world is, go to the web. There are not only prophets making predictions, there are people preparing for it. There is a whole sub culture of people who call themselves “Preppers”. They are survivalist types who want to be ready for the ‘coming chaos’. There are sites where you can buy packages that contain a years worth of freeze dried food, water, first aid kits, ammunition, and seeds so that you can plant your own post-apocalyptic gardens.
Now understand that I am not belittling them, I believe in a certain amount of preparedness. I live in a Recreational Vehicle, a fifth-wheel trailer. My wife and I have an emergency to-go bag with some clothes, our meds, bottles of water and food bars. We change the contents as the seasons change. There have been times when the weather reports were indicating that it would be unsafe in our RV. We took the bag and sought shelter in a safer building. If our home was destroyed by the storm we had a few necessities with us. But is it really necessary or possible to prepare for the end of the world?
Our scripture readings both speak of the Day of the Lord, the day that Jesus comes in the clouds. The sun and moon will be darkened. Stars will fall from the sky and heaven and earth will pass away on that day!
That sounds like the end of the world doesn’t it? Can we be prepared for it? Yes, and Jesus tells us what to do.
“Therefore, keep awake–for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
And why are we to watch? Paul tells the Corinthians and by extension us: Because in every way we have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind–just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among us–so that we are not lacking in any spiritual gift as we wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen us to the end, so that we may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As Christians we should be prepared by keeping ourselves right with God. We ARE SAVED. That is done! Now we need to keep our will in line with God’s will. We need to be about doing what God intends for every believer to be doing. And that is spreading the Good News that Christ has come, Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.
As Christian we should be SEEKING the end of THIS world and the full realization of the Kingdom ofGod. There is nothing to fear in this world’s end, for it is a broken world. Only by its passing can the new earth and the new heaven be revealed.
So what if the stars fall and the sun and the moon are darkened? We will have the light of Christ as a physical presence in the world. I will paraphrase the message that the angels gave the shepherds at Jesus’ birth, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today there has returned for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
So often I’ve heard the phrase “The Coming Judgement” said with fear and trepidation. I say to you, we Christians have already been judged and found innocent by the grace given as a gift of God through Christ Jesus. What we have to look forward to at the end of the world is the handing out of our rewards. It is grace not judgement for us at the worlds end. So rejoice, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Amen
Bible readings are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible

©2019 Thomas E Williams

Out Originally published Tuesday, November 29, 2011

We Are Touching Lives Through Christ By Reaching Out, Bringing In, Lifting Up, Sending Forth.

Before you read this sermon, understand that parts of it are specific to my home congregation. However the message goes beyond that group. It speaks to all who call themselves Christians.

Ezekiel 34:1-17
The LORD spoke his word to me. He said, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy to these shepherds. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty LORD says: How horrible it will be for the shepherds of Israel who have been taking care of only themselves. Shouldn’t shepherds take care of the sheep? You eat the best parts of the sheep, dress in the wool, and butcher the finest sheep. Yet, you don’t take care of the sheep. You have not strengthened those that were weak, healed those that were sick, or bandaged those that were injured. You have not brought back those that strayed away or looked for those that were lost. You have ruled them harshly and violently. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. When they were scattered, they became food for every wild animal. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered throughout the whole earth. No one searched or looked for them. “‘So, you shepherds, listen to the word of the LORD. As I live, declares the Almighty LORD, because there is no shepherd, my sheep have become prey. My sheep have become food for every wild animal. My shepherds haven’t searched for my sheep. They have taken care of only themselves, not my sheep. So, you shepherds, listen to the word of the LORD. This is what the Almighty LORD says: I am against the shepherds. I will demand that they hand over my sheep. I won’t let them take care of my sheep anymore, and they will no longer take care of only themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, and my sheep will no longer be their food. “‘This is what the Almighty LORD says: I will search for my sheep myself, and I will look after them. As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is with his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them on a cloudy and gloomy day from every place where they have been scattered. I will bring them out from the nations, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will take care of them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will feed them in good pasture, and they will graze on the mountains of Israel. They will rest on the good land where they graze, and they will feed on the best pastures in the mountains of Israel. I will take care of my sheep and lead them to rest, declares the Almighty LORD. I will look for those that are lost, bring back those that have strayed away, bandage those that are injured, and strengthen those that are sick. I will destroy those that are fat and strong. I will take care of my sheep fairly. “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the Almighty LORD says: I will judge disputes between one sheep and another, between rams and male goats.

Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. The people of every nation will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right but the goats on his left. “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then the people who have God’s approval will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and take you into our homes or see you in need of clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “The king will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did for me.’ “Then the king will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me! God has cursed you! Go into everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels! I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me into your homes. I needed clothes, and you didn’t give me anything to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t take care of me.’ “They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or in need of clothes or sick or in prison and didn’t help you?’ “He will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you failed to do for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do for me.’ “These people will go away into eternal punishment, but those with God’s approval will go into eternal life.”

We Are Touching Lives Through Christ By Reaching Out, Bringing In, Lifting Up, Sending Forth.

When studying the scriptures we need to ask questions as we read. We need to ask; who, what, when, where, why, and how. We also need to insert ourselves into the narrative. It is often helpful to ‘try on’ the roles of the different characters in the story. We can gain new insights by ‘seeing through another’s eyes’. And finally, we need to ask, what does this mean to ME?
We are going to first examine our reading from Ezekiel. Let’s take a look at what is going on here. First of all who are the players in this story?

Well, God is God. Ezekiel is the man God has called on to be his messenger. That’s pretty straight forward. The sheep are lost. It seems clear that these are people that are lost, they are without God. But we’ve got shepherds, who are they?

The shepherds are the leaders. Remember that in that day and age the religious and political leaders were the same people. There was no division of church and state. So these leaders were supposedly men of God, his spokespersons to the people but they are falling down on the job.

Now we have the WHO let us examine the what. The WHAT is the scattering, neglect and destruction of the sheep, the lost people.
WHEN is the next question that we ask. Ezekiel may have had a specific time in mind for this prophesy, but when we examine it we’ll see that the story is timeless. It could and has taken place over and over.
Where did these events take place? Again, as in the question of when, the WHERE is not important to the events of the story because it is a story about universal events.
Moving on to the next question, WHY, we find that there are many WHYS here: greed, laziness, self centeredness, self willed and on and on.
The HOW of the story seems to indicate a general neglect of the sheep by the shepherds. When it is not neglect it is abuse.
Okay, so God says, Hey Zek! Take this message to the leaders of your nation. Tell them that I am really NOT happy. And when I’m not happy, ‘aint nobody happy. Do you blockheadds really think that I can’t see what is going on?
You are down there getting fat off of My people. You take the blessings that I have given them to pad your own nest eggs. You are all dressed up in your fancy clothes , living in your mansions, driving expensive cars – er, camels, and taking the best of everything for yourselves.
Man, it sure points out how little things have changed doesn’t it? If you watch the TV or read the paper you can tell that these guys would feel right at home in our world today.
They were supposed to be leaders. Now, you can’t be a leader if you aren’t moving and nobody is following! And according to this parable, the sheep – that is the people – were lost. They were scattered over the face of the earth and nobody was searching for them.
Not one of these, supposedly good, Godly people was getting out of their comfort zone and …. Oh oh! I just got one of those spiritual slaps up side the head! I was feeling fairly comfortable with my place in this parable. I was seeing myself as a sheep – were you?
But look here, we are not the ‘lost’. We have been redeemed. We are sitting here in church because we have found THE WAY. Oh, we’re not perfect and we may temporarily get turned around but I really can’t see casting us in the role of the sheep.
But wait a minute, Tom, if they are the lost sheep, who are we? Well, we sure aren’t God. And unless God has your cellphone number, I don’t think we are Ezekiel either.
Man, I hate to admit this, but I think that we may be the shepherds that ol’ Zeke here is talkin’ to. I was feeling so smug and comfortable a minute ago. Now, not so much.
The shepherds were the religious leaders and yet they were not doing what shepherds do. Shepherds do not sit at home while the sheep are in the field. Shepherds feed the sheep. They lead them to where the water is good. They protected them from the wild beasts. They bring them safely home. That is what shepherds are SUPPOSED to do.
Ol’ Ezekiel’s shepherds did not protect, did not heal the injured, did not lead, they did not even do the most basic of care by feeding the sheep. And as a result, the Almighty Lord says: I am against the shepherds. I will demand that they hand over my sheep. I won’t let them take care of my sheep anymore, and they will no longer take care of only themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, and my sheep will no longer be their food.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus lays out the job description for being the right kind of shepherd.
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
Now, this congregation does many good things to take care of the sheep. We do protect through various programs such as the blanket bucks,

We feed through programs like the food pantry, the monthly meals at Trinity, the Heifer Project and even the suppers provided through UP kids.
We clothe the naked through our contributions to the Ingathering and yes through the rummage sales.
We visit, pray for and send cards and flowers to the sick
We welcome the stranger that enters our doors.
However, I’m wondering if we doing all that we can to go find the lost sheep that are scattered across the face of the earth. Our church’s mission statement is. We Are Touching Lives Through Christ By Reaching Out, Bringing In, Lifting Up, Sending Forth

Answer this for yourselves, are we really reaching out? Are we seeking the lost? I know that if the lost find their way into our fold, we will welcome them, we will protect them, we will feed them, and many other things that a good shepherd would do. But let’s face this, a good shepherd does not just open the gate to the shephold and hope the sheep find their way to. He actively seeks the sheep and herds them into safety.
I have to ask this, and understand that I’m not just asking YOU, I’m asking US, are we actively inviting people in? And if we are, are they the lost sheep? Or we inviting the saved to come and join us?
I ask that because … well, here is a personal admission: We just recently got some new neighbors who will be spending the winter in an RV near ours. Ella asked them if they had found a church home yet and we invited them to come to church with us.
Were we being shepherds? Not really, these people are already Believers. We were not inviting sheep. We were inviting more shepherds.
If we are to live up to our mission statement, we need to go find the sheep and bring them in. We need to be seeking the lost. Just as Jesus did. “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10. Jesus was fulfilling what Ezekiel had prophesied, “For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” We, as Christ’s hands and feet on earth are under an obligation to continue this work.
Remember the words of the Great Commandment in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything that I have command you.”
This was not a suggestion to sit in our comfortable sanctuary and wait for the lost to wander in. This is a command to go and find them.
We each have to ask ourselves how we have obeyed this command. When we stand before God will He say, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’?

God bless

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All content (except quotations) ©2011Thomas E. Williams

A Carpenter Talks About Farming

Matthew 20:1-6

“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing to pay the workers the usual day’s wages, he sent them to work in his vineyard. About 9 a.m. he saw others standing in the marketplace without work. He said to them, ‘Work in my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So they went. “He went out again about noon and 3 p.m. and did the same thing. About 5 p.m. he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day long without work?’

A Carpenter Talks About Farming

Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus told stories about really “odd” farmers?
Maybe it is because I have grown up in the Midwest where agriculture is so important.Or maybe it is because of all those hours working in my mother’s half-acre garden.Or maybe it is because I worked on a dairy farm and for Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn. Whatever the reason, the stories that Jesus told about farming, always have seemed a little “off” to me.
Maybe it was because he was a carpenter and not a farmer. But then again, he had a pretty good grasp of fishing and shepherding. Those parables hold up very well with the realities of those professions.
However, these stories of farming? Well, here, let’s examine them for a minute.
He told a story about a farmer who scattered seeds on the path, amongst the rocks, and into the thorns. Now in that day and age, seed was precious. To have seed to plant, you had to save part of last year’s crop, which meant that you could not eat it when times got tough. If you consumed it all today, you would starve tomorrow.
Also the seed was scattered by hand as you walked through your field. You had precise control of where the seed landed. Why in the world would a farmer waste seed by throwing it where it had little or no chance of growing. That would be a very foolish or a very nearsighted farmer indeed who would waste his precious seeds.
Jesus also told the story about the farmer who had planted his crops and “an enemy” came and threw “weed seeds” in with his crop. Then he told his help not to pull the weeds because it would damage the crop. Certainly not what modern farming practice would dictate? The weeds would be using up vital nutrients that should be going to the crop.
A good farmer does everything he can to get the weeds out and keep them out. We use various methods to keep our crops clear of weeds. We hoe, pull, mulch and spray to control those weeds. When we see a field that is full of weeds, we tend to believe the farmer is lazy or does not care enough about his crops to protect them and keep them clean of weeds.
Now the part about an enemy who sewed weed seeds. Really? I can not imagine that happeing in modern times. Did “enemy farmers” actually resort to sabotage against their neighbors? I do not know for sure, however it seems unlikely.
For one thing, how much time did this enemy farmer spend harvesting weeds to gather those seeds. Did he intentionally not plant crops one year so that he could grow weeds? Seems pretty odd to me.
Then in today’s gospel reading we meet another peculiar farmer who has a vineyard. His grapes have grown. His vineyards have done very well indeed, what we would call a bumper crop and now it is time for the harvest.
His problem was that he had more work than he had workers.
The solution was simple enough, go into town and hire ‘day laborers’. And that’s what he did. He offered those that he found a fair wage for their day of labor and they accepted the contract without negotiation.
However, the landowner soon discovered that there was still more work than workers. So, back to town and hire more workers. He offered them the same contract as he had the first workers and again they accepted and went to work. Several times he did this right up until almost too dark to harvest.
In each case the farmer promised each group a “day’s wages”. A day’s wages means that each person received enough money to feed himself and family for the day.
Finally, the job was done and it was time to dole out the pay.
This is where the “blip” in this story starts. He pays everyone the same, no matter how long they worked. I wonder what union these folks belonged to?
Those that came latest were paid first. They took their wages and felt glad to be able to feed their families for another day.
At last it came time to pay those that were hired first. Well, understandably the ones that worked the longest were upset because they earned “only” the same as the people who worked the shorter day. That means that although the earned the same for the day, they made less per hour than the ones who came later in the day. They were upset.
Do you see what I mean, that none of these stories make sense? Not if you are actually thinking that they have anything to do with agriculture!
Of course, that is the point, they are not stories about farming.They are stories about the Kingdom of God.
When scattering the seed that is the Word of God, we are to be like the nearsighted farmer and scatter seed everywhere. We are to tell everyone about Jesus.
We understand that not everyone will listen – but we are not to prejudge them. Let God do that, it is His job.
Maybe He will spend some time cultivating the rocky ground and clearing the weeds, so that the next person who sews seeds of the Gospel of Christ will find good soil where the bad soil had been.
I, for one was a hard packed path on which nothing could grow. I heard the word, had seed scattered on me, countless times before it started to grow. Thank God that enough people were willing to cast seed in such an unlike spot as my soul.
And, of course, we are not to pull the weeds from the field. Again, that is God’s job to sort out the good from the bad.
Frankly, we would be very bad spiritual weed pullers. We can only see the past and the present. (Although sometimes we can’t see the present because it is hidden by our knowledge ot the past). So we make judgments without knowing the “rest of the story”. God can see clear to the end which makes him the only one who can determine whether it is a weed or valuable plant.
And, in today’s gospel reading, we understand that, while paying farm works a full day’s pay for an hour’s work makes little financial sense, if you realize that when “paying” workers in the Kingdom of God for bringing in souls, it makes sense.
The reward, life eternal, is the same regardless of when you enter into it.Nobody gets half of an eternal life, or a quarter, or and eighth.The reward is the same for all.
So it doesn’t make any difference when you started “working” for God – as a youngster, or as an oldster – the reward will be eternity with God.
Remember, when we work for God, the pay is always fair – and the retirement plan is unbeatable!
Praise God.Amen.

God bless

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All content (except quotations) ©2011Thomas E. Williams

Originally posted Thursday, August 18, 2011