Sunday Sermon

See the Power of the Lord

Isaiah 52:10

The Lord will show his holy power to all the nations. Then everyone on earth will see the salvation of our God.

Five years ago we choose to make a change in our lives. When most people are slowing down preparing to retire, we decided that buying land and build a house out on a gravel road would be a good idea. My wife and I both felt that we were called to this place and there is a sense of peace here but that is not all that is here. There is a garden that takes considerable effort to maintain and takes four people to just keep up with it. Each year at some point in the summer we process thirty or more meat chickens and it is a hot bloody mess. Even when it is fourteen degrees someone has to go feed and water the chickens and check for eggs. Let’s not even talk about cleaning the chicken coop. Why would we take on all of this work and think about doing more? What drives us to do things we never had considered before in our lives? It is because the work and effort bring us joy and fills our lives with purpose and meaning. At some level it is also and extension of our faith. Both I and my wife have found that our faith is not about living by some rules or even struggling with the sin in our lives. Those things are part of our faith but if we focus on just them we miss the bigger picture God calls us to. My faith is grounded in the great adventure God calls me to. Like Abraham, Moses, Mary and Peter we are called to live our lives at a different level then most people. Believers in the living God do not just work at getting by each day but know that there is a greater purpose to each of our lives and God calls us to rise and meet that challenge. The fact is that the world is at war and we are called to step into the battle and fight for our God and His glory. Sin is eating people alive and we are called to speak about the destruction that sin brings and point people to the God who saves us from the death that sin brings. Our faith is not for everyone because it will require we admit we are sinners and need God’s help. Real faith will ask us to love people that hate us and to care about broken and dying people. Those who are serious about faith will be more generous and more giving even when it cost them. Dealing with the temptations that come to us will be painful and learning to be righteous is hard. Learning to live by the concepts and ideas that God teaches is not easy. It seems so much simpler to be selfish and self centered. So why would we be people of faith and the end result is because of the glory of God. In every heart there is a longing to stand in the glory of God but most people just do not have what it takes to submit themselves to the authority of God. Let’s be clear, faith is not about avoiding suffering but about trusting God when we suffer. Are we willing to be what God calls us to be because if we are God’s glory will not only shine on us but out of us and that is something fantastic to think about.

At the center of our faith is the idea that we have a saving God which tells us about who God is and what God thinks about. Jesus on the cross takes all of our sin on himself so that we can be set free from the death that results from sin. The empty tomb shouts to us we have a God who wants to give life and this is such a powerful part of our faith. At the same time I want us to know that God saves us for a purpose. Being saved is not what we are about but it is the starting place for what our faith in God means. Salvation makes it possible to become what God calls us to be. When we accept that salvation God offers we step into a new world that is filled with hope, joy and peace that drives us to the deeper work God wants to do in our lives. God pours out wisdom by the buckets about how to live and what we should be striving to be as people of faith. Peter, Paul and James all write about the idea that once we have allowed the blood of Jesus to wash us clean we will need to move to living by the ideas and concepts God calls us to. Learning the wisdom God has to teach us is where our faith really takes off. The whole purpose of the Holy Spirit living in us is to teach us how to be real people of faith. As we grow in the power of the Holy Spirit we will find that we also grow in the glory of God. We were meant to radiate God’s glory into a world that needs it. The story of Moses always moves me because it tells of Moses spending time with God and because of that Moses’ face shines with God glory. With the Holy Spirit in us we should light up the world and Jesus expects that from us. What things does God want us to be learning in our lives? Do we have the faith to listen to God and then do as we are called to do because if we do amazing things happen?

Someone asked a question I never thought to ask but now that I have heard it I find that it intrigues me. It was a simple question but had real impact about how we think of the world. The question was, “Why does math work?” We all rely on math and it works every time but why does it work? Math is so powerful we can calculate the weight of things far in the distance of space or we can understand the path of an atom because of math. That math works tell us we do not have a random universe but one built by a creator and that points us to God. We live in what I consider to be one of the greatest times in history because the existence God can be seen with such clarity like never before. Science tells us about a God who builds complex things that work with such amazing detail we can only stand and learn how God works. In the last century we learned about the evil that lives in the mens hearts and how if we do not seek the power of God to guide us it can consume human lives like a machine. This connects us to the verse we are considering because it talks about the idea that the glory of God will show itself in such a way that everyone will see it. We live in an age when there is little question about the glory of God and the wisdom God gives us. That does not mean that people will stop rejecting God. People get to choose if they want to follow God or not. The verse says that God will show His Holy power to the nations but it never says people will be forced to accept the glory of God. Just as it is our job to shine the glory of God into the world we live in it is up to each person to accept the hope and peace God offers. Even atheists have come to the place that God’s wisdom is so good that we should go back to it and learn from it even if they reject God. From the Ten Commandments to the Beatitudes God’s glory is shown in what He teaches us about ourselves and about the way we should live. There is no reason in the twenty-first century anyone should question the Holy power of God. We have a God who wants to bring healing to our souls and we need that right now. Dealing with the evil that is out there is not a policy issue but one for the Holy power of God. A world in trouble knows what is right but it chooses to ignore the power that is present because it means we have to bow to the authority of God and we don’t want to do that. Let us rejoice in a God who loves us and who is willing to die to save us from the death sin brings. Look around and see the Holy power of God and find hope in that and let God’s glory fill our lives.

Over the last two thousand years people have tried to suppress or end the church and it fascinates me that people still think that they can stop the flow of God’s glory. In the last two hundred years the power of the church has had a profound effect on the world. Just one example will show how Christians have changed things. Slavery was ended in western civilization because of the effect of the church. Another example is the power of education. A large number of the universities that are renowned around the world were started by people of faith to train people in faith. The power of God working in this world is unescapable by any measure that we can think of. I think it gives proof to the second half of our verse. Our God is a God who saves people and the power of the church to make the world a better place has to be the best proof of this God who brings salvation instead of destruction. The whole point of all that God does is to save us from the death sin brings. The Ten Commandments are there to teach us how to live lives that will bring healing and hope to us. Look at the Beatitudes, they are there to teach us a path to becoming the people God longs for us to be. God does not just want to save us from our sin but He wants to save us from worthless lives and so He gives us the wisdom to make things work in our lives. Nothing is more central to God then us knowing that He wants to change our lives and fill them with hope and joy. Our verse makes the point that everyone can see the salvation that God offers but not everyone takes it and that is important to know. Just because some choose not to take what God offers does not mean that what God offers is not worth anything. Jesus dies for all people and those who reject Jesus does not make what Jesus does any less central to who God is.

It is so great that this verse covers both the power of God and the salvation that God gives. The power of God is not just some ability to judge us and then condemn us but it is a Holy power meaning it is a power used by God to advance God’s purpose. And of course the thing God wants to do more then anything else is to rescue us from the sin that is killing us. God uses His power not to destroy us but to bring healing to us and after millennia of God working in this world it should be obvious to everyone what God is about. We as people of faith need to shout from the tops of mountains the glory and wonder of the power of God. People are dying and we know this God who gives life and seeks to use His power to save us and what are we doing. God calls us to a great adventure and hands us power and wisdom so that we can help other people find the healing power of a God who loves them.