Its About Time
Luke 12:35-40
Anyone who knows me knows I have a hard time managing my time. No, I don’t have a hard time. I just don’t do it. It’s not that I don’t have all the tools I’m supposed to have. I’ve been to all the workshops. I have all the gadgets. It’s just that I’m a spur-of-the-moment kind of guy. If I’m doing something and even when I like what I’m doing, if I get a call from you and I like what you’re doing more, then I’m going to go do what you’re doing. Then I’ll get back to what I was doing.
I don’t ever understand how much time something will take. So I over-commit, thinking, “Sure, I can do that. It won’t take that long.” It always takes a lot longer than I think it will. So when somebody says to me, “Can you come speak at this?” I answer, “Yeah, I’d love to do that,” and it takes a lot of time to get ready to speak and speak well. So I end up being over-committed and frustrated because I’m trying go get too much done.
Despite the national industry that exists on how to manage your time, I’m lousy at it. Most of us are. Most of us don’t understand what time is. There is a wonderful book by Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time. It’s one of those books everybody bought but nobody read. So you read about time from this great physicist and you get to the end of the book and realize he doesn’t understand it either.
Biblically speaking, time is the space God has created for us to have a relationship with Him. And one more thing, you don’t have as much of it as you think you do. That’s why in Luke 12:35-40 Jesus warns His disciples to watch:
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
People were always pressing Jesus. They always wanted to know when it was going to happen. “When are You going to restore the Kingdom of David? When are You going to establish the promise that we got from the Old Testament prophet? When are You going to announce who You are and run off these pesky Romans so we can establish the Kingdom of David right here in Jerusalem and of course, as humble disciples, we can take our place of power with You?”
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Jesus, Brokenness
Jesus, Brokenness
In the May 1998 issue of Guideposts, Norman Vincent Peale told of a distinguished British violinist named Peter Cropper. Cropper's work was so outstanding that the Royal Academy of Music in London had honored him by lending him a priceless 258-year old Stradivarius. It is the dream of every violinist to be able to play such an instrument, but a terrible thing happened while Cropper was performing in Finland. He tripped and fell on top of the Stradivarius and broke it. Cropper's pleasant dream was turned into a horrible nightmare. He was inconsolable.
Then a London violin dealer told him of a master craftsman who could repair the Stradivarius. To make a long story short, the repairs were so perfect they could not even be seen, and the soaring notes of the instrument were more beautiful than they had ever been before – all because the broken parts were placed in the hands of a master craftsman who then applied his healing touch.
Yes, Jesus Christ is the One for whom we have been looking. Something terrible happens, and our lives are broken. Then we turn them over to Jesus Christ who is the Master Craftsman of all time. He takes the broken pieces and puts them back together again, and we are better than new!
In the May 1998 issue of Guideposts, Norman Vincent Peale told of a distinguished British violinist named Peter Cropper. Cropper's work was so outstanding that the Royal Academy of Music in London had honored him by lending him a priceless 258-year old Stradivarius. It is the dream of every violinist to be able to play such an instrument, but a terrible thing happened while Cropper was performing in Finland. He tripped and fell on top of the Stradivarius and broke it. Cropper's pleasant dream was turned into a horrible nightmare. He was inconsolable.
Then a London violin dealer told him of a master craftsman who could repair the Stradivarius. To make a long story short, the repairs were so perfect they could not even be seen, and the soaring notes of the instrument were more beautiful than they had ever been before – all because the broken parts were placed in the hands of a master craftsman who then applied his healing touch.
Yes, Jesus Christ is the One for whom we have been looking. Something terrible happens, and our lives are broken. Then we turn them over to Jesus Christ who is the Master Craftsman of all time. He takes the broken pieces and puts them back together again, and we are better than new!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Love and Submission [Part 7]
Love and Submission [part 7 ]
Notice that I've been saying responsibility rather than authority! When Paul writes about "husbands and wives" in marriage, he only uses the word "authority" once; and he uses it in this sense: the husband does not have authority over his own body, and the wife doesn't have authority over hers. Paul is not saying, "The husband is the authority figure who rules the roost, and women better submit!" He doesn't say that! The idea of her 'submitting' to his head ship, as we'll see in a moment, is not so much he is the ultimate authority because he is a man, and she is a woman.
Let’s see if I can illustrate this for you. In the Marines, we used to say: "You don't salute the man, you salute the uniform!" Same with the President of the United States of America; you might not like the man, but he is the President, whether you like it or not! And he's your President, whether you like it or not! So you don't salute the man, you salute the uniform. In actual fact, a man can function in entirely different situations.
Now the women here in Ephesus won't even question it. They say, “What's new? That's the way we spend our lives, being submissive around here.” And the Apostle Paul said: No, you've got to understand that you are fundamentally equal with those men. You are both made in the image of God. You're both redeemed sinners. You're both indwelt by the Holy Spirit. As a man and a woman, you are fundamentally equal, but the husband has been given responsibility delegated by God, and you need to recognize it!
Notice that I've been saying responsibility rather than authority! When Paul writes about "husbands and wives" in marriage, he only uses the word "authority" once; and he uses it in this sense: the husband does not have authority over his own body, and the wife doesn't have authority over hers. Paul is not saying, "The husband is the authority figure who rules the roost, and women better submit!" He doesn't say that! The idea of her 'submitting' to his head ship, as we'll see in a moment, is not so much he is the ultimate authority because he is a man, and she is a woman.
Let’s see if I can illustrate this for you. In the Marines, we used to say: "You don't salute the man, you salute the uniform!" Same with the President of the United States of America; you might not like the man, but he is the President, whether you like it or not! And he's your President, whether you like it or not! So you don't salute the man, you salute the uniform. In actual fact, a man can function in entirely different situations.
Now the women here in Ephesus won't even question it. They say, “What's new? That's the way we spend our lives, being submissive around here.” And the Apostle Paul said: No, you've got to understand that you are fundamentally equal with those men. You are both made in the image of God. You're both redeemed sinners. You're both indwelt by the Holy Spirit. As a man and a woman, you are fundamentally equal, but the husband has been given responsibility delegated by God, and you need to recognize it!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Love and Submission [Part 6]
Love and Submission...part 6
Now in that normative Christian environment some Christians decide to get married. Guess what they bring into their marriage? Christian attitudes. And what are Christian attitudes? Loving and submitting! So how does it work out in a different culture? Well, it doesn't matter what the culture is; you'll find the same things are operative there. In the fullness of the Spirit, there will be loving and submitting and sacrificial giving to each other. And the wives, particularly, focus on the submitting, as the husbands particularly focus on the loving. You see the scissors need two sides or blades. So much then for the context of Paul's teaching on marriage!
Let's look at the content of Paul's teaching on marriage. Notice again that in 5:22, "Wives, submit to your husbands," is not what it says. What it actually says is, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” Now, why do I stress that? When the women who are sitting in the Church in Ephesus discover that Paul is actually addressing them, they can't believe that for a start off. "Wow! He thinks we are smart enough to understand what he's talking about." They never did that to us before! They just parked us in a corner, and we just sat and chatted. All the men did all the religious stuff, now he's actually writing to us! It's wonderful!
But you know what he just said? He said, "Wives, submit!" They said, "Nothing 'new' there! That's what we've always done, never had any options!" I mean, this guy runs our household. "Boy, if you stepped out of line, you were in big trouble!" No, big difference here! "Wives, submit!" He didn't say, "Wives, submit to your husbands. He said, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord." And their ears pricked up with that. He said, "Submit to your husbands as to the Lord!" Does Paul think my husband looks like the Lord? No woman has ever confused her husband and the Lord! It has never ever happened!
No, what does it mean then? What it means is this: Wives, you don't submit to your husbands ? this is to women in the Greco-Roman culture ? because he's an old tyrant and you've no option. You now submit to your husband, because by the way that you respond to your husband, you are indicating your attitude to the Lord.
How in the world can that happen? Because he is the husband, he's been given in the divine economy certain responsibilities in the marriage and the family. As he has been given these responsibilities, as you respond to him fulfilling those responsibilities, you are actually responding to the One who made him responsible. So the wife now is not simply responding to a tyrant, because she has no option; she is now responding to somebody who, in his capacity as husband, has been invested with responsibility for which he is accountable to God. "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord." That puts a different slant on it, doesn't it?
Now in that normative Christian environment some Christians decide to get married. Guess what they bring into their marriage? Christian attitudes. And what are Christian attitudes? Loving and submitting! So how does it work out in a different culture? Well, it doesn't matter what the culture is; you'll find the same things are operative there. In the fullness of the Spirit, there will be loving and submitting and sacrificial giving to each other. And the wives, particularly, focus on the submitting, as the husbands particularly focus on the loving. You see the scissors need two sides or blades. So much then for the context of Paul's teaching on marriage!
Let's look at the content of Paul's teaching on marriage. Notice again that in 5:22, "Wives, submit to your husbands," is not what it says. What it actually says is, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” Now, why do I stress that? When the women who are sitting in the Church in Ephesus discover that Paul is actually addressing them, they can't believe that for a start off. "Wow! He thinks we are smart enough to understand what he's talking about." They never did that to us before! They just parked us in a corner, and we just sat and chatted. All the men did all the religious stuff, now he's actually writing to us! It's wonderful!
But you know what he just said? He said, "Wives, submit!" They said, "Nothing 'new' there! That's what we've always done, never had any options!" I mean, this guy runs our household. "Boy, if you stepped out of line, you were in big trouble!" No, big difference here! "Wives, submit!" He didn't say, "Wives, submit to your husbands. He said, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord." And their ears pricked up with that. He said, "Submit to your husbands as to the Lord!" Does Paul think my husband looks like the Lord? No woman has ever confused her husband and the Lord! It has never ever happened!
No, what does it mean then? What it means is this: Wives, you don't submit to your husbands ? this is to women in the Greco-Roman culture ? because he's an old tyrant and you've no option. You now submit to your husband, because by the way that you respond to your husband, you are indicating your attitude to the Lord.
How in the world can that happen? Because he is the husband, he's been given in the divine economy certain responsibilities in the marriage and the family. As he has been given these responsibilities, as you respond to him fulfilling those responsibilities, you are actually responding to the One who made him responsible. So the wife now is not simply responding to a tyrant, because she has no option; she is now responding to somebody who, in his capacity as husband, has been invested with responsibility for which he is accountable to God. "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord." That puts a different slant on it, doesn't it?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Love and Submission [Part 5]
Love and Submission...part 5
And that's the context; that is the grammatical context in which Paul now says to wives, "Wives, submit to your husband as to the Lord." (Eph. 5:22). So where does it all start? It all starts with husbands and wives being filled with the Spirit. And how can you tell that they're filled with the Spirit? By their speaking, by their singing, by their thanksgiving, and by their submitting one to the other. In that context, where you've got a husband and a wife filled with the Spirit, and you can tell it by their speaking and their singing and their thanksgiving, and their submitting, in that context wives are submitting to their husbands. Now we've moved a long way from simply saying, "Wives, submit!" But if you take a text out of its context you're left with a 'con.'
The third aspect of this context we need to recognize is what I would call the spiritual context. That starts in 5:1, which says: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children." That is a command; it is a principle for all believers. Are you a dearly loved child of God? The answer should be: "Yes!" Than this is what dearly loved children of God do! They seek to imitate God – to become more like Him.
How do they that? They do it by living a life of love. But how do they live a life of love? They do it just as Christ loved us – He gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is the overarching rule of a Christian. Christians are dearly loved of God, and they bask in the love of God. Because they bask in the love of God, they want to imitate Him; they want to live more like his Son, Jesus, who lived a life of love and of submitting gladly to the will of God.
So what is it you expect to see in your average Christian? You'd expect to see two things: A loving attitude and a submissive spirit. Why? Because that was Jesus, and we wish to emulate Him.
You say, “How in the world can you live in this world and in this situation, and in my marriage in particular, with a loving attitude and a submissive spirit?” The answer is: You can do it in the fullness of the Spirit. So do you have a context here? You don't start with "Wives, submit to your husband;" you start with "As dearly loved children, be imitators of God."
What that means is that you become more like Christ. What was Christ like? He was loving! How did he demonstrate His love? By submitting to the will of God, and sacrificially giving Himself on the cross. Then emulate His example! You say, "I can't!" Yes, you can in the fullness of the Spirit. If you're living in the fullness of the Spirit, this is what will be showing: your speaking, your singing, your thanksgiving, and your submitting. Submitting to who? One another – that's what Christians do.
And that's the context; that is the grammatical context in which Paul now says to wives, "Wives, submit to your husband as to the Lord." (Eph. 5:22). So where does it all start? It all starts with husbands and wives being filled with the Spirit. And how can you tell that they're filled with the Spirit? By their speaking, by their singing, by their thanksgiving, and by their submitting one to the other. In that context, where you've got a husband and a wife filled with the Spirit, and you can tell it by their speaking and their singing and their thanksgiving, and their submitting, in that context wives are submitting to their husbands. Now we've moved a long way from simply saying, "Wives, submit!" But if you take a text out of its context you're left with a 'con.'
The third aspect of this context we need to recognize is what I would call the spiritual context. That starts in 5:1, which says: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children." That is a command; it is a principle for all believers. Are you a dearly loved child of God? The answer should be: "Yes!" Than this is what dearly loved children of God do! They seek to imitate God – to become more like Him.
How do they that? They do it by living a life of love. But how do they live a life of love? They do it just as Christ loved us – He gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is the overarching rule of a Christian. Christians are dearly loved of God, and they bask in the love of God. Because they bask in the love of God, they want to imitate Him; they want to live more like his Son, Jesus, who lived a life of love and of submitting gladly to the will of God.
So what is it you expect to see in your average Christian? You'd expect to see two things: A loving attitude and a submissive spirit. Why? Because that was Jesus, and we wish to emulate Him.
You say, “How in the world can you live in this world and in this situation, and in my marriage in particular, with a loving attitude and a submissive spirit?” The answer is: You can do it in the fullness of the Spirit. So do you have a context here? You don't start with "Wives, submit to your husband;" you start with "As dearly loved children, be imitators of God."
What that means is that you become more like Christ. What was Christ like? He was loving! How did he demonstrate His love? By submitting to the will of God, and sacrificially giving Himself on the cross. Then emulate His example! You say, "I can't!" Yes, you can in the fullness of the Spirit. If you're living in the fullness of the Spirit, this is what will be showing: your speaking, your singing, your thanksgiving, and your submitting. Submitting to who? One another – that's what Christians do.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Love and Submission [Part 4]
Love and Submission...part 4
Next notice the grammatical context in which Paul is writing. Verse 22 says, "Wives, submit to your husband as to the Lord." Some women absolutely hate that verse! Well, I've got some good news for you! That verse was originally written in Greek, not in English. When it was written in Greek, the word 'submit' was not there! You say, "Why didn't you tell me this 35 years ago?” Well, the reason, I didn't tell you that 35 years ago, is I didn't know.
The word submit is not there in the Greek. You say, "How in the world did it get in there then in the English? Well, the translators know that you cannot have a sentence without a verb. So they said, "We need a verb!" If you look in the previous verse, verse 21, it says, "Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ, wives, to your husbands as to the Lord." In the Greek it makes perfect sense. You don't need to “submit” in the second sentence because it borrows the verb from the previous sentence. You say, "Well, what's all the fuss about then? No fuss, it's just explaining something to you: you cannot separate verse 22 from verse 21.
So now you get the grammatical context, which gives a very, very different light on it. You don't start with "Wives submit to your husbands"; you start with “Submitting to each other as unto the Lord,” and in that context Paul says, "Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord." “Submitting” is the accurate translation here; it's what we call a participle.
I just mention that to you quickly because there are three other participles in addition to submitting in verse 21: singing in verse 19; speaking in verse 19; and giving thanks in verse 20. Submitting, Giving Thanks, Singing, and Speaking. The important thing about that is this: these participles are like big clusters of grapes. You've got a cluster called Submitting; and you've got one called Thanking; and you've got one called Speaking; and you've got one called Singing. These clusters of grapes all need a branch to hang on, that's what a participle needs. It needs a verb on which to hang. The verb, on which these participles hang is found in verse 18, where it says: "Don't be drunk with wine, which leads to all kinds of wrong living; rather, be filled with the Spirit." (Eph. 5:18)
Next notice the grammatical context in which Paul is writing. Verse 22 says, "Wives, submit to your husband as to the Lord." Some women absolutely hate that verse! Well, I've got some good news for you! That verse was originally written in Greek, not in English. When it was written in Greek, the word 'submit' was not there! You say, "Why didn't you tell me this 35 years ago?” Well, the reason, I didn't tell you that 35 years ago, is I didn't know.
The word submit is not there in the Greek. You say, "How in the world did it get in there then in the English? Well, the translators know that you cannot have a sentence without a verb. So they said, "We need a verb!" If you look in the previous verse, verse 21, it says, "Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ, wives, to your husbands as to the Lord." In the Greek it makes perfect sense. You don't need to “submit” in the second sentence because it borrows the verb from the previous sentence. You say, "Well, what's all the fuss about then? No fuss, it's just explaining something to you: you cannot separate verse 22 from verse 21.
So now you get the grammatical context, which gives a very, very different light on it. You don't start with "Wives submit to your husbands"; you start with “Submitting to each other as unto the Lord,” and in that context Paul says, "Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord." “Submitting” is the accurate translation here; it's what we call a participle.
I just mention that to you quickly because there are three other participles in addition to submitting in verse 21: singing in verse 19; speaking in verse 19; and giving thanks in verse 20. Submitting, Giving Thanks, Singing, and Speaking. The important thing about that is this: these participles are like big clusters of grapes. You've got a cluster called Submitting; and you've got one called Thanking; and you've got one called Speaking; and you've got one called Singing. These clusters of grapes all need a branch to hang on, that's what a participle needs. It needs a verb on which to hang. The verb, on which these participles hang is found in verse 18, where it says: "Don't be drunk with wine, which leads to all kinds of wrong living; rather, be filled with the Spirit." (Eph. 5:18)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Love and Submission [Part 3]
Love and Submission...part 3
The wife was regarded not as a person, but as a piece of property. She was not allowed to make decisions of her own, particularly in the area of religion. The father and husband decided what everybody's religion was going to be. She had no rights whatsoever. So as far as the women, the children, and the slaves were concerned, they didn't rate at all.
So when Paul came and preached the Gospel, this was a dramatic intervention in their culture because he told these people: You're all created in the image of God. God loves all of you. You slaves, God loves you. You women, God created you in the image of God, as much as He created your husbands in the image of God. Christ died for all of you. All of you are sinners, you have that in common – men, women, children, slaves, wives, husbands, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
He said: Christ died for all of you that you might be reconciled to God. If you're reconciled to God the Holy Spirit will come into your life, and He will baptize you into the Body of Christ, and He will give you gifts. In the Body of Christ, men, women, children, slaves, slave owners, husbands, wives, you will be all one in Christ Jesus. “For in Christ there's neither Jew, nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor slave owner.” We’re all one in Christ Jesus!
That's old hat to us; we've known that ever since we've known anything about Christianity. But this was a radical message to the people to whom Paul was preaching. The women couldn't believe their ears, "What is he saying about us?" The slaves couldn't believe what they were hearing. "What is he saying about us?" The men, they were having fits! "Wow, these women might start believing this crazy character. They might start to thing they're as important as we are. These slaves might get all kinds of big ideas about themselves. We will lose control, and if we lose control in the household, it's only a matter of time until law and order breaks down in the household, and then the whole of our society will collapse.”
That's why Christianity was regarded as dangerous and subversive at that time. How many of you think that the man in the street in America today regards Christianity as dangerous and subversive? Now the man in the street in America generally regards Christianity as fundamentally weak-kneed and irrelevant. That will give you some idea of the change in culture.
So the Apostle Paul is bringing a message to those women who are hearing something so exciting, so radical, and so emancipating that it's very important that he teaches them very, very carefully how to enjoy their freedom in Christ while living within their culture. Come to think of it, that's what we have to do today! How can we live uniquely free in Christ, within our culture, so that we don't become a scandal to the name of Christ in the culture of which we are a part?
The wife was regarded not as a person, but as a piece of property. She was not allowed to make decisions of her own, particularly in the area of religion. The father and husband decided what everybody's religion was going to be. She had no rights whatsoever. So as far as the women, the children, and the slaves were concerned, they didn't rate at all.
So when Paul came and preached the Gospel, this was a dramatic intervention in their culture because he told these people: You're all created in the image of God. God loves all of you. You slaves, God loves you. You women, God created you in the image of God, as much as He created your husbands in the image of God. Christ died for all of you. All of you are sinners, you have that in common – men, women, children, slaves, wives, husbands, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
He said: Christ died for all of you that you might be reconciled to God. If you're reconciled to God the Holy Spirit will come into your life, and He will baptize you into the Body of Christ, and He will give you gifts. In the Body of Christ, men, women, children, slaves, slave owners, husbands, wives, you will be all one in Christ Jesus. “For in Christ there's neither Jew, nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor slave owner.” We’re all one in Christ Jesus!
That's old hat to us; we've known that ever since we've known anything about Christianity. But this was a radical message to the people to whom Paul was preaching. The women couldn't believe their ears, "What is he saying about us?" The slaves couldn't believe what they were hearing. "What is he saying about us?" The men, they were having fits! "Wow, these women might start believing this crazy character. They might start to thing they're as important as we are. These slaves might get all kinds of big ideas about themselves. We will lose control, and if we lose control in the household, it's only a matter of time until law and order breaks down in the household, and then the whole of our society will collapse.”
That's why Christianity was regarded as dangerous and subversive at that time. How many of you think that the man in the street in America today regards Christianity as dangerous and subversive? Now the man in the street in America generally regards Christianity as fundamentally weak-kneed and irrelevant. That will give you some idea of the change in culture.
So the Apostle Paul is bringing a message to those women who are hearing something so exciting, so radical, and so emancipating that it's very important that he teaches them very, very carefully how to enjoy their freedom in Christ while living within their culture. Come to think of it, that's what we have to do today! How can we live uniquely free in Christ, within our culture, so that we don't become a scandal to the name of Christ in the culture of which we are a part?
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