 |
| Rev. Brent Russett |
Pastor of
Sunnyside Wesleyan Church in Ottawa:
http://www.sunnysidechurchottawa.com/ _______________________________________________________
PODCAST LINK to CFRA broadcast - Sunday, October 4th, 2015:
‘A Recover Pharisee’
Good
morning. And welcome to good news in the morning. My name is Brent Russett. I am the Senior
Pastor at Sunnyside Wesleyan Church. It is my pleasure to look at some of
life’s challenges, and then bring you some good news in the morning.
I am glad that you tuned your dial
to CFRA. I want you to know that you can also find Good News in the morning on
the internet at Goodnewsinthemorning.ca . There you keep up to date with what
is happening around Good News Christian Ministries.
This morning’s program is sponsored
by Rev. Dr. Allan Churchill, the founder of Good News Christian Ministries.
Thanks so much for your service to the kingdom, and for your generosity to see
this ministry continue.
I want to say a special welcome to
our international listeners, who listen via the internet. We are glad that you
have found us, and are finding this ministry an encouragement.
Over the summer I took some
significant time off to restore my soul. It was good to read, and think and
pray – and ride my motorcycle.
I thought today that I would pick
one observation that has struck me over the past little while. I am also going
to draw from a writer I have come to appreciate in the last little while named
John Burke. What I have to say probably applies more to church people, but I
think many of you who have never been to church, will appreciate what I have to
say.
I have had more time to read the
news lately. Christians, and especially evangelical Christians are not very
well liked. That is one of the “Captain Obvious” statements. If you travel in
the U.S. or Canada, or Europe or New Zealand and you ask non-religious people
to describe Christians, then you know what they will say. They are
“judgemental,” and “narrow-minded,” and “arrogant,” and hypocritical”, and “bigoted.”
I take some consolation in the fact
that the 2nd and 3rd century Christians were misunderstood as well. They were
accused of being cannibals, because they got together and partook in the body
and blood of Christ. They were accused of incest, because they called fellow
Christians brother and sister. So Christ followers have a long history of being
misunderstood.
Even Jesus was misunderstood. But if
you were to ask non-religious people in Jesus’ day to describe Jesus, there one
word answers would be “loving,” “kind,” “compassionate,” “wise,” merciful,”
‘truthful,” “hopeful,” “helping,” “caring,” “life-giving.”
I have been asking myself, why are
the one word descriptions of who we are, not more like the one we claim to
follow.
Over the last number of years I have
probably spent more time personally in the gospels, (the first four books of
the New Testament) than any other place
in scripture.
I am struck with this…..--- that
Jesus’ descriptions of the Pharisees were very similar to average person’s
descriptions of Christian today.
In fact the way Pharisees talked
about people (air quotes) “outside their church circles” matches the way
Christian groups I have been a part of talk about people.----- Sometimes, I
realize, I have been less like Jesus and more like a Pharisee.
Here is the thing. No one ever
intentionally sets out to fall into the trap of the Pharisees. It happens
slowly, - gradually, little by little, year by year, in ways that can rob us of
becoming the kind of people Jesus intended us to be. People who actually follow
Jesus in action and attitude. I am convinced that we all must fight pharisaical
creep.
Now for those of you who are still
getting to know the New Testament, and for those of you who have always had a
tainted view of the Pharisees, let me tell you a little about them.
The Pharisees were not all bad. If
you see them through polarizing glasses,- all good, all bad---- you set
yourself up to be blind to the same tendencies that they had.
The Pharisees were a Jewish
religious sect that were the spiritual reformers of their day. They were
concerned about the moral decay that they saw around them. They saw the
influence of the Roman culture eating away at their countries moral fiber and
knew that they had to do something about it.
Matthew 9:11 says that they were
concerned about God’s laws, just as many Christians have similar concerns over
moral reform.
John 5:39 says that the Pharisees
diligently studied the scriptures. They loved the scriptures. They prided
themselves in being true to Moses and the prophets. They ascertained and that
there were 613 laws, and they followed them all.
The problem was, as Matthew 23
points out, they studied the bible diligently but they missed the heart of it
all. It is possible to study the Bible
intently and miss Jesus’ mission entirely.
The Pharisees were evangelistic.
They valued making converts.
Matthew
23:15 (NRSV)
15
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to
make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of
hell as yourselves.
The Pharisees were missional, they
were just on the wrong mission.
Is it possible for Christians to
love the word of God, be passionate about moral reform, pride themselves in
teaching the truth, to be on the wrong mission. – Absolutely.
As John Burke put it,
“Hey, if Jesus called Peter “the
rock” and yet Peter was deceived at least twice, if James and John missed
Jesus’ heart several times, if Paul was zealous for God yet persecuted the
church… who do I think I am if I proudly say, “Not me!” Phariseeism can sneak
up on all of us!”
I am struck by Jesus words in John
9. Jesus had just healed a blind man, and this man was called up before the
ruling counsel and was reprimanded. Afterwards Jesus found the healed man and
verse 35 records their conversation.
John
9:35–41 (NLT)
35
When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe
in the Son of Man?*”
36
The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37
“You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38
“Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39
Then Jesus told him,* “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to
the blind and to show those who think they see* that they are blind.”
40
Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying
we’re blind?”
41
“If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain
guilty because you claim you can see.
The Pharisees asked Jesus “Are you
saying we are blind?” I wonder what Jesus would say to the church if we asked
him the same question.
Jesus says to the Pharisees, “You
remain guilty because you claim you see.”
It seems to me that humility is the
only cure for spiritual blindness.
But humility is really hard when you
believe, when you know you are right. We have the revelation of God. We know
the scripture. More than that we have tried to put the scripture into practice.
Because we have tried to put the
scripture into practice, we know we give more money to charity than the average
Canadian, we know we volunteer more than the average Canadian. In general
Christians tend to be happier than the average Canadian.
Not only that but we have stayed away from the
things that tend to destroy people.. Our lives are not controlled by alcohol or
drugs.
Most of the vices we do have - are
socially acceptable.
Luke
18:9–14 (NLT)
9
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own
righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to
pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The
Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer*: ‘I thank you, God, that I am
not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t
commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a
week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
13
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to
heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be
merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the
Pharisee, returned home justified before God.
The lack of humility is very
unattractive to God. --- It is really
unattractive to people outside the church as well. Yet there is a tendency in
all of us towards Pharisaical creep.
Music: The Pharisee and
the Sinner ---Sam Waddell 5:43
One
of my favourite paintings is Rembrandt`s masterpiece The Return of the Prodigal
Son. It is housed in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg Russia and depicts
the moving scene in Jesus` parable when, filled with compassion` the father ran
towards his wayward son. The son had squandered his inheritance with loose
living, but came begging for mercy. The father embraced him saying, `My son was
dead but now is alive, was lost but now he`s found` Jesus paints this
beautiful, priceless picture in answer to the religious people`s complaint that
he “welcomes sinners.” The (Rembrandt)
painting is worth a fortune.
Now, just imagine if one day you
visit St. Petersburg, and there in a back-alley dumpster you discover
Rembrandt’s masterpiece, but it’s hardly recognizable. It’s covered in mud and
dirt, it’s stained and the canvas has been torn. You wouldn’t recognize it at
all, except you notice the famous hand of the father on the ragged son’s back.
How would you treat the painting?
Like trash? It’s covered in mud, stained and torn – is it worthless? Do you
treat it like it’s worthless? Or would you treat it like a million dollar
masterpiece that needs to be handled with care and restored? I’m guessing that
all of us could see past the mud and even the damage to recognize the immense
value inherent in this one-of-a-kind work of art – simply because it was
created by Rembrandt’s own hand.
We wouldn’t try to clean it up
ourselves; we would bring it to a master art restorer, who could delicately
restore it to its original condition.
So why do we struggle to treat
people like the immensely valuable, one-of-a-kind Masterpiece God created with
his own hand? John Burke, in his book Unshockable Love” said, “As I study the
life and interactions of Jesus with very sin-stained, muddied people, it
becomes evident that Jesus could see something worth dying for in all the
people he encountered. Jesus could see past the mud to the Masterpiece God
wanted to restore. (Unshockable Love, John Burke Kindle 211-212)
One of the things God reminded me of
this summer is that what you focus on matters. That is true in your spiritual
life, that is true in people. The Pharisees had a tendency to focus on the mud.
Jesus focused on the masterpiece.
I am convinced that most people can
sense your attitude towards them. They can sense if you value them or if you
focus on the mud.
Jesus demonstrated a spiritual
vision that he wants to impart to us- to see the Masterpiece he sees in us, and
to renovate us to become people whose hearts reflect what God sees, under even
the most sin stained life.
God is all about grace. Undeserved favour.
He cleanses and restores will people.
Hear the word of the Lord,
Ephesians
2:8–10 (NLT)
8
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for
this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we
have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned
for us long ago.
The word translated masterpiece or
workmanship could be translated a work of art. Do you realize that you are
God’s work of art? Next time someone says you’re a piece of work, just say
“That’s right, I am! – Artwork buddy!”
But not only are you a work of art –
but so is the homeless person, who is there because of circumstances or bad
choices or mental illness, and so is the porn addict, and so is the serial
womanizer, and so is the manipulating corporate ladder climber, and so is
religious hypocrite. It is possible to Pharisaical about Pharisees The question
is, do you stare at the mud, or do you stare at the masterpiece.
When you look at yourself, do you
stare at the mud, or do you focus on the masterpiece. Eph. 2:8 says God saved you by his grace. When a
person in the first century heard the word saved, they would think of being
carried to safety, made whole, or restored to its original condition.
Too often we are like the Pharisees
who focus on the mud. When we do that we have a tendency to get into mud
management. But we don’t have the capability to clean the mud off a
masterpiece. That is the masters job. He saved you, by his grace. You don’t
save yourself. The church doesn’t save anyone.
You see if you get this then church
becomes a place for muddy people. Churches should have signs are their front
doors, “no perfect people allowed.” I
have known some people who think with the life they lived that if they walked
into church they would be struck by lightning. If that is you, I want you to know
that God doesn’t explodes his masterpieces, he is in the business of restoring
them.
It is not the church’s job to save
people. The gospel isn’t about mud management, it is about turning our lives
over to the one who really gives life. The only people Jesus had words of
condemnation for were those who pretended that they were perfect. No perfect
people allowed.
The gospel is about life. It is
about God’s view of us. It is about God’s gift to us.
John
3:16 (NLT)
16
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave* his one and only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
I had a friend say to me, “We are
all recovering Pharisees.” If there is one affliction I want to be healed of it
is of being a Pharisee.
There are some of you who can
identify with the Rembrandt painting I described. You feel pretty stained, and
torn, and covered in mud. I want you to
know that when Jesus sees you, he sees a masterpiece, a work of art, and that
he is in the restoration business. If you are willing to let him restore you,
he is more than willing to begin the process with you.
Some of you may even have been kept
away from Jesus by the Christian Pharisees you have encountered. Let me
apologize to you. I am sorry if the church has hurt you. Please don’t let the Pharisees you have known, keep you from Jesus. Jesus
loves you. He wants what is best for you.
In a few moments I am going to lead in a
prayer, that will introduce you to Jesus will
start the restoration process. If that is something that you would like to do,
I would invite you to pray that prayer with me.
For those of you who can see, as I
have been talking that you have experienced Pharisaical creep, - you focus on
the mud rather than the art work – in your own life, and in others' lives –
then I would like to invite you to take this time to repent, and allow God to
give you a humble heart – a heart that is not about rules, but is about life.
LET’S
PRAY TOGETHER,
Lord Jesus, Thank you so much for valuing
us. Your Word says that we are your masterpiece; we’re your workmanship. And, Lord,
we find that hard to believe, sometimes. But, Lord, for those who are struggling,
I pray that you would give them the ability to see their value; the value that you
have placed upon them.
And, Lord, there are some people you
are talking to, right now, who you would like to transform their lives. Lord, I
ask that they would simply talk to you and invite You into their lives. And, Lord,
I ask that you would just do some amazing things in their lives.
Lord, I pray that you would come and
work with them, so that they would know you well.
I ask this in Jesus’ name, AMEN.
“
If Good News in the Morning has been a factor in your journey of faith, we
would love to hear your story. Nothing could encourage us more in this
work. Contact us by e-mail or Twitter
via the web site –goodnewsinthemorning.ca
If you are from the Ottawa area, I
want to encourage you Save the date of Saturday November 14th. Good
news in the morning will be hosting luncheon and fundraising event, with the
Keynote speaker being CFRA’s own John Council. . It will be held at St.
Timothy’s Presbyterian Church on Alta Vista. This event will start at noon. So
mark that date on your calendar’s. November 14.
And Thank you for listening this
morning. I want to especially thank Rev. Dr. Allan Churchill for sponsoring
this program today. You have really blessed us. This program is on the air by
the grace of God and donations of many faithful people. If you can help
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1W0.
I want to put a challenge out to
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May
you know Jesus Christ personally and
profoundly. May the Holy Spirit reside
deep within your heart . And may the
heavenly Father surround you with His constant and abiding and accompanying
love
By Rev. Brent Russett
Pastor of Sunnyside Wesleyan Church in Ottawa:
_______________________________________________________
PODCAST LINK to the CFRA broadcast:
PODCAST LINK to the CFRA broadcast:
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