Pay attention and be real

Ephesians 1:1-3

It is common for preachers to be a bit depressed on Sunday afternoons and Mondays. Google “post-preaching depression” and see why I say this. I know I often feel this way. A pastor from North Carolina in the US wrote on his blog:
The funniest thing, and I’m hoping some preachers will really laugh at this, is how to be at a meal after preaching.  Okay, so you’ve just unzipped yourself from neck to navel and let your innards be on display for an hour (at least that is how I do it).  Now, lunch table conversation.  How about the message?  “It was good.  I really enjoyed it.”  Oh, okay, cool.  I don’t need everybody to build me up all the time, but I’ve just got done talking about things that are more important to me than anything else and I’m still in that zone.  How am I supposed to now talk about some tv program or funny cat video on youtube or the weather?  I don’t know how to do that.

Another pastor wrote:
There have been Sunday afternoons and evenings where I really wondered who I thought I was fooling. I’ve usually realized that this was the voice of the enemy trying to undermine what God was doing through this earthen vessel. But there’s some ‘flesh’ involved in this too: I poured out my heart on Sunday, but the world (or at least this church) didn’t change. Kind of arrogant, I know, but my flesh can be like that.

I work all week on the sermon for Sunday. I have been taking Sunday night to Monday night as a Sabbath, so I like to look at the passage for the next week on Sunday afternoon if I can. Sometimes I read through the commentaries on my Sabbath, which is relaxing and good for my soul. I am not trying to figure out what to preach, only getting background and depth. Through the week I am thinking about the passage. I talk through the text with Patrick and Elliot on Tuesday morning and I often have conversations during the week that relate to the theme for Sunday. So when it comes to figuring out an outline and writing the sermon in the second half of the week, my thinking is usually pretty well developed.

I write a draft of the sermon, sometimes on Thursday, more often on Friday or Saturday. Then I take some time to let it settle and then rewrite it. Most times I edit the sermon five or six times. Very often I sit on Saturday night with a sermon I could preach but knowing there is something more needed at the end. As I go to sleep, an idea sometimes comes to me and in the morning, I read through the sermon and add one line, perhaps two or three and the sermon is ready.

It is frustrating to write a sermon. I have learned glorious truth and when I put it on paper, it loses some of its grandeur. For this reason I love this quote by 19th century French writer, Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary.
“Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars.”

I want to preach sermons that will melt the stars but can only tap out crude rhythms. I want the world to change and fear that all I did was preach a sermon.

We had a wonderful Holy Week. The Seder meal, Good Friday Service, Easter Sunrise, Easter breakfast, Easter service – all were wonderful. If I were being given a job performance review, the reviewer would say that I performed up to expectations. So when someone tells me, “Good service,” or “Good sermon,” I am appreciative but I want so much more than that.

I don’t want to meet expectations. I want to preach truth that changes lives. I can’t imagine Jesus being pleased by hearing someone say, “Good teaching Jesus.” In fact, do you remember when a woman in the crowd was enthusiastic about Jesus’ teaching and she cried out: (Luke 11:27–28)
“Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”
28 [Jesus] replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

The woman was trying to say, “Nice teaching,” and Jesus told her, “Do what you heard me tell you to do.” Jesus and Paul knew they were talking about matters of life and death. They were not trying to gain popularity. They were not trying to become more successful. They were not trying to gain more members. They were working to rescue people and set them on the direction to eternal life. They were working to gather people who would work with them to bring their generation into the kingdom of God.

Frederick Buechner writes about preaching.
In the front pews the old ladies turn up their hearing aids, and a young lady slips her six-year-old a Lifesaver and a Magic Marker. A college sophomore home for vacation, who is there because he was dragged there, slumps forward with his chin in his hand.
The vice-president of a bank who twice that week has seriously contemplated suicide places his hymnal in the rack. A pregnant girl feels the life stir inside her. A high-school math teacher, who for twenty years has managed to keep his homosexuality a secret for the most part even from himself, creases his order of service down the center with his thumbnail and tucks it under his knee…
The preacher pulls the little cord that turns on the lectern light and deals out his note cards, like a riverboat gambler. The stakes have never been higher.

I don’t want to entertain you with an interesting sermon. I don’t want to satisfy you that you have had a good church experience. I want to lift up Jesus and the truth of the Bible in such a way that you walk more closely to the center of the path that leads to the Kingdom of God. I want to encourage you to forgive yourself and walk again with Jesus. I want to wean you from your attachment to the world and all that makes you think that its temporary treasures are worth living for.

So I will not preach in the coming weeks about how you can become healthier and wealthier. I will not preach this week about how you can realize your potential. This morning I will preach an overview of Ephesians, a letter that is jam packed with capital T Truth, truth that will change your life, set you on the right direction, lead you to eternal life, and help you take others with you.

I will come back at the end of the sermon to talk about your responsibility in hearing this and other sermons.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

Ephesians is one of four letters Paul wrote while in prison in Rome and was written a year after Paul wrote Colossians, from which I preached last week on Easter Sunday. He was 56 years old, just two to four years away from his death at the hand of the Emperor Nero. His body was wracked with pain from all the beatings and floggings he had received over the years. In addition to his physical suffering, Paul was consumed by his concern for the churches he had planted.

When he wrote to the Corinthians about all the ways he had suffered, he listed his afflictions: (II Corinthians 11:23-27)
I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

This is an impressive list and Paul listed all these things to defend himself against the “super apostles” who were leading the church in Corinth astray. But at the end he adds this part of his suffering, (II Corinthians 11:28-29)
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

Preaching and teaching was not a career for Paul. It was not his occupation. It was his passion and he sacrificed himself for this calling. It was Jesus who called Paul to preach to the Gentiles and Paul gave himself completely to Jesus in obedience to his call.

It was a blessing that he was put under house arrest. If he had been free to travel, he might not have lived as long as he did and he probably would not have written these letters that have fed the church for centuries.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Unlike Philemon, Colossians, and Philippians, the other three letters written when Paul was in prison, Ephesians was not written to a specific church or person. Although we read, “To all the saints in Ephesus,” in verse two, the earliest copies of Paul’s letter do not contain “Ephesus”. There is space left for each city where the letter was read to insert its name. Paul wrote this as a general letter to be read in all the cities of the region of Ephesus.

This is why, if you go to the end of the letter, you do not find the personal greetings in Paul’s other letters. There is no greeting sent from Aristarchus, Mark, Justus, or Epaphras as we find in Colossians. There are no greetings sent to any of those Paul knows in the church. There are no personal instructions. This is a general letter sent to the saints, the holy children of God, living in the region of what is today Turkey.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a letter full of grace. As Paul talks about the amazing truth that God made himself known to us and brought us into relationship with himself, he uses the word “grace” over and over again to express what God has done. Twelve times the word grace appears in this short letter.

Paul had experienced this grace. He had led the effort to destroy the cult of the followers of Jesus and then, when he was on the road to Damascus with the charge to arrest the followers of Jesus in that city, he was met by Jesus who asked him, (Acts 26:14)
‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

From being the chief persecutor of the church, Saul, who took on his Greek name, Paul, became the chief evangelist of the church. But Paul never forgot the grace extended to him by Jesus. (1 Corinthians 15:9)
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.

Why did Paul write this letter? I think Paul was aware of his mortality and desperately wanted his message to be heard. Because he could not go himself to teach and preach, he did the next best thing. He sent one of his disciples to take this letter with his teaching and read it to the different communities of followers of Jesus.

Unlike his other letters, Paul is not addressing a particular problem or concern. In Ephesians Paul is saying, here is truth you cannot live without. If you know nothing else, this is what you need to know. This letter is packed with exceptional content.

Paul begins his letter with one long sentence of 202 words, verses 3-14. One commentator called it: “the most monstrous sentence conglomeration … I have ever met in the Greek language.” We will break up that sentence into the next three sermons.

In verse three Paul jumps into his massive sentence of blessing with the first 22 of his 202 words.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

These blessings come tumbling out as Paul goes on to refer to election, adoption, God’s will, his grace, redemption, wisdom, the mystery, and the consummation of all things. We have wonderful sermons to look forward to.

Patrick, Elliot, Clement, and I will preach from Ephesians up to the end of June and then come back to Ephesians next year after Easter. We have a wonderful journey ahead of us. Here are four key verses In Ephesians to whet your appetite:
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 5:22, 28
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord…In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Ephesians 6:11-12
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

How can you best absorb the truth of these sermons to come? We who preach will struggle to preach sermons that will melt the stars. How can you take the truth of these sermons to heart and allow them to change your life?

I want to show a short video that some of you who have been at RIC for more than a couple years may have seen before.

James 3
Isn’t that a disturbing video? Isn’t it painful to see the husband and father giving praise in church after all the events of the morning? Only the little girls seem to be more honest in church about who they are.

When we come to church we put on our best face. Is that helpful in any way? We who preach do our best to present the truth of Scripture as clearly and powerfully as we can. It is your responsibility to be open and vulnerable so you can hear the Holy Spirit speak to you through the sermon and take it in to your heart and mind.

If you put on a moral mask of righteousness when you step out of your apartment or villa and head off to church, that will be a barrier to the truth of Jesus that is trying to come into your life. The problem with putting on a mask is that it not only tries to fool other people into thinking you are better than you are, it also tries to fool you into thinking that you are better than you are.

The truth is that we are all broken people. You may look around at the people in church and think that is not true. You may look at certain people and think they have it all together. It may seem they are living a wonderful Christian life. They may appear to be models for how we all should be. But I tell you that we are all broken. As pastor, I get to see more of this than most of you. I know the brokenness many people are dealing with. And I know the brokenness in my own life I have to deal with.

Eugene O’Niell, an Irish-American playwright who knew a lot about brokenness, wrote:
“Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.”

The Pharisees thought they were righteous and so did not see their need for Jesus. When they accused Jesus of hanging out with sinners, what did Jesus tell them? (Mark 2:17)
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

You don’t have to be perfect to come to RIC. In fact, I know you are not perfect so don’t play that role. Be open, be honest. When you are in pain, allow others around you to hug you and comfort and encourage you. If you want to allow the truth of God to come into your life, get rid of the mask, be open and vulnerable, and receive grace and mercy.

Pierce Pettis is a favorite singer/song writer of mine and wrote a song titled: “Crying Ground” by Pierce Pettis from the album State Of Grace

No need to hide what’s going on
Your story’s all over town
But it’s all right if everything is all wrong
Just come on down to the crying ground

Dark skies, feels like rain
Why, look at all those thunder clouds
I’ll bet that dam is just about to break
Better come on down to the crying ground

Come on down to the crying ground
Let your tears be holy water
Rolling down your face, ain’t no disgrace
Come on down to the crying ground

I can see you want to steal away
Where you will never be found
But sometimes everybody feels this way
So come on down to the crying ground

Come on down to the crying ground
Let your tears be holy water
Rolling down your face, ain’t no disgrace
Come on down to the crying ground

No need to tell me what you’re going through
Cause, sister, I’ve been
right where you are now
You know exactly what you need to do
So come on down, down, down. down…

Come on down to the crying ground
Let your tears be holy water
Rolling down your face, ain’t no disgrace
Come on down to the crying ground

You are not the only person who has struggles in life. You are not the only person who struggles in relationships. You are not the only person who struggles with purity. You are not the only person with doubts. You are not the only person who gets depressed. Come on down to the crying ground.

As you come, we will be talking about the big picture Paul addresses in Ephesians. The Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, existed for an eternity in a relationship so perfect there is a unity that makes the three persons one God. The needs of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are completely met by the other persons of the Trinity. Each person is focused on the other two persons of the Trinity. This outward focus, thinking of the other, led the Triune God to create humans who could share the delights of the fellowship of the Trinity.

In order to do this, it was necessary to allow humans to choose and when humans were given the opportunity to choose, choosing wrong became an option and we choose ourselves first. We became self-focused rather than other-focused.

Our sin separates us from the fellowship of God and the first part of Paul’s letter deals with how Christ reconciled us so that we could come into the fellowship the Trinity experiences. (Ephesians 2:1–5)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

The heart desire of the Triune God is that we live in unity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live in unity. And so the last half of Paul’s letter urges us to: (Ephesians 4:1–6)
to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Paul urges us to live in community in relationships of love, harmony, and unity – all of this made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus for us. This is the letter that awaits us. Read it through. Come to the sermons on Ephesians and be ready to hear what you read preached. We will do the best we can to lift up the truth of Ephesians.

Come without masks, without pretense. Come as you are. Allow God’s truth preached to enter your mind and heart and transform you.