It takes Faith to survive Winter
“1816 and Froze to Death”
Especially in Michigan! Most of us survive winter because we have seen spring – many times – in our lives! We know that winter ends – eventually. But even with a history of many winters behind us it can be difficult for us to endure a long difficult winter – especially when it’s April and snowing!
But consider for a moment 1816 – It was called the year without summer.
Mt Tambora – 100 times bigger than St. Helens – Tambora was a 14,000 foot mountain that ended up about 9,000 ft high after the top blew off on April 10, 1815. It was also a period of low sunspot activity. The result was the year with summer.
From Brethren Life: Frontier
"This was a very bad year, everywhere, but especially on the frontier. A popular expression was: "1816 and froze to death!" It got cold at night all summer and crops would not grow, There was a killing frost at least once during every month. June 5 and 6, the temperature dropped to below 40, then on the 7th it snowed. There were killing frosts all three nights. By June 11th, the corn was withered and dead in the field. It was replanted, then in July the new stand was killed by another killing frost.
On August 20, 1816, the temperature again plunged and any remaining crops were destroyed. Sept. 27 saw the start of winter with another killing frost. ... Snows started early in October, and stayed on the ground until April 1817. The snows were two feet deep with a terrible ice crust on top. Many survived only because the deer were trapped by the snows and ice and could not escape the hunters. Following that winter, deer were so scarce that they could not be depended on as a source for meat, nor was the common deerskin britches and jacket any more available ..."
ARTICLE from The Decatur County Journal, June 9, l892
``The year without a summer, l8l6, is now being quite generally recalled. According to the records, January and February of that year were warm and spring like. March was cold and stormy. Vegetation had gotten well along in April when real winter set in. Sleet and snow fell on seventeen different days in May. In June there was either frost or snow every night but three. The snow was five inches deep for several days in succession in the interior of New York and from ten inches to three feet in Vermont and Maine. July was cold and frosty, ice formed as thick as window panes in every one of the New England States. August was still worse; ice formed nearly an inch in thickness, and killed nearly every green thing in the United States and in Europe. In the spring of l8l7, corn, which had been kept over from the crop of l8l5, sold for from $5 to $l0 a bushel, the buyers purchasing for seed ... ’’
Some of us are experiencing winter – in life. If you aren’t right now – you will. In fact, let me suggest that this physical life is just that – winter. And someday, through our FAITH in Jesus Christ we will experience new life. The difficulty is that we struggle with the winter of this life.
In Hebrews 12 the author tells us what we need to do to survive the winter of this world. He uses the metaphor of a runner and what it takes to go the distance…
Go the distance
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Let us… throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…
First, If you want to finish you must lighten the load. You simply have to get rid of anything that will drag you down, hold you back, or wear you out. The goal is simple and clear – make it to the end of the race.
Let us… run with perseverance the race marked out for us…
Second, you must run the race marked out for you. Each of us has a different route. There is a different path. Some will find the way rough and hard – others may find the way filled with potholes and dangerous drop-offs. Still others may find the way smooth and clear and you may be tempted to look at their path and wonder why they get the easy way to go.
A couple of thoughts come to mind. First, you don’t know what their road was like earlier and you don’t know what it will be like later. Second you don’t know what God know about them and what he has in his plan for them.
The simple reality is that we each have our own race – focus on it and don’t worry about the next guy. You are not in charge. Got it! You aren’t in charge. Settle down and focus on your race – hang in there and finish it.
Let us… fix our eyes on Jesus…
Finally, keep your focus on Jesus. Become a person with acute tunnel vision and keep your eye on one person – Jesus. He is the only one you need to please. Not your wife, not your husband, not your mom and dad, not your kids, not your boss, and certainly not the guy down the street who doesn’t even know your name.
The strange thing is that if I try to please others – no one is satisfied and I am frustrated but if I live to please Jesus – everyone else in my life is blessed.
So why can’t we just do that! Ben Franklin tried on his own strength. He made a list of 12 or 13 admirable qualities and then tried to live by them on a daily basis he kept a log of his success with each characteristic and then added another it as he mastered the first. He reports that it went well – for a while – but that he kept sliding back into his earlier habits and patterns.
The Issue is Sin
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Hebrews 12:4
The simple reality is that every one of us has a race to run in this life – it’s a lifelong marathon with a common enemy. The issue? Sin. We all struggle with our own rebellious natures and the sinful desires of our hearts. In our attempts to please God we struggle with the same enemy.
This is the big issue… but no matter how much you struggle with sin – your own or someone else’s – whether you struggle with our own issues or the pain that someone else’s issues cause you – you haven’t yet resisted to the point of the shedding of blood have you! No one has yet hung you on a cross – have they? No one has yet put you into an arena with hungry lions, tigers, and bears (oh, my!) have they?
Some Christians are persecuted to the point of the shedding of blood – but I’ve noticed something about those people – they don’t complain about their lot in life – most of them celebrate the opportunity to be like Jesus.
Consider the first martyr – Stephen.
So can I say something, here? Can you handle it? Are you ready? Here it is: Stop whining! Change your attitude! Instead of complaining about what is happening to you – embrace it as part of God’s plan for making you better. Hebrews 12 outlines some important attitude changes for you and I to embrace.
God’s Word of Encouragement
5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
Hebrews 12:5-6
God’s discipline is good. It is his word of encouragement. It is the proof that we need that we are loved by God. It shows that God cares about us enough to teach us what is good and right. It proves that you are his kid! Notice how God does this… There are a couple of words used in this passage…
Discipline, rebuke, and punish. Let’s look at each of these words to gain an understanding of how God encourages us to really become his children.
There is a story about Alexander the Great who after a particularly harrowing battle had a young soldier in his army brought before him accused of desertion in the face of battle. He was a very young man and obviously very frightened – and rightfully so. The penalty for desertion in battle was death. When the young boy was brought before the great Alexander he immediately noted his youth and asked the boys name. With a quiet and trembling voice the boy said that his name was Alexander. For a time it was silent and then the great general said – boy, either change your behavior or change your name
We are his children – through Jesus – now it’s a matter of living like it – and God’s wants to encourage each one of us to live according to his word. That’s why the first word used here is the word discipline.
God Disciplines through His Word
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalms 119:9-11
The word for discipline is paidea and it means to nurture, instruct, teach, chastise. It’s used to speak of the whole training and education of children relating to the cultivation of the mind and morals. It involves both commands and admonitions. It cultivates not only the behavior but the soul, the attitude, the passion and the will of the person.
The primary method employed by God for teaching his children is through His word. God has given us His Word to teach us what is right and what is wrong. He has given us His Word to correct us when we are wrong. That is the importance of reading and regularly hearing God’s Word.
One of my favorite Psalms is the 119th. It’s the longest chapter in the Bible and it is a wonderful example of Hebrew poetry. Each section begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet and each verse speaks of the word of God. It is a wonderful chapter to read because of the cumulative effect of reading it verse after verse is really powerful and moving. It teaches us that the foundation for what we need to gain God’s discipline in our lives is to be steeped in his word.
God Rebukes through his Holy Spirit
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
Galatians 5:16-17
The next word is “rebuke”. This is a strong word meaning “to convict". It involves "telling a fault; or revealing and exposing a problem. God always rebukes before He punishes. If we will obey His rebuke we will not have to experience His punishment. This rebuke is always loving and very gentle. Just as a parent with their child, God wishes no more punishment than necessary to correct His child’s conduct.
God rebukes through His Holy Spirit. Galations 5:16 speaks of the work of the Spirit to change help us change from the sinful desires of the heart to instead be ruled by the new spiritual nature that God gives us through His son Jesus. In John 16:8 Jesus said concerning the Holy Spirit that “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment…”
The Holy Spirit works in the heart of a Christian to produce guilt and shame when we sin against God – this is His rebuke and encouragement to live according to the calling of our father God. Sometimes it comes through other Christians, pastors, evangelists and teachers as they are led by the Holy Spirit – but always in agreement with his revealed word.
AMAZING THINGS HAPPEN
When God sends forth the Spirit amazing things happen:
barriers are broken,
communities are formed,
opposites are reconciled,
unity is established,
disease is cured,
addiction is broken,
cities are renewed,
races are reconciled,
hope is established,
people are blessed,
and church happens.
Today the Spirit of God is present
and we’re gonna‚ have church.
So be ready, get ready...God is up to something...
discouraged folks cheer up,
dishonest folks ’fess up,
sour folks sweeten up,
closed folk, open up,
gossipers shut up,
conflicted folks make up,
sleeping folks wake up,
lukewarm folk, fire up,
dry bones shake up,
and pew potatoes stand up!
But most of all, Christ the Savior of all the world is lifted up.
SOURCE: Rick Kirchoff, Germantown United Methodist Church, Opening remarks to the Memphis Annual Conference. Citation: Tim Zingale in Pentecost Sunday on www.sermoncentral.com.
God Punishes through the Experiences of Life
16 LORD, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer.
Isaiah 26:16
The word for punish is mastigoo and it literally means to scourge. This is a strong word. It involves the introduction of pain for the purpose of changing behavior and attitude. The word "punish" here is the same word that is used with regard to a parent spanking their children. We must not forget that God is a God of love, but a God who loves His children enough to correct their sin.
Change is resisted for many reasons – mostly because we think we will lose something. People do change but only for one of three reasons. They are educated to understand the value of the change. They are excited about what they will receive in the change or… and this is the most effective motivation for change – they change because it hurts so much the way things are. Most change – unfortunately – is motivated by pain.
There is an old English word that fits in here very well – chasten. The purpose of punishment is to cause us to stop doing what is wrong and to change our ways. It is more than simply a change of behavior but a humbling of the heart and chastening of the spirit. God wants us to cast away the self centered pride that leads us into arrogance and sin. He wants us to learn the value of humbly serving others in love and compassion.
So what methods does God use to chasten? As I look through the scriptures from Genesis to Revelations we see examples of God using whatever it takes to get our attention! Most of the process of chastening or punishment is related to the natural consequences of sinful living and the withdrawal of God’s protective presence.
It can be matters of health. God can touch our health but that doesn’t mean that all sickness comes from God as punishment.
It can be the loss of property but that doesn’t mean that every time the stock market falls it’s because you said a cuss word.
It can be the loss of joy but that doesn’t mean that every time something bad happens in your life it’s linked to something bad that you’ve done in life.
I guess that’s what makes it hard to figure out sometimes. We want it to be simple – and it is not. The reality is that the rain falls on the sinful and the righteous alike but the righteous are filled with God’s love and his help overcomes all the obstacles. The sinful are empty of God’s presence and spirit and when they fall the skin their knees and curse their lives.
When we sin – in our creative ways of chasing pleasure and selfish desire it leads down a path to degradation and destruction – which God allows as part of his discipline and punishment – with a purpose to bring us back.
Remember the story of the prodigal who ended up in a pig sty eating slop… there is the scourging of God and it woke this poor boy up and sent him home to his father and family.
God’s Encouragement Produces Righteousness and Peace
10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:10-11
No short cuts to a disciplined life.
Let me tell you a little about our goals for MCC in the coming days. We’ve been working on them for several months as we have focused on each of five areas of ministry
Welcoming, Worship, Growth, Service, and Evangelism.
Beginning on Mother’s Day – May 11, I’ll be launching a series of teachings called TRANSFORMATIONS. There will be six weeks of messages (ending on Father’s Day) during which I’ll be inviting you to join myself and Tyler Sherman, our youth minister, on an individualized study designed to help you grow spiritually through basic spiritual disciplines. There will be a five-day a week booklet to guide you in the study as well as Life Group lessons and the Sunday messages.
And there is one more piece. This is the fun part! As part of this study I’ll be encouraging you to find someone in the church family to be your accountability partner. Men with men, and women with women, you’ll be encouraged to meet once a week over a cup of coffee and to encourage each other in these spiritual disciplines.
It’s going to fun, exciting, and it could quite possibly change the spiritual dimensions of your life. I’d like you to start praying and thinking about it today.
It’s a marathon – not a sprint!
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:2-3
Keep focused and keep going. You will make it to the end. God will make you stand!
Ok… it’s time for some prayer and worship.
