“Building Quality Relationships: With the World – Share M & M’s!”
Eph. 5:8-14; 1Cor. 12:27-13:13
A renowned pastor was reflecting on a conference where the main speakers were psychologists and psychiatrists. One had spoken about people’s desperate need to have something to believe in; without that, life was meaningless. Another spoke about people’s need to have something to look forward to, something positive down the road to hold on to; without that, life was purposeless. Still a third speaker spoke of people’s need to be loved to love; without that life was cold, discouraging and depressing. Suddenly it dawned on him. What these speakers were sharing was that people were in need of faith, hope, and love – three things that Christianity uniquely offers.
We do, in fact, have A MESSAGE OF FAITH TO TRUST. Faith is trust that rests upon evidence and leads to action. (1) It is the foundation of our relationship with God. Throughout the Bible we are, repeatedly, INVITED TO A LIFE OF FAITH. Noah was invited to build an ark in the middle of a prolonged drought. Abraham was invited to leave everything he knew and go to a place he had never been so he could be a father to nations he had never seen. Moses was invited to stop shepherding and go back to Egypt to free the Israelites from the grip of Pharaoh. The Israelites were invited to cross the Red Sea on dry land. Joshua was invited to lead those Israelites across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. The Israelites were invited to march around Jericho for seven days so the walls of Jericho would fall. Mary and Joseph were invited to believe that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and would give birth to God’s Son. As Hebrews 11:6 stated years later “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” FAITH RESTS ON THE EVIDENCE THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL.
Numbers 21 records that following a major Israelite rebellion against God, “…the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.” When the people came to Moses and repented, “The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” Years later Jesus said (Jn. 3:14-16) “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” CHRISTIAN FAITH HAS A SURE FOUNDATION; IT IS BUILT ON THE REALITY OF CALVARY. In Jesus God proved His faithfulness.
So Peter, on the day of Pentecost, extended the invitation to us: “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Paul told the Romans (5:1-2) “Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He has brought us by faith into this experience of God's grace, in which we now live.”
Our Heidelberg Catechism states it very clearly (Q & A #21): “True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in Scripture; it is also a wholehearted trust, which the Holy Spirit creates in me by the gospel, that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. These are gifts of sheer grace, granted solely by Christ’s merit.” Faith rests upon evidence THAT ENABLES TRUST. In his book, “Sun Stand Still”, Steven Furtick wrote “…faith is not a drug to sedate you through a life you hate; it’s a force to transport you to another realm of reality.” (2) Consider Abraham. (Rom. 4:18-21 CEV) “God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations. Abraham’s faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly a hundred years old. He knew that he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God. Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised.” WALKING BY FAITH MEANS BEING PREPARED TO TRUST WHERE WE ARE NOT PERMITTED TO SEE. As Martin Luther King put it, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Faith enables trust.
In the Apostles’ Creed we say we believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Our Catechism explains this belief (#26):
“…the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ his Son. I trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world. He is able to do this because he is almighty God; he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.” Because He is Almighty God He has
all the power and resources, and being a Faithful Father He has all the desire to take care of us. So with the Psalmist we say (55:22)
“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” And hear the words of Jesus (Mt. 6:25-26): “This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes?26 Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds?”
We have a message of faith to trust, and it gives meaning to life.
We also have A MASTER OF LOVE TO SERVE. Faith is trust that rests upon evidence and leads to action. The Old Testament presents a God of unwavering love, who never abandons His people nor forsakes His promises. That’s why Israel and Judah are so often portrayed as harlots and prostitutes – because their rebellion against and forsaking of God is the breaking of a love relationship. But God kept on loving. In 1951 24 leaders of the China Inland Mission Overseas Missionary Fellowship met together at Manila at a great moment of crisis. Their personnel had gotten out of China safely, but they were unsure of their next move. They were at a loss. Then one day, by invitation, the last surviving daughter of General Booth joined them. After listening to their despair and confusion she interrupted and asked, “Gentleman, how do you spell ‘love’?” There was an embarrassing silence, and someone was on the verge of saying, “Well, l-o-v-e, of course.” But she shook her head and said, “It is spelled s-a-c-r-i-f-i-c-e.” (3) So Jesus said (Jn. 3:16 MSG) ‘This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son...’ God’s love culminates in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.
And JESUS IS THE MASTER OF LOVE. On the night of His betrayal Jesus and the disciples gathered in an upper room to share the Passover. But this time it was different. Jesus took a towel and washed their feet. John records it like this (13:1-5): “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love (loved them to the end)… he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” Later Jesus said (Jn. 15:13), “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Shortly thereafter He was betrayed, arrested, falsely accused, sentenced to crucifixion, and willingly died on the cross. JESUS’ LOVE WAS A LOVE OF SELF-DENIAL AND SACRIFICE. As Paul wrote (Phil. 2:5-8 CEV) “Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us. Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross.” So our faith is directed towards Jesus.
As John Stott stated it, “Faith is directed towards a Person. It is in fact a complete commitment to this Person involving not only an acceptance of what is offered but a humble surrender to what is or may be demanded. The bent knee is as much a part of saving
faith as the open hand.” (4) WE HAVE A MASTER OF LOVE TO SERVE. After Jesus had washed his disciples’ feet He taught them the application of his object lesson (Jn. 13:12-17), “Do you understand what I have done? You call me your teacher and Lord, and you should, because that is who I am. And if your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other. I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you. I tell you for certain that servants are not greater than their master, and messengers are not greater than the one who sent them. You know these things, and God will bless you, if you do them.”
It’s important to notice that this love is to be shared first with the other disciples. “Do the same for each other.” He repeated it later (Jn. 15:12) “Love each other as I have loved you.” OUR FIRST PRIORITY IS TO LOVE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST. The body of Christ, the Church, is to be such an example of love that those outside the family are drawn by the love. In the early days of the Church a frequent observation by outsiders was “See how they love one another.” People today are longing for that kind of love.
But our love is to extend beyond the bounds of our brothers and sisters. WE ARE TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS AS OURSELVES. Remember Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan? Loving our neighbor means loving anyone around us who is in need. That’s why Paul so eloquently wrote (1Cor. 13:1-3 CEV) “What if I could speak all languages of humans and of angels? If I did not love others,I would be nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
What if I could prophesy and understand all secrets and all knowledge? And what if I had faith that moved mountains?I would be nothing, unless I loved others. What if I gave away all that I owned and let myself be burned alive? I would gain nothing, unless I loved others.” Love is to dominate our lives. We’re talking about the same sacrificial, self-giving love of Jesus. It’s a gutsy, risky love. We don’t just love those who are lovable and easy to love – we love the unlovable and difficult to love. We are to love others not because of who they are but in spite of who they are.
Remember Jesus loved and died for us while we were still sinners and in rebellion against Him (Rom. 5:8). We are to build relationships that others refuse to build, to pour out and lay down our lives for others. Jesus even said that if we love those whom society deems the least of all. then we are really loving Him. When we serve others we serve Him. We have a Master of love to serve, and that brings divine warmth to life.
There is faith and love – and there is also A MORNING OF HOPE TO ANTICIPATE. A young boy was hospitalized with horrific burns. A teacher was sent to help him stay up with his school work. He had not been responding to any treatment, but the morning after the teacher visited him his condition changed. He began to fight back and respond to treatment. His nurse said “It’s as though he’s decided to live.” Later the boy explained that he had, indeed, given up hope. But when the teacher came it dawned on him, “They wouldn’t sand a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?” A solid hope can claim the future.
And the Bible is a book of hope. THERE IS A MORNING OF HOPE. The Old Testament keeps pointing forward to something and someone better. God’s people are told to look for a daystar in the darkness of the night. The Old Testament closes with the book of Malachi and a faint hope; then there was four hundred years of tragic history. Yet in that darkness the daystar appeared, born one morning in a manger in Bethlehem. As the hymn writer put it, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.” And the New Testament points us to another morning – a morning when JESUS IS COMING AGAIN. Just listen to the words of Scripture. Jesus Himself said (Jn. 14:1-3) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” Paul (1 Thess. 4:13-18 GNT): “Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him. What we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. There will be the shout of command, the archangel's voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. So then, encourage one another with these words.”
We can LIVE WITH PATIENT ANTICIPATION. The Apostle Paul, chained to prison guards while awaiting a judgment that could mean death, wrote (Phil. 3:20-21 MSG) “But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.” It’s no wonder I’ve come to love Question and Answer #28 of the Heidelberg Catechism. “We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from his love. All creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved.”
Hymn-writer Fanny Crosby wrote over 6,000 gospel songs. Although blinded by an illness at the age of six weeks, she never became bitter. Someone once said to her, “I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when he showered so many other gifts upon you.” Fanny responded, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind…Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!” Later, Fanny introduced the hymn which she called her ‘soul’s poem’: “Someday the silver cord will break, and I no more as now shall sing; but, oh, the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King! And I shall see him face to face, and tell the story – saved by grace!” That’s a morning of hope! That’s why Paul urged the Ephesians to move out of the darkness and live as children of the morning, as people of light. We have a morning of hope to anticipate, and that gives purpose to our lives.
In one of the congregations we served there was a spry, wonderful, cheerful elderly gentleman named Les who helped children love Sunday mornings. He wandered around the narthex with a large supply of M & M’s which He gave to the children. It never failed to produce a smile and usually had the children scampering back to him for more. We have the M & M’s for the world. If we share and demonstrate the message of faith to trust, the Master of love to serve, and the morning of hope to anticipate people will go away with smiles and come scampering back for more. So let’s not hog the M & M’s for ourselves – let’s share them – beginning today.
(1) Alan Redpath, ‘The Royal Route to Heaven’, Fleming H, Revell/Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, © 1993 Fleming H. Revell, p. 177
(2) Steven Furtick, ‘Sun Stand Still’, Multnomah Books, Colorado Springs, CO, © 2010 by Steven Furtick, p. 8.
(3) Redpath, Ibid, p. 171
(4) From ‘Must Christ Be Lord and Savior?’, Eternity (Sept. 1959), p. 17
