For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.

II Timothy 4:3, ESV

 

Do you believe this?

 

One of the things that I have noticed in over thirty years of preaching is that most people do not want to know the truth.

 

You may dispute this, but please understand what I am saying, as well as what I am not saying. I am not saying that you don't want to know the truth, for I suspect you wouldn't be reading a religious article if you didn't. What I am saying, however, is based upon several conclusions that I have reached over my lifetime that now guide everything I do. I believe that God created the heavens and the earth, I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and I am convinced that the One who was powerful enough to create the world was also powerful enough to ensure that we got His word in its complete and mistake-free form that we have today.

 

I believe that people who pick and choose what they want to believe from the Bible are risky people, to say the least. I believe that they have determined in their own minds what is right and what is wrong, so they sit in judgment over God's word and determine for themselves where God was right and where He was wrong.

 

And that's okay, because God gives each one of us the right to handle His word in any way we want, including rejecting the portions that we personally find hard to believe or offensive. What I do not believe, however, is that He gives us the right to still be rewarded with eternal life if we are so foolish as to do such a thing. We must never forget that God gave Adam and Eve the right to choose - He just never gave them the right to choose wrong and still be rewarded or to escape punishment for their disobedience.

 

And that's the part where most people differ!

 

They are convinced that "I'm okay and that you're okay", as long as you don't think that I'm not okay. And as moronic as that sounds when i is written down, this is precisely what the Apostle Paul was taking about in the passage we read above that God inspired him to write. God wanted us all to know that there would be moments in history - perhaps extended periods of time - when people wouldn't put up with His instruction. But God also knew that people being people would still want to feel like they were okay, even when they were blatantly disregarding His commandments. God knew (because He knows everything) that these same hypocrites would then seek out teachers who would say what they wanted to hear, and He also knew that when they heard these people who were paid to teach what they taught, that they would then actually believe them.

 

That, as unattractive as it might be, is exactly what Paul through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was trying to get across. Further, God was having Paul warn us that this would really happen. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross for us! Do you think that He would then somehow make the way to salvation tricky? That doesn't even make sense, yet if many of the teachers whom we surround ourselves with are to be believed, that is what they are in essence teaching. They teach that God's plan of salvation is not completely correct - so they have a prayer or two to take care of it. There are some elements of salvation that many people find hard to do, so these teachers let us know that we don't really have to do them.

 

There are specific commandments as to how God expects (and requires) us to abide by. These clever teachers will often come up with clever explanations to do away with these commandments because they don't really mean what they say... or do they?

 

I am convinced that most people really don't want to know the truth, because if they knew the truth, they would have to do something about it. And, sadly, all too often, what they eventually do about it is to surround themselves with teachers who will say only what their itching ears want to hear. And such a task, all too many false teachers have found, pays very well.

 

But will that save us in the end?

 

I'll try to have something more cheery tomorrow, but today I wanted to get us all to thinking - me included. Do we believe what we believe because it is what we want to believe, or do we believe what we believe because it is the truth? The answer to that question will likely be a large determinant as to whether or not we will be saved. It's something to think about, isn't it?

Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He hath showed thee, O man, what is good,

and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Micah 6:6-8, KJV

 

What is good? What does God expect of us? These are questions that men have wrestled with since the beginning of time, but they needn't, because God has shown us.

 

He is not looking for sacrifice, though He is clearly pleased with a sacrificial spirit among those who would serve Him. The fact is that the Creator of all that we see doesn't need our cattle or produce or even our children. What He does want, however, is our hearts!

 

And this is something that is so basic, we can all understand. He wants us to treat one another with justice - that means requiring a certain standard of ourselves and others. When that standard is violated, especially when someone sins against the innocent, then justice is required. It is not optional. This is something we seem to have forgotten in modern times, as we often release the most wicked of men to commit their sins against a new batch of innocent victims. Still, this justice must be tempered with mercy. It needs to be equally applied, however, again so that the innocent are not made to pay for our attempts at being merciful to the guilty.

 

So justice tempered with mercy, as tricky as it may seem to some, is still one of the things that God has set as a standard - and His standards must be upheld if we are to ever hope to please Him.

 

And the last part? Walking humbly before God is a simple statement, but one that requires a knowledge of His will to accomplish. The Apostle John tells us that we must "walk in the light" (I John 1:7). The Prophet Hosea tells us that God's ways are right and that "the just shall walk in them" (Hosea 14:9). Jesus, our Savior, tells us that the path to life is narrow and "few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14).

 

The point is that those who wish to please God will find out the right way to live and then humbly walk within that way. Taking the time to find the right way is not always easy - excellence never is! But for those who do put in the time and effort to find God's way, and who further go on to walk in it? Well, there's will be the kingdom of Heaven! Of course, we do not deserve this, and we have to always keep that in full view (that's the humble part). But again, for those who will do this simple thing, though it will still require effort that is in no ways "simple", a reward awaits.

 

I don't know about you, but I'm glad that God has made His ways simple enough for even me to understand. Still, there is a caution: Simplicity is sometimes difficult. The question is will we be remaining to do the difficult in order to take advantage of the grace that has so freely been extended to all? Many will bristle at the idea of effort - there's is a twisted understanding of what God's grace is intended to be. But for those willing to do their part, the reward will be far in excess of anything that we could hope, imagine, or deserve. 

 

He has shown us what is good - will we do it?

But you must return to you God;

maintain love and justice,

and wait for your God always.

Hosea 12:6, NIV (1978)

 

Hosea is an interesting person, and the Book of Hosea is an interesting book. It explains the depth of depravity that the people of God had sunk to, and it explains their upcoming punishment as well. The graphic way in which God has Hosea illustrate Israel's sin is especially noteworthy: God had Hosea marry an adulterous wife, and the children that she bore would not even be Hosea's. God issued this shocking command in order to show what had happened to His chosen people: They left the Lord in order to engage in a type of spiritual infidelity with idols.

 

And God had had enough!

 

So, God also had Hosea tell the people what kind of punishment that they could expect. It involved many harsh penalties, but the greatest of these would be that they would no longer even be recognized as belonging to God any longer. God's chosen people had rejected God, so they could no longer remain in the sacred covenant that He had made with them. And it wasn't because of God at all - it was because the people had broken the contract, and now they were about to discover the penalty associated with those who treat the Lord in such a fashion. 

 

Their doom was announced, and their fate was seemingly sealed - that is until God threw these unfaithful children one last lifeline. They could avoid the penalty if they would just return to God!

 

However, there was a catch: Their return had to be sincere! It would be proved by a maintaining of love towards one another as well as an upholding of justice in the land. In addition to this, they would have to wait for their God always! This meant that their return must be proven genuine, and the proof of their sincerity would be in their trust, for the very act of waiting for God and everything that went along with that including waiting for His lifting of the penalty, waiting for His final decisions as to how they must live, and waiting for His reward to return.

 

Trust is an easy thing to give lip service to, but it is a very difficult thing indeed to live - and they were going to have to live with it.

 

So, what's the point? Why dredge up ancient history for a people long dead? The answer is plain, isn't it? We have times in our lives when we are unfaithful to God. We don't feel particularly unfaithful. It's just when it comes down to giving Him the time and effort that are rightfully His, we often give it to other gods. We work instead of worshipping on the first day of the week. We watch television instead of reading His Word and praying. We spend our money on our pleasures and then bemoan the fact that we are too poor to help others.

 

And it's not that it is somehow wrong to work or watch T.V. or buy things that we enjoy - that's not the point. The point is that when we do these things instead of giving to God His due, it is at that point we are being unfaithful. We are all guilty of such things, and therefore worthy of any punishment that is due us. But God has an offer for us, and it is the same one He made to unfaithful Israel. 

 

We simply need to return to Him. That will mean returning to a mutual love for one another, as well as a desire to live in a just manner. Perhaps more than anything else, it will involve a renewal of our trust in God. All of these things are easy to say, yet hard to do, but they can be done - and they must be done!

 

The question before us then is this: Are we ready to do it?

 

The answer to that question will very likely determine nothing less than our eternity. Let's make sure, then, that we give the right answer!

 

He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, He said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but the One who sent Me."

Mark 9:36-37, NIV

 

The Happy Champions are a group of about forty K-4th grade children who have been working on their ball-handling skills for past two months. Last night, they performed their newly acquired skills in front of a packed auditorium in the little town of Happy, Texas. Happy's got a population of about 672 people when everybody is home, and the high school gym was filled with about 400 of them and our visiting team from Nazareth's fans.

 

For those of you who do not know, Nazareth is Happy's biggest rival. It doesn't hurt that they are only 25 miles away but add that to the fact that their program is near the top of the United States in state championships won, and you have a pretty intense rivalry. 

 

Sometimes, we even forget we are neighbors in the heat of the game...

 

But last night, at the half-time of a boy's game that was so close it took an overtime to decide it by a single point, the kids came out onto the court. And the crowd, both sides in fact, gave a mighty cheer!

 

The performance went as one might have expected with a collection of kids ranging from five to ten years of age. There were some who were pretty good, and there were some who were brand new to the concept of dribbling. As a matter of fact, the basketball came up to knee height for some of the smaller ones, yet they performed marvelously. It's true a basketball or two escaped (one from a coach who had been doing this for 20 years), but this did not matter to the fans, for when the performance was over and the Champions circled up for their mighty champion yell, the fans yelled and cheered even louder.

 

The fact is that when these little ones perform it gives a certain amount of pride as well as a certain measure of perspective. The kids of course go from being half-scared to death to absolutely delighted as they learn that the crowd is not only not hostile but is actually wildly supportive - mistakes not withstanding!

 

It is this combination of the kid's reaction and the crowd's reaction that mean the most to me. The fact of the matter is that the parents and grandparents and neighbors are not rooting for the kids because basketball is so important to them (though, of course, it is). The reason they cheer is because they love these kids!

 

And the kids feel that love!

 

And though this is clearly pales by comparison to the example that Christ set for us, it is still pretty remarkable. These kids are not only our future, but they mean the world to us. We want them to feel good about themselves - not in some unhealthy manner in which we award participation trophies for minimal effort, but because we know that they have worked hard to develop their skills and because they have tried hard to make sure they are doing them well.

 

And because of this, we have a strong desire to show our love and appreciation to them, and that is exactly what the crowd did. They welcomed them when they got there, they cheered for them while they performed, and they loved them all the more for the opportunity to do so.

 

This, I believe, is why the Champions are so important to Happy - it's because our kids are so important to us no matter where we live or what they are doing. These little boys and girls have big souls that are going to spend an eternity somewhere. If we can love and welcome them at something as inconsequential as a display of ballhandling skills, then surely we can see the importance of welcoming them in Jesus' name and making sure that we train them up to know both He and God. If we can do that, then we will have accomplished something truly worthwhile in this life: We will have influenced a small child in a way that will help them to know and to love Jesus!

 

I do want to thank each one of you who cheered on these little ones last Friday - you buoyed their spirits! And you probably had a good time doing so. This is one of the pleasant side effects of welcoming little children: it just has a way of making everyone feel good. And this good feeling has the potential to last more than just a few minutes after the applause has died down. If we do it right, it has the potential to last unto eternity!

 

And that, in my opinion, is why the Champions are so important to Happy!