June 18, 2009
This past Sunday the Bible proved itself, once again, to be more than just ink on a page, but to be alive, powerful, and able to change lives (take a look at Hebrews 4:12-13).
I’m currently preaching through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6 & 7) and on Sunday we looked at Matthew 5:17-48. It’s a passage where Jesus raises the bar of expectation in six areas of life. For each one he presents the status-quo standard and then says, “But that’s not enough…the standard needs to be raised.” So instead of being satisfied with the standard of “don’t murder,” Jesus raises it to, “don’t get angry.” Instead of, “don’t commit adultery” Jesus says, “don’t lust.” He went on and said, “don’t look for reasons to get a divorce; just stay faithful. Don’t swear oaths; just be a man/woman of your word. Don’t always fight for justice (an eye for an eye); return good for evil. Don’t be satisfied with just loving your friends; you must also love your enemies.”
Anyway, I did what I do every week: try, in the power of the Spirit, to explain and apply God’s Word and challenge our church to allow that Word to convict, encourage, strengthen, and change them.
But this Sunday, at the end of my sermon, I told the church that I wanted them to come forward to confess their sin and kneel under God’s grace and forgiveness.
Our church, like so many, isn’t used to “altar calls.” We’ve done it before, but we certainly don’t do it weekly. So when we do ask them to come forward, it’s somewhat new and intimidating. I imagine a lot of folks are worried about what others will think if they do come forward. Others are saying, “I can make any decision from the comfort of this chair; I don’t need to go forward to make it real” (which may be true).
Whatever the case, I asked folks to humble themselves before their Creator, come forward, confess their sin and find grace, forgiveness and healing.
And it happened. God’s Word proved powerful. People came. A lot of people. They kneeled. They confessed. They cried. And God smiled and rewarded their courage and humility with forgiveness and strength and restoration.
So for what it’s worth, keep those pages of your Bible turning. Be humble and open and let God’s Word do what God’s Word does best: change lives.
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