January 31, 2010

Introduction

      True or False? You believe that every person you know would be better off living with faith and trust in Christ for their lives. True or False? You live your life in such a way that others around you know you believe this.

True or False? You want to become better at seizing the opportunities that God lays in your path to speak of your faith.

      In our scripture this morning, the apostle Peter (“St.” Peter) urges the church: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

      The Pope, Billy Graham, and Oral Roberts all died on the same day and went to heaven together (actually, Oral Roberts did die recently). "Oh, this is terrible," exclaims St. Peter, "I know you guys think we summoned you here, but this is just one of those coincidences that happens. Since we weren't expecting you, your quarters just aren't ready... We can't take you in and we can't send you back...."

      Then St. Peter had an idea. He picked up the phone, "Lucifer, this is Pete. Hey, I got these three guys up here. They're ours, but we weren't expecting them, and we gotta fix the place up for 'em. I was hoping you could put them up for a while. It'll only be a couple of days. What d'ya say?"

      Reluctantly, the Devil agreed. However, two days later, St. Peter got a call. "Pete, Lu. Hey, you gotta come get these three clowns. This Pope fellow is forgiving everybody, the Graham guy is saving everybody, and that Oral Roberts has raised enough money to buy air conditioning” (had to get another St. Peter joke in thanks to our organist Larry Blackburn).

      I don’t know about air-conditioning, but forgiving everybody and saving everybody is what God wants to do. And he often does it through our words and deeds as we live out the Christian life. There are people in your life and mine who are put there by the Lord to receive his saving grace and goodness through our relationship with them.

I. Always Be Prepared

      Peter must have had some amazing experiences watching and listening, experiencing Jesus during the three years they spent together. Much of what Peter writes comes directly from what Jesus did and taught. Peter writes, “Finally, all of you: be sympathetic, be compassionate and humble… do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart, revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared…”

      Acknowledge Christ and be prepared. First of all, you have to have a handle on your own faith. Christians, Christ-followers are those who have believed and received Christ as Savior and Lord and who confess that faith in the church and world around them. In Romans 10 it says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” And in John 1, it says, “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” If Jesus is Savior, it means we needed to be saved. And if Jesus is Lord, it means we try to follow his will and ways. So, first thing in being prepared is to “set apart in your hearts, Christ as Lord.”

      Secondly, “always be prepared” by knowing your own faith story and how to tell it. Write it out; practice telling it to your own Christian family members or friends; be ready to share it with “everyone who asks you.” Obviously, we live in a religiously charged community. People are going to ask you if you are a member of the church. Someone is going to find out that you come to 1st Presbyterian. Someone will notice and ask.

      Here are a few suggestion: be brief (be able to tell your story in the space of two minutes). Be clear (stick to one key story line – even though there are many to choose from, don’t cover your whole life story). Be simple and straight forward (avoid using “religionese” – words that you’d never use in regular, everyday conversation). And lastly, be genuinely humble (be open about your own doubts, difficulties or failures in life).

      Here’s my attempt at brevity, clarity, simplicity, and humility (Pastor James, start the clock). “I was born into a large Italian family that went to church every Sunday. But my church experience was rather negative. God seemed very distant; always angry with me because I just couldn’t ‘be good’ all the time. By high school, I’d given up trying to measure up and stopped going to church. When I went away to college I met my first genuine Christian friends. They had a loving relationship with Christ that was very attractive and encouraging to me. As friends, they shared their faith understanding with me. It took several months, but eventually I said ‘yes’ to Jesus. I now knew that I didn’t have to be perfect; that God loved me more than I could imagine; and that my life had great value in God’s eyes and in all those great friends. That was 38 years ago! Ever since, I’ve known God’s love and forgiveness in every season and at every turn in my life. I go to 1st Presbyterian Church here in Salt Lake because there I’ve found my faith and life supported and encouraged by lots of Christian friends. I could tell you lots more but that’s it in a nutshell.”

      How did I do? I think I made it in about 90 seconds. Was what I said clear and simple? Do you think someone might want to know more about faith in Christ? I can’t say whether it was humble or not. But there it is. I hope you will write your story down. I’d love to hear it. It’s amazing how many different ways God gets his saving message through to person after person. Stories abound about how the Lord saves his people. Peter had his story and so do you. He writes, “Always be prepared…

II. Give An Answer

      …give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that is in you.” We remember that St. Peter was writing to the church that was under significant persecution in the latter part of the first century A.D. He said, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing.” As people in the church did this, many would ask, “Why in the world would you take such abuse and not retaliate? Are you crazy?”

      What would you say? As a follower of Jesus, we know (as Peter reminds us) that “it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” There’s the answer. Jesus died for us to make forgiveness a reality and offer eternal life with God.

      It used more than a million steel bolts, 500,000 cubic yards of concrete, 42,000 miles of cable wire, 11,000 workers, and nearly a billion dollars (and that was in 1954). This engineering feat finally opened to the public after three and a half years of grueling labor. The bridge linked the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. Why go through all that trouble and expense?

      People on one side want to visit those on the other side. Merchants want to reach customers on the other side. Families and friends want easier access to one another. The George Washington Bridge, the Golden Gate, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the many bridges that span the Mississippi River: they are just a few of the many connecters that modern engineering has produced.

      Well, since the beginning of time, sensing the vast distance separating them, people have been consumed by the desire to somehow get over the chasm separating them from God. They tended to think of God as Perfect, Holy, Awesome with great distance between Creator and creation. This would require Herculean effort. The varied religions throughout human culture and history have tried to build the bridge. Pray harder, live more nobly, become more religious, perform charitable deeds, bridge the gap through their own efforts.

        “Always be prepared to give an answer, the reason for the hope you have.” This bridge analogy is one of many ways to engage others in conversation about your faith.

     The Bible says something remarkable about how to bridge the gap between God and us human beings. (1) God saw the chasm that separated immoral men and women like you and me from him. He saw the infinite distance – greater than we can imagine. God knew that no amount of human construction (bridge work, effort, goodness) would ever be enough to span the distance. (2) Death would be the end of all human efforts. So, motivated by love, God took on the work we call “salvation, redemption, reconciliation.” (3) He built the bridge that went the distance. God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to give his life on the cross for us, the cross that would serve as the ultimate bridge.