Asbury Church

This is a crazy story! Who would pay someone a full day’s wage for a one-hour shift? Why didn’t the owner pay more to the people who did more work? Imagine living with the anxiety of not knowing if you could feed your family for the day. The laborers who got the job early knew they would receive a day’s wage, but their gratitude turned to greed when the johnny-come-latelies arrived. Yet, the punch line in this story is, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”

This story is about grace. Grace is the hardest concept for the selfrighteous to swallow. We prefer earning God’s favor by our virtue while refusing it to those beneath us. The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a crazy story, too. The father should have punished his wayward boy. It is easy to side with the older brother and think the dad is clueless. However, the father sees things in a different way: “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Jesus is a contrarian. He is also generous. His generosity goes to those who need it. The longer I have been a Christian, the more I tend to be like a self-righteous Pharisee. After all, I am WORKING long hours in God’s vineyard. How dare those slackers show up at the last moment and get the same wages. Contrary to human wisdom, Jesus is generous with grace. I do not deserve His grace, either. Furthermore, God is in control. Not me. The great reversal comes in verse 16: “So the last will be first, and the first last.” Jesus will receive us no matter when—just as He told one of the criminals crucified with Him. However, those who wait until the last moment must live with anxiety and fear until then.

Asbury is pleased to welcome Dr. Ben Witherington III on Sunday. Dr. Witherington taught a class at our Asbury Theological Seminary satellite campus this week. One of his books, “Encounters with Jesus,” is a creative narrative of people who met Jesus (similar to “The Chosen” TV series). It goes behind the plain account of the Gospels and tries to imagine what factors precipitated the crisis of those who met Jesus.

Ben will preach from Paul’s marvelous text of encouragement to Christians who were suffering persecution. While suffering is part of the faith, Paul reminded the Corinthians of the goodness of God through Jesus. Paul uses startling images: “light out of darkness,” “treasure in jars of clay,” “surpassing power,” and “afflicted.” At the heart of this passage is the vital importance of the resurrection of Jesus. The Resurrection changes everything—including us and our future.

Paul warned Timothy that following Jesus was costly: “… indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12) He repeatedly emphasized this. However, death (by any means) is not the end of the story. Those who trust in Jesus, the resurrected Lord, also share in His resurrection. Of all the reasons that Asbury’s mission is Helping Others Follow Jesus, this one is vitally important. As is said, “Begin with the end in mind.” No matter what else happens in life, our story ends with victory in Jesus

This is our last chapter in “The Magnificent Story.” There’s only one magnificent story because there is only one Magnificent Person. That’s not me or you. However, Jesus’ grace invites us to join His story. We swap our broken, wounded, and shrunken stories for a new creation. When we know Him, we have direction, guidance, comfort, and hope. We have a way forward. No matter what happens to us, we will win.

A wonderful book, “The Patient Ferment of the Early Church,” answers the question about why the early church was so dynamic in growth and impact. The early Christians had a great belief—Jesus the Magnificent One is Lord. He not only saved them from their sins, but He also gave them a community with other believers. They were not alone. They had a message to share. They wanted to Help Others Follow Jesus. They had great habits. They worshipped. They learned Scripture and doctrine. They had depth. They prayed together, gave to one another, and encouraged each other because they knew they were going in the right direction. In the end, no matter how awfully they were treated, they would prevail because of the magnificent story. They had eternal life. Thus, they could be patient with their sufferings. They were “fermenting” like wine—even though from the outside it looked like nothing was happening. They had patient energy. Something remarkable was growing and developing. They knew who they were, why they were here, and where they were going. They had three key things: a prevailing identity (“in Christ”), a community to share life with (the church), and a purpose to life (the redemptive message of Christ). Furthermore, it could even be said about their martyrs “And they all lived happily ever after.”

We cover chapter 8 this week in “The Magnificent Story.”

“Eschatology” comes from a Greek word that describes the end times. I’ve been amazed in ministry how so many Christians obsess over the return of Jesus. I have a 1998 book with a wonderful title, “The Last Days are Here Again.” It was addressing the terror Christians had about “Y2K” and the year 2,000. Speculation about Jesus’ return has been rampant throughout church history even though Jesus said, "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.” (Mark 13:32-33) When people get into debates about the end times with charts, maps, and explanations, I want to say two things: First, “What part of ‘no one knows’ do you not understand?” Second, “Be on guard, keep awake.” There is work for us to do. Speculation is not our worry or our work. The Father will take care of that!

Jim has a wonderful treatment on the end times. Please read his insights on the “rapture.” John Wesley never heard of the rapture theory. He died in 1791. John Darby came up with the theory in 1830. Paul told the Thessalonians about the end times and concluded with this line: “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) In other words, have a calm, non-anxious presence.

I have never preached on the topic of “Holy Saturday” but I’m so glad Jim included it in his book (we cover chapter 7 this week). The President of Asbury Theological Seminary, Dr. Tim Tennent (who will speak at Asbury on November 21), wrote a book of meditations on the Apostles’ Creed called “This We Believe.” He writes, “The early Church did not understand the death of Christ on Friday and His resurrection on Sunday as two separate events (as they are often understood and thought of by modern Christians). Rather, they understood the entire drama to unfold as one continuous event. For most Christians, Good Friday and Easter Sunday have great meaning, but we are not so sure how these events are connected by Holy Saturday.”

We spend time this week looking at 1 Peter 3:18-22 and the description of Jesus’ descent and proclamation “to the spirits in prison.” There is a reason I have never preached on this text—it is VERY complicated and strange. So, when you hear the sermon, grant some extra grace in its delivery. (In fact, you could extend that grace every Sunday.)

This week we cover chapter 6 in “The Magnificent Story.”

I have two concerns about stories:

1. We think the story is about us, but the magnificent story is Jesus’ story. It truly is the greatest story ever told. Colossians 1:15-18 is mouth-dropping. Jesus came in the flesh to show us the way to God. In fact, He is God. Because of His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and pouring out the Holy Spirit, we can have a magnificent story, too. Knowing this compels us to worship. We have a magnificent story only when we are in relationship with Him, shaped by His Word.

2. Some stories are insufficient. To be magnificent, the story must have all three components: beauty, goodness and truth. Just because I have had an experience or feel a certain way, does not necessarily mean that it is beautiful, good, and especially true.

In chapter 3, “Participating in the Trinity,” Jim wrote about the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (see diagram). We test truth based on four things: Scripture is the foundation. John Wesley was a man of one book, the Bible. However, we also need to steep ourselves in nearly 2,000 years of Christian tradition. What has the church taught? We learn from others. Third, we are not anti-intellectual—so we insist upon using reason. Finally, the candle on top of the cake is experience. Unless we experience Christ as real in our hearts, we are not personally connected with Jesus. Too many Christians today begin conversations with “I think, I feel,” and “this is my truth.” Pilate famously asked Jesus, “What is truth?” Pilate didn’t comprehend the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus is the One who sets us free. Our story cannot be magnificent unless it ends with “And they all lived happily ever after.” Only Jesus can help us live happily ever after. We can never do that on our own.

We cover chapters 3 AND 4 this week in “The Magnificent Story.” These two chapters describe the Trinity and the beauty of the relationship within the godhead. Several people in the Bible are mentioned as being beautiful (Sarai, Rebekah, Rachel, Tamar, Job’s daughters, Vashti, Esther, and Moses as a baby). Yet, beauty has as much to do with relationships and function than with appearance. It’s not often we say feet are beautiful, but Romans 10:15 says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Our appearance is important but is not ultimate. We should be good stewards of our bodies, but people deemed beautiful by the culture may be deficient in more important traits like hospitality, kindness, faith, and love. Proverbs 11:22 says: “Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.” We have memories and awareness of the “cool kids” (of any age) who reject those they deem inferior.

Like every believer, I have wrestled with the concept of the Trinity, but I have seldom thought about “beauty” in spiritual terms. I was intrigued to find the word in several Psalms. Our culture stresses beauty, especially for women. Women can be led to believe they are only significant if they are outwardly beautiful as defined by the culture (and fashion is always changing, keeping us addicted to buying new products). Since beauty can lead us astray, some Christians take the other extreme. They use 1 Peter 3:1-6 to resist outward beauty. Both are shrunken stories.

The redemptive note of beauty is seen in the relationship of the Trinity. It is fascinating that the New Testament never hints at the appearance of Jesus. The Scriptures don’t focus on what He looked like; it was His magnificent story and gracious invitation to all that attracted so many people to follow Him.

“The Magnificent Story” is about Jesus. We cover chapters 1 AND 2 this week. A few synonyms of “magnificent” include “wonderful, splendid, glorious, brilliant, stunning, grand, marvelous, and superb.” People came to Jesus in physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual brokenness and pain. For many reasons they were living with shrunken narratives. Romans 3:23 says we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Our stories have been shrunken because of sin. We need to be redeemed. Our stories and our understanding of the gospel need to be enlarged. Jesus constantly amazed people with His healing and teaching ministry. This entire study is about trading our shrunken stories to finding new life in Him.

Jesus constantly invited and welcomed various people in: He LOVED children, women, lepers, demoniacs, tax collectors, outcasts, Samaritans, and all sorts of sinners (including the religious ones). Nobody had ever known a person like Jesus.

Note in our readings how people responded to Jesus’ grace, love, and forgiveness. He was not mean or hateful. He did not boss or bully. He did not compromise compassion or Scripture. His story is one of beauty, goodness, and truth.

If you have not formed or joined a “Magnificent Story” small group, it is not too late. We can help. Invite a friend, too.

Last week we focused on the word “rather” in Ephesians 4:15-16. Instead of not speaking truth or speaking truth in an unloving way, we are to choose the third way: followers of Jesus are to speak the truth in love.

Jesus is the head of His church—we are His body. The concept of body is spiritualized here, but the physical use of our body is also an important part of our faith. From time to time, some have claimed only our spirit matters. Therefore, we can do whatever we want with our bodies. This is referred to as “Gnosticism.” The Greek word “gnosis” means “to know.” An “agnostic” is someone who does not know. Paul wrote strong words about the use of the body to the churches. Our message emphasizes “rather” (don’t live by what a secular worldview says) with the conclusion—“make the body grow … in love.”

Our five-part series on unity re-emphasizes Jesus is “the head” of “His body,” the church. Jesus is in charge, but the church has a huge role. Paul emphasizes three basic needs for the church:

1.) Strong and gifted leaders who teach the faith (Grow UP)

2.) Mature disciples who tell the truth in love (Grow TOGETHER)

3.) The practice of ministry and mission (Grow OUT)

We focus on No.2 this week. Paul Coughlin writes in his book, “No More Christian Nice Guy” (subtitled: “When Being Nice—Instead of Good— Hurts Men, Women, and Children”), that too often Christians are nice, but not kind. We often do not tell the truth in love. The church is full of gossip, sabotage, rumor and triangulation. Did you hear what Tom told Bill about Joe? Tom just “triangled” Bill. Tom needs to talk to Joe. What can Bill do?

Jesus was not always “nice.” He had difficult conversations with people. He was direct, honest and confrontational. We must tell the truth balanced by doing it in a loving way. We can communicate effectively or ineffectively. Failure to communicate can result in passive despair or aggressive and destructive patterns.

Be kind. Being “nice” often avoids telling the truth. Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. “Niceness” is not. (“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24) Our passage ends with this phrase: “makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

Like Jesus, Paul confronted. We can tell he was agitated at times for a variety of reasons. We will look at some of these situations in this week’s readings.