St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

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Philippians 4:1-9

Do You Live with Joy?

The words we heard in today’s choir anthem are the words of a joyful spirit. They spring from a heart filled with joy.

That is what we do when we gather to worship each week. Together, we make a joyful noise to our God.

But can we say that we live our lives joyfully? We should ask ourselves this question.

Do I live with joy in my heart?

When I wake up in the morning, do I see a bright and hopeful day? Or do I see a dark and gloomy day ahead?

It can be hard to live with joy. When we look around us, we don't see much to be joyful about. We are surrounded by our worries and problems. We can't seem to find a moment's rest in our daily life.

Even with what's happening in the world as we speak, there's so much darkness, violence, destruction, and suffering.

So we say, If only

IF ONLY everything was okay in my life IF ONLY all these problems disappeared IF ONLY all was alright in the world

Then maybe I'll be joyful.

Yet St. Paul tells us today,

Rejoice in the Lord always

He doesn't stop there. Right away, he says

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

Rejoice, and rejoice. Rejoice always.

These words may not be easy for us to accept so quickly. We want to reason why we shouldn't or cannot rejoice.

The irony here is that circumstantially, Paul wasn't in a good place when he wrote these words. Far from it. He was in prison when he said, Rejoice!

He had no idea whether he'd live to see another day. He lived not knowing what tomorrow held in store.

While in prison, he also heard about a conflict that happened between two women (Euodia and Syntyche) in the Philippian church.

Yet in his letter to the Philippians he says, Rejoice always. Philippians is known as Paul's joyful epistle. The words rejoice or joy appear about 11 times!

Paul had a very different understanding of joy.

Rejoice with Recognition

For him, joy was not an emotional response to our circumstances.

That's how we tend to understand joy. An emotional high. It is dependent on our circumstances. If that was the case, then Paul had nothing to rejoice about.

Paul rejoiced not because everything was going well, but because behind the immediate circumstances of his life, he was able to SEE clearly God's hand at work.

Not just in his life, but also in the life of the community he loved.

When he encountered the living Christ, Paul saw the old age pass away and the NEW one beginning. It completely transformed his perspective on life.

He says earlier in Philippians

I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

In any and all circumstances, Paul saw the power of living Christ at work. And so he rejoiced regardless of his circumstances.

Let Go and Trust God

In our journey, sometimes it's difficult to see this. Sounds nice on paper, but hard to experience in reality.

Last week, Rev. Kim said how easily we forget God's grace. He called it, spiritual amnesia . Just as we don't remember too well, we don't see all that well either.

We are spiritually near-sighted. We suffer from spiritual blindness. Spiritual blindness is an obstacle to a life of rejoicing always.

We can't force ourselves to see what we cannot see. It is God who opens our eyes. But in order to see what we ought to see, we can do one thing.

LET GO.

LET GO of our fears and worries. LET GO of our prejudice and stubborn ways of thinking. LET GO of our desire to be in control of our life.

Through PRAYER, we can LET GO.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)

As long as we let these things have hold over us, we will only see what's in front of our eyes. Our eyes will be fixed on the darkness we see. We ourselves will become dark, negative and cynical.

When we learn to let go of these things and entrust them in God's hands, we will be free to see what we could not see before. Scales will fall from our eyes.

We will find a little bit of sunshine in the darkest day. We will see our foggy horizon clearing up. We will experience a deep sense of calm in the midst of a storm.

Isn't that what Paul said?

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

Rejoicing comes from hearts and minds that are surrounded by the peace of God.

We rejoice because we trust that God who began the good work in Christ is still at work in our midst.

Rejoice Always

In that sense, joy is not just some feeling . It is not a mere display of excitement. Rather, it is our attitude towards life. Our way of being.

It is more like a quiet confidence, assurance, and inner gladness. That way, we can rejoice always . Our attitude will not easily change according to our circumstances.

Don't mistake what I'm saying as being invincible. We will always be affected by what happens in our life.

We are fragile and vulnerable. We will get angry, sad, frustrated, and disappointed at times. Though we are not of this world, we are still in the world.

But our joy will keep us from being overcome by the power of darkness that tries to swallow us up. It will make us strong, resilient, and hopeful.

Listen to what the prophet Habakkuk said

Though the fig tree does not blossom

and no fruit is on the vines;

though the produce of the olive fails

and the fields yield no food;

though the flock is cut off from the fold

and there is no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD;

I will exult in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17, 18)

YET I WILL REJOICE! It is a bold and powerful declaration. To rejoice when there seems to be no reason to rejoice that is faith. As people of the resurrection, we live by this faith, with joy.

As God's people, let us stand firm.

No matter what may be happening in our lives, let us not give up or be easily discouraged. What we often see with our own eyes is only a tiny fraction of what is really happening.

Instead of being reactive, let us be patient, gentle and kind. Let us look to God. God will grant us his wisdom and show us what to do.

God will give us the eyes of faith to see what is good and the strength to do what is good. Joy will flow out of our life like an endless stream of river.

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Deuteronomy 8:7-18

By God's Grace

Thanksgiving is simply not forgetting. St. Paul said, everything is God's grace.

He said, I am who I am by God's grace.

Yes. Everything is by God's grace. I am who I am by God's grace.

The fact that I can breathe is God's grace. The fact that I can have a good and peaceful sleep at night is God's grace. Living with joy and peace is by God's grace.

Grace is such a beautiful gift of God and yet so many people don't feel it and that's sad.

They live with this tremendous burden that everything depends on them. They don't feel the giftedness of life every day.

People who experience grace don't live like that.

It's not that they don't work hard. They work hard too. But in the end, they know that everything in life does not depend only on them and their abilities.

They know that life is more than what they can make with their own hands. They know that life is bigger than them.

So even when they become weak, they don't give up. Even when the future is gloomy, they don't lose hope. Even when they get old, their spirit is always young.

That was the life of St. Paul. That's why he said this.

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

What's going on outside is only a fraction of your existence. What's going on inside is a greater portion of your life.

When you know that you are who you are by God's grace, you can live a SOLID life. You will not be easily defeated.

A Lesson for All

Moses wanted to teach his people this beautiful lesson. He wanted his people to live a solid life.

If you can teach your children that life is a gift of God and there is a power of God's grace that will carry their life, you are giving them the best lesson of life.

You are not just giving them fish. You teach them how to fish. You teach them the secret of life.

They will not be defeated in life. They will enjoy every moment of their life. That is the best lesson that you can give to your children.

We don't know what they will experience in life.

They may experience challenges bigger than what they can handle with their own strength. They may lose themselves, their confidence, and their hope. They may experience failures. They may lose their health.

But if you teach them that there is power of God's grace, they can overcome their challenges.

Moses wanted to teach them this lesson.

Wilderness was the best place the Israelites could learn this lesson. It was God's grace to let the Israelites go through the experience of wilderness. God wanted to teach them that they were not alone.

We human beings never learn with our brain. We learn only when we feel through the skin.

In the wilderness, they learned the lesson not with their brain but through their skin.

When there was nothing to eat, they experienced hunger in their stomach. When there was nothing to drink, they experienced the thirst in their mouth. When they were bitten by poisonous snakes, they felt the pain through the skin.

But through those experiences, they learned that it was God who provided.

We can see that in today's passage.

(It is God) who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid waste-land with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. (Deuteronomy 8:15, 16)

God put them in a condition where they could not do anything.

Then he wanted to teach them this: even in a condition where you cannot do anything, you will survive because of my grace.

Their wilderness experience was God's grace for them. It was God's blessing.

Learn Through Your Suffering

Sometimes our suffering is God's hidden blessing. There are things you can never learn without suffering.

You cannot learn humility without suffering. You cannot learn your limitations without suffering. You cannot learn that life is about helping each other without suffering. You cannot learn to feel others' suffering without suffering. You cannot learn that you can be stronger with suffering.

More than anything else, you cannot learn that our life is by God's grace without suffering.

Suffering will never disappear from us.

We have suffering in our broken relationships. We have the pain of sending away loved ones first. There are also people who hurt us. We go through our own personal darkness. Suffering will always be there.

I hope that these sufferings may not make you weak. Rather, I hope that they teach you about God's grace.

Do Not Forget

The biggest problem is that we live forgetting God's grace. That was what Moses was concerned about.

We can see that clearly in Moses' words.

When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (Deuteronomy 8:12-14)

Not forgetting, Remembering – that is what thanksgiving is. Not to forget that your life is by God's grace – that is thanksgiving.

If you don't forget this, your suffering will not overwhelm you. You will never perish.

When you are healthy, you don't realize how important it is to be healthy. When you have plenty of food, you don't know how good it is to have food at every meal. When everything is going well, you don't know how things can be so complicated.

That's when you forget.

When things go well, you forget. You even forget God. Then thankfulness disappears from your heart too.

That is the beginning of problems. Your heart will be replaced by complaints, dissatisfaction, and frustration. That's not the end. Worries, anxiety, fear, and darkness will fill your heart.

Spiritual amnesia – that is something we have to deal with when we try to live a spiritual life.

Don't fall into spiritual amnesia. Write a thanksgiving journal. Every day, from small things, learn to appreciate. Verbalize your appreciation. Express it, to others, to yourself, and to God and write them in your journal.

Spiritual people are filled with thanksgiving.

People who live with deep thankfulness will never perish. Their life will be open.

Blessings follow those who live their lives with thankfulness. Thankfulness brings another thankfulness. And this thankfulness brings blessings.

Remembering is Thanksgiving

When thankfulness disappears from you, your life becomes dark. The best therapy for your gloominess is to cultivate this thankfulness within you.

There are so many things to be thankful for.

When you think about these things, you have no time to complain. But people make time to complain. Very unwise.

Be thankful. It is a very simple thing to do but a very powerful and effective thing to do.

When you start having this thankfulness, your life becomes untangled. You will see that.

Don't make your life complicated. Be thankful for the roses. But also be thankful for the thorn. That is life's secret.

Thankfulness opens your life. Complaints and criticism close your life. When you are thankful, you will see a path you didn't see before.

It is a path that shows you what to do. It is a path that leads you to the solution to your problems.

Thanksgiving will give you life's confidence.

This is St. Paul's confession.

Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13)

He said, I can do all things. Not because of his own abilities but because of the one who strengthened him.

Don't forget that life is a gift. Enjoy it and be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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The first session of Fall Fridays was great!

People of all ages, from children to adults, gathered for dinner and a time of growing in faith as a community. What a wonderful start it was!

The adults engaged in the first of an 8-week session on “Christ through the Eyes of Paul”.

Listen to the recording here!

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Matthew 21:23-32

A Life I Want to Live

I want to live my life with authority. Whenever my final breath is, I want to know that I've done my part to the fullest. I want to know that I lived out my unique calling. I want to know that I've done everything I can to make a positive contribution to this world. That's the kind of life I want to live.

I don't want to live looking over my shoulder. I don't want to cower in fear of what others will think. This is easier said than done.

I know I still have my insecurities. I still desire the approval of others. But in my heart, I want to live a life true to my deepest convictions.

I want to live with courage. I want to live free to love others. I want to live a life that is uniquely my own.

I want to live with the power of God in my life. I want to be transformed to live according to God's will. I don't want to just settle for a comfortable and safe life. I pray that I may have the faith and courage to endure difficulties for the sake of my deepest beliefs and convictions.

Different Kinds of Authority

The chief priests and elders had great authority. They had great power. They were in charge of the Temple. The Temple was the center of Jewish life. The Romans gave them the power to tax every Jew in the Empire, no matter where they lived.

This authority came with many benefits. The Temple economy generated enormous wealth, and these leaders grew very rich. They lived in the best houses; enjoyed the best food; and had the greatest status among all of the Jews. But this power and privilege came with a price.

Their authority came from the approval of others. They became concerned with protecting their power. They were busy looking over their shoulder at what people would think.

We know nothing of what they really believed. They were not driven by their deepest convictions. We can only see fear beneath their awesome power.

This was their response to Jesus' question about John the Baptist:

And they argued with one another, If we say, From heaven,' he will say to us, Why, then, did you not believe him?' But if we say, Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet. So they answered Jesus, We do not know. (Matthew 21:25-27)

What a copout! No courage of conviction. No courage to say what they truly believed. Simply looking over their shoulder. That is a weak and flimsy authority.

John the Baptist was so different from these chief priests and elders. His authority came from no person.

He was a wild man who lived alone in the desert. He ate locusts. He wore camel's hair. Many thought he was crazy or insane. But he had a power of conviction.

He knew what he believed in. And people were drawn to his message. His authority came from the response to his words. People believed him and were changed.

What kind of authority are we seeking? What kind of authority have we been living with?

Fitting In

Last week I was invited to preach at TKPC. That is the church I grew up in. It's the church that shaped who I am. It's the place I met God. It's the place I learned how to be a leader. It's the place I first felt my calling to ministry.

Being there brought back many memories. It made me think back to where we came from, where we're at now, and where we're heading.

The church was an important place for us. It was a place we felt safe.

Growing up in Canada as a visible minority took a great toll on many of us. It inflicted many little cuts and slices to our souls. We felt unwanted. We felt like outsiders.. The racism we experienced seared into our self-confidence.

The church absorbed some of this pain. We found some comfort. But it could not shield us fully. It did not help us reflect critically on our experiences. It did not help us deal with the pain to find new meaning from it.

We had to find our own way in the world. To survive, we had to fit in. Fit in our workplaces. Fit in our neighbourhoods. Fit in the circles that our children needed to belong to.

Fitting in became the key to survival. Many second generation became like the chief priests and elders. Looking over their shoulder became second nature.

They worked so hard to find acceptance in their jobs and careers. They enjoyed the lifestyle that came from this acceptance. Maintaining that position and privilege became the main concern.

In their quest to fit in, I wonder if we lost ourselves. I wonder if at the bottom of it, we are still driven by fear. Fear of losing everything we've worked so hard to build. Fear of losing enjoyment of what we have.

I wonder if somewhere along the way, we lost belief in ourselves. Belief that we have something unique and special to contribute to this world.

I wonder if we've convinced ourselves that this is as good as it gets. Just be thankful and appreciative for what we have and enjoy it. Just fit in and enjoy it.

Do Not Hide Your Fear and Pain

In church, we hear every week about how God loves us. We say amen. We say yes we believe.

But I wonder if we've become like the second son in today's passage, who says yes I will , but then does not. We say we believe in God's love for us, but do we live as if that's really true? Do we live with the confidence and assurance of such love and live out our truest beliefs and convictions?

The second generation experienced so much pain. But this pain is hidden and buried deep in our hearts. To overcome that pain, we wanted to show how much we are acceptable. How much we can fit in. We ran away from the pain by fitting in.

In the Bible, God uses the pain of human experience to work most powerfully. St. Paul himself said that when I am weak, I am strong, for power is made perfect in weakness. God takes our pain and transforms it into something beautiful. But that only happens when we come face to face with it.

Jacob's greatest fear was encountering his brother Esau. He had deceived and tricked Esau, and he ran away for many years. But now he was about to confront him after all these years.

The night before the encounter, he was all alone by the river. A man came to wrestle with him. They wrestled all night. Jacob would not let go. The man struck him in his hip socket and put his hip out of joint, but still he would not let go.

The man asked Jacob to let him go, but he said: I will not let you go until you bless me!

He asked Jacob what his name was. When Jacob responded, the man said:

You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed. (Genesis 32:28)

Jacob strove and prevailed. He paid a price for it. His hip socket was permanently out of joint, and walked with a limp for the rest of his life.

But he was blessed. From the fire of dealing with his fear and pain, he emerged as a new person with a new name and identity.

Live With Authority of Your Convictions

My friends, to live with authority, you must wrestle head on with your greatest fears. When you wrestle like Jacob did, God will bless you.

You will emerge as a new person. You will be free from fear. You will be healed of your pain. You will be free to discover your truest passions and convictions. You will have the courage to live according to them.

That is a blessed life.

We should be thankful that God has brought us this far. We are blessed in many ways. But we have another step to take.

To go beyond this safe place we are in and venture forth with boldness. To discover deeper convictions and be driven by them.

Let us be free of the need to fit in. Live an original life!

The great African-American author, James Baldwin, said this:

The place in which I'll fit will not exist until I make it. (James Baldwin)

Make a beautiful life for yourself and others. Live life with the authority of your deepest convictions. I pray that all of you take this journey. God is faithful, God is merciful. God will bless you. And you will live your life with authority.

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Romans 13:8-14

Owed Love

St. Paul begins the passage by saying this:

Owe no one anything, except to love one another. (Romans 13:8)

We owe something to those who love us and take care of us. The amount of love and help we've received, we owe that back. You owe them gratitude. You owe them your care and resources when they need it.

But what about people you owe nothing to? They are people outside of your circle. People who have not been a part of your life.

St. Paul is talking about a different kind of love. Not loving just those we owe that love to. But loving those we owe nothing else to. This is very different from the love we're used to. It's love that crosses my boundaries. Love for those I don't feel any connection with.

Loving others sounds nice. But why should we owe love to others who have nothing to do with us? Can't I just live my own life? Isn't causing no harm good enough?

Neighbour

The commandments are about not doing harm to others. Do not murder; do not steal; do not covet. But Paul summarizes all the commandments in a more proactive way. To love your neighbour.

Jesus expanded the meaning of neighbour. The Samaritan did not know the man he encountered on the road. No one would expect a Samaritan to help a Jew. Samaritans and Jews were enemies. He expanded the meaning of neighbour to not just someone you know, but anyone who needs help, especially those you don't know.

I don't think it was only for the sake of those who need help. It is also for the sake of the one giving the help. The kind of love that Jesus and St. Paul are talking about is meant to bless us. To expand our life.

That is what mission is all about. It is about going beyond people I know. Connecting with those who I have no relation with. We don't owe them anything. But we go to love them nonetheless. But in the process of loving them, we become more blessed.

That is what the team that went to Sioux Valley experienced. Apart from the Songs, none of us had any relationship with the people there. They had nothing to do with us. But we went with a call to love them nonetheless. I think more than them, it was those of us who went who were more blessed. We were filled. We were healed. Our lives were expanded.

You can live your life owing nothing to anyone. You can live comfortably and safely with just the people you like. But you will miss out on so much in life: No new or deeper connections with others. No new experiences. Stay stuck where you are. Stay small.

Loving those we owe nothing to expands who we are. Enriches life. Brings joy, satisfaction, fullness.

Love the Stranger

If you can love those whom you owe nothing to, then you are a spiritual person. Loving those who have nothing to do with us is the highest level of spiritual maturity. It reflects who Jesus was. But it is the hardest thing to do. It is the most unnatural thing to do. We cannot just will ourselves to love like this. There has to be a change in my heart. Something that changes how I see others.

God gave the Israelites this commandment:

You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

(Deuteronomy 10:19)

Love the stranger. This commandment was given to the Israelites after they escaped slavery in Egypt. Right from the beginning, they are commanded to love the stranger. Why did they receive this command? Where did it come from? That commandment arose from the memory of their own suffering. Not just the suffering itself, but how God came and rescued them from their suffering.

The Israelites had been through so much. Suffering under slavery. Being lost in the wilderness. Facing an uncertain future. But when they looked back, they remembered God who loved them, was faithful and had been with them. Knowing God's love for them opened their hearts to love the stranger.

In God’s Love

Life is filled with difficulties and suffering. We cannot escape it. Many of you have faced and still face your own challenges and difficulties.

If you feel like you've had to do everything on your own, and that there was no one there to help you, then you feel like you owe nothing to anyone. But if you see that you have been helped when times were difficult, then your heart becomes filled with gratitude. That gratitude is the prerequisite of an open heart. A heart that welcomes and loves others. (KLSA story).

Life has been and is challenging. Sometimes we wonder how we made it to today. But you have all made it this far. You are still standing here today. That is reason to rejoice and be thankful. Don't take life for granted. When I was on vacation: African American church services. Prayer of invocation: always thank you for letting me wake up, thank you for another day to worship you Same with Sioux Valley. Through all your difficult times, God was there to help you. There were times we were down and out. But God helped you. God provided people to help you get through those times. God gave you the strength to keep carrying on

More than that, God helped us even when we were strangers from God. Not just strangers, but even enemies of God. When we were selfish, God still helped us. When we were mean and unloving, God still helped us. When we were sinning and doing all kinds of wrong and evil things, even still God helped us

This is what St. Paul proclaims:

God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

While we were still enemies of God, God was still loving us and reaching out to us. There is nothing that we did to warrant God's love, but God chose to reach out to us. That is the love that God has for us. We are all here by God's grace

When we live in God's grace, God's love fills us and flows out from us. It is no longer us that decides to love. It is God's love that flows out from us. Loving others is the result of being filled with God's love

Everyday, live in the goodness of God's love. Start every day thanking God for his goodness. Commit each day to live in his goodness. Let that goodness fill you and flow out from you

Grateful

St. Paul gives a warning:

You know what time it is, how it is already the moment for you to wake from sleep the night is far gone; the day is near. (Romans 13:11-12)

The time to love is now. Not tomorrow, not next week.

We should never take life for granted. When we do die, it is not the number of years you live that count. We don't know exactly when St. Paul died, or how old he was. But that does not matter: what matters is that he left behind beautiful words that became the Word of God for us. Those words continue to shape us, help us and empower us today. What matters is the love that flowed through him in the words he left us.

Viktor Frankl, a psychologist who survived the Holocaust, said this:

We do not judge the life history of a person by the number of pages in the book that portrays it but only by the richness of the content it contains.

Viktor E. Frankl, Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything

It is not the number of pages in the book of your life that matters, but the richness of its contents. Make your life filled with rich content! Love is what makes the content of your life rich. Loving those whom we owe nothing to is the most beautiful thing we can do. The great thing about love is we can never stop expanding in our ability to love. It can keep growing until the day we die.

(Reflections on St. Tim's and KSM) This church has to be a place where the goodness of God is experienced

Our job is to live daily in the goodness of God. Be grateful for each day. Let the love of God flow within you. That love will flow out to others. Your life will be truly blessed.

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Romans 14:1-12

Judgmental Attitudes

In today's passage, St. Paul talks about judgmental attitudes. That is what I want to reflect on today.

Judgmental attitudes destroy relationships and communities. This was the underlying issue in the community in Rome. Judgmental attitudes were threatening the community. Judgmental attitudes create divisions among people: within families, among friends, and in communities. To live in peace and harmony with one another, we have to overcome judgmental attitudes.

Judgmental attitudes make you see only the flaws in other people. You start defining other people solely based on their flaws. It gives you an excuse to see them as less than human; treat them as less than human. You look down on them because of their flaws.

Judgmental attitudes are corrosive. They erode the sense of community and togetherness. They kill the spirit of those around you. Not only those around you, but they also kill your spirit too.

When you have a judgmental attitude, you can't enjoy life. It takes over you. It darkens your outlook and clouds the way you see people. The only energy you get is from judging other people. It's toxic.

From Our Hearts

Judgmental attitude comes from a toxic heart. A heart that is not at peace. There is some great unease and disturbance in the judgmental heart. When that disturbed heart gets triggered, it lashes out. It releases itself in judgment toward others. So the root of a judgmental attitude lies in our hearts.

For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. (Matthew 5:19)

Add to this verse the words judgmental attitudes .

The judgmental heart is very uneasy. It is insecure. It is volatile. Its sense of well-being fluctuates wildly. The judgmental heart often feels threatened. It fears losing its standing.

At its very core, the judgmental person is afraid that my life doesn't mean anything. That my life is insignificant. That I don't matter. That I am not loved or loveable.

In order to feel like they matter, the judgmental person needs to justify themselves. Justify their life. Justify their existence. Justify who they are.

With Self Righteousness, Without Peace

To survive, the judgmental person becomes very self-righteous. To be righteous means to live rightly. To have right standing. The self-righteous person tries to feel better about themselves by convincing themselves that they are living rightly.

The problem with self-righteousness is that you are righteous only in relation to others. You feel better about yourself only in comparison to others. You do the right thing compared with those who are doing the wrong thing. Self-righteousness elevates yourself by putting others down.

Self-righteousness does not give you peace in your heart. You are always verifying that you are more right than others. You are always measuring yourself.

Luke describes this story:

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: I thank you, God, that I am not like other people cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I'm certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.' (Luke 18:9-12)

Most of us may not explicitly say or pray these things, but somewhere deep in our hearts and subconscious, we think in this way.

My friends, when you have a judgmental heart, you can only feel better about yourself by putting other people down. You can only be righteous by having people who are inferior to you.

Self-righteousness always separates you from others. It does not make you happier. It is futile and will never bring you peace.

Find Peace in God’s Righteousness

You can only find peace in your heart when it's not dependent on the approval or acceptance of others. People's reactions, their approvals, what they say – it will fluctuate and vary wildly depending on the circumstances. Our peace has to be consistent and reliable no matter what the circumstances are.

This peace is what St. Paul discovered. He found this peace not in his own righteousness, but in the righteousness of God.

The righteousness of God is very different from self-righteousness. God does not establish his righteousness by putting us down. He does not do so by pointing out our flaws or condemning us.

Rather, God overlooks our wrongdoings and shortcomings. God absorbs and takes on our weaknesses and failures. That is what Christ did on the cross.

St. Paul says:

God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

God's righteousness comes from love. God acts rightly out of love for us. God loves us in order to restore our relationship. Self-righteousness separates and divides, but God's righteousness reconciles and brings together. God's righteousness creates the possibility of a new beginning together in harmony.

The Light of God’s Grace

God's righteousness brings peace that removes hostility and judgmental attitudes.

The danger of a judgmental attitude is that it blinds you. It blinds you to the brokenness inside of you that drives your need to elevate yourself above others. It blinds you to the effects that your judgmental attitude has on others. It blinds you to your arrogance and lack of empathy that keeps others down.

This is why confession is such a big part of our faith life. We ask God to shine a light on areas where we are doing wrong. To take away our blindness and reveal our sins so that we can confess them and seek forgiveness. It is like requesting a spiritual x-ray from God to diagnose any hidden tumors in our hearts.

That was the prayer of the psalmist:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139)

The scariest part of getting an x-ray is the fear of finding something unexpected. We see our sins not to feel guilty or ashamed. We see our sins so that we can see the greater grace of God.

When you see your sins clearly, then God's grace means so much more. If you don't see your sins, then there's no need for grace. When you see your own brokenness, God's grace becomes a powerful force that brings healing for your soul. The knowledge that God overlooks your sins to restore a relationship with you humbles you and changes your heart.

See Preciousness

Our righteousness does not come from checking off any boxes. It is not based on what we do. It comes from believing in God's love for me. Not a belief in my brain, but a belief in my guts and bones. From accepting a grace that seems too good to be true but is. It comes from knowing and trusting that God overlooks my sins to restore a right relationship with me.

God's grace affirms how precious you are in spite of your flaws and weaknesses. It affirms that your life matters. That you are loved. God has made you beautiful. You don't need other people to tell you that. You don't need to check off any boxes. God has fashioned you and designed you in a unique way. Every day, root yourself again and again in God's grace.

Grace opens your heart. It makes room for others. In God's grace, you see how precious you are. That grace spills over and lets you see how precious other people are as well.

THAT is the key to overcoming judgmental attitudes: to see how precious other people are.

When you see how precious they are, you make room for them. You can still see their flaws, but they don't trigger judgmental attitudes in you. Instead of judgment and condemnation, you feel empathy and compassion. You see that their flaws arise from some hurt in their heart.

Instead of a judgmental attitude, you develop critical discernment. You see their flaws clearly. You see how they might affect the community. But instead of judging them, you seek the wisdom to minimize the damage they do. In love, you try to restore that person to the community.

Restored With Grace & Love

That is what Jesus did. Zacchaeus was not a good man. He was a chief tax collector who got rich off the backs of the poor townspeople.

Jesus did not condone what he had done. But instead of judging and condemning him, he invited himself over to his house. His actions and presence of grace changed Zacchaeus. He essentially gave all of his money away as reparations for all he had done – to repair his relations with his community. It came not from guilt but from grace.

This is what Jesus said about Zacchaeus:

Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. (Luke 19:9)

Jesus' ministry was to restore those judged unfit back into the community. This is the ministry we have been called to.

There is too much judgment and condemnation in our world today. Overcome judgmental attitudes. Create room for grace by living in the grace of God. Be people who restore others back into the community.

The post Overcome Judgmental Attitudes appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Matthew 20:1-16

The Searching Landowner

Jesus is talking about the kingdom of God today. What does the kingdom of God look like?

Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a landowner.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. (Matthew 20:1)

A landowner who went out early in the morning That's what the kingdom of God is like.

The kingdom of God is like the landowner who is searching. He was searching from early in the morning. But not just in the morning, he was searching all day.

When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, Why are you standing here idle all day? (Matthew 20:5, 6)

That's what the kingdom of God is like. God who searches for us. A woman who searches for the lost coin. A father who searches for the lost son.

That is what our God is like.

This is what Christianity is all about. This is the core of our faith. Jesus, God's son, came in human form, to search for those who are lost.

We can see this in Jesus' parable of the lost sheep very clearly. This story comes out two chapters before today's story.

What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. (Matthew 18:12, 13)

You will never be left alone abandoned. Because there is God who searches for you. We will not be lost.

My friends, we don't always walk on a right path. We don't always walk straight. Sometimes we wander. Sometimes, we get lost.

When I was a child, I went to this palace called in Seoul. At that time, there was a zoo in the palace. So many people. So crowded.

I went with my mother and I got lost. I followed balloons and after a while, I realized that I was all alone in the crowd. My mother wasn't there. I looked around everywhere and I couldn't see my mom. The feeling of panic I got at that time is still vivid to me. But soon, I saw my mother who was searching everywhere to find me.

God Searches for His People

Life is not always good. It doesn't matter how hard you try, sometimes things don't work out. Even the most capable people can fall.

The prophet Isaiah knew about this very well. So he said,

Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted. (Isaiah 40:30)

Even youths will faint. The young will fall exhausted.

Sometimes we see no solution for our problems. We feel that even God cannot help us. We cannot see any clear path to take.

Isaiah knew our troubled heart so well.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God'? (Isaiah 40:27)

But Isaiah did not give up. When there was no hope, when there was no power left in him, and even when he felt that his way was hidden from God, he didn't give up. Because he knew that there was God who would search for him and his people.

Even when Israelites abandoned God and went their own separate ways, God did not abandon his people. And Isaiah knew that.

This was his confession.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

The landowner did not go out to search for the best of the best. He went out at the 11th hour. 11th hour means the one hour before the end of the day. Even at that hour, he went out to look for people.

This is what they said when the landowner asked why they were not working.

Because no one has hired us. (Matthew 20:7)

Nobody wanted them. That is mercy. That is how mercy works in our life. That is what grace is like. That is the kingdom of God. We have to experience this mercy in our lives.

God is not with us only when everything goes well. When you experience difficulties, when you feel powerless and helpless, when you don't know what to do, even then, God is searching for you.

If you can see that, you can see the kingdom of God.

Mend a Broken Society

Jesus said,

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. (Matthew 9:12, 13)

The measure of a society is how it treats its weakest members.

When we have the vision of the kingdom of God, our society will not collapse.

When our society is only filled with competitiveness and when our society is only for those who are capable and powerful, when that society loses the vision of the kingdom of God, it will not be able to sustain. There will a lot of sorrow, frustration, and darkness.

The birth rate of Korea is the lowest in the world. Young couples don't want children. Because there are few jobs they want. Also because there is a high cost of education. They call it Edupoor (Neologism from Education and poor.) 0.78 – well below Japan's 1.26. OECD countries' average: 1.58.

They may have to receive immigration to sustain the economy. Does that society have the infrastructure to be able to accommodate the weak and poor immigrants?

That was what Jesus did. Jesus' whole life was like a metaphor. Metaphor that shows what the kingdom of God is like.

He spent time with those who were rejected and alienated and gave them hope for the new life and a new opportunity. He restored their dignity. They felt loved for the first time.

From the society, they constantly experienced judgment and discrimination. But for the first time, they felt valued.

The Kingdom of God

Most people might have followed Jesus because they saw the miracles he performed. But there were also people who followed Jesus because they experienced what the people who came at the 11th hour experienced. They experienced the kingdom of God.

When Jesus said to Zacchaeus, I would stay at your house, he felt so welcomed and honored because no one wanted to associate with him. So, he gave away all of his possessions. He experienced the kingdom of God.

When Mary felt deep love from Jesus, she poured her most expensive perfume with tears. She experienced the kingdom of God.

When the disciples experienced the kingdom of God, they gave up their lives.

The kingdom of God is hidden to those who think they can handle their lives well on their own, who don't need anybody's help. The kingdom of God is revealed to those who desperately need God's help. The kingdom of God is not what we can create for ourselves.

The kingdom of God is a gift given to us. It is to get a new opportunity to start again even though we have failed. That's why there is joy. That's why there is gratitude. People who experienced the kingdom of God live with joy and thankfulness.

The fact that they worked at the vineyard was by the grace of the owner.  On top of that, receiving a full day's wage was also the grace that they received. Especially people who came one hour before knew that clearly. To them, 1 denarion was not a wage but a gift.

Our life is not a wage but a gift. If you understand that, your life will be brightened up.

When you are down, depressed When you feel that nothing goes well in your life You are not alone. Remember: God is searching for you. Don't forget that.

The post God Who Searches appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Romans 12:9-21

Do Not Avenge

These are beautiful words. We should read them daily and keep them in our heart. Paul is teaching us about how to live as a Christian. Or how to live as a good human being.

These are marks of Christians. These are visible marks of being a good person.

You don't become haughty but associate with the lowly. You extend hospitality to strangers. How beautiful it is to live like that. It doesn't matter whether you are Christians or not. It is what a good human being is supposed to do.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. It sounds simple and easy but people don't do that. Many times people are jealous with those who rejoice. They are indifferent to those who weep. We just don't know how to feel for others. St. Paul said to feel for others. That is a beautiful attitude.

But Paul left the most important and the most difficult topic to the end.

DO NOT AVENGE!

Bless those who persecute you. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

This is what differentiates a good person from an ordinary person.

What Paul is telling us to do is very hard. How can you bless your enemies? Those who did evil to you? How can you bless them? Our whole body protests against that. Every cell of my body shouts,

NO WAY!!!

At best, I can ignore what they did to me. But no way I can bless them.

An Eye For An Eye

Taylor Swift sang,

There's nothing I do better than revenge!

Yes, that is what I want to do. We can all identify with that. We don't need to practice to do that. We are already good at it. It is our automatic response when we are hurt. Somebody strikes you, you strike back.

We believe that we are entitled to do that. We have the right to do that. Maybe we do.

Paul is not saying that you don't. But Paul is saying, Don't do it. Why? BECAUSE IT IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU.

Gandhi said,

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

Yes, it destroys both. It destroys you. And it destroys those who hurt you.

Actually, Moses gave an eye for an eye instruction for the sake of telling them to be fair. When somebody takes your eye, just take his eye, not his nose and his ears. Don't be a savage. Just one eye, not two eyes either. That's fair. That was Moses' ethics. Ethics of being fair.

But when it comes to Jesus, he introduced a higher ethics.

You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. (Matthew 5:38-41)

A very different idea and a very different standard. It was the same idea as what St. Paul said. Bless those who hurt you. Bless and do not curse them. That is Jesus' way of living our life.

It sounds unreasonable. It doesn't sound rational. But I believe that there is a good reason behind that.

A Vengeful Heart

When evil is done to you, it hurts. Yes, it hurts. When you are betrayed, When you are back stabbed, When you are wrongfully accused, It hurts.

No one is immune from the feeling of that hurt. You don't need to pretend that it doesn't hurt. It hurts.

When I went to Ohio for a conference, I heard a minister telling us this story. He went to another town to preach and there he met a couple who used to come to his church. After the service, they came to him and so he greeted them nicely and talked to them. That night, when he came to his hotel room, he was covered with hives. And he was shivering. He didn't know why. He realized that he was still feeling the hurt. When this couple was at his church, they hurt him so much that he still felt it.

The evil done to you hurts you. But it doesn't stop there. It often creates a vengeful heart and brings darkness within you. It does not just hurt you but takes you into a very dark place.

When you are hurt, you want to avenge yourself. You feel that you have to do it. You feel that you need to release your negative emotions. So that you may not be destroyed by your negative emotions. But it doesn't. It doesn't help you. It makes you feel worse.

The research found out that the revenge makes you feel worse.

Kevin M. Carlsmith, Timothy D. Wilson, and Daniel T. Gilbert studied several participants about the revenge.

In their studies, while participants thought they'd feel better after exacting revenge, the researchers found the very opposite. It wasn't just that punishing the transgressor didn't provide a release but that it in fact made participants focus on and ruminate about both the transgressor and the transgression more.

Yes, momentarily, you may feel good because you can release your negative emotions within you. But in the end, it is not good for you. You will feel worse.

Not only you feel worse, if the hurt turns into a vengeful heart, it will take you to a dark place.

This vengeful heart is much more difficult to deal with than the hurt you feel.

You don't want your hurt to create a vengeful heart.

Living out a vengeful heart takes away joy from you. You cannot be happy with the vengeful heart. Being hurt – yes, it is painful. But living with a vengeful heart is much worse.

Dr. Joseph Burgo said in his book, The Narcissist You Know, said,

The more narcissistic you are, the more tendency you will create a vengeful heart within you.

Grace

You don't always have to turn your hurt into a vengeful heart. We Christians are equipped to deal with our hurt in a healthy way. Knowing our weaknesses, God has provided us with a mechanism to deal with our hurt.

God has given us the grace. And with the power of grace, we can deal with our hurt in a healthy way. When grace is strongly present in you, your hurt will not turn into a vengeful heart. When the grace of God is powerfully working within you, you don't let the evil do that to you. The grace within you will protect you from the evil. The grace will deliver us from evil as Jesus taught us to pray. God's grace will turn cursing into blessing.

St. Paul said,

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

Deal with evil done to you with God's grace. The only way to deal with evil is not with evil but with good.

Blessing those who persecute you – that is overcoming evil with good. That was what Jesus did on the cross. He prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified him.

The cross itself is overcoming evil with good. Jesus' whole life was overcoming evil with good. Because he lived his life by God's grace. When you are able to do that, you will be the winner of life. Nothing can destroy you. That is the sign of real strength.

The post Turning Curses Into Blessings appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.