I'm ready for my Sunday Sermon on John 5:17-24. Here are some quotes I'm using:

• I love this famous C.S. Lewis quote from Mere Christianity: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
  
• Adam Clarke says this, “God does nothing but what Christ does. What God does is the work of God, and proper to no creature—Jesus does whatsoever God does, and therefore is no created being. The Son can do nothing but what he sees the Father do: now, any intelligent creature may do what God cannot do: he may err—he may sin. If Jesus can do nothing but what God does, then he is no creature—he can neither sin nor err, nor act imperfectly. The conclusion from our Lord's argument is: If I have broken the Sabbath, so has God also; for I can do nothing but what I see him doing. He is ever governing and preserving; I am ever employed in saving.”

As I write this, I'm in the throes of Sunday's message in John 5. This is the third of probably 5 sermons in this chapter. This week we come face to face with Jesus Christ's bold claims. The fact is this: you can't look at Jesus and be neutral. A theology that says Jesus is a good man, a nice teacher, but not Almighty God is not logical. Because Jesus didn't allow you that option. He was the most polarizing figure in the history of the world. You either embrace Him and give your life for him as the disciples and countless Christians have or you hate him as the religious figures of His day did.

Jesus not only claimed to be God--which was an outrageous, bold, heretical statement to the orthodox Jew of His day, but inherent in that claim was the power to raise the dead, to give life, and the authority to judge every person at the end of the world. In other words, Jesus didn't say, as Whoopi Goldberg recently claimed, "This is what I believe, but if you don't like it, that' cool." No, Jesus claimed to be one, equal, and in harmony with God. And if in harmony with God, then he demands that you reckon with Him. He demands to be honored as the Father.

Jesus doesn't share the stage with any other religious figure. He isn't allowing an option for Himself to be one of many paths to God. He claims to be the only begotten of the Father.

He offers two choices. Accept Him by faith and be passed from death to life or reject him and face your eternal judgement one day. The offer of salvation by grace thru faith is open to all. Its the world's most inclusive offer--open to everyone. But there is only one door, one way, one avenue to God.

If you're a seeker, I ecourage you to embrace Jesus Christ. Read His claims in the Gospel of John. Experience life and victory over sin.

If you're a believer, I want to ask you a question. Does your life reflect a kind of casual neutrality about Jesus Christ? Or do people know and understand that you are a Christ-follower?

Over the last few days I've received a plethora of emails and forwarded emails about President Obama and his policies. They are from friends who are rightly concerned with the direction our country is taking. Like many Christians, I'm concerned about his policies. I'm troubled by the excessive spending and what it means for future generations. I'm appalled by abortion policies that degenerate God-given life. I'm troubled by a seeming indifference to Biblical values.

But here is the big, "however." However, we as Christians must think and live and act as Christ would have us act. What does this look like under an Obama administration? I'm not totally sure, but I do know this. We must alwasy put our faith first and we must always remember to represent Jesus Christ first and foremost. So that may mean:

• Not sending emails to our email list that call Obama everything from a red-blooded Communist to a Socialist Monster. To those Christian friends who send those emails and let this kind of rhetoric season their discussions: I wonder if they'll ever be able to share Christ with people of the other political party.
• Not wishing for Obama's complete and utter failure. Because as Americans, his failure is our failure. And I don't think wishing for the President's failure is consistent with hopeful, Heaveward outlook.
• Not putting your faith in the Republican party as if being a Christian includes being a Republican and/or conservative.

There are also some things I think we should do as Christians in this culture:

• Be faithful in our local Bible-believing churches and working to share the Gospel and build up the body of Christ. The power is in the Holy Spirit and His presence is felt the strongest in a local, Bible-believing church.
• Commit to prayer as much as we commit to criticizing the President. What if we prayed 10 times more often than we criticized President Obama? Maybe, just maybe we could affect changes in his policies.
• Speak out on issues that are clearly in violation of Biblical principles. Like abortion, the redefinition of marriage, human trafficking, persecution of believers abroad, censoring of Christian thought, and other issues. We have been given a precious stewardship as Americans to have a stake in our own government.
• Speak out with grace and clarity and dignity, because that political opponent may also be a soul searching for the hope and love only Jesus Christ offers.
• Recognize that God is in full control, He has a plan for our lives, and He has a plan for this world. We don't live as if this world is all their is to live for. We are looking toward Heaven.
• Meditation on Scriptures:
  • 1 Peter 2:17 - "Honor the King"
  • Matthew 5:44 - "Love Your Enemies."
  • 2 Timothy 2:1-4 - "Pray for All In Authority."
  • Romans 13 - "Powers that Be are Ordained of God."
  • Psalm 75:6 - "Promotion Comes Not from the East or West, but From God."
  • Psalm 20:7 - "Some Trust in Chariots, We Trust in the Name of the Lord."

Somehow I got suckered into viewing a small video clip of "The View," that famous forum for conversations centered around Biblical truth. I'm kidding. These women were discussing religion. Apparently the Vatican has released a list of new sins. Whoopi Goldberg started out by saying, "How can the Vatican decided what is a sin? How can there be new sins?" I agree. Sins are defined by what God has said and spoken on in His Word--the Bible whose truth has stood the test of time.

But, then Whoopi really went off the reservation. She said this (and I'm really paraphrasing here), "Okay, I think intolerance is a sin." Then she continued, "If you know the Bible, Jesus said, 'Here is what I think, but if you don't agree, that's cool with me." And then the real kicker, "Any religion that says, 'this is the only way is sinful.'"

This is where I wanted to interject and say," Hey, Whoopi, have you read the gospel of John?" Maybe her Bible doesn't have John in it. Or maybe it does, but she hasn't read it. Or maybe she has read it but hasn't reconciled herself to its profound truth. 

But you cannot say that Jesus professed a sort of "I'm okay, you're okay," theology. In fact, Jesus would have been declared by Whoopi and others to be "intolerant." Why? Because Jesus made bold claims like, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father but by me." (John 14:6)

Here is what Jesus did say. He said that the offer of salvation was open to all. In fact, in the truest definition of tolerance, Jesus was the most tolerant person alive. Because the offer of salvation is open to all who believe.  But here is only one way--thru Jesus Christ.

Jesus never said, "This is what I believe, but if you don't like it--that's cool." No, Jesus made bold claims to be God in the flesh. And if Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, believing something else isn't cool. It is an eternal risk I'm not willing to take.

Now, does that mean Biblical Christianity should be a state religion? No. Does that mean we should not allow other religions to worship freely? Absolutely not. Our forefathers died to give us the right to worship as we please. And I would give my life to allow someone to worship as they please--even if it was a false religion.

But do you see what is happening in our culture? Its not just Whoopi. She's just parroting the doctrine of the age, which is to say that is okay to be religious, but to hold to the Biblical account that Jesus Christ is God and is the only way to Heaven is intolerant.

And so Christians must hold fast to their beliefs and know what the Scripture says about Jesus exclusive truth claims. We shouldn't be belligerent and angry. We should be known by our love. But we also must not cede the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as God and the only means to Heaven.

Today the world is celebrating two giants of history: Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. There have been many great commentaries on both men.

I'll start with Darwin. If you want a convenient excuse to ignore the truth claims of Jesus and render the Bible as nothing more significant and factual than The Canterbury Tales, then today you're toasting Darwin. His legacy is that he has convinced millions down thru history to reject Genesis 1:1 and reject the authority of the Bible. But here is the rub. If God is wrong, then no big deal. Christians are as doomed and hopeless as everyone else. But if Darwin is wrong, then those who followed his thinking to the grave are headed for a fateful Judgment Day.

As for me, I reject Darwin. Genesis 1:1 is good enough for me. If the Bible says it, I believe. I believe God is the creator of the Heavens and Earth. You say that takes faith. It does. But so does evolution. And the faith in evolution comes with a really bad feeling in the back of your mind that perhaps there is a God and perhaps we're accountable. Plus, the science is firmly on the side of the Bible.

As for Lincoln, he was one of a handful of great men in American history, uniquely raised up by God to preserve America. Because of America's greatness, millions around the globe have heard the Gospel thru missioanries, technology, churches, and individuals sharing their faith. Let's pray that in our generation, there are Lincolns with the courage to do what's right.

Plus, Lincoln was from Illinois, my home state. That makes me proud.

I can't believe how much I love preaching. I alwasy knew I wanted to be a pastor and I always enjoyed the few times I had to preach, but the opportunity and privelege it is to stand in front of God's people and preach God's Word--there is an unexplainable exhiliration and rush. Now I know why my retired pastor friends will do anything to get back into the pulpit. I understand now.

That being said, preaching is really a lot of work. I didn't understand this until I became a preacher. I feel bad now, having grown up under tremendously great preaching my entire life and not really appreciating the hard work my pastor put in week in and week out.

Preparing the message each week is a demanding excercise. Its like a holy sweat, if you will. Especially if you preach expository--which is it to say--you preach thru a book and plow thru it. Because every week you're confront with a new text and you are forced to grabble with that text. That's not to disparage who consistently preach topically, but expository preaching really forces you to dig into some very difficult texts.

As a young guy, I get overwhelmed sometimes as I face a new chapter. We're going thru John and now we're facing chapter five. Chapter five has some of the most profound theology and doctrine in all of the Scriptures. How do I explain it? How do I understand it? How do I personalize it so that its not just academic transfer of knowledge?

Here is my system. Its admittedly a work in progress. At the beginning of the week, I begin to study. I really like to study a lot because I feel that I need to know that text up and down and sideways. But in this study period, there is a lot of angst, a sort of wrestling with the text and with God. You're confronted by an overwhelming sense of inadequacy about your self and your ability to communicate the deep truths to a new generation of God's people. But I just keep studying. I study the text. I read it over and over. I read sermons from preachers I admire, past and present. I study commentaries, both on my computer thru Wordsearch Bible Software (In my mind the best Bible software out there), I also pull books from my library. I don't read the same set of stuff every week. It just varies. I also burrow into some of the harder words. I try to get a feel for the background, the context the setting.

I just pile all of this knowledge into my little brain. Then I absorb it and chew on it and pray on it and sleep on it for a few days. Then, remarkably, the Holy Spirit just clicks that light bulb on in my head and helps me put it all together so that I communicate the exact Biblical truth God wants communicated to those people, where they are, at Gages Lake Bible Church. I'm thoroughly amazed and humbled at how God works in the life of a preacher to make the message his own. At this point, I sit at my computer and write out my message. When I'm done, I feel a sense of relief and joy.

This week we're preaching, "Are You Ready to Be Healed?" We're going to break up this chapter into several weeks. This week is specifically the miracle of the healing of the 38-year lame man at the pool of Bethsaida by the Sheep Gate and what this miracle meant to the nation of Israel and to you and to me. Its profound and convicting and exciting.

I'll leave you with a gem of a quote by Charles Spurgeon from his sermon, "The Hospital of Waiters Visited With the Gospel." Spurgeon writes at the close:

I would put it in the simplest way I could, for I was, myself, waiting when I was a child. I heard much preaching that led me to wait—and I think I should have kept on waiting had I not heard that poor Primitive Methodist Brother cry,“Look, young man, look now!” I did look, then and there, and I found salvation on the spot—and I have never lost it. I have nothing else to say to you, but, “There is life in a look at the Crucified One,” and every man that looks shall have it there, now and at once. O, that many would look! Do you understand it? Christ bore the wrath of God instead of those who trust Him! Jesus Christ took the sins of all who trust Him and was punished in the place of every Believer, so that God will not punish a Believer because He has punished Christ for him! Christ died for the man who believes in Him, so that it would be injustice on the part of God to punish that man, for how shall He punish twice for the same offense? Faith is the seal and evidence that you were redeemed 1,900 years ago upon the bloody tree of Calvary! And you are justified and who shall lay anything to yourcharge?

One of my dearest friends is a man named Cecil Murphey. He has authored hundreds of Christian books, but until recently, was not really well known, because he has been a ghostwriter. I don't know if anyone is more talented than Cec at telling someone else's story. He has helped some of the world's biggest celebrities write their autobiographies. One of those great stories is that of Dr. Ben Carson, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at John's Hopkins University.

Dr. Carson is one of the world's most celebrated doctors. He has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and has received numerous other awards. He has succesfully separated twins conjoined at the head--a very risky and complicated procedure.

Dr. Carson and my friend Cecil Murphey wrote his story a number of years ago in a bestselling book titled, Gifted Hands. I have to admit that I've never read that book. Shame on me. But recently, TNT made a movie from that book, with the same title, Gifted Hands.

It aired Saturday evening at 7 pm. I recorded it and last night Angela and I had the privelege of watching it. It was a powerful movie and we were touched by the extraordinary discipline and faith of this man. I was also challenged as a parent by Dr. Carson's mom, who spent her life encouraging her sons to greatness. She always told them they could achieve much more than they thought-thru God's strength. Dr. Carson overcame the absense of a father, 60's era racism, and his own doubts to become one of the world's leading doctors.

If you have a chance to watch this movie or read this book, I encourage you to. Its an incredible American story.

Nobody excited the sports world last year like Michael Phelps. I never watch the Olympics and I never, ever watch swimming. Last year I happily watched both because of Phelps' incredible achievement. So, like the rest of the world, I was bummed when I heard Phelps get busted for smoking marijuana.

But I'm even more intriguted by the prevailing opinions of Phelps, heard on talk radio and in newspapers and at the water cooler. It really speaks to our society's rationalization of sin. It stands in direct contrast to Biblical truth. Here are a few things I picked up:

• I love his apology. Its couched in PR-speak and pop-psychology. "Sorry for my choices" "I made bad judgements" "If I offended anybody." It doesn't really sound like Phelps thinks what he did was flat out wrong. There is a word nobody wants to use. Its called sin. Sadly, I hear a lot of Christians, including myself, use that same terminology. David, in Psalm 62, didn't. He said to God, "Against you and you only have I sinned." That's true confession.
• I keep hearing that it was a dumb thing for Phelps to do, because he got caught. One of my favorite sports talk guys said something like, "Hey, you have to know at the party, somebody will have a camera-phone." Duh!. In other words, don't smoke illegal drugs when you know camera phones are around. Okay that's nice. But don't we live that way sometimes? We only stay way from the sins we know we can get caught at?
• Everybody is worried about him losing endorsements, but nobody is worried about Michael Phelps and what is at his core that is causing him to want to do drugs. Society, the world, the world system--you think they love you, but they really just want to get everything they can get out of you.
• Why is it that people, who seem to have everything the rest of us want, seem to be empty enough to get into alcohol, drugs, sex. Could it be that fame and money really don't buy happiness?
• Role models are good, but nobody is perfect. Michael Phelps has the perfect body, great work ethic, seemingly great personality, but he's not perfect. He's human. He's fallen. He's one of us. We could point the finger at him in judgment, but we'd have to point the finger at our selves. We all are sinners. We all need a savior. Even Michael Phelps. We should have compassion on the Michael Phelps of the world, who need to find satisfaction in drugs. Let's pray that thru this situation, Phelps finds a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Apparently, the President's choices for his cabinet all seem to have tax issues. Actually, only three do, but right in a row--that's an embarrassment for a President who spent the last two years blasting the former president for not having an ethical administration. Now, the clean, man-of-the-people outsider is sitting in the big chair behind the big desk. Now he sees how hard the job is and how hard it is to manage the daily flow of news (not always positive) that seems to flow out of the White House.

Meanwhile, you have Republicans and talk-show/blog conservatives on the other side who are giddy about these tax issues. Why are they giddy? Because it gives them low-hanging fruit to grab and use to throw at the President, who is so popular it makes them jealous.

I think the whole thing is really funny. Roles are reversed, but humans are still human. The administration who seemed super-human and flawless now is showing that, gasp!, they really are human. And the Republicans, who hated being nitpicked by the other side for eight years, suddenly enjoy picking nits on the Democrats. I actually heard Sean Hannity saying, "Hey, they're telling me that to not vote for the stimulus is unpatriotic. That's not fair." But wasn't it Sean who was saying, not long ago, that those who disagreed with the Iraq War were "unpatriotic." Ahh, the boomerang of politics.

Jesus said something about this. He said, essentially, that the way we judge others is the way we'll be judged. So if we're constantly critical of those in authority, then when we're in the hot seat, people will criticize us. If we're constantly critical of parent's child-raising, then when we have children, people will criticize us. I know this, because as a former critic, I'm feeling criticism all the time of my leadership and my parenting. Ahh, the boomerang of life.

So here is what I'm doing. I'm reading from conservatives how terrible and unethical those darn Democrats are. How can they nominate someone who messed up on their taxes? How unAmerican. But then I know just how tricky taxes are. Even the best accountants miss things. And so I tend to think that while it is important to follow the rule of law, sometimes humans try their best and still fail. Then I'm reading from Democrats just how nitpicky and ridiculous those Republicans are to pick on guys for not paying taxes and then I remember that it was these same guys who were just as nitpicky as their opponents now are.

What is the lesson for believers here? Try your best to follow the law and follow God. And when you mess up, because you will, be the first one to say, "I'm sorry. I messed up. I sinned. Forgive me." Do that regularly to your spouse, your kids, your parents, your coworkers, your fellow ministry workers, your church. Its healthy and biblical and transparent and authentic faith. Do it.

And then when someone else messes up, be the first person to say, "Hey, I've done that before. I understand. Its okay." And take that magnifying glass off of the lives of others and put it on your own life. Be good, as my former Bible College professor used to say, at finding sin in your own life and be really bad about finding it in others.

And try, try really hard to give people the benefit of the doubt without judging their motives. Even in politics, where it is fashionable to send out blazing emails or write scathing blogs about people you see from afar, but don't really know. Only God judges the hearts.