9-21-08 Defining Moments – 2-year celebration

 Today is a defining moment in our congregation. New Community is two year’s old today; that’s a milestone for us – it’s a defining moment!  40 percent of all church plants never get to be this old. Being two is very special as many of you parents can affirm.

Last month, I met with the church-planting leader of our region and I shared with him where we were and told him the great ministry that was going on here and he was just elated for us.

 

They’re elated they stuck their necks out for us in many ways. One of those ways is they had never planted a church in a small town, much less a small town that wasn’t really growing. Usually churches are planted in suburbs that are growing, where new churches are needed, not in existing towns where there is no growth.

 

Because of what God has done through us, New Community has become a model for planting future new churches in small towns.

 

This is a defining moment because not only are we just not dieing, but we are living and growing in many ways, and we need to give God thanks and praise for this great privilege of being used by him in a great way.

 

Turning two is a defining moment for New Community, but I’m guessing that you’ve had some defining moments in your life as well.  A defining moment is a moment that begins or maybe ends a chapter in your life.

 

It doesn’t have to be anything big, it could be small. It could be the first night that you spent overnight at a friend’s house, or maybe your first date or maybe your first kiss? I remember when my wife and I had our first kiss, it was about 5 years ago . . . you’re laughing, it was an amazing thing and it really transformed our marriage – took it to the next level. A defining moment – it could be your very first job. Here’s what I want us to do. Everybody just think about your first job and then at the count of three we’re going to say all those jobs out loud at the same time, Ok. Are you ready? One, two, three ###### Fascinating! Fascinating that somehow God can sort all that out! We serve a great God!

 

I say these things, because we are going be going though a story in the gospels that I’m sure had to be a defining moment for the apostle Peter. It’s a remarkable and amazing story, but the part that makes it so remarkable is that this is our story!

 

Turn with me if you have a Bible to Matthew Chapter 17 beginning with verse 24:

 

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes–from their own sons or from others?”  “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him.  “But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” Matthew 17:24-27 (NIV)

Now, before we go too deeply into this story I want to point out a few things that struck me as I was reading this story.

 

First of all, there are two scenes in this drama. Scene one takes place in the village of Capernaum. Capernaum was a little fishing village up on the Northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee (map?). Scene two takes place at someone’s house. The thing that makes this story so interesting is not because of where it took place, but why it took place.

 

The story takes place because Peter has been asked by these temple tax collectors if Jesus pays or has paid his taxes. This tax was levied by the religious authorities and it was to be paid by every single Jewish male from 20-50 years of age and the money went for the upkeep of the temple.

 

So this wasn’t a Federal tax or a state tax or a property tax, or a sales tax. This was a religious tax and it was considered an atrocity for a religious person not to pay this tax. It was considered an insult to God not to pay this tax to keep up the place where people could worship him. It would have been considered deep disrespect toward God not to pay this tax.

 

So when Peter is asked by the temple tax collector, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” we can tell by the way that the question is asked, this isn’t a question, this is an indictment. They know Jesus hasn’t paid the temple tax. So when Peter hears this accusation, he knows this is a serious indictment.

 

But Peter knows the answer to the accusation. He knows there must be some misunderstanding. He knows that Jesus is seriously connected to God, and the temple was where you worshipped God, so of course Jesus would pay the temple tax. Maybe he just forgot? And so Peter defends Jesus saying, “Yes, yes, of course he pays the temple tax.” But as we find out just a few verses later, Jesus has not paid the temple tax.

 

As we enter into the conversation between Peter and Jesus, we realize that Peter probably knew that Jesus had not paid the temple tax. But Peter, being the Rock, the bold fearless disciple of Jesus, he did what anyone of us might have done in this situation, he lied.

 

Now Peter lied for seemingly a very good reason, because just two verses before we started to read it says this:

 

When they came together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief. Matthew 17:22-23 (NIV)

These were very tense times. Everybody is on edge, in fact, many people agree that this is a decisive turning point in the story. From this point on the plot becomes more grim; it’s darker, and all the disciples felt this tension. And so when you understand the context of Peter’s actions, you can relate to why he did what he did. Peter felt like he needed to lie to protect Jesus.

 

But this makes sense at another level also. Peter was a man of action. Peter was a person who Got Things Done! He was the guy who was always the first to speak up; he was always the first to act; and the most vivid illustration of this was when the religious crowd came to arrest Jesus, and the disciples are hopelessly out-manned and Peter quickly withdraws his sword and cuts off the ear of the slave of the Chief Priest.

 

It’s no accident that in first Peter chapter three where Peter writes these words:

 

Always be prepared to make a defense. And the Greek word for the word defense is the word Karate! No, no, no, it’s not, just kidding! Peter was a man of action. His Credo in life was Ready, Fire, Aim. And if you know this about Peter, you can realize why Peter did what he did. He thought to himself, “I’ve got to step up.” I’ve got to save Jesus. And that’s the temptation isn’t it? The temptation is to do what’s reasonable instead of what’s righteous.

 

The voice of reason says, “Protect yourself” – “Get your sword out” The voice of Righteousness says, “Turn the other cheek.” The voice of reason says, “I deserve this”. The voice of righteousness says, “Not one of us wants what we really, truly deserve.” The voice of reason says, “No one will ever know.” The voice of Righteousness says, “You can’t hide from God.” We can’t even hide from ourselves.

 

I think one of the reasons why I feel sympathetic towards Peter is because sometimes I believe Peter’s story is my story. Peter’s story speaks most boldly to me from the pages of my calendar. The voice of reason says, “Do this! Go here! Go there! The voice of righteousness says, “Be Still . . . and know that I am God.” Take time to listen to God.

 

When I’m running all over the place it’s hard to hold onto God; it’s hard to listen to God; it’s hard to see God; it’s hard to think about God; it’s hard to pray to God. Do you realize how hard it is to hug a moving target? How hard would it be for me to hug a child on a merry – go – round when I’m standing on the ground?

 

In my life, God’s not moving around, but I am. I’m on that merry-go-round of life and God’s got his arms out trying to hug me – trying to show me his love, but I’m just spinning through life, faster and faster, and faster. The voice says, “Be still and know that I am God.” . . . But God, I have so much to do. I can’t stop. I can’t slow down, that’s not reasonable . . . and the voice comes back to me, “But it is righteous.”

 

Almost every single act of sin in the bible happens because somebody looks at a situation from the perspective of humanity. They say look, “I know what God said. I understand all that. But in light of the situation in which I now find myself – my life, my marriage, my family, my bills, my responsibilities, my relationships – in light of the realities here and now, what God says just . . doesn’t . . make . . sense! It’s reasonable, but it’s not righteous. And often times we do things to God without malicious intent, but they’re still wrong.

 

I mean, Peter wasn’t trying to do anything bad here, was he? This whole thing happened because Peter was trying to do something Good! The bottom line here is that Peter, for a lot of good reasons, is trying to cover for God, right? Jesus is God, right? And sure he’s been here since before the foundations of the world, and sure he’s the Creator and Lord of the Universe, but come on, People forget! And Jesus forgot . . . to pay the temple tax. Is that such a big deal? Peter is just helping God out, is that such a big deal, because God has forgotten. God has obviously dropped the ball!

 

God remembered to put spots on Leopards and the ring around Jupiter – Check! God remembered to put trunks on elephants and trunks on trees – can you imagine if he had mixed up what trunk went where – We’d have trees making weird noises all night. Dancing all around shooting water at people! He got all these details and millions of others down, but “Opps” he forgot to pay the temple tax. Good thing God has Peter to cover for him.

 

Remember that every single temptation that you and I face – young and old alike, whether it’s greed, or lust, or envy, or self-pity, or pride, or deceit – all of them – can be traced back to a single simple question, “Do you or I trust God . . . to be God?” Because if we do, then obedience is the only right response even when it seems unreasonable. That’s why we read over and over again the idea that we are to:

 

Walk by faith, not by sight, because looks can be deceiving. You can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Can you imagine what the Bible would have looked like if when Moses has the Red Sea before him and the Egyptian army breathing down his back – can you imagine what the Bible would be like if Moses would have been reasonable at that moment, saying, “God, this is a dead end, we can’t go this way. What where you thinking?

 

When modern day people sin; when we do things that are against the will of God, it is often time because we do what is reasonable instead of what is righteous. Righteous means doing that which is right in God’s eyes. When modern day people sin; when we do things that are against the will of God, it is often time because we do what is reasonable instead of what is righteous.

 

So let’s go back to the story. This is the climax of this great story that Matthew paints with three big, vivid brush strokes. The first one is this: We’re told that:

 

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak.

 

So, Peter leaves the temple and goes back to the house where Jesus is staying. As Peter goes through the front door Jesus is there and he is the first to speak – this is important. Jesus knows that Peter has been talking with someone at the temple, and not just that he’s been talking, but he knows the whole story – everything that happened – every word that was said. Jesus is God. God knows our needs. He knows our hearts. He knows our aspirations. He knows our hurts. How? Because he’s God. The first brush stroke of assurance is that 1. God knows our needs.

 

This is important, because I’m thinking that there are some of you here this morning that have had something happen in your life in this past year, past month, past week, and you’re wondering to yourself, “Can I trust God”. Can I trust God to bring order out of all the chaos, all the hurt, all the brokenness, all the mess? The answer is, Yes! God knows your need even before you knew it.

 

The second brush stroke is that 2. God cares about our needs. Look at verse 25.

 

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes–from their own sons or from others?”  “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt”

 

God is the King and the Jews understood the temple to be the house of God. Jesus understands himself to be the Son of God. In other words, Jesus is saying, I don’t have to pay this. He says, ““From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes – They don’t collect it from family members.

 

Jesus is saying, “I am the messiah.” I am the one who has come to redeem the earth and all it’s inhabitants. “I am the Son of God, and because of this, I don’t have to pay the temple tax. This is not some confused religious teacher. Jesus knew exactly who he was.

 

The statement that Jesus makes about himself, that’s amazing, but what’s just as amazing is the statement that he made about you and I. Jesus says that the sons are exempt; therefore we don’t have to pay. This is Jesus reminding Peter, and you and I, that we are God’s children. This is not just a God who has dominion over us; this is not some judge that sits on a throne looking down on us waiting for us to mess up so that he can put another red check next to our name. This is a God who loves us and cares for us; this is our Father and we are his children.

 

In the same way, and even better, the way that we care for our children and take care of their needs and cradle their heads when they are hurting and rock them when they are crying, and care for their wounds so they heal. So it is that God does all these things with us. God says, I will never leave you or forsake you.

 

God loved the whole world – you and I, so much that he was willing to die for us so that we might live – that’s the love of a dedicated, in love parent. This God cares about our needs because we are his children!

 

If that weren’t enough, this passage gives us one last brush stroke of assurance. The first one is that God knows are needs. The second brush stroke is that God cares about our needs, and the third brush stroke is that God can meet our needs.

 

This is my favorite part of the whole passage. Look at verse 27

 

Jesus said to Peter.  “But so that we may not offend them (the temple tax collectors), go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

 

This is a passage of scripture that has miracle written all over it. I used to be skeptical about miracles, but I’ve seen too many miracles to be skeptical any longer. If you’re skeptical about God doing miracles, then you’re God is too small. Your God is not the creator of the universe. Your God is not the God that the Bible portrays and the God that we worship. This God is a Big God – A God who does miracles.

 

I read commentaries that suggest that Jesus didn’t really do a miracle here. They explain that Jesus was just telling Peter, ” . . . You know where money comes from – wink – it comes from the fish.” You’re a fisherman, go out and catch some fish – sell the fish – and you’ll have enough money for both of our taxes. That’s what one commentary said.

 

And this sounds kinda reasonable, but it’s not right. You know why? This is the only place in the whole New Testament where someone goes fishing with a line. They never fished with lines. They always fished with nets. Only God would be bold enough to say that there is one fish in the ocean with a coin. Get a line. Cast it out. That one fish will bite your hook and he’ll have just the right amount of money in his mouth for your tax and mine. God will meet your needs

 

I don’t just celebrate that statement. I don’t just like that statement. There have been times when I’ve had to cling to that statement. Sometimes I had to wait on God, not knowing if he was going to come through – waiting sometimes until the 11^th hour – waiting until the bottom of the ninth with two out, before God hits a home run; where God does something miraculous that can only be attributed to him, but he has always met my needs.

 

When I went to seminary. God provided more than $200,000 to meet all our needs for three years without Shannon and I working. That’s a miracle!

 

You want to know my most favorite verse in this story. Look at verse 28. See what it says in verse 28? Anybody find it? No? That’s because it’s not there. If Jesus said it was going to happen, it happened. If God says it’s going to happen it happens – bank on it. Count on it. Commit your life to it.

 

 

In 22 years of following Christ, I’ve found three things to be truer than anything else in life.

 

1. God knows my needs
2. God cares about my needs
3. God will meet our needs

Now this is not a blank check. God is not a God who is our Cosmic Jeanie who provides our every wish – Peter only came back with enough to provide for his needs. Peter had opened his mouth and stuck in his foot and Jesus was bailing him out. Jesus didn’t provide for Peter’s IRA and that new four-wheel drive and a bass boat with matching pin stripes that he had been dreaming about as well.

 

I’m betting, and I couldn’t say this if I was a Baptist preacher, but I’m betting that this was a defining moment in Peter’s life. I’m thinking from this day on, he was convicted to not do what seemed reasonable, but instead to do what is right.

 

 

 

Life Link:

 

If you have new people in your group, remind the group that you don’t have to answer the questions, in fact, you don’t have to speak at all if you don’t want to, but if you want to answer a question, or if you have a question, feel free to just jump right in

 

• Name one defining moment in your life. Remember a defining moment is any moment that begins or ends a stage in your life.

 

• Review: What was the message about?

 

• The Question: Was there anything that you didn’t understand, didn’t agree with, or that struck you as being significant in Adam’s message? (Leader: If somebody doesn’t mention the whole idea of “Reasonable Vs. Righteous, please be sure to bring this up)

 

• Adam mentioned that Peter lied and Peter’s lie was reasonable, but it wasn’t righteous. What does it mean to be righteous? What does it mean to be reasonable, but not righteous?

 

• Why is it that human beings have a problem with doing what is reasonable instead of doing what is righteous?

 

• What is the core issue behind us doing what is reasonable instead of what is righteous?

 

• Has there ever been a time in your life when felt like God didn’t know your need, or didn’t care about your need, or wasn’t going to provide for your needs?

 

• Are there any of you that are going though some tough time right now, where it doesn’t seem like God knows your need or cares about your need?

 

• Glory Spotting – where have you seen God this past week?

 

• Leader Only: Take a moment and sum up what has been said and point it back to God.