Can There Be Songs and Satisfaction in the Midst of Stress and Sadness

 

Luke 2:13 Sermon: “Can There be Songs and Satisfaction in So Much Stress and Sadness” LMPC Bern Sloan 12/13/20

There is always a song to be sung.  Just as we said before Thanksgiving there is a reason for JPT_ joy, prayer and thanksgiving.  So there is always a song to be sung. 
The shepherds couldn’t hear it at first.  The Bible says the angels are always singing in heaven.  They are always singing.
This is why in renaissance literature it pictures cherubs with wings for their speed and harps for their music. 
But there is always a song.  The question is can you hear it.
I was talking to the Knit Wits the other day about the Polar Express.  One of the great themes of that is “you can only hear the bell if you believe.”  Can you hear the bell?  Can you hear the singing?
What keeps us from hearing the singing to the glory of God in the highest? 
Unbelief keeps us from listening and coming to Him- of course. 
It is noise.  Sometimes it is good noise or necessary noise or bad noise. 
Just as having a lot of street lights keep you from seeing the stars.  So having so much noise keeps you from hearing the singing of the heavenly host. 
Good noise- for the shepherds may have been just talking;  necessary noise may have been taking care of noisy sheep; bad noise would be if they talked in ways that would not please God.  We can create noise or we can join in noise. 

The great hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth” talks about the whirring planets- For the mystic harmony linking sense and sound and sight there is a music that comes from simply the universe’s existence.  The music of the spheres is a philosophical concept . Some scientists talk about “orbital resonance.”  God creates music even in the movement of creation that joins with the songs of the angels in heaven.  Did you know that billions of dollars has been spent globally to listen to find aliens?  The program is called SETI (search for extra terrestrial intelligence).  In 1924 the United States actually had five minutes of radio silence to try to hear the aliens.  They heard none except they heard the whirring planets.  How about listening to the One who made us?  How about searching for Him?  There is life beyond this earth- but it is made by God- angels, archangels, souls.  God has sent His living Word to earth- He even verbally said, “This is my beloved Son- listen to Him.” 

But how do we sing in the midst of stress and sadness? 
Sadness can seemingly also overwhelm the song. 
Perhaps you remember the Psalmist (137) saying, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” 
You just don’t feel like praising God when you are hurting or grieving or stressed or anxious. 
Yet, the song of Jesus’ birth is a song that is beyond us.  It is not a song we sing at first. 
In fact, it is given to people who are living sad, tough, obscure, isolated lives.  But this song gave them and us hope. 
The angel came to Zechariah to tell him about John’s birth and Zechariah didn’t sing- he went mute.  He didn’t believe.
Joseph and Mary had no place to sleep- basically homeless- sleeping in a barn.  They didn’t sing- the angels did. 
The shepherds had a hard life- out in the elements all the time with their sheep- rain, sun, summer or winter.  Yet they heard the angels song.  It doesn’t say the shepherds’ sang back.  But the song lifted them up from their tough time to give them hope and joy.  
The key to hearing the song- and it bringing you joy is belief. 
Only those who believe can hear the song of the ages.  So Welsey writes- “Hark the Herald Angels sing.” 
Little drummer boy- do you hear what I hear?   Listen for the song of God.  The great hymn, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” has a line that says, “We’ll join in the everlasting song.”  That is the invitation- listen and join in!
     For us- we are in a tough spot.  The stress of our time is tremendous.  Yet that doesn’t mean that hope or the song is gone.  Our hope is not simply in a vaccine.  We will all die of something.  Our hope is beyond the respite of a vaccine in the living God who loves us, came for us- and made the vaccine from all death available to us who will believe in Him.
     Yesterday, joy to ring the bell for the Salvation Army with rotary.  We have done it for years.  What I have found every year is the people who have the worst cars give the most frequently and give the most.  They hear the salvation army bell- they know what it means to help others.  Some just can’t hear the bell.  They walk right by.  They perhaps have too much noise to hear the bell or the song. 

Daily Advent Devotional Link

 Here is a DailyAdvent Devotional Written for Lake Murray Presbyterian but also for anyone-for 2020- 

"More Than Waiting for 2020 to End"  

Click to go to Advent Devotional

Advent One- God Comes to Us and We Come to God Through Communication

 

“Praying and Listening”  11-29-20 1^st advent   LMPC Ben Sloan John 15:1-9 Advent, as you know, means “coming.”  This advent, my sermons will be on “Coming to God, and How He comes to us.”  In many ways- Jesus came to us that we might come to God.  He teaches that we can come to God and that God loves us and wants us to love Him in return.  Today we will talk about communicating with God and how important that is to coming to Him.  Isla Glaiser was a 4 year old who called 911 when her mother fell down and she calmly gave directions to police, while watching over her three younger siblings.  It was important that she stayed on the phone and listened and that she talked to those who could help her on the phone.  Doctors say she saved her mother’s life.  When something bad happens, it is important to call out.  In our 2020 time it is important to stay on the line with God- listen and talk. 
    In our passage in John, Jesus speaks about abiding, remaining, staying, in Him like a branch stays in a vine.  During our pandemic time- this is especially important.  We are in many ways alienated from each other- with no large inside gatherings, masks and social distancing- all important in our day.  Because of that it takes extra focus and effort to remain in Him.  The monks, who practice isolation for the most part- had a rule that isolation without devotion is empty loneliness.  It is the same with us today. 
Jesus focused specifically about listening and praying as a part of our devotion to God. 
    LISTENING- There are two parts of listening to God that are dependent on each other.  One part is the experiential listening- experiencing God’s presence in your life.  There are special times when God comes to us.  These are special and not ordinary experiences.  Many testify that this comes when in worship or reading scripture.  It is like that verse is meant for you, or God speaks to you through that song sung or sermon. 
     But the second kind of listening is more mundane- it is simply heeding what God has already said.  The less we heed God, the more we are deaf to Him, and the less He wants to talk to us.  If you are in a conversation with someone and they turn their back on you, or immediately look down and start texting, it keeps you from wanting to continue the conversation.  The reason Bible study and Sunday School, and personal quiet times are important is that we believe God has something to say to you in the Scripture.  We call the scripture “The Word of God” not because it is static, but it is a living word for us.  The Situation in Life (German “Sitz Im Leben”) is not simply what it meant back when it was written- but what the scripture means in our situation in life.  The scriptures speak to our every day decisions, morals, ability to love.  As you learn and listen to scripture, it becomes a part of who you are- so that you know the right way, the right way to act- discerning the evil from the good.  If I am asking God to help me make a decision, for example, I don’t have to ask about whether I should steal or cheat or not.  I don’t have to ask about whether I should covet or lie or disrespect my parents. 
    If you want to experience God’s guidance, you must look to be guided by Him in what He has already said.  Jesus said it like this, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord but do not do what I say.’”
    Years ago, when I was working on my doctorate, I went to the Monastery in Monk’s Corner.  I studied there and worshiped with them.  One of the main characteristics of the Trappist monks there is that they do not talk at all except for reading the Bible and praising God in confession and song.  It was really different being there.  But I did appreciate that sometimes talking too much can get you into trouble or can be hurtful to others.  While God has designed us to communicate with others, we would do well sometimes to control our words.  When they did speak scripture or worship- there was an enthusiasm of expression that was inspirational. 
     PRAYER  is the second way we communicate to God.  Someone said, “How do you define prayer.”  Basically, you can say, “Prayer is talking to God.”  But even in talking to God there is listening because sometimes we don’t have the right words and we just need to sit in silence.  It is in those times that God speaks to us.  If you really respect someone (Maybe someone like a professor a grandparent), you may want to say something to them, but in respect you hang on every word they say. 
    But if you abide in Him- you can ask Him whatever.  If you remain in Him, you have this relationship of love that gives you confidence to approach the throne of grace in prayer knowing He came for us and died for us and loves us. You don’t have to have perfect words or grammar. Just communicate. 
    I think a lot of people are numb to all the stress of this pandemic and are just kind of coasting through life- almost closed down.  But I want to say, God is trying to say something to you.  I believe God tries to reach every one of us- regularly.  He cares about us.  That is the message of advent.  When we are in a dire situation- instead of going numb, we would do well to heighten our listening and prayer.  
     John and Helen Collins were flying in their Cessna when John had a heart attack.  His 80 year old wife, who had never flown, grabbed the controls, called a tower, and they talked her down to land in an emergency landing.  Now she could have panicked.  She could have gone into shock and numbness and not heard anything.  But instead she listened very carefully, followed instructions, communicated properly and saved her life.  God is dealing with you.  He wants you to listen to Him, talk to Him, and let Him lead you safely through this tough time. 

1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes ^a so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.  9“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

High Noon- Do Not Forsake Me

 

Day 8) Psalm 22:1,2; Matthew 27:45 “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” 
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?  O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night and am not silent.

Thoughts: Jesus quoted much from the Old Testament in the midst of His trail and crucifixion.  Christ quoted from David who was crying out to God for help, but there was no answer.  There are times when the “Dark Night of the Soul” comes upon us.  It appears God has deserted us.  Some at this point, desert God.  But as in David’s case and Jesus’ case, God did not truly leave.  Instead He came at the proper time and lifted David back up, and raised Christ from the dead.  He is able to lift us up as well. 
    Yet this time of God-forsakenness is like going through the valley of the shadow of death.  There is hopelessness all around.  Even God seems to have left.
     One of my favorite movies of all time is a black and white western called “High Noon.”  The theme song is “Do not forsake me O My Darlin.”  The story is of a sheriff who gets married and finds out his sworn enemy has been released from prison and his gang is coming to kill him and take back over the town.  His wife leaves.  The whole town leaves.  His assistants leave.  He has to face this terrible gang by himself.  In the end people come back in time to help him.  But he has to get the courage to “wait alone.”  We too must have courage to face our isolation and trials. 
     Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Dwight Eisenhower saw this as one of their favorite films because of his Will Kane's (played by Gary Cooper) willingness as a marshal to stand up for what is right even if he were all alone.   The old saying goes God +1 makes the greatest majority.  If you feel you are the only one left standing up for what is right and that all have seemingly deserted you, take courage.  

High Noon- with Gary Cooper all alone and seemingly deserted (1952)

Homily from 10-4-20 on 1 Thess 2:17-20 "Longing to See You"

 

“Longing to See You”  1 Thess. 2:17-20  LMPC Dr. Ben Sloan 10-4-20 (Communion Homily)

     Paul, in talking about the Lord’s Supper said, “When you come together”…(1 Cor. 11:20).   The supper is meant to be together.  But we are like soldiers on station far away from home.   We are not fully together.  We are like a puzzle that is half way done.  It is nice that we can begin to see the picture coming together, but we are not there yet.  We ache to be complete.
      There is a classic movie called “Dances with Wolves” starring Kevin Costner as “John Dunbar” about a soldier who is stationed all alone in a remote outpost by an officer who died and told no one he was stationed there.  He became so lonely after years of being isolated with no human contact that he befriended a wolf.  Interestingly this parallels the life of a real John Dunbar who was a Christian missionary to the Native Americans in Nebraska- also isolated from all who spoke his language for a greater good.   John Dunbar teaches us about social isolation. 
     The Bible says, “It is not good for people to be alone.”  We are not meant to live isolated lives.  Yet sometimes we must.  In our passage, Paul says that he had an intense longing to go to church with the Thessalonians.  But he could not. 
      Interestingly he describes not being able to gather in morally evil terms.  He was orphaned from them.  Like he was torn away or cut off by a type of death.  He says he tried over and over again to see them but “Satan blocked our way.”  Many do not see our isolation as an evil thing- but Paul saw it that way.  Blaine last week rightly described our time as a period of grief- teachers have not been with their students, some grandparents have been separated from their grandkids, friends have been separated from friends.  Perhaps Paul was thinking “it is not good for people to be alone.”  Sometimes it is something we have to do- but loneliness, being away from everyone is not the goal. 
        One of the four orders of monks is the order of hermit- whose monks live in basic isolation.  Luther, who was a monk himself, criticized monasticism and especially hermits as making it very hard to love your neighbor and thus serve God when you are in isolation.  While there is a time to be alone, it is limited with a goal to come together.  Jesus often withdrew to solitary places- where he prayed.  But his goal was to come back and serve the people. 
        There are many examples of people being alone.  US Admiral Richard Byrd who was in isolation in Antarctica for five months in 1934 with no phone, internet, or way of communicating but morse code. He pointed out that he felt there was a great power in the universe that never left him alone.  
       Al Worden has won the title of “the most isolated human being in history” by the Guiness Book of World Records.  As a pilot of Apollo XV he was further away from any other human being ever- all alone, 2,235 miles from his companions on the surface of the moon and 250,000 miles from home.  When he went behind the moon he could not communicate with anyone at all for 47 minutes.  Wordon orbited the moon 74 times.  Every time he came into communication he would say, “Greetings earth from the Endeavor.”  Why did he greet us?  Greetings are not only a sign of peace but a sign of hope and joy.  A common saying among the older men at LMPC when Then  are told, “It’s great to see you” is “It is better to be seen and not viewed.”  It is a sadness in life to miss someone you know and love.  It is a joy in life to reconnect.  Maybe you are missing that relationship with God.  Maybe you are missing being a part of a church family.  Now may be the time to get that straight and ask Christ to come into your life and for the people in the church to be your supporting family of brothers and sisters in Christ. 
      The word we often use for the Lord’s Supper is “communion.”  “Communion” means fellowship with God and with each other.  When we have communion we remember that one day we will eat and drink with Him and with each other in heaven.  That fellowship will never be taken away.  The isolation on the cross means God can offer us eternal fellowship with Him- that can never be taken away. 

Alone in a Crowd

 

Day 7) Matthew 27:46-49- “Leave him alone and let us see if God can rescue him.” 

Jesus said, “Eloi, Eloi, Lama sabachthani- which means “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”  One of them ran to get a sponge.  He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  But the rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 

 Thoughts: One of the tough things about being alone is the crowd nearby.  What are they saying?  Have they heard you are sick and are they blaming you?  Are they being torturous?  The crowds who came to see Jesus be crucified were there to be entertained by torture.  There are mean people out there, and being quarantined you may hear their voices that lead even into more sadness.  Jesus did not react to the crow around him.  He didn’t argue with them. He didn’t say (though I think he would be justified to say) in this instance- “Don’t you understand Aramaic?  I am not asking for Elijah but for God.”  In the end, they were hoping maybe Elijah would show up and rescue him and they could say that they were there and saw the spectacle.  Instead they were the unsuspecting witnesses to one of the greatest events in the world, the death of the Son of God.  We should practice Jesus’ example of silence toward those who like to rub in the pain of someone else.  But also in our aloneness- we are waiting on a rescue.  The ultimate promise of God is that He will rescue us.  Sometimes it is in this life.  For all who believe the best, greatest, and most permanent rescue is when He takes us to Himself and there are no more tears, sickness, pain, loneliness, and death anymore.
     The best leaders do not always take a poll of what the people think.  Yet, it is important to have some idea.  But again, the best leaders, after weighing all the facts do what is right before God- even if there are political consequences. 
    You can have a crowd of people around you and be alone.  We are not here to worry about what others think of us.  We only have to please One- and that is our Maker.  Other people will gossip- expect that.  Other people will misunderstand- expect that.  Other people will misinterpret the scene- expect that too.  Some will be downright mean.  Our call is always to live like Jesus- and that includes turning the other cheek.  

Prayer: Lord, give me grace to not let the snearing crowd get to my soul. 

Wait on the Lord

 

Day 6) Psalm 27:13; Isaiah 40:30-31 - “Wait on the Lord” 
“Do you not know? Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.  But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” 

 Thoughts: Waiting is one of the hardest things to do.  But we do not learn patience without it.  There is no such thing as patience for someone who is always gratified immediately.  Patience comes when God’s “Yes” turns into a “No” or a “Wait.”  Isolation and quarantine are a definite period of waiting.
    This week a famous violinist who had been in isolation since the pandemic began, played in a concert in Taiwan.  He said coming back to play was like he was “resuscitated.”  To be in isolation is in a sense waiting to be resuscitated- for God to bring us back from paralysis into action.   

     “Waiting on the Lord” implies that there is a Lord to wait on, trust in, hope in.  Waiting on God develops faith and trust in Him.  I remember once at a hotel by a pool, hearing the father tell his three children to stay by the chairs and not get in the water while he went to the canteen to get something to drink.  The oldest girl waited patiently.  The younger boys got more and more restless.  One of them finally broke for it and ran to the pool, put his toe in and came back.  After two times of this, he finally just jumped in.  The father got back, and three voices began competing for his ear.  But the father came back,  as he promised, to help them get in the water fully supervised.  The oldest knew he would come back, she had learned to listen and trust.  Part of waiting is to learn to listen and trust in the love of God for us. 
    Seven astronauts know what it is like to go on the dark side of the moon where no one can see you or communicate with you.  They were super isolated.  I can remember the relief when each command module would suddenly and scratchily appear coming into communication.  It seemed as if we held our breath.  We do not want others to be isolated.  Yet many are, out of safety concerns, today.  It is a very sad time of waiting.  But let us wait that our orbit will bring us back around.  The dark side of the moon does not last forever.  But more than that- we have a God of light who brings hope who is described as "love."  As the God of love, He ends isolation.  Only hell is isolation.  Heaven is fellowship.  The Christian hope is not solely in this life- though this life is important.  Our ultimate home and citizenship is in heaven.  
     Today we found out that President Donald John Trump and his wife Melania Trump have Covid-19.  We should pray for them like we should pray for anyone with this dreadful disease- but especially because he is a ruler (1 Tim. 2:2).  Like everyone else, they will have to wait to see if they get severe symptoms or whether they will recover fully or not.  No matter who we are- rich/poor; powerful/helpless; educated/non-educated; no matter what our race, beauty, popularity- we all must wait on the Lord- our Maker and Sustainer.   

 

Prayer: Lord, teach me, help me, strengthen my heart to wait on you.  We do pray for President Trump and his wife.  We pray for those who have been in contact with them.  We look and wait on you for healing for them, and also healing for our whole nation.  We need you, Lord.  Have mercy on us.  

(Waiting Room symbol)

Left Alone to Wrestle with God

 Day 5) Genesis 32:24- “Left alone to wrestle with God”

“After he had sent them [wives and children] across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.  So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak…You name will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”  (Genesis 32:23,24,28)

 

Thoughts: When we are alone, we may mentally and spiritually struggle with God and with others.  It is times of aloneness when it is easier to remove the “white noise” and even the “good focuses” in order to have the greatest focus on God.  In sickness or isolation, we will often consider every scenario and outcome, but only God can change or soften what we face. 
    There is no other god in history that invites us to wrestle with Him.  We may ask “Am I at fault?” “Why is this happening to me?”  “Why would God do/allow this?”  “How does my faith interact with my hurting?”  But God does not want us to think that life is just a series of chaotic and accidental events.  But God has purposes in life and we can learn through each event.  Wrestling with God is one way we learn and not just hide our head in the sand or deny that God isn’t working with us in our heartache.  Wrestling with God is actually a step toward healing and acceptance.  James 1 tells us that it is through wrestling in the trials of life that we become mature.  Isaiah 40 gives us a promise that “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Isaiah also reminds us that we may not be able to understand what God is doing for “My ways are higher than your ways.” 
    In this passage we see that it is good to wrestle with God.  After wrestling with God, Israel changed his name from Jacob, and also the name of the place was changed from Jabbock to Penuel (which means “the face of God”).  We get closer to God when we wrestle with Him in our heartaches. 

 

Prayer: Lord, as I wrestle with you, I also know that I am dependent on you to give me strength to wrestle!  In my alone time, come near me. 

Loneliness is Not Good

 Day 4) Genesis 2:18- “It is not good for the man to be alone.”  This isn’t good.

     So God created the world, the lights, the seas, the earth, the plants and animals and man- after each one He says, “And God saw that it was good.”  Now God says for the first time “It is not good…for man to be alone.”  We are made to be with other people.  There have been hermits over the years, but it is not the same.    

     God made us to love other people.  Not just in marriage, but in friendship and fellowship.  Being in isolation is a temporary state we undergo out of love for others- that they might not get what we have.  So, yes, you are loving others when you are isolated to keep others safe.
    Isolation has often been used (historically) as a form of punishment in prisons.  Some now are considering this inhumane torture.  Most suicides in prison occur in isolation.  Mentally ill or stressed prisoners are especially effected. It is not good for us to be alone.  We can sympathize when we are in quarantine or isolation.  Many health-workers have self-isolated themselves from their family and friends away from their clinics/hospitals out of concern for them.  This adds to mental fatigue.

    John Donne was a British pastor/cleric who lived in the late 1500s- 1600s when the Great Bubonic Plague was still sweeping Europe, killing half the population.  He had a fear of being isolated, a fear of solitude at the height of the plague.  He said that this fear of loneliness was, “a disease of the mind at the height of the infectious disease of the body.”  He wrote these majestic words, “No man is an island, entire of himself; every man is a piece of a continent, a part of the main.”  Isolation hurts.  We know that.  I am simply “naming the demon.”  There were in the mid-early church hermits who went out to the desert to be alone with God.  Being around other people is also hard.  People can be more messy (or more neat) than we want.  People can rub us the wrong way with being too know-it-all or too simple.  People can be overly mean or doormats to others.  But the commandment to “love your neighbor” hinges on the idea “it is not good for the man to be alone.”  Love calls us to overcome pride, selfishness, and differences to get outside of ourselves for the other’s good- our own good- and the good of all- and the glory of God. 

Prayer: Lord, being alone hurts.

 

(John Delgado who works for a food bank isolated himself from his family
as mother, wife, and child were susceptible to Covid19 issues.  Miami Herald 4/3/20)

Reproached from Neighbors

Day 3) Psalm 44:3- “You have made us a reproach for our neighbors”

“A reproach” is to address someone with disapproval.  But the origins infer people started to come near but then backed off.  Someone may want to shake your hand, but if you say, “I’ve got he coronavirus” they’ll back off pretty quickly.  They might “treat you as if you had the plague” (a rather old expression dating back to the 1400s). 
But it is sad to be a reproach to your neighbors. Most people want to be liked, or if not liked at least not derided.  This verse also is blaming God for the reproach.  Jesus was made a reproach on the cross.  Perhaps we have been there blaming God for our reproachment.  Maybe you have felt like this is all God’s fault for allowing viruses into this world to begin with and then allowing it into ours.  Certainly, God can lift our reproach and bring us together again.
     Part of isolation is a mild form of alienation from neighbors.  Some are afraid.  Some think we are somehow "cursed" (whether they say so or not).  Psalm 44 ends- and perhaps our thoughts on being a reproach should end, with the plea: "Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love."  The love of others waxes and wanes but God's love is unfailing.  To this we appeal when we are reproached. 

Prayer: Lord,  Hear my cry for mercy.  Help me to love my neighbors and for they in turn to love me in my time of weakness and isolation.  

Short History on Being in Isolation

 

Day 2) Leviticus 13:46- “As long as they have the disease they must live outside the camp.”

Isolation in times of plague has been going on for millennia.  The Egyptians did it.  The Sumerians did it.  The phrase “outside the camp” comes from Leviticus and Exodus where a person who was sick had to stay away from the protection of the camp if they were sick.  My point is that we should not feel alone, or that this has never happened before. 
In 1665 a tailor Eyam, England died of the Great Plague carried from fleas packed in cotton that came from London.  Immediately everyone wanted to leave the village.  The village rector, William Mompesson, persuaded the people to stay in the town and not to spread the plague to another city or place.  The people quarantined themselves to keep from spreading the plague.  260 died, but many lived and kept the plague from spreading.  They risked themselves for a larger good and are to be commended for that. 

Prayer: Lord, bless me and keep me.  Make your face shine upon me and be gracious unto me.  Lift up your countenance upon me and give me peace.

Eyam Church and grave.  

Isolation Devotions- 14 days of devotions on Isolation- "Alone with God."

 Day 1) Luke 5:16-  “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places where he prayed.”

    Isolation is not a normal way to live.  We are designed by God to love not to be isolated.  There have been many studies done about how isolation even in space stations and Antarctica isolated stations that speak of how being alone wears your immunity system and health down. 
     But when you have a disease that may be highly contagious, It is important to be isolated.  Tens of thousands of medical workers have for many months been isolated from their families for fear of giving them the coronavirus. 
   While isolation is not the ideal, if you find yourself isolated it is important to make the most of it.  Jesus actually sought isolation.  He wanted to be alone in prayer with the Father.  So he often withdrew to lonely places where he prayed.   He left to go to the wilderness after his cousin John (the Baptist) was beheaded, but 5,000 followed him.  He later sent them off, and still went up to pray.  Afterwards he walked to his disciples on the water in a storm.  Jesus saw isolation as a time not to just veg out (though he didn’t have Netflix, or videogames), but Jesus saw it as a time to get right with God.  We should use our isolation time like that as well.

Prayer: Lord, let me get right with you, the living God in my time of isolation.

No Rearview Gazing- 8-23-20

 

“No Rear View Gazing” Haggai 2:1-9;   8/3020 LMPC  bt Dr. J. Ben Sloan

I heard someone say the other day that it is important during this pandemic to have a windshield mentality.  That it is important to not have a rear view mirror mentality.  Rear view mirrors are so much smaller than windshields.  We don’t back up nearly as much as we move forward.  It is actually safer to move forward than to back up.  While 99% of the use of a car is moving forward, even with rear view cameras, 25% of the accidents today involve backing up.  In our day, it is tempting to think about how things used to be pre-pandemic and wish for those good old days.  It is important to remember lessons, it is important to not forget who you are and whose you are, but we do not go backward in life.  God calls us to sing a new song, to dare new adventures, to face new challenges with faith and grace. 
     In our passage today Haggai was trying to encourage the people who remembered the good old days before the exile and how big the Temple used to be and how great the nation was.  They were thinking about the former glory. -
    Now I am talking about oldie goldies- but there is a great song that Bruce Springstein wrote sang in the movie “Cars” called, “Glory Days.”  He talks about a friend who was a big baseball player in high school-  now that he is older that is all he keeps talking about;  and a girl who could turn all the boys heads when she was younger and all she keeps thinking about are glory days- they’ll pass you by in the wink of a young girl’s eye[BS1] .    
    So what about it?  How do you go forward when your past glory was so much better?  That is what Hosea is talking about here, and it is a lesson we need to learn in our day. 
I. NOW BE STRONG- He is encouraging not to reminisce in weakness, but to be strong.  Three times here he tells them to be strong.  Joshua was told by God to be strong right before he was to enter the promised land for the first time to start building.  David told his son Solomon three times to be strong three times right before he died.  Now Haggai tells these people three times- to be strong and do the work.  So I would tell you to “be strong in your faith- be strong in the Lord.”  How do you know if you are not being strong?  One sign is your temper.  If you are taking your meanness out on strangers, then something is wrong.  Last Friday a US Census taker came up to me wanting to ask a few questions.  It took about 4 minutes.  She told me, “Thank you.  The last four people were so rude.  They told me to expect rudeness these days during the pandemic.”  I really felt sorry for her.  But be strong and do the work God has called you to do, even when people are rude to you, or are stressed out.  If you are nice to people now, if you are kind and turn the other cheek it really stands out. 
I believe the world is looking to see who is strong right now, and what is strengthening them.  Be strong in the Lord and do what He calls you to do.  You are a missionary.  David Livingston was a very smart but intelligent man.  He came back to Scotland to speak at a college and some of the skeptical students came to harass him and brought noise makers.  But when he started speaking they saw he was small, thin.  His right shoulder and arm were limp from a lion attack.  He had numerous diseases malaria and yellow fever.  Livingston not only spread the gospel, he also sought to abolish the slave trade in Africa.  His wife died on a journey.  The crowd hushed when they saw this great man of God.  He was not rich, not tall and strong, but God used Him because he refused to give into his fears and he refused to not answer God’s call on his life. 
You have a call of God on your life too.  It may be teaching, it may be working in a grocery store, but your vocation is your call upon your life- to glorify God. 
II. REMEMBER WHOSE YOU ARE- We have a covenant with God.  He has His name and His eye on us.  Haggai was telling them that they are God’s people.  Do you know you are a child of God?  This means there is a relationship between Him and you- He is your Father- you are His child.  The New Testament speaks of the covenant as we are adopted by Him.  We are His and He is ours.  In our passage it says, “Be strong and work for I am with you declares the Lord.”  God is with us.  We are not alone in this universe.  We are not even just in the same boat with everyone else.  God is in the boat with us. 
Because God is in the boat with us- the storms are not as powerful as they look. 
Haggai asked 3 questions here: 1) Who remains who saw the old Temple; 2) How do you see it now?  3) Does it seem as nothing to you?  The Lord was naming their questions.  He knew they felt small and insignificant.  He knew that they were a remnant of what they were.  They felt they were insignificant so they retreated into giving up on God’s work and just fixing up their own homes.  God knew that they felt like the faith was about to die with them.  But God was reminding them of whose they were.  They had a covenant with God who made all the gold and silver in the world.  They had a covenant with God who would build up that remnant.  And indeed He has.  I saw on FB an advertisement for a blanket sent to a college student that looked like a postage letter.  It said, “Daughter, whenever you feel overwhelmed remember whose daughter you are and straighten your crown.  Always remember you are braver than you think, stronger than you seem, and more loved than you know.  Wrap yourself up in this and consider it a big hug.” Love your Mom.  Well mothers cannot be with their children in college, but God can.  And if you are in college listening to this- make it your first priority to seek God first on campus- and be a light for Him. All of us should remember whose you are. 
III. THE HOPE OF FUTURE GLORY AND PEACE- Haggai says the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.  How? Here it was the hope of the Messiah’s coming.  Jesus came to the Temple and so the glory of the smaller Temple is better  We have a hope that one day we will come to Christ or He will come to us- and His glory will be ours; His peace will be our peace.   He died on the Temple mount to bring us atonement/peace with God.  Our greatest days are not behind us- in Christ, our greatest days are ahead of us.  I have been tempted to think- we are a remnant and we will die.  Many false prophets have said the church will die out.  Our denomination is bleeding members.  But God does not care about denominations He cares about people who have faith in Him.  I miss the great leaders.  The great missionaries, great preachers like Billy Graham.  But our glory may fade, but God’s glory will always rise up again.  We do not exist to win politically, or get certain laws passed- faith is not about some minister glorifying himself or herself.  The church exists solely for the glory of God.  And it will rise again.  The first question of the catechism says, “What is the main purpose of human beings?  The answer is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”  We do not exist for our insignificant glory, but for God’s glory. 
     The people of that day were small in number.  Maybe a tenth of what they used to be at their height.  They felt that the faith was going to die with them.  They felt what they did was insignificant.  They were tempted just to live comfortably in their own homes and forget the worship of God.  Their two dangers were apathy about God and fear of their enemies.  But Haggai was reminding them the Messiah would come through them and that all the nations would be changed- and even that the Gospel and faith and their story would go to the ends of the earth.  It has.  Christ came through that faithful remnant.  His Gospel has gone to every nation on the earth and over a billion people profess faith in Christ.  Zechariah told these same people “It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord…You will move this mountain of rubble and turn it into a Temple.”  Do not think, when you do something for the glory of God it is meaningless or insignificant.  If you are living you life for selfishness it is insignificant.  But if you are living out of love for God and neighbor- following Jesus there is a way forward.  There is a windshield mentality to be had.   

Haggai 2:1-9 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.  ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

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Freedom of Religion and the Burning of Bibles

More Christians have died in the last 70 years (one lifetime) than all the other centuries put together.  The beheading of Christians in Nigeria happened just last week.  
In Communist China millions of Christians have been arrested since the revolution.  Some have estimated that up to 50 million have been "purged" or killed in the name of preserving the ideals of the Chinese communist state.  The crackdown on the Hong Kong protesters is but another example of the communists taking away freedom of religion.   It was only a few months ago that the protesters in Hong Kong all held crosses up- even those who did not believe- as a symbol of their protests.  This year the Chinese have been famous for cutting off the crosses on top of historic churches.  
Now switch to what is happening in the United States.  The protests over police brutality and racism have degenerated into simple rebellion against all authority but their own ideology.  So Bibles were burned in Portland in front of the federal courthouse with scant attention by the media.  So St. John's Episcopal Church (near the White House) was burned.  Instead of focusing on the church's burning, the media focused on Trump's walking there and moving protesters out of the way.  But why did they burn the church?  Then a synagogue in Los Angeles was burned.  Then four Catholic Church owned buildings in a single weekend were attacked.  Now Bibles are burned in Portland.  One survey says that 67% of Americans think religious freedom is not very important.  We forget that the Pilgrims and Puritans in New England moved here for religious freedom.  The Huguenots in New York and South Carolina, the Baptists in the Carolinas left their homes behind to find religious freedom in the new land.  It is out of religious freedom that freedom of speech (including the freedom to protest) came.  Even the Methodist Wesleys, Whitfield, and Asburys had more freedom to preach in America.  

This degrading of religion is how communist totalitarianism works.  The Bible has always been attacked by the Stalins, Maos, Kims, Pol Pots and Castros who saw the Bible and belief in God as a threat to their control.  It is no accident that the downfall of the Eastern communist regimes started as a religious revival in Poland and Romania.  This is not just a republican-democrat issue.  It is not just a racial issue.  George Floyd was a member of a Christian church.  It seems Antifa's agenda has a louder voice than Black Lives Matter.  There is a great editorial in Newsweek on this pointing out German-Jewish poet Heinrich Heine's quote 200 years ago, "Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings." 
The Christian response to such things is to pray for those who persecute them (Luke 6:28).  It is time to pray.  Pray for the fire of revival in this land to extinguish the flames of persecution.

Prayer: Lord, may your Spirit bring revival on our land that we might honor you. 

Portland Bible burning in front of US Courthouse. 

 

Sermon from 8-2-20 "A Purpose in Stopping"

8-2-20  Ezra 4:1-5,23  1 Peter 1:6,7  “Finding a Purpose in Stopping” 
Preached at Lake Murray Presbyterian Church by Dr. J. Ben Sloan

We have been noting that the exile of Israel has many similarities to our own time of isolation today. Last week we talked about one thing that God is doing I this pandemic is pausing or even stopping us.  Today we will read about the people of God being opposed,  being afraid, and the work on the Temple beginning to stop.  It wasn’t long after this that it did indeed stop because of the opposition against it by the enemies of God’s people.  So what do you do when your dreams stop?  What do you do when you reach a dead end?  What do you do when you want to move forward but feel that you cannot.   I think many people are in that situation now.  [READ SCRIPTURE]

When your computer freezes you can restart it, or you can shut it down and turn it back on (a “hard” restart).  On Apple devices you can restart or reset.  I believe we are in the midst of a reset or a “hard restart.”  This is not a blip. 
 In many ways we have stopped.  5 days a week school is stopped; making plans into future stopped; assuming health- stopped;  Carolina-Clemson football stopped.  Some of our hopes and dreams are stopped.  The people came back to do a good thing- build the Tempe and the city all that work was stopped because of opposition.  God has plans for us- and sometimes it may seem cruel to stop.  But let me challenge you that sometimes God wants us to stop.  Stopping in and of itself is not necessarily bad. 
   1) HE STOPS US SO WE MAY APPRECIATE- We say, “Stop and smell the roses.”  “Stop and count your blessings.” We are called to stop and appreciate/worship Him.  Before the pandemic many were telling me they didn’t have time to worship they had to go here, or there or do this or that.   Now God is allowing us the opportunity to worship and appreciate Him.  
God told Abraham to stop and look up at the stars that he would have more descendants than them.
Jesus said to those who were worried about life- to stop and look at the birds of the air and to stop and look at the lilies of the field.  Haggai, writing to these exiles who had stopped wrote several times to them, “Stop and consider your ways.” 
Today we will have communion.  Jesus told his disciples to stop and remember Him in communion. 
2) HE STOPS US SO WE CAN TRUST IN HIM- Part of having faith is not having immediate gratification of everything.  To learn to wait is a matter of trust, hope, and love that is caused by faith.  So when I say to the family- the steaks are cooking on the grill.  They may have to wait but they also know something is in the works.  When the doctor says you have to have heart surgery, or you have cancer, or you have covid-19, it is a hard stop. 
     Waiting for God to do something is an act fo faith.  The old language was “waiting for God to move.”  When you are waiting you can wait with hope or you can wait with doubt.  You can wait with faith or you can wait with worry.  How do you wait on things.  Frankly, waiting is not my strength, but faith helps me to wait.  One of the great books on doubt is the existentialist book “Huis Clos”- which means no exit.  His theory is that we are like stuck in the waiting room for a doctor who will never come.  I do not like waiting rooms- the name is not even appealing.  But every time I have an appointment the doctor comes though I may wait what seems like a long time.  In the end there is not only a being who meets with you, but He cares for you and can heal you if you will let Him.  The Bible says this about waiting- “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength- they shall mount up with wings like eagles.  They shall run and not grow weary- they shall walk and not faint.”  It tells me that when we wait we don’t just get worry and frustration- but we can get renewed strength- to mount over our problems. 
3) HE STOPS US SO OUR FAITH MAY GROW- When we are stopped it is often called a “test” in the Bible. So Jesus stopped for 40 days in the wilderness to face His temptation (tests) and pray.  The people of Israel wandered for 40 years in the desert.  They were stopped from entering the Promised Land because they were afraid (10 of the spies said there were giants, standing armies, and walled cities in the way).  But in that 40 year period of waiting they ate manna from heaven each single day to learn to trust God.  This week there was some work being done on Wessinger Road.  The first time I encountered it I was in a hurray, and there was a lot of starting and stopping. But in the end the work will get done and the road will be improved.  Abraham had to wait until he was 100 to have a child.  Paul, after his conversion studied for three years so he would know what to say.  Each stop was an opportunity to grow, to trust, to know that God would see us through.    There have been many times when the good has been opposed.  We should expect it.  I Peter 1:6,7- says, “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  IN other words- when you are opposed, it is an opportunity to grow.  C.S. Lewis said, “Disappointment is His appointment.”   
Now if you don’t have faith- you may think there is no one stopping anything.  You may think it is all an accident- a chaotic and tragic one, but nevertheless an accident.  I challenge you to see a purpose even in sad even tragic things that happen in life.  I read from one of our members this reminder- “Those who inspire others see an invisible bridge at a dead end street.”
The cross is not a dead end.  This life is not.  This pandemic is not.  In Christ, with the eyes of faith- you can get a glimpse of that invisible bridge at the end of the dead end street.”     The word “Sabbath” means to stop.  We actually need to put some stops- some rests in our schedule.  Music that doesn’t have rests becomes restless and even boring.  Taking a breath adds beauty and appreciation to life.  This can even happen when those who are opposing you, or when there is a pandemic or something that is stopping you from doing what you want to do. 
Communion is a way to stop and remember.  To remember and appreciate his body and his blood given for us. 

Sabbath and the Coronavirus

Leviticus 26:33‘You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. 34‘Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35‘All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it.

(2 Chron. 36:21) To fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

Thoughts: We have gone so far from the idea of Sabbath that many young and middle-aged people have no idea what it is.  To God it was serious because it 1) marked God's people- it was part of the covenant with Moses to have one societal day of rest in seven; 2) It enabled the people to trust in God for their work.  So the people did not collect manna on the Sabbath and still survived.  3) Keeping a day of rest meant they were free- and it was a reminder that when they were slaves in Egypt they could not keep a day of rest.  4) It is a health blessing to rest.  Many studies have been made to affirm that if we rest on a regular basis it can give us more energy and production than if we just worked through.  5) It ensured a focus of worship of the Lord.   
    The people of God in the Bible did not keep the Sabbath.  Leviticus (26:33-35) had warned that they would be exiled if they did not keep it.  Then they were exiled- for 70 years.  2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah affirmed that breaking the Sabbath (along with idolatry, child-sacrifice, ritual prostitution) were the reasons God put them in exile and then remarkably brought them back.  
    In our day, we neglect the day of rest and the worship of God.  As God put a stop to Israel's headlong plunge away from Him so He can do it again.  One thing we should learn as we are isolated and our work has slowed from the best ever rates of production and unemployment to one of the worst drops ever, is the need to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.  Taking time for God and for neighbor are not things to be neglected.  It is obvious that some see worship as simply non-essential entertainment.  But God sees worship as the most important thing you can do.  Let us not only keep the Sabbath- but enjoy the day and find joy in the Lord who gives us true rest.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to put you first and to give you my time- for all of my time is a gift from you.