Allen Jackson - We Have A Choice - Part 1
Working through a little study under the title of, "Let's Please God". I got a little overwhelmed a few days ago with everything that was happening and it seemed like it was, it was too much and there were too many fronts and too many challenges. And I just got quiet with the Lord and I felt like he gave me such a freedom that the victory is his, my assignment is to please him. And so I wanna spend a few sessions with you giving you that invitation. We're asked to put on the armor of God and we're asked to take the weapons that are available to us. But at the end of the day, we recognize that the victory is the Lord's. But that if we will determine that we wanna please God in our lives on a daily basis, if we'll turn our attention to him and our hearts to him and our efforts to him, then that God's the one that brings the victory.
It's not dependent upon our strength or our wisdom or whatever other than our determination to please the Lord. I've spent my life, the adult life in the church and to be completely candid, we really haven't carried that as a primary objective. We talk a great deal about being born again and I believe in that and the necessity of that. But once you have taken that step, the goal of your life then is to lead a life pleasing to the Lord. And we should be encouraging and doing everything in our power to help one another. In this session, we're gonna focus on the choices involved in that. You have a choice. I have a choice. It's a gift from God. But I read a bit of good news. I don't always get to bring you great news, but I this is pretty good news. We've been praying that the truth would be told since COVID, we heard about a virus drifting our way from Wuhan.
You know, and initially it wasn't from Wuhan, you couldn't say Wuhan. And I'm like, okay, well, and we have seen time after time, God answer those prayers and bring truth into the public square. Now, my preference was if I prayed on Sunday, he would bring the truth on Monday. And there's been a little delay sometimes. God is still sovereign. But there was, actually I saw the presentation but the American College of Pediatricians, which includes hundreds of doctors and researchers, not some insignificant group, put out a statement calling out all the major medical associations by name for pushing the gender transition initiative on children. They asked for these groups and I quote, "To immediately stop the promotion of social affirmation, puberty, blockers, cross sex hormones and surgeries for children and adolescents who experience distress over their biological sex".
Again, that's from the American College of Pediatricians. It's good enough news. I think it's worth reading a bit more of the statement. Some of it is a bit...it's worth it. Therefore, given the recent research, I quote, "Given the recent research and revelations of the harmful approach advocated by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health". Gee, why would we think there could be a problem with the advice that was given by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health? But anyway, I'm back to, I'll stay on track, I promise.
"And its followers in the United States, we the undersigned call up on the medical professional organizations of the United States, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to follow the science and their European professional colleagues and immediately stop the promotion of social affirmation, puberty, blockers, cross sex hormones, and surgeries for children and adolescents who experience distress over their biological sex. Instead, these organizations should recommend comprehensive evaluations and therapies aimed at identifying and addressing underlying psychological comorbidities".
You're just applauding 'cause I could actually say psychological comorbidity. "And neurodiversity that often predispose and accompany gender dysphoria. We also encourage the physicians who are members of these professional organizations to contact their leadership and urge them to adhere to the evidence based research now available". That is a remarkable statement in the public arena. I believe it's an answer to the prayers of God's people and the courageous responses of others. Don't spend your time angry and agitated, don't have to be belligerent and you certainly don't wanna be violent, but we have to have the courage to tell the truth.
If we abandon a generation of young people which we have done for quite some time. There have been more abortions since Roe was overturned than in the year before. We have abandoned enough children. We will be held accountable. Whether you're directly involved or not, this is our watch. And so this is a wonderful step forward. I'm quite confident there'll be pushback. Pray for the people that are willing to make those statements. Pray for those that have been standing in the shadows, excusing it for all sorts of reasons that they will join those that have had the courage to step forward. We have to have a determination to be willing to honor the truth in the public square. We're gonna please God. We're going to please God. It's the assignment.
So I wanna start with that. I've been living with this now for a little bit. Pleasing God is a principle that is apparent in every book in the Bible. This is not like some subtle little theme. Any book you pick up, there are multiple expressions or invitations or examples of individuals who made significant efforts to please God with their life. We've been given some antidotes that have caused us to withdraw from this. They're almost like theological vaccinations. We've learned phrases like we're not saved by works, we're saved by grace. Well, bless your little pointed head. Jesus lived a sinless life.
Do you think obedience was not required of him? Do you think sacrifice was not required of him? He didn't earn his way to heaven. But my Bible says, because of the choices he made and the behavior in which he engaged, that God exalted him and gave him a name that's above every name, that in the name of Jesus, every knee would bow in heaven and earth and under the earth. You see, the choices you make and the life you choose to lead is the value you attach to the gift that was given to you in salvation. And if you don't lead a life intending to please God, I question significantly whether you value that gift at all or not.
So while I agree with you, we can't earn our way into the grace of heaven. That would be nonsense. That the life we lead and the choices we make are very much an expression of our desire and intent to honor the Lord. And we've been given some very sloppy theology. And if there's three or four of those lines that have been bundled together and what they have created is a sense of license that is bringing the judgment of God upon the church in our nation. They're closing in city after city, major denominations are stepping away from orthodoxy with such rapidity. It's hard to keep up.
So I wanna invite you back to some fundamental premises like let's live to please God. It really does matter. It begins with a respect and a reverence for God. There's some things you have to...why should I fear Him? Why should I respect him? Does God deserve my respect? I have sat in some very celebrated theological schools that mock God and train leaders in the church to do so. If you mention a phrase like being saved, with jeers, they'll say, "Saved from what"? Folks, we haven't arrived at this place in a day or a week or a month, we've been walking this path for decades. But we've reached a point at which survival is dependent upon a change of course. We have to decide to live with a respect for God. Cultivate in your heart a reluctance to displease him. Be more aware of displeasing him than of the benefits of grace.
I've had the privilege of traveling a bit. I've been places in the world and met people who live in vastly different circumstances than we do. They don't have grocery stores and easy access to clean water or certainly not easy access to electricity and their children don't have medicines or schools. They have no imagination that those things should be available because they're not available. And the only difference in their life and my life are the circumstances of my birth. I didn't choose those. I didn't earn that. I didn't deserve that. It was God's gift, grace in my life. And yet in spite of all those abundant blessings and all the things around me, it's very easy for me to settle into some sort of a seat where I deserve something. Suggestion, we don't want what we deserve. We really don't. I mean, just my driving record.
You know, I passed the driving test. I kind of know the rules and if you forfeited your privilege to drive a motor vehicle because you transgressed a rule, I'd be a walking machine. And I'm probably not entirely alone. And I have tremendous respect for law enforcement. But I don't want what I deserve. And if you're stuck, I meet people consistently that are stuck. They're mad at God. They don't like their circumstances, the circumstances of their family, the events that have surrounded their life. Evil has touched them, pain has come to them, heartbreak has come to them and they're stuck in those places. Or other people's choices have caused them to be filled with rage and anger and hurt and they've withdrawn from serving the Lord because they...listen, we live in a broken, fallen world, it's the reason we needed a Savior.
It's the reason the cross was a requirement and the sinless obedient Son of God was necessary and he offered himself as a sacrifice to deliver us from this present evil age. But don't take your attention off the goodness of God and the mercy of God. There is an Almighty God. He can be known and he will welcome you into his kingdom. The journey we're on under the sun is difficult. There's challenges. We have an adversary. His intent is your destruction and he's very good at what he does. We shouldn't be flippant about the devil. He's toppled the greatest heroes in our faith and only through the grace and mercy of God and the power of his redemption did they survive. But please don't stay mired in what you deserve.
In Luke 10 and verse 25, I am back to your notes. There's hope. We gotta listen fast. "On one occasion an expert in the law stood to test Jesus". That always makes me smile. Wanna challenge Jesus to Trivial Pursuit. I'm thinking that wouldn't be fruitful. "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life"? He doesn't care. He wants Jesus to give a wrong answer. And Jesus is so wise. He responds with a question, "Of what's written in the law? How do you read it? 'Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength and with all of your mind! Love your neighbor as yourself.' And Jesus said, 'You have answered correctly.'"
Can you imagine challenging Jesus to a public Q and A? And when you give your first answer, Jesus says... Drop the mic and run. But the man understood. He hadn't done what he gave as the right answer. I didn't put it in your notes, but it says he wanted to justify himself. So he said, "Well, who's my neighbor"? Trying to practice deception on the Lord of all is probably not a good path. But the heart of that answer is really the one I wanted to highlight for you that the assignment for you and me is to love the Lord, our God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our strength, and with all of our mind. With all of our person. That's pleasing to God.
All in, push all the chips into the middle of...everything I am, everything I'm striving to become. My desires, my achievements. Don't harbor things that you know are displeasing to God. Don't fuel them, don't plan them. Don't hide them, don't excuse them, don't justify them. Let's please God. And I brought you an example. Both Old Testament and New Testament it's referenced both places. I started with Hebrews 11. That's the Hall of Fame. Somebody did something pretty good, they made the list. Hebrews 11, verse 1, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don't see. This is what the ancients were commended for".
So the invitation to the Hall of Fame begins with faith, believing, living, making life choices based on something other than what's tangible. Everybody can make choices on what's tangible. Faith is life choices based on some other facts in play. "By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command. So that what is seen was not made out of what was visible". Faith means, you're gonna make life decisions based upon spiritual things and they're hard to measure in a laboratory. It means you'll stand, you'll be unique from people who will not do that. And then there's a long list of people who made those kind of choices and I just gave you the first one. "By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he," Abel, "Was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks even though he's dead".
Abel's been long gone. We meet Abel in Genesis chapter 4, that's really near the beginning. And Hebrews 11 is post Resurrection. Jesus has been here, post Ascension. Jesus is gone. And the author of Hebrews says Abel is still speaking into our world. See, when you decide to honor God with your life, when you decide to please God, you bring a significance to your life beyond time. You bring a significance to your life beyond the durability of your earth suit. It's a very important decision you make. It's gonna make you a little countercultural. It's gonna, you'll be able to stand apart from your peers, not because you're weird or you're dressed weird because you're using some other components in making decisions. You're gonna make faith based choices. Abel offered to God a better sacrifice.
Do you know the story of Abel? He had a brother Cain, children of Adam. I gave it to you in Genesis 4. Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil. One's a shepherd and one's a farmer. "In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord and Abel brought fat portions from some of the first born of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering, he didn't look with favor. So Cain was angry, and his face was downcast. And the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if you don't do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.'"
Many of you know the end of the story. Cain killed his brother. He was so angry with God that he killed his brother. And God came looking for Cain and said, "The blood of your brother is crying out to me from the ground. What have you done"? Abel wanted to please the Lord. Cain didn't. We have a choice to make folks. And I wanna caution you, please don't accept the notion, I believe it's incomplete and it's inadequate, that you can simply recite a sinner's prayer and then lead your life on your terms and you're okay. Again, we're not gonna earn our way to heaven, but I don't want you to miss the opportunity of yielding your life to the lordship of Jesus. Abel pleased him and Cain didn't. Pleasing God.
That's Genesis 4, it is all the way through the fabric of scripture. I wanna take the balance of our time and I've got a little bit and talk about some of the choices that become a framework for evaluating these options. I've played with this list. I like to make lists and it isn't an exact list. In fact, there's gonna be some overlap in some of the ideas that I'll introduce and it's really intended to be more of a palate to help you sort this out. See, we've been coached far too often. Those of us that spend a lot of time in church world that you know, it's about the translation of the Bible you read.
After all, if the King James was good enough for Paul, it should be good enough for us. Or that we take communion in a more precise way than someone else receives communion. Or the water in which we do baptism is better than the water that someone else does baptism in. Or we've come up with all of these things that we use to se separate ourselves from other Christ followers. But we've been very reluctant to talk about what's happening in our world and to bring our biblical perspective into the context of those things and to talk about the real struggle with good and evil in our world. And how do we make those choices and the tug of war that's in our own hearts. We've been coached to really live almost oblivious to God as long as we stop by church with enough frequency and nobody really wants to tell us what enough is and now that we can do it digitally, you know, it's... So I put together some things that I think help characterize in my life the nature of these choices.
You know, I engage with a lot of people. One of the things I hear a lot is people, particularly guys, you know, they're concerned about their life-work balance. You know, that's a relatively new phrase. It reflects the affluence in which we've been able to live for a while now. There was a time when we worked to survive. I had a friend who was in the church some years ago and he'd immigrated to our nation legally. And I remember him saying to me, he said, "Allen, you know, one of the great differences in your nation and the world where I'd grown up," he'd grown up in the Middle East. He said, "Here in America," he said, "You work to recreate. You work so you can do what you want to on the weekends or in the afternoons or on your vacations". He said, "The way I grew up," he said, "We worked to survive".
And well, I think you need a balance between your professional life and your work life and your family. I don't disagree with that. I think it's far more significant that we talk about godly and ungodly balance. I think we're way too accommodating of ungodliness. I think we're very comfortable standing in the midst of it and acting as if we don't see and hear. And so from that, this list has emerged and the first one I'll start with. I don't know how many of these we'll get to. If we don't, don't panic. The next service is Wednesday. We've got plenty of time. The first is the choice between difficult and easy.
Now, some of you have been around here a bit. So, all right, pastor, 'cause I know I did a whole series on "Let's Do Difficult". I meet people all over the country and they come up to me, they don't come with a smile. They come up and go, "Pastor, I'm doing difficult". Yes, sometimes it's necessary. But in Luke chapter 9, Jesus had something to say on this. He said to them all, he's talking to all of his disciples, the group who are following him. He's not scolding somebody. These are his closest friends. This group of people are all in. They've left businesses, they've reoriented their lives and he says to them, "If anyone would come after me, he must," you ought to circle that little word must. It's not optional. It's a requirement in Jesus's estimation.
"He must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for me will save it". If you're gonna be a Jesus disciple, one of the requirements is daily taking up your cross. Now, we know the cross to be jewelry. You hang it around the neck, you put it in an earring, you decorate clothing with it. In the Roman world, the cross was a symbol of torture. It wasn't uncommon if the Romans rolled into some new community and they wanted to assert Roman authority, they would just crucify the first ten men they met. It was a way of saying there's a new sheriff in town and I promise you that would communicate the message.
And Jesus when he says to that audience, if anyone would be my disciple, you must take up your cross daily and follow me. Because if you wanna keep your life, you're gonna have to be willing to lose some of it.
So there are some choices in following Jesus that will require us to do difficult things. Being a good parent is difficult. Choosing to co-operate with God's discipline is difficult. Cultivating generosity of spirit is difficult. Being willing to forgive is difficult. Folks, it's a challenge. If you follow Jesus through his narrative in the gospels, it wasn't always easy. He was frequently rejected. He suffered many difficult things. And I wanna be candid with you. If you want the best that God has for you, you're gonna have to be willing to make some choices from time to time that are difficult ones.
I have learned through the years that a part of following the Lord is the willingness to do difficult things. Being a Christ follower is not always about the easy. I wanna pray today that you'll have the courage to say, "Yes" to the Lord even when it's a difficult assignment.
Father, I thank you that you have chosen us and created us for your purposes. And I pray that not one of us would turn aside or shrink back. May we have a spirit of boldness. In Jesus's name, amen.