Snippet of Sermon by Rev Tan-Yeo Lay Suan
INTRODUCTION
This week our family encountered tension in the family. There was cold war brewing between my husband and my daughter. I had to listen while my husband shared about his feelings of being unappreciated, disregarded for all the love that has been shown. It was her repeated refusal to do something simple that has gotten in the way. Why was that simple instruction ignored? Was dad so unimportant to her? Was dad of so little value to her? All her sweet huggy and warm ways suddenly become void of meaning. They now look superficial at best. All the promises, “I will do this and that…” seem all empty.
Dad felt that all the efforts at cherishing and loving had gone to naught. It makes him wonder if wanted to be hurt deeper… perhaps I should not venture to be so invested after all, it seemed to mean nothing to her.
SERMON PROPER
1. Are we reasonable? A Simple Helping Relationship
Jesus was well acquainted with this let-down that my husband felt. This morning Luke’s gospel records one such miraculous healing. In this account, Christ healed ten lepers. Of the ten lepers, only one returned to thank Christ. Think of that statement. Only one of the ten thanked God for healing them of an awful disease! Every one of us can understand this simple helping relationship that was not appreciated. Jesus experienced it just like you. Think about it…are you thanking God for all miracles? That’s another way to rob God of His glory.
2. Are we reasonable? A Father & Son Relationship
Often we imagine God to be so omnipotent that he is made of steel… no matter what we do to him or fail to do, he will not retaliate. He will not be affected at all. But is that the case with God?
When we come Sunday after Sunday to worship, but our hearts are vacant/hollow without any sense of gratitude, we have nothing to offer to the Lord: we find no energy in our lungs and bones to burst into song, dance, etc. we haven’t prepared our tithes and offerings… I remembered the days when I dug into my purse and discover that I had not prepared an offering to give to the Lord! When my agenda is full for a Sunday, my mind is swirling all over, too full of my agenda to accommodate God. What does God get from my Sunday Worship as my unfailing 24/7 helper? Is it really unreasonable to worship like this? Can our Lord get frustrated with us after all he is known to be slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love? In Hosea 11:1-4, the Lord shares, 1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. 3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. 4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them. Think also of the parable of the prodigal son and his relationship with his father. Even the prodigal son thought about his behaviour and knew that he had been the unreasonable, ungrateful son… no longer worthy to come back as one. This father deserved better. Is it reasonable to be treated in this manner when you have been a loving and longsuffering father, a good employer and a good governor? Any imperfection in an animal would disqualify it from being offered on the altar?
The prophet Malachi clearly shows that the worship of God is something important to reckon with and the inner disrespect surfaced in their slipshod and lackadaisical/apathetic /lazy/careless approach to worship is deplorable. In 1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. God is building us up into a dynasty, a spiritual house, a spiritual Family, one that we know will last forever by offering spiritual sacrifices that He will accept.
In carrying out our charge from God to worship Him, God continues to look on our hearts. Do we return God our Father, our Master, our Governing Authority what is reasonable? Reverence? Honor? Is there a heart issue with us when we worship the Lord? 没有心。Amos 5:21-23 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. 22Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. 23Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.” All our attempts at producing perfectly toned sounds are hogwash (crap) to him! Are we distracted by concerns that we consider more important than being that whole offering, wholly present, burning up our energies, our vocal cords, our limbs to the honor of God? The focus of our attention may easily have been given to functions and duties that are considered normal, everyday concerns, not sin per se. Nevertheless, these things are to be of lesser importance than fulfilling our charge from God. Is our worship of God defiled in this manner? Leftover energies from soccer/golf games, dating, pubbing the night before… Is our worship response one like that: of poor and compromised quality? One that gives God no satisfaction? Would our response be acceptable to a leader that we can see? That was what the early worshipers did. Because God was invisible, out of their sight, he became almost completely out of their minds too. To have no thought of the greatness of His power; His merciful, loving providence; the desire of His concern for our well-being; or of His nearness to us is to behave in an unreasonable manner. Have you ever given it much thought that God is aware of all we are doing?
Malachi teaches us that we must strive to offer to God the best we can. Not everybody is the same. Each of us has our own package of abilities, intelligence levels, and skills. We have different attitudes about things and circumstances. We have been reared in different kinds of environments, and so our attitudes toward things are not always the same. We have different sins and weaknesses to overcome.
|
3. Are we reasonable? A Relationship Between a Husband and His Bride (Jeremiah 2:1-2; 32-33; Ezekiel 16:10-20) Those who have been betrayed at your marriages would understand God’s indignation. The sexual orientation of what is written of her sin is used because sexual sins are the most common way unfaithfulness in marriage is shown to the public. It is something that everybody can relate to. However, the real spiritual sin behind all of these sexual terms is gross idolatry. Israel simply did whatever she wanted to do, when she wanted to do it, and in the manner that she wanted. Her harlotry is clearly the breaking of the terms of the marriage covenant, and it is unfaithfulness, disloyalty, and spiritual in nature. It is primarily idolatry, but all other sins are included. Israel was unfaithful in conducting business, both domestically and internationally. Israel was unfaithful in managing God's great green earth; unfaithful in forgetting who her blessings came from; unfaithful in the way they treated one another in their personal marriages; unfaithful in their childrearing practices.
A reasonable response to God would be to have no other idols in our heart when we claim to worship God. Remember the last temptation of Christ? The devil tempts us to worship other gods beside God Almighty. Anything that distracts us from a full and complete worship of God can be considered a false god. Matthew 6:21, 24 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (24) "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Anytime you forsake assembling together with other believers, ask yourself- “Why am I not getting together to worship and edify my brothers and sisters?” The Matthew verse says that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And you will be where your heart wants to be. Given a choice between watching football on TV and going to the church sanctuary or remaining downstairs in a small gathering of brothers and sisters, staying late to play gooseberry at the wedding couples’ room, which do you choose? And why? Is your heart with the game and not with your fellow Christians? Be honest with yourself when you answer this question. You can fool yourself, but there’s no fooling God. Many times people say “Well, I’m not going to church today because we’re having a family gathering.” Family is good, but let’s look at a few verses: Mark 3:31-35; Luke 9:59-62; Matthew 10:34-37.
These are some hard sayings which we always dismiss as too exacting for Asians, forgetting that Jesus was speaking in a Middle-Eastern culture himself. Other passages say we’re to provide for our families, but these passages seem to clearly show that we’re not to put even family before God. Any ministry in church that is given more importance than a time to worship God Almighty needs to be looked at seriously. God is serious when he says “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” These gods can be work, play, family, and even church itself if church is a social function rather than a time of worship. Make no mistake regarding the importance of giving God more weight (that’s what honor means) than any other preoccupation on Sundays.
Conclusion: The Choice is Yours
Always remember that ingratitude is a deadly sin. God directly calls it evil! Has your worship response to the Lord being anything but reasonable? Spend some time in prayer and ask
· God to surface the inner disrespect in your worship: whether indeed it is slipshod and lackadaisical/apathetic/lazy/half-hearted.
· God to show you the idols in your life. Then repent and cast those idols aside. Say to them “Be gone, idols! I will worship the Lord my God and Him only.” Through the power of Christ working in you, and only in this manner, will you cast them aside and worship God as He desires, in sprit and truth. May God do this for you, to His glory, in Christ’s name, amen.
Some people have likened one's life to the seasons in a year: Spring, Summer, Autumn Winter. It is important to embrace both the high's and the low's of each season.
v3 gives us a picture of a God-centered life. How does it come about? v1-2 tells us that it all begins with decision making. The key is in v2, to meditate on the law of the Lord, reflect on what it means in this season of life. Many homebound elderly folks want to die. They are always in waiting and feel unhappy and disillusioned easily because they have nothing to do. Professor Morrie Schwartz who was the main character in the book, "Tuesdays with Morrie" said this, 
