CRCF””5-15-11
Introduction
Extremists”¦our world is chock full of them!
And there are all sorts of extremists, aren”™t there?
Here are just a few. (Slides)
Some folks take THIS approach to extremists”¦
“Exterminate the Extremists””¦which really makes them no different than the other extremists, right?
Do you consider YOURSELF to be an extremist?
Check out what Martin Luther King, Jr. said”¦
“The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be”¦”
This morning, I want to show you some stuff in Acts and a couple of other places that, I believe, make it clear that we are to be”¦
Grace Extremists
Acts 7-9
Our grace and forgiveness of others must be as extreme as the grace
and forgiveness of Jesus Himself!
Acts 7:57-60 (NLT)
57 Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him 58 and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don”™t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
Our grace and forgiveness of others must be as extreme as the grace
and forgiveness of Jesus Himself!
Claiborne
Stephen, in the beautiful words of extreme grace, cries out to God on behalf of those who are killing him”¦a prayer that brings redemption. It is a prayer that converts evil rather than destroys evildoers.
(Irresistible Revolution, 272)
Matthew 5:43-45 (NLT)
43 “You have heard the law that says, ”˜Love your neighbor”™ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
Contrary to popular, Christian opinion in America, our goal is NOT to rid the world of evil.
Check out this billboard. What”™s kinda sad to me is that we really do need to be reminded that God expects us to love our neighbor, even our enemies””just as He has done through Jesus Christ!
Our goal is to transform the world by the power of enemy-love!
Nothing shows the world Who God is like enemy-love! Enemy-love is the Gospel!
Our grace and forgiveness of others must be as extreme as the grace
and forgiveness of Jesus Himself!
Acts 8:1-3 (NLT)
1 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.
A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. 2 (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) 3 But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.
But what does God end up doing with this guy Saul?
Acts 9:1-19 (NLT)
1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord”™s followers. So he went to the high priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them””both men and women””back to Jerusalem in chains.
3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone”™s voice but saw no one! 8 Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. 9 He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.
10 Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord!” he replied.
11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I”™ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name”™s sake.”
17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul”™s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.
Our grace and forgiveness of others must be as extreme as the grace
and forgiveness of Jesus Himself!
Claiborne
”¦if we believe terrorists are beyond redemption, we can rip out half of our New Testament, since it was written by a converted terrorist who became an extremist for grace. (272)
Paul, a former terrorist, would later write”¦
Romans 5:8-10 (NLT)
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God”™s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God”™s judgment. For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life.”
Our grace and forgiveness of others must be as extreme as the grace
and forgiveness of Jesus Himself!
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
To our most bitter opponents we say: “Throw us in jail and we will still love you. Bomb our houses and threaten our children and we will still love you. Beat us and leave us half dead and we will still love you. But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall so appeal to your hearts and conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory”.
Contrary to popular, Christian opinion in America, our goal is NOT to rid the world of evil.
Our goal is to transform the world by the power of enemy-love!
Nothing shows the world Who God is like enemy-love! Enemy-love is the Gospel!
Walter Wink
”¦evil can be opposed without being mirrored”¦oppressors can be resisted without being emulated”¦enemies can be neutralized without being destroyed.
Dostoevsky
Always decide to use humble love. If you resolve on that, once and for all, you may subdue the whole world. Loving humility is marvelously strong, the strongest of all things, and there is nothing else like it. (The Brothers Karamazov)
Contrary to popular, Christian opinion in America, our goal is NOT to rid the world of evil.
Our goal is to transform the world by the power of enemy-love!
Nothing shows the world Who God is like enemy-love! Enemy-love is the Gospel!
Our grace and forgiveness of others must be as extreme as the grace
and forgiveness of Jesus Himself!
Donna (artist who drew this picture)
My drawing is called EXTREME GRACE. Why? Because God”™s grace IS extreme. Webster”™s definition of extreme is this: Going to great or exaggerated lengths, exceeding the ordinary, usual or expected, an extreme measure. When God sent Jesus to save us he did so in EXTREME MEASURE. Why? Because that”™s how much he loves us. We will never fathom the depth of our Father”™s love while here on earth. We can imagine and dream, but we won”™t fully get it until we are with him in eternity. For that- I am anxious!
Our grace and forgiveness of others must be as extreme as the grace
and forgiveness of Jesus Himself!
And so practically”¦we must love EVERY PERSON”¦from our friends to our enemies, from the easy-to-love to the most aggravating, from those who love us to those who hate us”¦well”¦it”™s actually like this last slide, isn”™t it? (“I love”¦” Slide)
Romans 12:19-21 (NLT)
Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, ”˜I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,”™ says the Lord. Instead, do what the Scriptures say: ”˜If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.”™ Don”™t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.
What does that look like practically?
Shane Claiborne tells this story:
“One unforgettable night was St. Rafael”™s cathedral in Baghdad, where once again I was reminded of the God of extreme grace. We sang familiar tunes, and the priest got up to give the homily. He had just served six months in prison for his faithfulness to the gospel. What would his message be, at such a crucial moment?
He told the true story of a woman whose son and husband were killed by a police officer. Eventually they caught the police officer and dragged him before the court. In court, as the judge considered the sentence of the police officer, the woman spoke boldly: ”˜He took my family away from me, and I still have a lot of love to give, and he needs to know what love and grace feel like””so I think he should have to come to my home in the slums, twice a month, and spend time with me, so that I can be a mother to him, so that I can embrace him, and he can know that my forgiveness is real.”™ We all sat silently, struck dumb by grace. The priest urged us all to love our enemies.”
(Irresistible Revolution, 276-277)
Our grace and forgiveness of others must be as extreme as the grace
and forgiveness of Jesus Himself!
Communion