Dr. Keith Herron, Holmeswood Baptist pastor and CBF moderator, was our guest speaker.
Preached by Terrell Carter on July 7, 2013
Have any of you ever been faced with a problem that caused you to go round and round in circles trying to figure out a solution. You may have tried several things to try to fix the situation, but nothing seemed to work. You bought things that you later found out were unnecessary. You paid a lot of money to find out that certain options wouldn’t work in the first place. You racked your brain and stretched your patience level over the situation only to find out that the best solution, the solution that would have worked the very first time, was one that turned out to be very simple.
Last year, during the hottest part of the summer, the central air conditioning unit at our home would not work. Now, I’m not necessarily a whiz when it comes to electrical equipment, but I do know my way around an electrical panel, so I figured I could call a friend who is a HVAC certified repair technician and he could walk me through the process of fixing the problem.
After his first trip to my home, he thought it was a faulty set of breakers in the electrical panel. I replaced the breakers, and….the problem wasn’t fixed. After a second trip to my home, he thought it was a breaker outside of the house, at the actual central air unit. I replaced that breaker, and….the problem wasn’t fixed. After a third trip to my home, he thought it was a set of wires inside the central air unit. I replaced those wires, and….the problem wasn’t fixed.
After the two more attempts at fixing the unit, I told him not to worry about it anymore, and I just hired a real A/C repair company. What they found out was that the problem was a small relay, which should have been the first thing that was checked. The part cost all of $10 and took literally two minutes to replace. Needless to say, I never asked that friend for advice on how to fix an air conditioner again. Instead, we have a home warranty and call out specialists.
Have any of you gone through anything like that before? You spend a lot of time, energy, and potentially a lot of money trying to fix something. You do what you think is best, and when that doesn’t work you spend time doing what someone else thinks will work, only to find out that you were both wrong? What you eventually find out is that the solution was actually something very small and simple, and something you overlooked in the very beginning.
As a young adult, I had a relative whose car stopped on him on the highway. This relative called me to come help him fix the car. When I arrived at where he was stopped, he was frustrated and angry. “Why won’t this stupid car start?” was his question. We checked under the hood. We jiggled several wires. We checked fluid levels. We checked various gauges. We even kicked the tires, but nothing worked.
We spent over an hour trying to figure something out. Eventually, he had the vehicle towed to an auto repair shop where the problem was diagnosed. The problem was that the vehicle was out of gas. Such a simple solution to the problem, but we were too goofy to figure it out.
I again ask the question, can any of you remember a time when something like that happened to you? If we were all willing to be truthful, we all could acknowledge that something like that has happened to us. It happens to the best of us. Sometimes we simply overlook something. Sometimes we are too busy to see the obvious. And, sometimes we are just too frustrated to think clearly, even though the solution is waiving at us, right under our noses.
This problem is not unique to the 21st Century, or to me, or to my relative who ran out of gas. This problem of overlooking the obvious and operating out of frustration is found in the Bible. In particular, it is found in the passage that is printed in our bulletins today. The passage of II Kings 5:1-14.
By a show of hands, how many of you have read this passage from II Kings 5 before or have heard it preached before? Preachers usually approach this passage from the standpoint of the healing that occurs. If you have ever heard a sermon preached from this passage, that sermon probably dealt the idea of faith being the catalyst for healing, or some aspect of God’s power to heal a person, whether they are righteous or unrighteous.
Today, I would like to take a look at the passage from a different angle. Instead of focusing on God’s healing power specifically, which is a very legitimate and very biblical way of exploring the passage, I would like to take a look at the attitudes of the people that are involved in the story and how that affected their responses to what God wanted to do.
The passage starts out by introducing us to Naaman. He is the commander of the armies of Aram. Aram was a city located near what is modern day Syria. Naaman is a powerful man who has had great success as a military leader. And the kingdom of Aram was very familiar with the kingdom of Israel through multiple military conflicts that occurred in II Sam 8 and 10, as well as I Kings 15 and 20.
As a military leader, Naaman expected and received obedience from the people that he commanded. He was the top dog. He held the fate of thousands of people in his hands. Although Naaman was a military boss, he had one problem. He had been stricken by a form of leprosy.
In the Old Testament, leprosy could refer to several types of skin diseases which affected a person in mild or severe ways. Some forms of leprosy were incurable and led to horrible consequences, such as a person losing feeling in limbs due to the deterioration of nerve endings. It also could lead to patches of skin dying and deteriorating, causing disfigurement. This type of leprosy brought with it separation and alienation for the person that suffered from it. If you had this kind of leprosy, you were deemed unclean and you were not allowed to live among people who had not contracted it.
But there also was another form of leprosy, which was not as severe. It caused irritation and discoloring of the skin and made the person look sick, but its long-term effects were not as severe as the other form of leprosy. It seems as if Naaman has this milder form of the disease. Even though he has the disease, he still remains in a position of power, privilege, and prestige. That being said, neither version of leprosy is pleasant and Naaman wants to be healed and made whole.
During one of their previous raids against the nation of Israel, the Arameans had taken a young girl captive and she became the servant to Naaman’s wife. Apparently the girl hears Naaman, or his wife, discussing the predicament that he finds himself in and she suggests that a prophet in Samaria, the prophet Elisha, could heal him of his disease.
This little slave girl that had been taken from her home and family, offers advice to this great military leader in order for him to be healed. There’s a great amount of irony in that. This girl had no rights, no home, and technically didn’t even have the right to an opinion. Yet, she has the answer to her master’s greatest dilemma. And that answer will be found in the land of her master’s enemies.
The surprising thing about her suggestion is that he listens to her. This may be an indication of how desperate he was to receive help with his condition.
Naaman goes to the king of Aram and tells him that he wants to go seek the help of this prophet from the nation of Israel. This had to be more than a shock to the king. As I mentioned earlier, Aram and Israel were not friends. They were enemies. They had attacked one another on multiple occasions. Much blood had been shed between the two nations.
The fact that the king was entertaining this idea from Naaman was an indication that they were both desperate for Naaman to be healed and that there was no viable option available within the king’s own court of healers or gods. Because of this, they were willing to go to one of their greatest enemies for help. This was not a very masculine thing to do.
The king buys in to Naaman’s idea and sends him to the enemy in search of the prophet Elisha. But he doesn’t send Naaman alone or empty handed. He sends him with a royal delegation and royal gifts that express the power that the king of Aram holds and his high expectations for the healing of his general. The king sends silver and gold, as well as clothing as a peace offering. He also sends the king of Israel a letter telling him what he expects.
The letter essentially says, “I am the king of Aram. This is my servant Naaman. I expect him to be healed of his leprosy.” Wow. That sounds pretty presumptuous to me. “I am your greatest enemy, but let’s let bygones be bygones. Go ahead and heal my boy, and everything will be good between us.””
We read that “When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.” “If we haven’t fought enough, now he’s setting us up for another scuffle. I am a king, not a healer.”
This could be a political trap. If the king of Israel lets this general go back in the same condition that he arrived, you can bet that the army of Aram will come marching over the hill to attack them within a day. Or it could simply be a mistake by the Aram king. He may not know that the king is not the one who is able to heal. Either way, the king of Israel is shaking in his boots. This way of negotiating was not how he was used to operating.
Roger Nam says that, “Ancient Israel was a socially embedded society. Goods and services were exchanged not out of money. Instead, goods and services were exchanged out of social relationships. Value, honor, and loyalty regulated and maintained society more than profit and legal jurisprudence. Therefore, it is completely sensible that Naaman traveled down to Israel with an enormous cargo of gifts to present to the king of Israel. The gifts were not for trade, but the foreigner Naaman was trying to create a social bond with the Israelite king. By creating a social bond through gifts, it obligated the Israelite king to give hospitality, and in this case to find a cure for the general’s leprosy. But these gifts put the Israelite King in a bind. He could not refuse the gift, as it would be like a new bride and groom refusing a wedding gift from a guest. By accepting the gift yet not curing the leprosy, the king would violate the required social responsibility. He could sense an impending confrontation with the Aramaeans.”
The king of Israel panicked. He tore his clothes as a sign of frustration and mourning over what he anticipated was a coming conflict. The king’s court would mourn as well. Eventually, the king’s actions, and the story surrounding it, got back to Elisha. Elisha told the king to have Naaman come to his home so he could heal him and so that he would know that “there is a prophet in Israel.”
So, Naaman is sent to Elisha’s home. He arrives with all of his regalia and his entourage. He waits at the gates for Elisha to come and greet him with the respect that he is due. And he waits. And he waits. And he waits. Eventually, someone comes to the gate, but it’s not Elisha. It’s someone with a message from Elisha.
Can you imagine how Naaman feels? “I am Naaman. I am the leader of the armies that have fought your people before. Don’t you realize how powerful I am? I am here with gifts and garments as tribute for you to heal me. The least you can do is come greet me personally and show me the respect that I deserve.”
But that’s not what Elisha does. He sends a messenger that tells Naaman to go wash himself in the Jordan River seven times. “What? First this so-called prophet disrespects me by sending a messenger out instead of talking to me face-to-face. Then he has the nerve to tell me to wash in the nasty Jordan River in order for me to be healed. The Jordan River is trash compared to the bodies of water that we have at home. I was better off not wasting my time with this man.”
But cooler heads prevailed and Naaman’s servants talk sense into him. “Just go do what he asked you to do. If he would have told you to do something grandiose, you would have willingly complied and expected a miracle. But since he asked you to do something simple, that wasn’t befitting a general, you think it won’t work. Give it a chance.”
And so, Naaman listens and heeds the instructions. He goes to the Jordan River and washes himself seven times and is healed. He is made whole. His skin becomes like a young child’s. He even proclaims personal faith in the Jehovah, God of his mortal enemies, the Israelites. And international war is averted, even if only temporarily.
I told you in the beginning that I wanted to look at this passage not from the lens of seeing God’s healing powers, although that is one of the main principles within it. Instead, I want to look at the attitudes that were present among the characters that we learned about, and, truthfully, see if any of those attitudes are present within our lives.
There is one attitude in particular that I want to explore. The attitude exhibited by Naaman. The general that knows he is important and expects to be treated that way. But he’s desperate because, although he commands armies, he can’t heal himself. He’s at the end of his rope and will do anything to become free of this disease.
He hears a word of encouragement from his servant girl about a person that is capable of giving him what he needs. And, in faith, whether it is strong faith or not, goes seeking healing from Elisha the prophet. The problem with Naaman is that he goes with the wrong attitude. He goes seeking Elisha from a position of power. He goes seeking Elisha from a position of ego. He goes seeking Elisha from a position of unrighteous indignation.
He goes as the general of an army, not as a man that is sick and needs help. That is why he is offended when Elisha doesn’t greet him face-to-face when he arrives at Elisha’s home. That is why he scoffs at the suggestion of bathing himself in the Jordan River. That is why he is so unhappy with this turn of events.
It was not until after he set his ego aside that he received healing. It was not until he literally got off his high horse and went into a low place that he was changed for the better. It was not until after he listened to those who cared for him and fully committed to heading the words of the one whom he sought out that he did what would restore him to a place of health. He had to change his attitude and his actions in order to experience the blessing of what God wanted to give to him.
So what, Terrell? What is the point? This is one of those sermons where I think that the point is pretty obvious, and all of you can imagine the questions that I will ask and the suggestions that I will make as I conclude this morning.
The most obvious question is the most simple. Are any of us like Naaman? We know that we have a need, but instead of humbly seeking God’s face to fulfill that need, we have an attitude of entitlement. Instead of seeking God’s help from a position of being powerless, we instead approach God as if God owes us something. Instead of seeking a solution first through the simplicity of prayer and trusting God, we hurry up chasing solutions that lead us away from God and further away from the fulfillment of our need. Naaman almost missed out on what he wanted and needed from because it didn’t take the form that he expected.
The most obvious suggestion to counter this is also simple. Stop. Seek God first. Seek God first from a position of powerlessness, acknowledging that God is all powerful and is aware of your need. Second, seek the support of those with kindred hearts, sharing your needs and concerns with the children of God.
Well, Terrell, are you saying that if something happens to me that I shouldn’t first go to a doctor, or go to the police, or go to some other professional. No, I am not saying that. What I am saying is to seek God’s guidance, protection, and providence as part of any solution for what life throws at you. I am suggesting that you seek God’s participation in any situation that you may find yourself in, and that you ask God to be present as a part of the solution, as well.
I am also suggesting that you recognize and never overlook the small blessings that God sends as solutions to the predicaments that we find ourselves in. God does not always speak in the thunderstorm or in loud crashing waves. Sometimes, like Naaman, we want a grand light and sound show that unequivocally proves God’s presence in a situation. Sometimes this can cause us to miss God’s presence in the cool gentle waters that restore our skin and our souls.
But, Terrell, how does this apply to WGBC as a whole? We have asked God to bless this church. As God sends new opportunities our way and provides new pathways for us to serve and be brought into relationship with new people, will we scoff at those opportunities because they don’t look like the pathways that we expected? Will we refuse to move forward because we’ve never done things that way? Or will we hesitate because something does not fit our personal tastes, or isn’t grand enough or isn’t our particular flavor? Or, will we trust God to move in strange and mysterious ways that bring God glory and introduces our neighborhood and community to the love and power of the Holy One?
Will you pray with me?
Aerin Johnson organizes her water bottles as she labels them.
Webster Groves Baptist Church distributed about 480 bottles of water to the thirsty spectators of the Webster Groves Fourth of July Parade.
Thanks to Aerin, Barbara, Chris, Christine, Darrell, Darren, Deshonda, Joe, Keillyn, Kimberly, Terrell, and Wyndy for everything they did to make this possible.
A lot of positive conversations resulted from this outreach.
Preached by Terrell Carter on June 30, 2013
Paul Harvey once told a story about a group of scientists who were determined to teach a chimpanzee how to communicate by writing in English. For fourteen years, the scientists labored diligently and patiently with this chimpanzee, providing things in its cage that would enable it to form certain syllables. They believed that by doing this, the primate would eventually learn how to form sentences.
Finally the day arrived when it seemed that the chimpanzee was actually going to be able to construct a sentence from the symbols that it had been learning. The word went out to the scientific community, and a group of scientists crowded into the laboratory and gathered around the cage where the chimpanzee had been caged. The scientists could hardly contain themselves as they gathered around to read the sentence that would make history. The sentence that the chimpanzee wrote was this: “Let me out!”
The chimpanzee’s first words were an expression of its desire to be free. The chimpanzee’s first words were an expression of its desire to be free from the cage. The chimpanzee’s first words were an expression of its desire to be free from the scientists, the people that controlled it. The chimpanzee’s first words were an expression of its desire to be free from its confinements and its desire to live like any other chimpanzee: free among the trees and the wilderness.
Have you ever felt like you were trapped or caged in before? I don’t mean trapped like being stuck in a traffic jam. I don’t mean caged in or confined like when you are standing on a crowded bus. I mean trapped, with nowhere to go and no way to get out. I mean trapped in the sense that you were not in control of your own life or the situation you found yourself in. I mean stuck in such a way that you couldn’t get yourself out of the situation, no matter how hard you tried to free yourself or dreamed of being released. If you ever were, how did you feel while you were trapped?
As a pre-teen, I went to the Magic House on a field trip for school. While there, a group of us decided to climb through a maze. The problem with the maze was that it was small, there was no light, and we had to crawl through it on our hands and knees. When we first began crawling through the maze, I was fine. But my joy quickly turned to fear as we began to have problems navigating the exhibit in total darkness. Eventually, we all began to feel like the walls of the maze were closing in on us even though we couldn’t see them. We eventually had to bang on the maze walls and yell for help so someone could guide us through the maze by their voice.
Do any of you have memories of situations like that? Memories of when you were not necessarily in control of yourself or your future? Memories of not being able to control where you were going or how you were going to get to the end? Memories of being stuck in a situation with no hope of moving forward? Do any of you have memories or experiences where you were dependent upon someone else for your freedom and direction?
Did you know that being trapped is not just a physical phenomenon? You can be physically trapped or stuck. You can also be stuck in a mental cage. But, did you know that you can also be trapped or stuck spiritually.
I believe that this idea of being spiritually trapped is what Paul is addressing in the Galatians passage that is printed in our bulletins today.
The book of Galatians was written by Paul to address the teachings of false leaders that had begun to infiltrate the church as it grew from infancy. As the church began to grow, Judaizers, Jewish Christians, began to teach people that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was not enough to please God. They began to teach that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was not a satisfactory payment for man’s sin. They taught that in order to be justified before God, people would have to still look to Jewish laws and ceremonies as the means for true justification before God.
Overall, they taught that a person was saved partly by faith and partly by works, and that a person grew in Christ partly by faith and partly by their own efforts. In order to be truly and fully saved, a person had to believe in Christ and receive circumcision. Ultimately, they believed that adhering to works of the law was the best way for a person to find favor in God’s eyes.
This teaching, this movement, fostered division within the church. You had one group holding to this set of beliefs and another group teaching that Christ’s sacrifice was satisfactory, and was enough to bring people back into a right relationship with God.
Aside from the fact that a false set of beliefs were being taught, one of the saddest things about this situation was that it wasn’t just common folks who were falling prey to this teaching and way of thinking. Some of the disciples were even treating people that were uncircumcised like they were second class citizens. Peter, the apostle and disciple, was one of the people that fell prey to this kind of thinking.
Earlier in the Galatian epistle, Paul acknowledges that he had to confront Peter face-to-face for doing this when a delegation of disciples were sent from Jerusalem to verify that Gentiles in Antioch had received the Holy Spirit and were exhibiting the same characteristics as they were. When this delegation arrived, Peter stopped spending time with Gentiles. He stopped fellowshipping with them. He stopped eating with them. Why did he do this? Because he was fearful of what his Jewish brethren would think of him for spending time with people who were uncircumcised.
You may be wondering why circumcision was such a hot button issue for them. Genesis 17 gives the history of God’s promise to fulfill God’s agreement with Abraham. God promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation. All Abraham had to do was to believe in God’s promise and…be circumcised as an outward sign of that inward agreement.
Circumcision would be the sign that Abraham and his descendants were willingly entering into a covenant with God for present relationship and future blessings. Circumcision would serve as a sign that Abraham and his descendants belonged to God. It would serve as a sign that they were in a special relationship with God. Circumcision would serve as a badge of honor for any Jewish person that claimed to be of Abraham’s lineage and who expected to participate in Abraham’s blessing.
So, these false teachers taught that Jesus was not the only true sign of restored relationship with God. For them, it was Jesus plus cutting off the foreskin. This sounds painful and overly complicated.
Paul could not stand by and let this teaching gain a foothold in the church. He vigorously defended the superiority of justification by faith in Christ Jesus alone. William Loader says that Paul is issuing the Galatian church a call to freedom. This is “a call to freedom from a certain style of religion which he believes misses the point and does harm rather than good.”
In the book of Galatians, Paul seeks to defend the grace of God in Christ against the works of the law that had already been fulfilled through Christ. Paul wants his readers to know that they are free. Paul wants them to know that they are no longer constrained by anyone or anything. They are free to trust in Christ as the mediator of their faith. They are free to become who God wants them to be.
The International Standard Version quotes Paul as saying, “The Messiah has set us free so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. So keep on standing firm in it, and stop putting yourselves under the yoke of slavery again.” The Message Bible says, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” You have been made free. The Terrell Carter version would say, “You are free as a bird. Don’t ever let someone put you back into a cage and into a state of bondage.”
Paul spends verses 2-12 of Galatians 5 stressing the importance of ignoring people who would make you feel like you need to go back to the law or the old way of doing things. He says, “If you decide to obey one part of the law, then you are obligated to follow all of the law. You don’t get to pick and choose what’s good for you. Instead of worrying about that, celebrate the fact that Christ came, because in Christ, it doesn’t matter if you have or have not been circumcised (or follow the letter of the law). And why are you all worried about this anyway? You were doing so well in growing in faith. Don’t let someone else cause you to question yourself or your faith.”
Instead of listening to the naysayers, ignore them or tell them to go kick rocks. Vs. 12 of the CEV says, “I wish that everyone who is upsetting you would not only get circumcised, but would cut off much more!” Wow! Those are harsh words that we probably would never expect to hear from Paul.
I can imagine that Paul’s frustration stems from the fact that he had worked very hard to teach them diligently about God’s grace found in Christ. Yet, when someone came along and told them that they were not doing things like they had always been done, it seems like they were more than willing to jump ship to this line of thinking.
Elisabeth Johnson writes, “The rabbis used the image of the law as a “yoke” with positive connotations, but Paul equates it with a yoke of slavery. In the ancient world, war captives were sometimes marched beneath an ox yoke as a symbol of their entry into slavery. Paul now claims that by accepting circumcision and law observance (all over again), the Galatians would return to a state of slavery.”
I imagine Paul would say, “I have shown you how Christ is the fulfillment and perfection of the law. Why would you let someone trick you into believing something other than that? You have tasted the freedom of not living under guilt and shame. Why would you let someone put you back into a state of shame all over again?”
Instead of following one specific peripheral law that someone personally decides is most important, Paul has a better idea. Follow the foundation of the law. Follow the starting point of the law, which is love. Love for God and love for others.
Paul tells them that they are free. But, just because they are free doesn’t mean they are free to do anything they want. With great freedom comes great responsibility. Don’t view your freedom as an opportunity to serve your flesh and do whatever you feel like. Instead, your freedom is the foundation and opportunity to serve one another. Elisabeth Johnson goes on to say, “Life in Christ means that we trust in God’s gift of righteousness, and that “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.”
Paul says that all of the law is summed up in the command to love. Follow that command before you follow the one to get circumcised. Love and serve others like you would yourself. Protect and cherish others as you do yourself. Provide for others as you do yourself. Dr. Johnson continues by saying, “To serve “through love” means that serving is done not to meet the demands of the law or even to feel good about ourselves. It is completely focused on the needs of the neighbor.”
I think that Paul would say that the most important “law” was the law of love.
Paul continues his message to the Galatians by saying don’t fight each other and attempt to destroy each other. CEV “But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves.” Not loving one another, fighting among each other, and seeing each other as enemies will only lead to destruction. It will lead to your destruction and their destruction.
Dr. Johnson says, “Self-centeredness inevitably leads to seeing others as rivals rather than beloved children of God. The resulting behavior is the opposite of loving service and (eventually) destroys life in community.”
I again say that I think that Paul would say that the most important “law” was the law of love. When we see others through this “law”, we will see them as God sees them.
Sherman H. Cox says, “All who are truly made free should use their freedom, not as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but for communal uplifting. Used correctly, freedom should serve the good of others, as through love believers become slaves to one another.”
Instead of fighting and striving to follow the physical laws, we are challenged by God to live by the Spirit, follow the Spirit, and be filled with the Spirit. In doing these things we will do what God desires of us, which begins with loving others.
Timothy George compares following the Spirit or walking in the Spirit to the practice of disciples of Aristotle in ancient times. When Aristotle taught, his disciples would literally follow him from place to place as he spoke. They moved when he moved. They held on to every word or action that he gave. They were consumed with being in his presence. That is how we should be towards the leading of the Holy Spirit.
We should be hungry to experience the Holy Spirit’s movement in our lives. We should seek to be active disciples of the Spirit. When we are thirsty for God’s presence and actively listen for the Holy Spirit’s voice, we don’t have to worry about whether or not we are keeping the law. When we sacrificially move by the prompting of the Spirit, we automatically move towards fulfilling God’s commands.
Paul is saying that they are free in Christ. They are free to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. They are free to love one another and have life in community that can flourish beyond their wildest dreams and please God.
Galatians, you are free to live without condemnation from the law and past practices. You are free to love God and love others. You are free to live in peace with one another. You are free to be God’s children.
So what, Terrell? How does this apply to me in the 21st Century? My words of encouragement are the same as Paul’s. We are free. As God’s children, our lives don’t have to be dictated by following a set of rules or prohibitions. Now, please understand that I am not saying that we can just do whatever we feel any time we feel like it. What I am saying is that as God’s children, we no longer have to live under a cloud of fear based on what we are not doing.
The law and our ability or inability to follow it does not dictate our position before God. Our relationship with Christ dictates our stance before God.
Andrew Prior says, “So much of what people talk about in church circles has seemed to be about the keeping of rules. There is a certain prissiness; a kind of wowserish righteousness, that delineates who is a proper Christian, and whose discipleship is somehow less spiritual. It’s a self-satisfied kind of walling off from the world; an in-group promising a freedom that doesn’t seem very free at all.”
Our freedom in Christ is only about what we are free from. It is as much about, or more about, what we are free to do. We are free to have a restored relationship with God. We are free to have a restored relationship with one another. We are free to live in peace without condemnation.
Yet, we are also free to live in obedience to God. We are free to obey God’s command to love sacrificially. We are free to obey God’s desire for us to be led by the Holy Spirit and exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. Fruits like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Okay, Terrell. That sounds fine, but what about WGBC? How does this apply to our church? My encouragement is the same. WGBC is free. WGBC is free to become what God wants this church to become. We don’t have to be bound by other people’s expectations or desires or the limitations that they set for us. What matters is what God says about us. We don’t have to be bound by what other people think about us. What matters is what God thinks about us. We don’t have to be bound by rules that other people have laid out for us. What matters is the freedom that we have in Christ.
As we grow, we don’t have to be bound by our past. During the Centennial Celebration, I read one article that was written about the church, and a former pastor acknowledged that WGBC was originally started for white people. There was one church where blacks could go and WGBC was the church where white people went. Evidently, something changed in the church’s history because that is not how WGBC is now, and for that I celebrate. This is simple evidence that shows that we do not have to be bound by what other people say we should do or what they deem as acceptable.
We are free to do what we want, when we want, and how we want in service for God. We don’t have to do what everyone else has done or what some other church is doing. We are free to not be in bondage to anyone or anything. We are free not to have to follow a particular way of doing things and not feel guilty about blazing a new path that is set by following the leading of the Holy Spirit.
We are free to accept and love and celebrate anyone that God sends our way. We are free to welcome and incorporate anyone that God allows us to enter in to relationship with. We are free to love all of God’s created beings just as they are. We are free to open our doors and proclaim to the world that our God lives. We are free to be the church that God wants to shape us into.
Will you pray with me?
Parent & Child Play Group
Groovy Grovers
God has provided us with an opportunity to meet the needs of young families in our community.
On most Friday mornings from now until the middle of August, our facilities will be made available for parents and children to join together for an opportunity to socialize in a safe and cool environment.
We had our first play date on Friday, June 21. We will gather again on Friday, July 5, at 9 a.m. Please spread the word to parents of children ages 1-4 about this opportunity. You are welcome to join us and meet the parents and children.
For more information contact Wyndy McRoy at joemcroy@att.net.
Life of Webster Groves Baptist Church 