Faith is Messy | Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr

Romans 4:13-25 New King James Version

13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 

14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 

15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 

17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 

18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 

19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 

20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 

21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 

22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 

24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 

25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Do you want to know what word I am tired of hearing these days? Unprecedented, everything going on now seems like it is happening for the first time with no end in sight. When we think we have something under control here comes something new and improved to add another unprecedented complication to the situation. Unprecedented pandemic, unprecedented economic conditions, unprecedented political conditions, unprecedented weather, unprecedented electrical infrastructure failure, it seems like the hits just keep on coming and each issue is unlike any issues we have ever seen before. The problems keep piling up and the pressure keeps coming and I can't see my way out. I am reminded of the adage "if it isn't one thing it is another." How do you press forward when you cannot see your way out? How do you keep going when it seems like you have run out of road? How do you trust God when everything around you is falling apart? We have to have faith, we all need faith and faith is not this perfect sequence of actions faith is hard, faith is strange, faith is messy.

We find a messy situation in Romans, Romans is Paul's last letter that we know of, Romans is written somewhere around 57-58 AD. Paul was writing to a church that was a community of Jewish-born Christians, people who were born Jewish, followed the Biblical laws and believed Jesus was the Messiah. The other part of the community were the Gentiles, people who were not raised Jewish, but heard about Jesus and decided to follow him. This Roman church was made up of Jews and Gentile coming together into one community to follow Jesus, this was something they had never done before. Two communities coming together who would not normally deal with each other, are now together operating as a church. In this community, the Jewish-born Christians thought they were better than the Gentile Christians because they were descendants of Abraham. 

The Roman church was divided, the church folk was trying to decide who is in and who is out. There were people putting barriers up to block others from getting in. People came together to create this church, in Rome, in the middle of Roman oppression. They are trying to start a church, not just any church but a church following the man the Romans crucified, Jesus, in the capital of their oppressors, following someone that could get them all killed, even with all that going on, the church folk still got something to argue about, just messy. A whole bunch of rules put in place that no human being can complete all on their own. How are the people of God going to find their way? 

Paul says that even though this church is doing something unprecedented, there is someone else in scripture that did something unprecedented for God and that person is Abraham. Paul is writing Romans, however, Paul is writing this Roman letter with Genesis in mind. God told Abraham in Genesis that he would be the father of many nations, that his descendants would number the stars in the sky. Abraham had to have faith, Abraham had Isaac, then Isaac had Jacob and Esau, Jacob's name was changed to Israel, and Israel had 12 sons, who would later become the 12 tribes of Israel and be a great nation of people, there it is wrap up the story in a nice little bow and everyone can go home...or maybe not. 

Abraham wavered when faced with a situation he had never seen before. Yes, we applaud Abraham for his faith now, just like Paul did in Romans, but the situation was not so clear back then. God told Abraham and Sarah they were going to have a child, and from them, many nations would come. On two separate occasions, Abraham was traveling with his family in a foreign land, and while traveling Abraham lied and said that Sarah was his sister, so someone tried to take Sarah from him only to give her back when they found Sarah was already married. Abraham and Sarah's actions could have messed up the promise. 

Another time Abraham and Sarah came up with a plan, Abraham and Sarah were going to help God by having Abraham have a child with Hagar instead of Sarah because God must not have meant it when he said Abraham and Sarah because she was "too old." Hagar had Ishmael who goes on to be a great man and nation as well, but he is not who God was talking about when God made the promise to Abraham and Sarah, not Abraham and Hagar.

Another time Abraham laughed when he heard God tell him he was going to have a child. After he finished laughing Sarah laughed too. Abraham knew what was going on in his and Sarah's body when he heard the promise, he was 99 years old and Sarah 90, and even though Abraham stumbled, he didn't stay down, he trusted God in his weakness and it still worked out for his good. In Genesis we see the man mess up over and over again, by the time we get to Romans, it is the result that is remembered over everything else. That is the legacy the people of God are willing to fight over, that is what he is remembered for, that is the legacy and family people want access to. While the people are looking at bloodlines and who begat who, Paul came to let them know that it is faith that gets us in the family, not blood, not laws, not people, faith. 

We are heirs of Abraham not by blood but of faith. We are adopted into the family by the work of Jesus Christ and faith. The many nations that Abraham is the father of is not limited by geography, it is unlimited by faith. We are justified by faith through grace. We don't earn this access we are given it by God when we believe. We can have faith even if it is not this picture-perfect example of how to behave in certain situations, even if it is messy. You may be in a Genesis moment in your life right now but keep pressing forward your Roman's victory is on the way. It may look bad right now, it may be very messy right now but, in the end, God wins. What is going on right now is just a snapshot, a single picture, the world hasn't seen the whole album yet. This is just a quarter, we still the rest of the game to play. We just need to keep the faith.

God who brought life out of Abraham when Abraham was as good as dead also raised Jesus from the dead can breathe life into your present situation no matter how dead the situation seems to you. The work is finished through Jesus Christ, the many nations come through Christ, and the barrier between Jew and Gentile was lowered by Jesus. Christ gave himself up for us all. We can have a messy faith in God. 

Such faith means that we can trust God to work through us, even when our bodies fail us. It means we can trust Jesus to lead us, even when we wander through a thicket of difficult moral choices. It means we can trust the Holy Spirit to uplift us, even when we disappoint ourselves and others. Being righteous does not come from moral perfection, but it is based on being made right with God through our faith in Jesus.

Following the Right GPS | Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr

Psalm 25:1-10

1 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.

2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.

8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

Many of us have spent time traveling long and short distances, to places we have been to before and places we have never been before. When I go places, I like using GPS, sometimes even when I know where I am going, a GPS will let me know about any road closures, traffic jams, the GPS lets me know exactly how long it is going to take to get me there. Something I have learned using the GPS, speeding doesn't save me as much time as I thought it does. It might if I have to go 40-50 miles, but going on a short trip, not so much. I might get 1-2 minutes back. I still like to go fast, I just know I'm doing it to feel the speed, I am not saving any time...or gas. There are so many options for GPS and I may use a different GPS depending on the situation. There are tons of different GPS apps out there to choose from, each app offers a different look, feel, and different features besides just telling you how to get where you are going. There is one GPS app I don't like because if I am listening to something like music or a podcast while that app is open, it pauses them says the next direction, then restarts the music, over and over again, keep right and take this exit, take this exit, stay on the feeder road, all while my favorite song has stopped 10 times in 5 seconds. One GPS app I like to use won't pause the song but turn it down, and on that one, you can turn the voice completely off and just have the visual directions. 

People have their favorite GPS, they come with so many features now, like the ones that tell them where the police are located, so they know when and where to slow down. There are GPS apps that tell you where the traffic is and when to take a detour, some GPS apps let you know about car accidents. There are even GPS apps that allow you to program the voice giving you directions, one parent I know has her GPS programmed to her child's voice when they were 7...and cute, the GPS serves as a reminder now that the child is much older...their voice is not as cute

People have their own system to get from point a to point b, some use a GPS, some like to write the directions down, some like to just drive around the general area until they find where they need to be. All kinds of ways to get somewhere. Some people seem better at finding their way than others. All of us form “cognitive maps” of locations we travel to frequently. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even be able to find our way around our house. But some people form “cognitive maps” even for places they’ve visited only once. If they ever go back there, they can navigate easily and have an inner sense of where things are in relation to other things. For example, “McDonald’s is here, so the library is to the left, and the street beside that should take me back to the highway.”

Author Erik Jonsson, in his book direction-finding titled Inner Navigation, says “Our natural curiosity, the interest with which we look at new things, especially those that stand out as landmarks, is enough to create the cognitive map without any conscious effort.” Basically how curious we are about our surroundings determines the quality of our cognitive maps. Whether we are writing directions down, using a GPS app, or just exploring until we find a way, there are so many options out there our focus can be shifted to so many things. How do we know if we are on the right path? How do we know that we are not embarrassing ourselves? 

David was dealing with the same question in scripture when he wrote the 25th Psalm.  David wrote Psalm 25, an acrostic poem, or a poem that uses each letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order. Psalm 25 is also a prayer about focusing on God because David was worried about being put to shame. Our focus should be on God. Faith and hope mean being open to God's instructions. Focusing on God brings the spirit into our lives and the power to stay on the right path. David asks God for a few things in his prayer. 

First David says to God, protect me. 

Protect me (25:1-3)

Following the right GPS keeps you protected from dangers. David says he will put his trust in the Lord and his enemies will not triumph over him. When you are on the right path you will not run into enemies you can't beat. The text says trust in the NIV, the NRSV, King James, and New King James says I “lift up my soul.”  David trusts the Lord with his life and because he trusts the Lord with his life he doesn't believe he will ever be put to shame. When David talks about shame in the text this is not an internal feeling, this is public humiliation. We follow God to keep us protected, there are times in my life where I heard a voice tell me to go the other way told me to go home, and I am standing here today because of God’s protection. 

That hope in verse 3 could also be translated into patiently waiting, those who hope in the Lord won't be put to shame. We can wait on a host of things, people, places, politicians, organizations, systems, sometimes they may work out other times they may not, however, waiting on the Lord will always work out. 

I know it is rough right now but when you are hurting and don't know where your help is coming from, God sees your pain. God sees your suffering. Wait on the Lord and his protection as David did, God will protect us like he did David. 

Pilot me (25:4-5, 8-10)

Following the right GPS keeps you in better company, the text says “make me know your ways” David had the presence of mind to ask God to teach him God's ways. I remember seeing bumper stickers and signs that would say "God is my co-pilot" then later on I saw bumper stickers and signs that said, if God is your co-pilot, switch seats." David is saying he doesn't have it all together, that he has not arrived yet. David says he still needs God to guide him, help him, pilot him on this journey called life. When we have the right pilot, we take ourselves and others in the right direction. We have to let God and God's word lead us, not political beliefs, not greed, not the chance to score points on our so-called haters. 

When we have the wrong pilot, poor decisions are made. Here in Texas, we saw firsthand when greed, and a refusal to plan ahead meet a natural disaster. Not the natural disaster itself but how the so-called leaders responded to it. Politicians were told to prep their plants for cold weather 10 years ago but didn't because they thought it cost too much. Politicians blaming wind turbines and the new green deal for the whole state being out of power when the new green deal hasn't even been put in place. Politicians deciding to go to Cancun while their constituents are freezing without heat, power, and water. Politicians saying that Texans would rather put up with days without power than connecting the Texas Electrical grid to the rest of the country...Naw bruh. 

When our pilot is greed, people suffer, when our pilot is political, people suffer, when our pilot is division, the people suffer. The Bible tells us over and over to love God and love our neighbor. David is following the right pilot when he said that God guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. We have to follow the right pilot; the right pilot uses the right GPS. 

Pardon me (25:6-7)

David asks God for forgiveness; this forgiveness is based on God's steadfast love (hesed). Hesed means covenant loyalty, kindness, and mercy, as well as steadfast love. It is used as a synonym for the word verse 6 with rahamim (tender mercy/compassion), which is also related to a Hebrew word for womb. What David is saying with all these words related is that God's mercy and steadfast love have been there since the beginning, as a matter of fact, God's love and mercy "are old as time." David fervently yearns for God to forgive him rather than to remember his sins. God is a merciful God; God's love is steadfast. 

When you are struggling and cannot find your way there is a GPS that is better than the rest. Following the right GPS will get you to the right destination. Even the sinners can follow the right GPS. God's love is available for all. Following the right GPS will lead us to God’s pardon. 

Something Worth Waiting For | Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr

Isaiah 40:21-31  King James Version

21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

23 He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.

24 Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”?

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,

31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

One thing I don't like to do is to wait. Pre-covid if I had to wait for a table at a restaurant I don't want the staff to keep coming by telling me that it is going to be a little longer. These days if I order food on DoorDash or Uber eats, I don't want to see the estimated time for my food to arrive, keep going up. I hate waiting. I don't like waiting on this pandemic to come to an end, I don't like waiting on certain situations in my own life to change. I don't like waiting in general for anything. 

There are those who are waiting for loved ones to return home, 

for a report from the doctor, 

for the right person to become their spouse, 

for a home to live in. Some are waiting, and while they are waiting, it seems the only news they keep getting is the wrong kind of news. 

We all are waiting on some good news, especially when the bad news keeps coming. We all have a little bit of “news fatigue” that leaves us sometimes feeling depressed, powerless, and distrustful of news sources. It seems like the more news we take in, the more anxiety we feel or, on the other side, the more desensitized we are to the news. We hit a point like the Wicked Witch of the West did in the musical The Wiz, don't nobody bring me no bad news!

The People in the Book of Isaiah were waiting and it seemed like all they kept getting was bad news. The people in Isaiah were waiting for deliverance in the scriptures.In the book of Isaiah the Isralites were down and out, beaten up, and tired of waiting on something they could not see. 

The people of Jerusalem had by now been in captivity by the time of this writing for over 70 years. For many of these people, all they knew was Babylon. The Israelites had been captured by the Babylonians, who took them from their homeland. The Babylonians tried to take the place of the God that the Israelites worshiped. Isaiah 14:13 says that the leaders of Babylon said “I will be like the Most High”. These Israelites only knew of a corrupt government looking to remove their culture, heritage, and religious values. They know they are loved by God but they are currently captured by a government. The Israelites were waiting on a savior and deliverance that seemed like that salvation and deliverance would never come. These people were down and out, beaten up, and tired of waiting on something they could not see, then here comes the prophet Isaiah for 39 chapters telling the people how some of this was their own fault. 

The prophet Isaiah basically told them, “you wanted to worship government over God, this is what it got you! You want to be in the world and of the world, how is that working out for you?” The Israelites are waiting for deliverance. Isaiah is there to help. Yet Before he can do that, he tells them what they did to get there in the first place.  After letting the people have it for 39 chapters we transition into chapter 40. 

Isaiah is pleading his case for them to keep waiting on the Lord. He’s saying, Let me tell you what God is going to do... just wait on him. This is an appeal that Isaiah wants on the public record. “I know you have been waiting for some time now, I know you are tired of the bad news over and over again,  but let me tell you about how good God is.” 

Isaiah wants the people to activate their faith by activating their  memory! We can remember our history and know that God fulfills promises. Isaiah reminds the people what they should know and what they have heard. They may not have experienced it for themselves but God still has a history and that history has been passed down through the generations. 

Even though the people were suffering under Babylon, governments are not God, politicians are not God, kings are not God. Anything a government, king, or politician can do is temporary in the eyes of the Lord. The text says the princes will fall, they are like grasshoppers, they cannot reach the level of God, wait on something that is substantial to pull you through. The enemies are but a drop in the bucket, or dust on scales, they are less than nothing when compared to God.

God is a long term God and God is worth waiting for. God's word stands forever, God's word has prominence, and is timeless. God's word is worth waiting for. God created in the beginning and is creating now.  God does not suffer from “news fatigue.” As Isaiah says ,  in verses 28-29 “He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint And to those who have no might He increases strength

Not only does God have  the long term view in history, God offers power and strength to those who feel the fatigue of bad news in the present. Human beings tend to try to fix every problem or tell those who “should” be doing something to fix them. But as life in the pandemic has taught us, there are limits to human knowledge and ability. If we trust only in ourselves, we are bound to get tired of waiting when we fail or reach the end of our ability. Life can have us feeling disappointment and exhaustion when the reality sets in that we cannot “fix” everything on our own no matter how hard we try. But in all things, God is still worth waiting for. 

The Message translation of Isaiah 40:28-31 says

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. 

We have waited on things that were definitely worth waiting for, there are those who have waited on their spouse, thought they would never get married and found the right one. There are those who waited on the right house, tried over and over to get one only to fail time and time again but then the right house for the right price became available.  There are those who waited on children, thought it would never happen and now have blessings in their lives biological or adopted. There are those who waited on personal growth and success, struggled in business, struggled in personal development, but when they look at where they are now versus where they were back then, they know the phrase well, "if had not been for the Lord on my side where would I be..." and there are those who waited on many other blessings. If those things were worth waiting on, how much is the Lord himself worth waiting on? 

Waiting is hard when we are waiting on the wrong things. How much better would our stress levels be if we spent as much time praying as we do worrying about what someone else thinks? If we spent more time reading the Bible as opposed to watching the news? I am not saying we should not be informed but spending more time with God can't hurt. We have to put our time, talent, and treasure into things that will last for the long term. The Word of God lasts forever and God is worth waiting for. We can wait on the Lord. Waiting means that we are not always in control but when we let go, and let God we can experience God's power more fully. You might be tired now but wait on the Lord, he will renew your strength, he will recharge your batteries, he will give you the ability to keep waiting. Letting go and letting God will give you the energy to keep on keeping on.