Lord Have Mercy - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Luke 18:9-14

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

I struggle with comparison; I can't help but try to figure out where I stand with everything. I look at salaries, education, church membership, and attendance. I look at vote totals, almost everything I can think of, and compare it to something similar. I know that about myself, and I am working on it. I am just being transparent about my personality quirk; sometimes, it comes in handy; I get nominated to be the treasurer or auditor of many organizations because of this instinct. I get called in to consult with organizations because they want to know what other organizations are doing in similar situations. 

I am not the only one who thinks about comparison; I am just willing to say it out loud. We buy clothes, cars, and houses and then compare them. Oh, girl, where did you get that outfit from? How much did it cost? Was it on sale? What kind of extra features came in that new truck you just bought? What neighborhood do you live in again? Don't let there be some fellas around an open flame with some meat that needs to be cooked; we all compare people, places, and things. Comparison is not a bad thing all the time; sometimes, you need to compare things to teach people as well. That is why Jesus spoke in parables a lot, the kingdom of God is like a seed the man scatters on the ground but doesn't know if it grows or not, or the kingdom of God is like the mustard seed and if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains. 

Jesus is talking to Pharisees, religious leaders. This passage is part of a larger conversation about prayer. Jesus just finished telling the Pharisees about the parable of the persistent widow.

The thing about Jesus's parables is that the good guy is not who the people listening to the parable think it is. Jesus was talking to Pharisees, so they would expect the Pharisees to be the story's hero. The Pharisee in the parable is pompous when he says "other people," which literally "the rest of humanity" in Greek. The Pharisees thought he was the best in the world because he regularly attended church and tithed. 

The tax collector has a bad reputation. Tax collectors in the Bible were not like IRS agents are today; they were independent business owners; who would collect taxes and give money to the Roman government. Because they were independent, they could collect more money than they had to give to the government and keep the rest. So, some collect enough taxes to get rich off the backs of the poor people in the area, and the people began to hate all the tax collectors, good or bad.

Pray consistently

Both people go to church and know they need to pray. You can't get away from this concept in Christianity, and prayer should be a regular task in your life. Not just blessing food or praying corporately at church, we should be praying before we make major decisions, we should be praying before we make minor decisions we should be praying at all times. The Bible says to pray without ceasing. I hear people complain about taking prayer out of school or other places as if that caused the decline of institutions. I submit to you that if prayer is in you, it should not matter if you get to make a big show out of it in public. They can take prayer out of the building but can't take it out of me. 

Pray with determination 

The tax collector went to the temple expecting his prayer to be answered, begging for it to be answered. His determination was so strong it bordered on desperation. If he didn't think God would answer his prayer, why even ask? The man asks because he expects an answer; God is not a man that he should lie nor the son of man that he should seek cause to repent. This man, this tax collector, came to the church looking for grace and mercy and expects to receive it. 

Someone might think that the tax collector is not worthy; only God's assessment of righteousness matters.

Pray authentically 

One of the reasons I believe Christianity gets a bad reputation in the world today is because Christians aren’t authentic. We act like we have it all together when we are truly broken on the inside.

This man said Lord have mercy on me, 

The prayer may not be in public but in private 

The subject and verb may not agree

They may not ask you to pray this prayer at a presidential inauguration.

Need heaven to move on my behalf

Lord, Have Mercy on Me

-Employers

-Employees

-Unemployed

You aren't big and bad by yourself; no matter where you are in life, you need the Lord's mercy. 

Psalm 51:3 David said my sin is ever before me."

Humble. Self-emptying. Obedient. These are the qualities of Jesus Christ and his faithful followers, qualities that led to Christ's exaltation. Remember, said Jesus, "all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 18:14). The path to God's future includes serving others sacrificially, as we follow a Lord who "came not to be served but to serve" (Matthew 20:28).

The tax collector didn't care what anyone else thought

The tax collector was justified because he put his faith entirely in God, asking God to be merciful to him. He took an honest look at his past, regretted many of his actions, and asked God to forgive him. 

Let your memory be your motivation 

Let your past power your future 

Isaiah 40:4-5

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Isaiah 40:28-31

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

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

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Late in the midnight hour, God is going to turn it around, it's going to work in your favor!

Don't Move Until God Moves - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

29 This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

I don't like quick fixes; I like simple fixes, but the quick ones bother me; almost every time someone suggests a quick fix, I know we will be back here quickly fixing it again in a few months, if not sooner. However, it is hard not to want the quick fix; we watch television shows where they solve the world's problems in 30 minutes, really 22 minutes with 8 minutes of commercials. Advertisements promise you will lose 15 pounds in weeks without diet or exercise, take this online course to learn how to make six figures almost overnight. Millions of people play the lottery even though we have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than winning. We want the quick fix because it makes us feel good no matter the reality of the situation. 

Jeremiah is dealing with the results of a quick-fix mentality in scripture. Jeremiah wrote a letter to the Hebrews in Babylonia captivity; the whole letter is verses 1-23. Jeremiah wrote the letter in chapter 29 because of what another prophet did in chapter 28.

The Hebrews were captured, and in chapter 28, Hananiah prophesied that this dire situation would be over quickly and easily; he said that they would be out of captivity in less than two years. Things would be back to what they were real soon, don't worry, we will be back in Israel in less than two years. Jeremiah had a vision of a yoke on the people's necks, meaning the people had to work and work hard. Hananiah prophesied the yoke was broken. Jeremiah prophesied that people needed to figure out how to live under King Nebuchadnezzar; Hananiah prophesied the leader would be removed. Hananiah died a year after making his prophecy. 

Hananiah's prophecy removed blame from the people and absolved them of personal responsibility. We don't have a book of Hananiah; we have a book of Jeremiah, though. 

God told Moses in Deuteronomy 28 before the people entered the promised land that this would happen. Prophets told the people of God to change their ways 800 years before Babylon took them over. 

It's easier to reminisce about Israel, blame Nebuchadnezzar, or think this situation is temporary than to do any substantial work to change it. 

Psalm 137:1-4

137 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion.

2 We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it.

3 For there, those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

4 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?

Nebuchadnezzar is not absolved of what he and the Babylonians did; we just can't sit around blaming them without any action. This prophet told those who moped that God says, "Your old life is dead. Your new life is to be found in Babylon. Deal with it. Settle down. Adjust!"  Jeremiah did not want the people to have false optimism . 

There is no quick fix; you will have to change your behavior in Babylon with new people, new land, and more work. Things were nice in Israel, but we are not in Israel anymore and won't be back anytime soon. Reach out to the people around you right now. You may not like your present situation, but your survival depends on accepting it. 

Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Hebrews might have a few things they want. 

• They might wish they still had the temple. But they don't.

• They might wish they still lived within the walls of Jerusalem. But they don't.

• They might wish they could still drink the wine of their own vineyards. But they can't.

• They might wish they could sing their songs in Judah, but they can't.

Admiral James Stockdale spent 1965-1973 as a prisoner of war in a camp sarcastically called the Hanoi Hilton. Stockdale was the highest-ranking US military officer in a camp with no prisoner rights, no set release date, and no hope that any prisoner would even get out alive. The Vietnamese Army used prisoners as propaganda. 

In his book "Good to Great," author Jim Collins asked Stockdale this question: Who didn't make it out? "Oh, that's easy," said Stockdale. "It was the optimists."

"The optimists were the ones who said, "we're going to be out by Christmas. Christmas came and went. Then they'd say, "we're going to be out by Easter," and Easter would come, and it would go. The optimists would pin their dates on Thanksgiving, then Christmas again, and eventually, "they died of a broken heart."

"You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end. Instead, you must confront the most brutal facts of your reality, whatever they might be." And that's what Stockdale did to survive the prisoner camp.

Therefore, Jeremiah's advice to the Jewish people in exile — and by extension to us — is to do two things. First, decide if we're "here" (wherever "here" is) in the will of God, and second, if so, settle into life as though we're here for life — or until God moves us on. Jeremiah's counsel is that in life, the circumstances in which we find ourselves are not always amenable to an easy solution. It might be best to adapt to your surroundings, adjust to make life bearable, and adopt the lifestyle that's the social norm for your neighborhood.

This does not mean you compromise your faith but are willing to take the long view. This problem, situation, and context are here to stay for the indefinite future. 

When we find ourselves in a new place, new life, or new experience, we should decide how we can live a meaningful life within the situation rather than outside of the situation.

Settle into the land and make a community with the people in the area. Look at what you have around you and put it to use, don't spend a bunch of time and energy talking about what you used to have in Jerusalem; work on the land you live in right now. There are resources and opportunities all around us, but as long as we keep saying we can't do anything, we will be right. 

There is still time to grow; there is still time to change; just because you are in Babylon doesn't mean you cannot grow. Peace is a state of mind, not just a location or a status. Shalom is used throughout the passage, applying it to all walks of life. God is present and active with the people even in a foreign land. God is concerned about their spiritual and their physical welfare. God didn't just say keep praying; God said work the land, start some families, build homes on the land you currently live in. 

God is with you in Babylon and Jerusalem, in Baghdad and Boston; move beyond God bless America to God bless me everywhere.

Admiral Stockdale said to Jim Collins: "I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would get out; that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which in retrospect, I would not trade."

Hope in an uncertain future. I can tell you it will be alright because I told you that you would have to work for it. 

Jeremiah 29:11-14

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

Parting Words - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

2nd Timothy 1:1-14

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, a beloved son:Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did,as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

I am not ashamed to admit I learned a lot from my mother and grandmother; my mother taught me how to ride a bike, do a front handspring, pray, and read the Bible. I remember sitting at the kitchen table reading Galatians 2:20. I remember visiting my grandparents during the Summer. Grandma Hargrave in Chicago would take us to Maple Park United Methodist Church, and Grandma Bruce would take us to St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Freeport, Illinois. My mother and grandmother have been influential in my life and development. 

In his acclaimed book, Mama Made the Difference: Life Lessons My Mother Taught Me, Bishop T. J. Jakes says:

"Mamas Teach Us to Believe in God," he comments: "So much in our lives begins with believing—love, peace, growth, change, destiny—I am so thankful that my mother always taught me to believe. She taught me to believe in God … and she taught me to believe in myself.… The strong Tide of my mama's many lessons flow out of the currents of these two streams." 

We see the influence of a mother and grandmother in scripture in 2nd Timothy 1. Timothy is Eunice's son and Lois's grandson, both Jewish women. Acts 16 tells us that Timothy's father was Greek, and we are not sure if he was a believer or not. 

The year is A.D. 67. He's doing jail time in Rome for the second time under Nero, an emperor whose days are also ending. Nero would die about a year after Paul in A.D. 68. Nero had been emperor since A.D. 54, and it had not been a smooth ride. The Great Fire occurred in A.D. 64

At least 70 percent of the city burned down, and the people blamed the Christian for their city burning down. Can you imagine blaming a community for a disaster without any proof? Can you imagine abusing a group of people because of their race, ethnicity, or religion because something happened that damaged your town or economy?  The Christians were an easy target for abuse because people wanted to blame outsiders or foreigners for the catastrophe.

Church tradition says that the apostle Peter was a victim of this outrage and was crucified head down. Later, Paul was beheaded, and within three to four years, the young church had lost its two foremost apostles, including its most eloquent and learned voice — apologist and theologian, the apostle Paul.

However, the church was not without leaders. Although Peter and Paul were gone, the second generation of pastors was ready to carry the torch. One of these was Timothy, arguably Paul's favorite and most devoted disciple. It is Timothy to whom Paul addresses his parting words. Paul knew Timothy's mother and grandmother, and he mentored Timothy in the fundamentals of the faith. Timothy served with him in Ephesus for about three years and was undoubtedly with him on many of Paul's travels, including Troas, Philippi, and Corinth.

Paul is sharing parting words to the young man who was a trainee, an intern, and then a co-worker with the apostle. His advice to Timothy was that he should not forget what he was taught, what was deposited into him over his life. Paul wants to reassure Timothy, remember Timothy's tears, request Timothy, and remind Timothy that he has been redeemed.

Faith is deposited like a treasure; we must put something into it to get something out. If I haven't been putting money into a bank account, then when I need to make a withdrawal, there won't be any money there to withdraw. If you haven't made any faith deposits, if you haven't spent any time praying, reading your Bible, fasting, tithing, going to church, or building up your faith, then when your faith is tested, you won't have much faith to draw on when you need to use faith.

I was discussing with some younger preachers who were badmouthing seminaries. Now I joke about seminary all the time, but I appreciate the growth I gained from earning a Master's in Divinity and would like to pursue a doctorate soon. However, the other preachers were upset that they knew some people who graduated from seminary and didn't know any more Bible than when they started school. I said that it is because you don't go to seminary to learn the Bible; you go to seminary to learn about the Bible. You learn the languages; you learn the history and customs. You learn research methods in seminary and how to write papers. If faith was not in you before you went to seminary, the seminary would only expose that. 

I know that pressure can do at least two things; bust a pipe or make a diamond. 

If the faith wasn't in you to begin with, then it's going to be hard to call up something that wasn't there to begin with.

Reassure

Paul wants to encourage and reassure Timothy by letting Timothy know that he prays for him every day. Paul resorts to prayer a lot; and Paul worships God with a clear conscience, and Paul prays day and night. What have we wanted bad enough to be willing to let it consume our prayer lives?  

The motivational speaker, E.T. the Hip-Hop Preacher, tells a story about a student who wants to be successful. In the story, a student asks a teacher to teach him how to be successful, and the teacher says follow me. The teacher walks out into the ocean, and the student follows the teacher until the water covers the student's face, and almost drowns. The teacher and the student go back to the beach, and the teacher asks the student, when he almost drowned, what he wanted most. The student said he wanted to breathe, and the teacher told him you would never be successful until you wanted to accomplish your goal as badly as you wanted to breathe. Work on it day and night, Paul had something to pray about all the time, night and day, and he kept praying. If we want something to reach God, we should at least be able to pray about it and pray about it all the time, bombard heaven with that request until God says I'm sick of hearing about here, take it. 

Remember

Paul remembers Timothy's tears, sees them and lets Timothy know they mean something. Recalling your tears will lead to joy. Paul says I know you cried for a long time, I also know that the Bible says weeping may endure for a night, but joy shall come in the morning. Remember what you used to cry over and rejoice that you aren't crying over it now. I remember your tears and realize you are much stronger now; you are much wiser now; what used to knock you down doesn't even phase you anymore. 

Request

Paul requests Timothy to rekindle his gift. To "rekindle the gift" means to stir up the grace and faith, and love that we have received, and we stir them up by putting them into practice. 

Don't spend so much time getting mad at others for what we think they should or should not be doing; we can only focus on our actions and responses. 

It is so easy to lose sight of God's gifts. The most important thing to do is stir up the gifts of grace, mercy, and love.  - 

God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, a more apt translation is a spirit of cowardice, but of power, love, and a strong mind, more accurately translated to self-discipline. Therefore, armed with this spirit, Timothy shouldn't be ashamed of what happened to Jesus (his martyrdom) or what's happening to Paul (his imprisonment). Instead, because Timothy has the spirit of God's power, he should embrace his portion of suffering that comes along with the good news of God. In this letter's view, all who follow God in Christ will be persecuted (3:12), and Timothy is no exception.

That is not something everyone would be walking around with proudly. But you can put aside the shame and fear when you understand it is not about you but the one in you. Paul can worship with a clear conscience because he knows he has been redeemed.

Redeemed

Paul knows that his time is almost up but that he serves an on-time God. We are saved, not by works but by grace. We can trust in Christ Jesus because he has already done the job of saving us. We are washed in the blood of the crucified lamb; we are all that God says we are.

The Bare Essentials - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

1 Timothy 6:6-19

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

I spend a lot of time thinking about money; I want to know how much something costs, how much it costs to make, and how much it can be resold. I get fascinated with entire systems, not just one or two parts, and I assume that is a byproduct of earning a business degree. I also know that even though I think about money and have no problems talking about money, talking about money is uncomfortable. 

All this is true. But we can't live without money, can we? After all, we need a paycheck, and we need to put food on our TV trays. No argument. We came into the world empty-handed and shall leave life empty-handed, but we can't survive empty-handed in the interim. We need to cultivate the skills necessary to survive.

Men in early societies were taught at a young age to hunt, use an axe, fish, farm, or yoke a pair of oxen. Women learned to skin the hides, erect shelters, cook the food, gather herbs, bring in a harvest and bear another generation of workers. Now we pretty much hunt and sew as a hobby instead of survival. 

As urban life emerged, shopkeepers, cobblers, tinsmiths, artisans, bookkeepers, autocrats, politicians, writers, philosophers, and others plied their trades. Some professions were more lucrative than others.

As this was happening, spiritual leaders, including the apostle Paul, realized that the need to earn a living was fraught with potential problems:

• If one was too wealthy, others might covet your possessions and even steal what they could.

• Envy might cause some souls to work harder than necessary.

• Those who were employers might prefer to see their employees starve rather than give them a decent wage.

• Careers are sometimes judged based on their earnings when they ought to be evaluated in terms of the service they offer. A teacher, one could argue, has more intrinsic value to society than a football player.

• Most would agree that some professions are simply wrong: Prostitutes, drug pushers, jewel thieves, crooks, etc. No reasonable person would consider these activities as bona fide "professions."

The author gives Timothy some final instructions on being a pastor. Paul understood what kind of environment Timothy was about to start pastoring in, trying to bring people to Christ. During this time, other religions encouraged paying for contentment, paying this god for crops, pay this god for rain. Paul wants Timothy to avoid prosperity preaching. People will use part of verse 10 to speak ill of wealthy people, but Paul is not speaking ill of rich people; wealthy people were supporting the New Testament churches. Paul just wants people to have the right priorities regarding wealth. If you have to use part but not the whole scripture to make an argument, your argument is not very sound. 

People have demonized the rich, and others have deified the rich; what we should do is put wealth in its place. The reality is that there will always be someone wealthier than you, and countless millions are poorer than you.

Do we need a $450 million yacht like Jeff Bezos? No, but we might not be able to live without spending $4,500 on a pontoon fishing boat!

Do we need a boat? Maybe we do. It's all relative. If you make $14,500, are you poor? Not if you live in India, where the per capita income is just north of $2,000. But in the United States, you are living in abject poverty if you're making $14,500 per annum. According to the "Remember the Poor" website,

• If you made $1,500 last year, you're in the top 20 percent of the world's income earners.

• If you have sufficient food, decent clothes, live in a house or apartment, and have a reasonably reliable means of transportation, you are among the top 15 percent of the world's wealthy.

• Have $61,000 in assets? You're among the wealthiest 10 percent of the adults in the world.

• If you have any money saved, a hobby that requires some equipment or supplies, a variety of clothes in your closet, two cars (in any condition), and live in your own home, you are in the top 5 percent of the world's wealth.

• If you have more than $500,000 in assets, you're part of the richest 1 percent of the world.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture of outrage and discontent. It's challenging to be at peace with ourselves and content with what we have. Sometimes, it's hard to feel blessed.

Paul wants Timothy and us, for that matter, to focus on godly things, not just money. We have to put our focus on eternal life, and eternal life starts now. Actually, eternal life began when Christ rose from the dead. When Jesus said I come that you have life and life more abundantly, that was not a call for us to wait until we got to Heaven; that was a call for us to have Heaven here on Earth. 

In other words, eternal life is not something we look forward to; it is something that has arrived because Christ has arrived and has brought eternity into our midst.  

There are things we can do to make life better for us on our own. The word translated as "contentment" (autarkeias) also means "self-sufficiency. "  

Be humble: You had luck, privilege, advantages, options, and opportunities that millions can only dream of — even if you worked your tail off to get to where you are. Humility goes a long way. The Bible says, "As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty" (v. 17). 

Be realistic: There are no guarantees. The market may crash tomorrow. Who could have predicted the coronavirus and measured its economic impact? If you practiced a policy of contentment, you were in a better position to weather this storm and any that may come in the future. Your peace and stability are not tied to your financial situation. Money is fleeting, and you will never have enough. Someone will always have more than you.

Be generous: We live in a sharing economy. Be a part of it. Join forces with local charities. Be creative in how you can generously distribute your assets among those who need a helping hand. Yes, we should still share; the pastor is going to talk about money, but I talk about money to help the people. Giving is a spiritual discipline, like fasting, praying, reading the Bible, and attending church. They all help you be a better Christian. Be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.

Be faithful: God's will takes priority over catering to our self-interests. Watch for any signs that you are starting to love money. Loving money is the root of everything that can go wrong in your life (v. 10). Instead of lusting after riches, grow your thirst for righteousness: "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness" (v. 11).

Paul would say that putting wealth (and other potential idols) into proper perspective is vitally important. Take hold of the life that is life, Paul would say. Do not get stuck on money, nation, CNN, church growth, or … anything else. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness" (1 Tim. 6:11).  

Fight the good fight.

Be not dismayed whate'er betide, God will take care of you;

Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you.

Refrain:

God will take care of you, Through every day, o'er all the way;

He will take care of you, God will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart doth fail, God will take care of you;

When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you.

All you may need He will provide, God will take care of you;

Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you.

No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you;

Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.

Time is filled with swift transition,

Naught of earth unmoved can stand,

Build your hopes on things eternal,

Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

Refrain:

Hold to God’s unchanging hand,

Hold to God’s unchanging hand;

Build your hopes on things eternal,

Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

The Best Mediator - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

I wanted to be and still want to be a mediator; I feel some of my most significant accomplishments came from bringing people together in the same room to accomplish a goal. A mediator stands between two people estranged from one another to facilitate communication between them. If there's a power differential between them, the mediator is duty-bound to protect the interests of the weaker party. I’m told in many assessments that I have a strong since of justice and want to make sure that everyone is treated fairly. We all have some sense of justice, if we did not care about our fellow brothers and sisters I believe the world would be in a worse place, I am not saying everything is perfect, but I am saying that things are better and they get better when people are willing to help others and not just help themselves. 

1st Timothy is considered a Deutero-Pauline letter, a pastoral epistle probably written around 100CE. Paul was doing hybrid ministry before COVID; Paul pastored churches, visited churches in person, and sent letters to other churches. Paul's involvement in the churches was not an either/or situation but a both/and situation. What the Galatian church did, didn't stop the Corinthian church, the Corinthian church didn't stop the Ephesian church, the Ephesian church didn't stop the Philippians church, the Philippians, the Philippians didn't stop the Thessalonians, the Thessalonians didn't stop the Colossians, they all had work to do for the Kingdom of God, so they did the work.

1st Timothy is different from other Pauline letters; Paul usually thanks God for the person to whom Paul is writing the letter. This time Paul thanks God for what God has done for Paul. Paul is happy about Timothy but happier about what God brought him through. Paul is thankful that God saw fit to save him even though he violently persecuted the church. Because Paul is thankful, Paul is also prayerful. 

Prayer is a duty and a privilege. God wants us to pray for everyone. We should pray for everyone, and everyone should pray. There are not many instructions or mechanics around it; Paul says we should just pray. Prayer is for all things and all people. Paul doesn't lay out some complicated plan; he just says pray. Paul says to pray for everything and everybody. Paul doesn't have a bunch of steps to prayer; he says just to pray. 

Isaiah 55:6 (NKJV)

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV)

17 pray without ceasing,

 

Matthew 7:7 (NKJV)

7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

 

Mark 11:23 (NKJV)

23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

 

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We can pray because we have the best mediator and intercessor operating on our behalf.

The word "intercession," de ē seis, is derived from a verb with the meaning "to have the good fortune to be admitted to an audience [with a king]. " 

Once a year in the Old Testament, the High Priest was allowed to go into the inner section of the temple to make a sacrifice for the sins of all the people. The High Priest was a mediator for all the believers to God. Usually, no one was allowed into the Holy of Holies, and going in without being worthy meant instant death. They did one time a year for the people's sins for that year. 

Paul says in today's reading: "there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all." Jesus does not fear stepping through the curtain blocking the Holy of Holies, for he, the second person of the Trinity, is the same as God and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is our mediator; in this case, Jesus is going in on our behalf. Jesus is willing to save us no matter how bad we were in the past. The God who desires salvation for all, whose son gave himself as a ransom for all, is the same God who appointed Paul a teacher of the Gentiles. If God can save Paul, God can save anyone. God looks beyond our faults and satisfies our needs. God loves us and there is nothing that can separate us from that love. We just have to be willing to take what we need to Jesus. Pray, and keep praying, after you are done, pray some more.

Have A Little Talk With Jesus

Have a little talk with Jesus 

Tell him all about our troubles 

Hear our fainted cry, answer by and by 

Feel a little prayer wheel turning 

Know a little fire is burning 

Find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

I Know the Lord Will Make a Way

I have a Savior who I can tell all my troubles to

When I'm burdened and don't know what to do

I can go to Him in secret prayer

And I can leave all my burdens there

I know the Lord will make a way

Somehow yes he will

God Wants it All - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Luke 14:25-33

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

I am a joiner; I like to join organizations, especially if those organizations help me accomplish the goals I set for my personal development. I have joined the Masonic Order, I have joined Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, and I look at different social clubs, networking organizations, community groups, and the like to see if I would be a good fit for them or if being involved with them is a good use of my time. There are still some organizations I would like to join during my lifetime; however, I must consider some things before I go further. Before entering any new group or organization, I at least want to know, what it takes to join the group, and how much it is going to cost. The cost of organizations varies; I am in one organization that has yearly dues that cost as much as a lifetime membership for another organization. 

There are exclusive clubs in this world. Certain country clubs come to mind, demanding six-figure initiation fees. The wealthier members can presumably afford it. But what club requires everything of its members? The church of Jesus Christ. We find Jesus talking about the membership fee in the Gospel According to Luke, chapter 14. Jesus is addressing the crowd in this passage. 

One of the essential characters in the Gospel According to Luke, is the crowd. I like the Gospel according to John because John always says, "the disciple whom Jesus loved," and I can put my name in that place. Luke is growing on me because he has a trait where he mentions the crowds. Luke wants the readers to know that this man named Jesus is not just going around performing parlor tricks in private, that Jesus is doing things for the world to see. 

Cost is what we give up to acquire, accomplish, maintain, or produce something. It involves a measure of sacrifice and perhaps loss or penalty in gaining something. Cost requires effort and resources.  The process of discipleship takes time and has false starts and modest successes, and nothing of worth is accomplished overnight. 

At the heart of discipleship is transformation. The cost of discipleship is not just becoming accumulators of new information about life and living it fully or changing our behavior in regard to Jesus' teachings. The cost is engaging in a profoundly radical shift toward the ethics of Jesus with every fiber of our beings. 

Jesus lets his disciples know that the road he is walking is not without its sacrifices; to follow Jesus is not without its heavy demands; to carry the cross is not without its tangible consequences. We must be willing to endure these consequences if we ever hope to experience the promised rewards of following Jesus' way. 

You must become a disciple with your eyes wide open, counting the cost of this decision. Jesus is telling us to read the fine print. When the text says hate the, it does not mean hate as we use it today, some things get lost in translation (we are reading about a Hebrew who spoke Aramaic, had his words written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, etc. until we got it in English). Jesus means that we should place anything above God in order of priority. God comes first.  

When Jesus says consider the cost to avoid embarrassment, he means that people will have something to say if you don't plan out something and it fails, regardless of whether they could do a better job or even know how to do it. 

On a hillside above the town of Oban, Scotland, there is a gray granite structure known as McCaig's Tower. It has an alternate name: McCaig's Folly. Passengers waiting to board the ferry to the sacred Isle of Iona can look and see this circular stone wall looming over them. It vaguely resembles the ancient Roman Colosseum, but you can see nothing but sky through its gaping windows, and it's nothing but a shell.

This massive stone monument was never finished. John Stuart McCaig, a wealthy banker, was the man who conceived the project. You do have to say this, on old McCaig's behalf: he did count the cost before the first stone was laid. The tower was supposed to cost 5,000 pounds sterling, nearly $1 million in today's money.

Work began in 1897 and continued until 1902 when Mr. McCaig died of a heart attack. Part of his purpose had been to give off-season work to local stonemasons. The project indeed fulfilled that purpose for as long as it lasted. Even though McCaig had made provision in his will for the tower to be completed, his heirs disagreed. They saw the project as too costly. The heirs went to court and successfully challenged Mr. McCaig's will, stopped construction work, and to this day, McCaig's Folly stands as a monument to a dream never realized.

Mr. McCaig had grand visions for his tower; he wanted a lasting monument to his family; it was to include a museum and art gallery: a real showplace for the little town of Oban. A central tower would display heroic statues of McCaig, his siblings, and their parents. 

But that's not how people remember it today. They don't remember the dream, only the disappointing reality. When tourists ask what's that up on the hillside, the locals point at the gaping windows and lack of a roof. They reply, "That's McCaig's Folly."

What do you suppose those we leave behind will say of our Christian lives after we've gone on to our reward? Will they say, "Well done, good and faithful servant"? Or will they sigh and say, "What a folly!"?

Working out our discipleship in terms of what we give away and keep for ourselves is no small issue. What we own can come to own us, posing a serious threat to our spiritual welfare.  Working out our discipleship requires a costly, challenging, and lengthy process. 

When I was driving to Seminary in Dallas, there was a peach store along the way on Interstate 45; when I had time, I would stop there because they had some excellent peaches and sold peach preserves. The process of canning preserves ensures the food is edible and flavorful for a long time. You must endure the process because a misstep in the process will harm the taste and quality of the food. Preserves taste good and last long, but you must surrender the desire to eat the food right away; you can't have the peaches right off the tree; you have to take them through the process. 

We want and receive radical grace from God. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God still loves us; well, this radical grace we receive also comes with some costly discipleship. Discipleship is not for the faint of heart; we have to deny ourselves, carry a cross, focus on the eternal, and use the gifts that God gave us for God's glory in our daily lives. We have to place our commitment to God above everything else. 

Jesus wants to save us, to be sure. That's what he's all about and why we call him "Savior." It turns out that what he most wants to save us from is ourselves. Jesus has no problem asking people to give something up for the Kingdom of God because he will give it all up for all creation.

Fresh vs. Stale Water - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Jeremiah 2:4-13 

4 Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel.

5 This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.

6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’

7 I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.

8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.

9 “Therefore I bring charges against you again,” declares the Lord. “And I will bring charges against your children’s children.

10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this:

11 Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols.

12 Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord.

13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

As an elected official, I have learned more about water in the past few months than I ever thought. I am learning about treatment plants, flood planes, floodways, dredging, drainage, ditch grades, and a whole bunch of other water-related topics. I had the opportunity to visit a cistern on a field trip recently. A massive structure that could hold 15 million gallons of water when filled, they decommissioned it in 2007. The city found a better way to store and process water, so they moved on to that. I think we all think about water; we need it to survive, prepare food, clean ourselves, and clean our places; water is essential to us. Water is vital to the people of the Bible as well. 

In By Water and By Spirit

"Water provides the central symbolism for baptism. The richness of its meaning for the Christian community is suggested in the baptismal liturgy, which speaks of the waters of creation and the flood, the liberation of God's people by passage through the sea, the gift of water in the wilderness, and the passage through the Jordan River to the promised land. In baptism, we identify ourselves with this people of God and join the community's journey toward God. The use of water in baptism also symbolizes cleansing from sin, death to old life, and rising to begin new life in Christ. In United Methodist tradition, the water of baptism may be administered by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion. However it is administered, water should be utilized with enough generosity to enhance our appreciation of its symbolic meanings."

We see a passage about water here in Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah the prophet spoke on behalf of God for an incredibly long and anguished number of years, from the time of King Josiah (640 to 609 B.C.) through the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon (586 B.C.) and beyond. Despite tremendous opposition, including plots against him, he persisted in speaking this divine word, which compelled him from within to speak (20:9). Prophets don't always say what you want to hear; they will tell you what you need to hear.

Jeremiah 2-3 reads like a lawsuit, and God has summoned the House of Jacob. The people of God got used to success and left while the getting was good. God led the people through all kinds of disasters, and they still left God. 

The chosen people of God have chosen other gods; they shunned God's purposes, even if it meant shunning God's provision. Now whatever provision they have made for themselves ran out. Jeremiah called out everybody, priests, prophets, politicians, and everyday people. There were people in all camps that had turned away. God wants to know, "what did I do wrong that made you all turn away?"

The people went looking for something other than the Almighty, and that, Jeremiah says, is precisely what they have: gods who are no gods. Gods who cannot hear or answer prayer, who cannot save them, now that calamity is upon them, and trouble has come their way. Change and chance can happen to us all, and everything we thought was worth something could be worthless in the blink of an eye.

At the time of the writing, Babylon is either just about to take Israel over or has already done so. When the opposing army tries to take over a city, they cut off communication to other places, they cut off supplies, and they cut off water. The town has no more connection to running water, but that is ok because they still have cisterns with water they saved.

Cisterns were a big part of daily life in the ancient Middle East, this was a desert climate, and there was no such thing as indoor plumbing. A cistern is an underground storage tank that collects runoff from the roof in the rainy season. In the height of summer, the cisterns offered their accumulated supply through many thirsty days. Cistern water didn't taste the best; water from a stream or brook was far preferable—but it could still sustain life.

One attraction of the self-devised cisterns we construct to sustain our lives is that we feel we can control them. We like to control what is around us; even if we aren't in control, we want to feel like we are in control. The people lost their access to moving water, so they depended on the cisterns; the cisterns are going empty and are cracked, and now you need fresh water again. 

What is truly an abomination to the Lord? What in our behaviors is an abomination to the Lord? We tend to look for "abomination" in our neighbor's behaviors or foreign behavior. The speck in our neighbor's eye keeps us from seeing the beam in our own. The people thought they could survive and thrive without God and look where it got them.

Remember God's track record

God brought them out of Egypt, God had them cross the sea on dry land, God kept them in the wilderness, made sure they had something to eat, and God brought them into the promised land. God is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore and the God that did all of that is the God that is with them in their troubles. God has a track record and proof of performance; if you stick with him, he will provide for your needs. 

Return to God

It is never too late to return to God. Call on his name, confess your sins, turn it all over to God, and he will take you back. The text says what God wants us to say, look at what God has done for you. He has done it before and will do it again. You are in the family, God loves you, and there is nothing you can do about it. 

Run to the Living Water

Living in an active relationship with the life-giving God of the Scriptures brings obligations: the patient work of worship and prayer, acting compassionately and working for justice. It is when we participate in the redemptive work of God—keeping promises, welcoming strangers, forgiving debts—that we drink from the fountain of the living God and discover a quality of life both sustaining and sustainable. 

Jesus at the well with the woman of Samaria

John 4:13-14

13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Be not dismayed whate'er betide,

God will take care of you;

Beneath his wings of love abide,

God will take care of you.

God will take care of you

Through everyday o'er all the way

He will care for you

God will take care of you

Through days of toil when heart doth fail

God will take care of you

When dangers fierce your path assail

God will take care of you

God will take care of you

Through everyday o'er all the way

He will care for you

God will take care of you