Sermon Cloud

Have you got a favorite cowboy? Cowboy movie? One of the most interesting I've ever seen goes back to 1992. Clint Eastwood, starring as Bill Munny in Unforgiven. That movie did for cowboy life did what Saving Private Ryan did for playing army. It took the fantasy out of the story and shocked us with the hard-edged, disturbing realities of life in America's Wild West in the years following our Civil War. The Lone Ranger and Tonto wouldn't have made it very far in this movie!

3. Unforgiven tells the story of some former bad guys-Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman-who have tried hard to clean up their lives. But, money tempts them to go back to what they know best-killing men. They become vigilante bounty hunters. Some prostitutes have been cruelly mistreated, and they've gathered their money and have put a big price on the heads of the men who hurt them. Bill and Ned get out their old guns and go after the money. A young buck who calls himself the Scofield Kid joins them in this horrible adventure that is filled with bad guys, bad girls, betrayal, cruelty, murder, and regret. When the movie credits roll, no one is innocent, no one is proud, no one is redeemed-children are orphaned and all the adults are either dead or guilty. Bill Munny disappears again into a shadowy life . . . unforgiven.

In one wrenching scene, the Scofield Kid (who turns out to be nothing more than a tenderhearted kid, playing a fantasy game) can't get his conscience around the fact that he just killed a man in cold blood . . . for money. He swears that he'll never kill again. Bill Munny says to him, "It's a ------of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have". The Kid tries to console himself by reflecting, "Well, I guess they had it coming". And Bill Munny replies with a tired, bitter edge, "We all got it coming, Kid".

4. What a line. We've all got secrets . . . a past . . . regrets . . . shameful memories . . . We've all suffered a lot of hurt . . . and all of us have caused a lot of hurt to folks who didn't really deserve it. If all the past and private parts of our lives were projected on the big screen, all of us would feel ashamed and feel like running for the shadows to hide from the truth and those who know it.

5. The movie Unforgiven, asks the question, "Can any really get past their past?" When you've broken hearts and beat up people you said you loved . . . when you've stolen and lied and broken holy promises . . . when you don't even dare tell your parents, or wife, or husband, or best friend what you've really done, or are doing right now . . . is there any way out or through that provides forgiveness. Is there such a thing as a clean conscience, a fresh start, a future that doesn't include grinding regret for the past? Is there any forgiveness for me? There are basically three answers.

I. IS THERE ANY FORGIVENESS FOR ME?

A. Forget it kid . . . it ain't gonna happen. Bad guys are bad guys forever. Bill Munny started his life as a ruthless killer, but got married to good woman and did his best to take up pig farming. But when wife died and times turned hard, Bill Munny went back to being who he was . . . who he had always been. A cold hearted murderer. There's no forgiveness . . . there's just moving on, trying to forget the past, hoping that no discovers the truth, hoping for better luck in the future. That's a bad answer. That's a Hollywood answer. No one tells that to a son or daughter at bed time. That's no way to live and, it's not true. The second answer is no better.

It ain't gonna be easy. You gotta clean up your act, pay your dues, and get right with God. You get right with God by cleaning up your act and paying your dues (stop drinkin' and cussin' and gamblin' and sleeping around, and start going to church, givin' to charity, readin' your Bible, and prayin' for mercy). It's a religious answer. It's a bad answer. It's not true. It's never been true. Bill Munny's good wife got him to go to church while she was alive, but when she died, he was the same man he had always been-hard, cold, full of regrets, ready to take his anger out on anyone if the money was right.

TRANS: The question "Is there any forgiveness for me" is a spiritual question (a question of the heart), best answered by God himself.

II. BE CAREFUL WHO YOU ASK THIS QUESTION-

A. Not all religious people speak for God.

We're going to invest four Sundays in a short teaching series on Jesus and a group of religious leaders who were well-known in Jesus' day-Pharisees. They were hard-working, clean-living, Bible-reading, God-loving religious conservatives. A few were ministers, but most were just folks in the neighborhood. They raised their kids God's way, established private religious schools, led the ministry teams in their churches, started up God-fearing neighborhood associations, and businesses that were based on the Bible, not get-rich-quick philosophies (the kind that are closed on the Sabbath). Admirably, they practiced what they preached. They were hard on themselves. They would have made the Amish look like liberals. They knew the Bible better than anyone else, prayed more than anyone else, shook off bad habits more rigorously than anyone else, went to the house of worship more often than anyone else, and gave more money than anyone else. They would have gotten on well here in West Michigan, particularly in places like Byron Center. They were as tenacious as a person could be in doing all that a person could do to be forgiven, get a clean conscience, get right with God, start fresh, and set a good example for the community.

They were the core of the religious establishment in Jesus' day. And, they hated Jesus. They hated him so much that they were the dominant force in seeing Jesus crucifixion. It's seems kind of strange that the most conservative, clean living religious people in the ancient world would hate Jesus Christ and want him dead. But that's the truth. The Bible says that's the way it went down.

Jesus didn't much like them either. He said that their whole approach to life and God and forgiveness was wacked-more than wrong . . . their brand of religious conservatism was mean, hurtful, and misleading. They misrepresented God, misunderstood the intention of the Bible, misread people, and completely missed the truth of how a person could receive forgiveness and start fresh as a friend of God.

"I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts" (John 5:42)
"He [Jesus] looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts" (Mark 3:5)
"Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" (Luke 12:1)
"You do not know him [God] but I know him because I am from him and he sent me" (John 7:29)
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean" (Matthew 23:27)
"Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you" Matthew 21:31)

The Pharisees were bad guys because they believed and taught others to believe . . .

a) Forgiveness (a) starts with a decision to work harder than you've been working; (b) flows to people who ramp up their religious activity, do things God's way, and get it right; (c) God forgives men and women who do the hard work making up for their past wrongs; (d) your only hope of forgiveness is getting serious about your religious duties, more serious than you are this morning!

b) We could be hard on the Pharisees, but the truth is, even I tilt in this direction. I tilt toward the fear that I haven't done enough, that God is profoundly disappointed in me, that we all need to be working a little harder if we hope to get passing grades in the judgment, that my job is to help you get your act together . . . or else we're all going to end up losers. You don't want to trust a Pharisee . . .

B. You might not even want to trust me!

I'm still struggling with my image of God, being afraid of him, and trying harder to perform better. Everyone has an image of God, and it goes deep. It starts with our Dads and how they were with us. It includes our Dad's beliefs and what they taught us about God. As we mature, we refashion our beliefs about God and forgiveness according to the church we choose and our church's doctrines. As we grow older, some people cast off church and the Bible and decide that they themselves will determine who or what God will be for them and how they will pursue forgiveness. They let their feelings be their guide to spiritual answers. There's a better way to discover truth! The good news of Christianity is that Jesus is the perfect reflection of who God is, what he is like, what he wants, and how he provides forgiveness for all who come to him in faith, simply asking (John 1:18).

I'm still struggling in this area. I often put more effort into looking the part of being a ‘good pastor' out here in public than taking care of the stuff inside my life, in personal times with my family, or private times when no one is watching. Friends, it's hard to get a really clear answer to the question "Is there any forgiveness from me?" even from pastors. Religious professionals tend to get muddled. I'm finding that after being a Christian for over 30 years, I'm still adjusting my thinking about God and guilt and forgiveness. "Is there any forgiveness for you and me?" It's a spiritual question, so it's best to go to Jesus himself for the answer. He's the only truly good guy around here.

III. JESUS ALWAYS SHOOTS STRAIGHT (READ)

A. New life begins with new birth (1-7).

(v. 3) God' kingdom is the realm where people experience forgiveness, discover hope, and find a love that will never let them go. God's kingdom isn't just heaven, at some point in the future. It's a fresh start now: God's purpose and power, grace and forgiveness washing you and setting your free now. It can start right now and it will carry you all the way into the life to come. And the good news is that the kingdom of God is here . . . it's within your reach. You can reach out and take it this morning . . . forgiveness for the past, purpose in the present, power to move ahead, peace for the future.

Born again. It's more than a bumper sticker or a political statement. It's the start of a new life. Nicodemus isn't familiar with the terminology. Born again doesn't sound like feeling bad for your failures, beating yourself up, trying harder, hiding the truth from new friends, or training for the religious olympics.

Born again. What are you supposed to do, Nicodemus wonders. There's nothing you can do. You didn't conceive yourself, someone else did-your passionate parents. You didn't decide the color of your hair or your personality traits. You didn't pick your birthday? Someone else did all that. You just happened to get in on the experience. Shazam . . . there you were!

B. You can't control the process. The Holy Spirit will guide you and move you along (5-8).

God comes to us and does what we can't do for ourselves-like a wind that fill's a sail boat's sails and moves it along. A sailboat can move itself; it's entirely dependent on the wind for power and progress toward a destination.

You want forgiveness, you're going to have to put up your sails and go with the wind! Interesting metaphor. No one can say how God will come, the exact moment, the strength of the experience, or the direction he will take you. You'll have to trust him. You'll have to give up control of your life. You'll have to let him be God.

Some people just want a little relief; they don't want to give up control. Some people just want a little help, they don't want God to stir up their lives. Some people just want to get ahead; they don't want to be moved in an entirely new direction. But God is like the wind; you don't tell him when or how or where or that's enough. You decide to let God be God-your God.

C. Your part is to focus on Jesus and decide to trust him (9-18).

Jesus makes reference to a story buried deep in the OT. God's people were facing a plague of poisonous snakes. Strange, but true . . . and life-or-death scary. God said that he was going to bring through this nightmare. The anti-venom wouldn't be provided by medicine; all people who were bitten had to do was to decide to trust God by looking up to a pole that had a snake fashioned on the top. It is a strange story and, that was a strange request.

But God often tests our trust in him by giving instructions that are counter intuitive, completely non-religious, and force personal decisions. Imagine this conversation with your wife: Do you trust God or not? Well . . . he said, just look up at the snake on the pole and trust him. Seems strange, but here goes. Feeling better. I hate to admit it, but yes. You don't think this is really working, do you? I think God always keeps his word.

Jesus was literally lifted up on a pole-a cross. To die, paying the penalty for your sins and mine . . . to provide for our forgiveness-past, present, future. To purchase a fresh start for us all. He's bought your ticket for you. You don't have to earn your way, work your way, pay your way. All you have to do . . . all you can do is decide to believe/trust Jesus for forgiveness and freedom from the past and hope for the future.

D. Are you ready to come out of hiding (19-21)?

Some people would rather just disappear into an addiction, disappear into long days and nights at work, disappear into television programs (get lost in Lost) , disappear into a mall . . . than to go public with how it really is with you and other people, how it really is when you're alone with yourself, how it really is when you're alone with your regrets and frustrations.

Do you love the darkness (the shadows)? True, it keeps fantasies alive. There is forgiveness for you. But you'll have to come out into the light where the truth is revealed, at least to God and those who love you. Honesty with God opens the door to forgiveness. Your first step is to focus on Jesus and trust him. God will do all the rest!

Questions for Small Group Discussion

What thoughts or images from Ray's talk have stayed with you this week?

This past Sunday (Father's Day) was a specially planned and promoted outreach service. Our pastors have been hosting these services about every six weeks, inviting the church to invite guests to hear the gospel. Have you been inviting guests to these special services, or have you been leaving the ‘outreach' part of Jesus' mission to others? Why or why not?

Shakespeare said it best, "Familiarity breeds contempt". It's possible to become so familiar with the gospel that it no longer stirs our hearts. Let's read John 3:1-21 together. If you were an atheist or agnostic, nominal Christian or Moslem who was weary and heavy laden (Matthew 11: 28-30), tired of trying to perform good works for God's favor and some personal peace of mind, what statements in this passage might breathe life and hope into your soul?

This short Sunday teaching series will be highlighting Jesus' conflict with the Pharisees. What do you know about the Pharisees and their conflict with Jesus? Let's read Matthew 23 and do our best to summarize Jesus' fundamental complaints with these ancient near eastern fundamentalists.

We all ‘see God' through someone's eyes-our parents, our pastors, or just our own eyes. Frankly, it's hard to get a clear view of God's heart and ways through any human eyes. That's why God came into our world as Jesus-to explain and exemplify God's true heart and real ways (John 1:18). How has your personal view of God changed as you've gotten to know Jesus? Have any particular fears about God and your relationship with him continued to weigh you down over the years?

Last Sunday was Father's Day. Tell us about your relationship with your Dad. Let's end by praying a blessing on these special relationships and on our Dad's lives.