Written Sermons

SERMON BY THE REVEREND AMOS MCCARTHY

15th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST

SEPTEMBER 13, 2020.

Title: “What is the Golden Rule?”

Text: “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:1-12

I am sure that all of us have shopped at J.C.Penney at some time or the other, but I want to tell you something that you probably didn’t know about this store. It used to be known as “the Golden Rule store”. In fact, when Mr. Penney first started, his first several stores were called that.  Mr. Penney did not like to use the word “employee.” He called those that worked for him, “Associates”. He treated them just as well as he would like to be treated, too. He was able to take a general store in 1902, and build it into a multi-billion dollar business, because he actually lived under the Golden Rule.

Mr. Penny tried his best to always treat people like he wanted to be treated. He treated them with love, respect, kindness, understanding and encouragement.Do you try to treat others in your life like this – or not? Our normal instinct is to think that we would be nicer to others if they would show these attributes to us, isn’t it? But, that’s the Problem. Jesus didn’t say, “Treat people with the same respect that they treat you.” He said, “Whatever you want men to do to you, do to them.”

We should let the words of Jesus Christ dwell in us as the guiding principles for the abundant life in the here and now.  Only as we take seriously his teachings can we hope to experience the changes He sought to bring about in the lives of His followers.  The words of our text have been called the Golden Rule. It calls for action on the second of the greatest commandments, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  It is only a summary statement of all that Jesus said about our treatment of our fellow humans, but it expressly says that it covers all that the law and the prophets taught about the matter.  In this one verse our Lord gives us a great guiding principle that would settle a hundred different points of difference that constantly arise to upset human relationships.

The critics of Jesus have collected the great savings of other religious leaders and have come to the conclusion that Jesus made no distinctive contribution to this Golden Rule.  The great Hebrew master Hillel said, “Do not do thy neighbor what is hateful to thyself.”  The great Greek philosopher Socrates said, “What stirs your anger when done to you by others, that do not to others.”  Yet another great mind, Aristotle said, “We should bear ourselves towards others so we would desire they should bear themselves towards us.”  The great Chinese teacher Confucius gave what someone has called the Silver Rule.  He said, “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”  There is one radical difference between the Golden Rule enunciated by Jesus and the above guidelines articulated by some of the world’s greatest teachers.  The Golden Rule of Jesus is positive and active while their statements are negative and passive.  While they would say, “Stand still, do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you,” Jesus approaches the matter from a positive and creative standpoint.  Jesus says that we should “go and do what we would have others do to us.”

The significance of the Golden Rule is that it presents a challenge.  The challenge of Matthew 7:12 is based on the great truth of God’s goodness expressed in verse 11: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”  It is based on the fact that God is good, and He showers on us the best of heaven. Even so, you are to give good things to your neighbors.  We cannot expect to receive the good gifts of God if we do not serve as a channel through which His merry and grace flow out to bless the hearts and lives of others.  We are to treat our fellow human beings as we desire to be treated by our heavenly father.  Pious talk and righteous looks will accomplish nothing if we do not treat our fellow humans in terms of what is right and generous.  We must be absolutely sure that we do not let the conduct of others determine our treatment of them, but rather we must let God’s treatment of us determine the manner in which we relate ourselves to others.

In order to teach His disciples how to make practical the Golden Rule, Jesus Christ demonstrated what He taught.  Jesus demonstrated that His love for his disciples was unmerited.  You see church, we live in a performance oriented society in which people come to a feeling of personal worth because of their performance.  This makes it difficult for us to understand unmerited love.  Jesus loved His disciples not because they were lovely, but because He was loving.  The source of His love was in His own heart and in His relationship with the Father God.  His love was not pulled out of Him toward them because they were exceedingly lovely.  Jesus’ love was unmerited in that He took the initiative in manifesting  goodwill toward others.  This is the kind of love we are to demonstrate toward others.

Jesus manifested divine love in different ways to different people.  There was no stereotyped manner by which he expressed God’s love.  He could talk to a public figure like the Pharisee Nicodemus under the curtain of darkness. He could approach a hated publican like Zacchaeus on a city street filled with community citizens.  He could stoop down and write in the sand, refusing to look upon the shame of a woman who had been accused of adultery.  Our Lord in tenderness could bless and pray for children.  His love was always expressed in an appropriate manner.  As His followers, we must seek to appropriately manifest our concern for others.

Jesus thought of success and greatness not in terms of mere noble sentiments, but in terms of deeds of kindness and helpfulness to the unfortunate .  He was a worker, a servant who ministered to the needs of people.  At a time when Peter wanted to stay on the mountaintop, our Lord insisted that they depart from the place of spiritual ecstasy and move down into the valley of human need because there were suffering at the foot of the mountain.  Our Lord calls us not into the sheltered cloister to spend our total time in prayer, but rather He calls us into the fields that are ready unto harvest to be His laborers.  

Jesus demonstrated this love and the Golden Rule through forgiveness.  On the cross of Calvary, Jesus demonstrated in practice what he had taught by precept.  He had insisted on His disciples practicing forgiveness toward those who mistreated them even to the point of forgiving seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22).  Jesus believed in forgiveness that was free, full, and forever.  Genuine Christian love does not harbor hate and carry a grudge.  Genuine Christian love will manifest itself in forgiveness.

Jesus continued to love even when His disciples were unloveable in their responses to Him and in their treatment of others.  Paul was able to rejoice greatly joined in singing a doxology of praise to the permanence of God’s great love revealed in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:38-39).

There is a story of a young boy who had been invited to attend a friend’s birthday party and was eagerly awaiting the day he could go. On that day, however, there was a near blizzard outside, and his father thought it was too dangerous for him to walk the short three blocks to his friends house, and it was much too dangerous to drive the boy. The little boy reacted with tears and begged his father to let him go. Finally, the father recanted and gave his permission. The boy bundled himself up and started walking down the street. The wind and snow blew so hard against him that what should have only taken 10 minutes took nearly an hour.  Finally, the boy got to the house. As he rang the doorbell, he looked back to see the shadowy figure of his father disappearing into the snow. His father had followed every footstep to make sure the boy was safe.

It is all about sacrifice, isn’t it? When we are able to sacrifice what we want; what we need; what we think; so that we can freely give to someone else what they want or need, we have proven ourselves successful as a Christian.

In demonstrating the Golden Rule, Jesus saw life as an opportunity to serve, to help, and to minister.  He saw it as a goblet to be emptied rather than a vessel to be filled.  His sacrificial life and His substitutionary death on the cross illustrate the great truth He expressed when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).

In a world filled with hate and torn by strife, modern followers of Jesus are urged to love each other by the same measure with which Christ loved his disciples.  The love Jesus commands is not a shallow emotional kind of love.  Instead, it could be defined as a persistent, unbreakable spirit of good will that is always devoted to the highest good of others.  

Note that in this commandment Jesus moves beyond the measure of love listed in the second great commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). In this condensation of the commandments that are concerned with our relationship to others, Jesus declares that the measure of love we have for ourselves is the measure by which we are to love our neighbors.  In the new commandment, Jesus declares that His disciples are to love each other, “even as I have loved you.” 

Finally, the commandment to love is Jesus’ foremost command to His disciples.  Love is the supreme gift of the Spirit.  Only as we let the Holy Spirit do His work within our innermost being can we fully respond to this commandment of our Lord (Romans 5:5)  Paul declares love to be the greatest of all the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13).  Because of Jesus’ command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, each of us needs to relate to each other in terms of love even as Jesus has loved us. God bless you!

SERMON BY THE REVEREND AMOS MCCARTHY

13TH SUNDAY OF PENTECOST

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

Title: The Terror of the Tongue.

Text: “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” (James 3:6).

Scripture Reading: James 3:1-12.

James had a great deal to say about the tongue.  In fact, he devoted an entire section of his letter to it.  Even so, he was not introducing a new thought.  He spoke about the tongue earlier when he warned that we must be “swift to hear, slow to speak” (1:19).  In that same context, he exhorted us to “bridle” our tongues (1:26), suggesting that they often have the tendency to run ahead of our thoughts.  Even though there are many references to the tongue throughout the Bible, James spoke more strongly about its danger than other Bible writers. Proverbs 13:3 admonishes us that “those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.”  This morning, let us learn together, the power of the tongue.

Let it be clear that James spoke of the power of the tongue, both from the standpoint of good and evil. In verses chapter 3 verses 2-5, James used three

illustrations to prove the power of the tongue.  In the first illustration, James drew a parallel between the horse and the human body.  In verse 3, James points out that a horse unrestrained, seeks to satisfy its physical needs.  It is an illogical being.  If it is to accomplish anything useful, anything nor merely for the satisfaction of its own desires, it must be directed by a logical being, a thinking person. So it is with the human body.  Human cannot direct themselves, for if they do, they will seek satisfaction of self instead of seeking the glory of God, which is the specific purpose for which they were created.  What do we do to harness a horse? We make use of a bit and bridle.  By controlling its tongue, we can control the whole body.  The horse does not bridle itself, it must be bridled by someone else.  Likewise, people cannot control themselves.  They must defer to a greater power.

The second illustration James used has to do with greatest ships.  We see that in verse 4. James did not know anything about the great ocean-going vessels of our day, but even in his day there were ships that could be described as ‘great.’  How were the movements of these great vessels controlled, even under the most adverse conditions? “By a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs” (RSV).  The points of these first two illustrations are made in verse 5: “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.”  That is, in relation to the other members of the body, the tongue is little.  But it can achieve great results. This is not an empty boast.  The tongue can sway people to violence or move them to the highest and noblest action,

The third illustration is found in the fire (verse 5).  “How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire.” James contrasted the smallness of a spark with the greatness of the fire that can result.

James spoke of the vicious nature of the tongue in chapter 3 verses 6-8.  First James said that “the tongue is a fire.” We know that fire under control can be a great blessing.  With controlled fire, people can overcome the cold, cook their food, and drive the engines of industry.  But fire out of control leaves desolation and tragedy in its wake.  So the tongue, like fire out of control, scorches and consumes!

James then said that the tongue is “a world of iniquity.” The word translated “world” here  (cosmos) also means “ornament,” or decoration.” The good and sanctified tongue will condemn unrighteousness, but the evil tongue will complement and “decorate” it, making it appear as if it were righteous.  James concluded this metaphor by saying that the tongue that does this “is set on fire of hell.” That is, the uncontrolled fire of the tongue is fed by the never-dying flames of hell.

James pointed out that the tongue is wild and untamable (verse 7-8).  A person may control the tongue, but it must be ever kept under careful guard; the leash can never be removed from it. 

In verses 9-12 of chapter three, James spoke about the inconsistency of the tongue.  The tongue is notoriously inconsistent.  With it we bless God and curse others who are made in God’s image. He was saying that it is abnormal and inappropriate to bless God in prayer and praise yet speak evil of members of God’s family.

In verse 11-12, James illustrated the inconsistency of the tongue with two figures drawn from nature.  The first is the figure of a fountain of water. Is it possible for a “salt spring to produce fresh water’? The second figure concerns fruit. “Can a fig tree…yield olives or a grapevine figs?” That likeness produces likeness is a law of nature.  Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” 

An unbeliever hired a professing Christian to paint his house.  He knew that this Christian could pray beautiful prayers and could quote a great deal of Scripture.  But when it came to painting, he didn’t fill the nail holes with putty like he was supposed to, and he didn’t paint the tops of the doors, where none could see them.  The non-Christian later said, “Now I know that his prayers and his piety don’t mean much.  I prefer Christians who will fill up the nail holes and paint the tops of the doors!” What we say must be backed up with actions. You see church, with the tongue Caesar sent armies to war and Adolf Hitler incited mass genecide. These two men used their tongues and brought much evil upon humankind. But, with the tongue John Wesley preached to millions. Winston Churchill inspired a nation to stand firm and Billy Graham brought millions to faith in Christ.  What are you using your tongue for? Master your tongue or it will master your life, ruin your reputation, and destroy your relationships. If you want to look to master your tongue, learn from James chapter three. Stay bless and God bless you all!

SERMON BY THE REVEREND AMOS MCCARTHY

5TH SUNDAY IN LENT

MARCH 29, 2020.

Title: “Let Us Encourage One Another!”

Text: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24 NIV). 

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:19-25; 12:1-2.

One of the main challenges of life is turning things that seem to be bad for us into good.  Sometimes it is difficult to see the hand of God when things go against us, for example, plans that do not materialize, schemes that fail, dreams that burst, opportunities that never come, sickness, transfer in jobs, or death.  Although these things present problems for us, they also present a tremendous opportunity. One of those opportunities is the opportunity to encourage one another in the face of life’s challenges.

In a sermon titled “The Need for Encouragement,” Dr. W. Truett declared that no one is exempt from the need to be encouraged by others.  This is particularly true in family circles. Husbands need encouragement from their wives and vice versa. Mothers need encouragement from their children. Children need constant encouragement from both parents.  You and I need encouragement in this time of uncertainty. Our text this morning exhorts us how we can spur one another toward love and good deeds.

It is interesting to note how our text is translated by various versions.  The King James version puts it, “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works” (Hebrew 10:24).  Provoke means “to arouse to action, to excite, to stir up the feelings.” The word is often used with reference to arousing one to anger, but in our text it is a strong word used to encourage love and good works.

The Revised Standard Version translates the verse, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” “Stir up” means “to move, to excite, to agitate.”

The Good News translation translates the text, “Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good.” To be concerned is to show interest or care.  To help is to provide assistance.

The New International Version puts it, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” To spur is to prompt or motivate.

Whatever the version used, the verse urges us to help one another practice self-giving love and perform good works for God and others. Why is the anonymous writer of Hebrews asking us to encourage one another? Why is continuous encouragement needed in this day and time?    

To begin with, it is important to let you know that encouragement is a gift from God that we are to pass on to others.  Romans 12:8 let us know that “if it is to encourage, then give encouragement.” All the translation we considered in the reading of our text, we glean the central idea of showing concern for another and helping one another.  So encouragement means “to exhort, to comfort, to counsel, or to help someone.” As a gift of ministry, it means to support someone, to offer a steady hand, to come alongside someone who is in need, or put your hand around someone who is about to fall.

One of the greatest duties we can perform is the duty of encouragement. In the world of today, it is easy to discourage others.  It is easy to pour cold water on the enthusiasm of others.   

The user of this gift excludes all selfish motives and concentrates on helping others.  This gift of the Holy Spirit provides the believers with the same gift that Jesus and the Holy Spirit  possess.  

Having explained what encouragement is, let us know that encouragement is a necessity.  Everyone of us will need encouragement during this coming week as we attempt to achieve various goals.  Achievement is always the result of overcoming obstacles. In giving encouragement, let us remember that God’s will is for each of us to be a cheerleader for others.   Husbands and wives should encourage each other as they work toward a happy and successful marriage. Parents should encourage their children, especially through words of appreciation.  Too often parents are overly generous with criticism and stingy with encouragement. Children can greatly encourage their parents by their choices and their conduct. Let us as Christians be a part of God’s cheering squad to encourage other Christians.

Jesus certainly knew how to encourage others! Think about the time the disciples were caught in the middle of the Sea of Galilee during a fierce storm. Just when they were ready to give up, Jesus came alongside their boat and said, “Take courage, it is I!” Just before His death, Jesus spent a great deal of time encouraging His disciples.

What are the marks of people with the gift of encouragement? They are people who are willing to get involved with other people’s problems and heartaches. They are good listeners. Encouragers are sensitive to other people’s needs. Those who encourage others will offer forgiveness to those who need to make a new start.

If you have the gift of encouragement, use it. Write someone a letter, visit the sick, pat someone on the back, sit with the bereaved, share your money, be a good listener, and be available to others.

The author of Hebrews marshals the spiritual leaders of the past in chapter 11, which has been called faith’s Hall of Fame, so that they may cheer us on as we run the race that has been set before us (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Let us encourage one another to have greater faith in God.  Let us share with others our relationship with Jesus Christ so that we might impart to them the benefits of our faith.  Let us encourage one another to make a sacrifice for God and for others. The measure of our sacrifice is the measure of our love and our faith.  Until we are willing to sacrifice for our God and for others, our faith will not have much opportunity to develop. Let us encourage one another to dedicate ourselves to spiritual values.  We live in a world that emphasizes materialistic values. The great values are in the heavenly realm. It has been said that one’s interest will always follow one’s dollars. It is true, we can be sure that our heart remains in God’s work by investing in his church with our tithes and offerings.  Let us encourage one another to live with eternity in mind rather than living with no thoughts for tomorrow. 

Let us encourage one another to involve ourselves in loving service so that we will truly be worth something to God and others.  May the Lord enable us to cheer one another onward as he seeks to encourage us. And may he always put his SPirit within us and on us.  God bless you all.

SERMON BY THE REVEREND AMOS MCCARTHY

19TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

OCTOBER 20, 2019.

Title: “Humility Leads to Happiness”

Text: “Blessed (Happy) are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:7).

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:1-12.

We all have heard of D. L. Moody. D.L. Moody was the most famous evangelist in the world in the late 1800s. People came from around the world to attend his Bible Conferences in Northfield, Massachusetts. One year a large group of pastors from Europe were among the attendees. They were given rooms in the dormitory of the Bible school. As was the custom in Europe, the men put their shoes outside the door of their room, expecting them to be cleaned and polished by servants during the night.

Of course there were no servants in the American dorm, but as Moody was walking through the halls and praying for his guests, he saw the shoes and realized what had happened. He mentioned the problem to a few of his students, but none of them offered to help. Without another word, the great evangelist gathered up the shoes and took them back to his own room where he began to clean and polish each pair. Moody told no one what he had done, but a friend who interrupted him in the middle of shining the shoes and helped him finish the task later told the story of what had happened. Despite the  praise and fame he received because of God’s blessing on his life and ministry, Moody remained a humble man. Because of this, D. L. Moody was a happy man.

Name eight things that would make you happy.  If God said to you on this third Sunday in October, “Choose eight things that would make your week a happy one and I will give them to you,” what would you choose?

Would you choose to be “poor in spirit”?  Would you choose things such as mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst, being merciful, being pure in heart, being a peacemaker, or experiencing persecution?  Do you think these eight things would make you happy? Jesus seems to think so.

Before you conclude that Jesus is wrong, consider the antithesis of these qualities: characteristics such as pride, pleasure-seeking, aggressiveness, compromising, impurity, cruelty, and hatred.  You could not be happy with these characteristics, could you? Of course not! Therefore consider the eight Beatitudes as eight steps to happiness.

Humility is the way to happiness.  In Matthew 5:3 when Jesus spoke of being “poor in spirit,” he was referring to our recognition of both our spiritual neediness and the means that can supply our needs.  This poverty of spirit results in our discovery of God’s kingdom. People who are “poor in spirit” do not boast of their attainments or talents because they know they have nothing that has not been given to them.

Why is humility the way to happiness?

The first answer to this question is humility enables you to be honest about yourself.  When Jesus spoke of being “poor in spirit,” he did not imply that being wealthy is wrong.  Money can be handled in a Christian manner or in a nonChristian manner. Success and prosperity can lead a person to be self-satisfied and proud.  Yet poverty can drive a person to dishonesty. Jesus did not teach that the poor are spiritually superior. Not money but “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Jesus declared that if you want to be happy, you must be aware of your spiritual poverty.  No picture is more pathetic than that of a person who has a great need and is unaware of it.  Do you remember Samson standing in the valley of Sorek? He was surrounded by Philistines: “But he did not know that the Lord had left him” (Judges 16:20 NIV). 

Poverty in spirit is the beginning of happiness. It is an admission that you are nothing without Christ.  This admission is always followed by the Lord’s flooding one’s life with the riches of his mercy and grace.  To be “poor in spirit” is to be honest about yourself, and this is the way to happiness.

Secondly, humility is the way to happiness because humility impels you to commit your full potential to God. William Barclay conclude that “Blessed are the poor in spirit” means blessed are those who have realized their own helplessness and who have placed their complete trust in the Lord.  After you have done this, you will become detached from things and attached to God. You will commit your full potential to God’s will. The boy who came to hear Jesus teach illustrates this commandment. He took all the food he had and turned it over to Jesus (John 6:9)

Once you are willing to do this, you will be amazed at what Christ can do with what you have to offer.  Andrew asked what we are so often tempted to ask, “But what are they among so many?” In his own hands, the boy’s lunch was hardly enough to satisfy one lad’s hunger.  But in Jesus’ hands, the small meal became enough to feed more than five thousand people! Never underestimate what God can do with your loaves and two fish. The moment you commit all that you have to Christ, the impossible begins to happen!

Poverty that produces happiness is poverty of the spirit. Total submission to God’s will is always best, and humility is the way to happiness because it implies you to commit your full potential to God’s will.

On a third note, humility prepares you to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  No proud soul can be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit, for a life filled with pride has no room for him.  Those who are unwilling to be controlled by the Holy Spirit are controlled by selfish ambition. Therefore the Lord said that we must become like little children before we enter the kingdom of heaven.  Children depend on their parents. Because they are their parents’ children, they are not really poor. As God’s children, we are dependent on him. Children spend little time worrying about what they will eat, what they will wear, or where they will sleep.  They simply assume that their needs will be met by their parents.

Our heavenly Father is responsible for our care.  We are told to cast our cares on him because he cares for us.  Jesus also said to his disciples, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven 

give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (LUKE 11:11-13 NIV).  The “poor in spirit” know they are poor in spirit. They know they can do and can be nothing apart from the indwelling Spirit of God.  Those who find happiness through humility allow the Holy Spirit to fill them. 

Humility that enables you to be honest with yourself, that impels you to commit your full potential to God, and prepares you to be filled with the Holy Spirit is the way to happiness.

The first beacon of the Eddystone lighthouse off the coast of Plymouth, England, as placed there over two hundred years ago to warn ships of the dangerous reefs.  Henry Winstanley, the architect who built it, was so confident of its strength that he had written on the cornerstone, “Blow, O Ye Winds!Rise, O Ocean! Break Forth, Ye Elements, and Try My Work!  Those were foolish words, for less than three years later, a raging storm destroyed the lighthouse, along with Winstanley and others who were making repairs on it at the time. 

Years later, John Smeaton, an early leader in civil engineering, rebuilt it.  He found a new cornerstone revealed” Except the Lord Build the House, they Labor in Vain That Build it!”  For over ninety years it has stood every test. It was founded on a rock!

Jesus Christ, the Son of God and King of Heaven, had the right to honor, praise, and worship. Yet to be our Saviour, He laid all of His privileges aside and became a lowly servant. We often hear people talk of living as Jesus lived, and while He truly is the model for us to follow, many who speak of following Him are unwilling to give up their rights and reflect His humility. We will never be like Jesus unless we are humble and lowly. “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.”—Proverbs 3:34  Do you want the kingdom of heaven now?  Then dig deeply and build your life on the foundation of humility, because it is the way to happiness!