Sermon Preached by the Rev. Fulton Porter, III at St Thomas Church, Chicago January 4, 2009
The Second Sunday after Christmas
Luke 2:41-52
The Year of My Increase
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
On New Year’s Day, my wife woke me up and asked me a simple yet very profound question, which forms the basis of this sermon today. She asked me what my New Year’s resolution was. And I said to myself, “uh oh,” because she asked me a question that I did not yet have the answer to. I started to answer by saying that it’s hard to improve on perfection, but I decided against that. Probably not smart. But the real answer was that I didn’t have one and I should have had one because there are so many areas in my life for improvement; so many areas where I could do better.
Do you plan to do better in the New Year? Without making any specific resolutions have you decided that you will try harder to really improve your life? If so you are among millions who have also made that same decision. Unfortunately, you were also among the same number that resolved to do better last year but ended up in the same position. There is a reason some of us improved over last year; we did something differently than we did the year before and stuck with it. Others say they will improve but instead of reaching higher ground they remain stuck in sinking sand.
Our goal this year, however, should be to make this year the year of our increase. No, I’m not talking in the prosperity gospel sense, seeing how much bling-bling we can get our hand on this year, but I am speaking of spiritual prosperity, which is the antecedent of economic prosperity. In other words, it’s not about the bling, but it is about the King. Our blessings come when we take the time to get close to the Blessor. So this should be our year of increase, spiritual increase, which affects every area of our life.
Before we can improve, we need to analyze our situation correctly and honestly. There was a funny story that I read about the man who bought Felix the leaping frog. The man decided that he could really make it big if he took a year and taught the frog to fly. He enrolled the frog in a class that taught him time management, organizational skills and gave him a motivational talk every day. At the end of the year the class concluded and the frog came home with a certificate. In the first week of the New Year the man tested the frog's flying ability by throwing him out of a first floor window. The frog dropped to the ground but could not fly. Several days later the frog was dropped from the 3rd floor window. He still crashed. After a refresher course he carried the frog to the 10th floor and threw him out of the window; the frog flapped his legs but landed on a pile of rocks and died. The man analyzed all of the events of the last year and finally figured out the problem. The frog must have faked his grades in school, so he planned to do better in the coming year by finding himself a smarter frog!
When we analyze the reason for our missteps, it’s easy to blame the frog, but we should consider whether or not our failure was based on a flawed premise to begin with. (Now I’m gonna get a little personal here.) So we found our men in clubs then wonder why they don't want to spend time with us, but like hanging out at clubs. She cheated on her last boyfriend and talked to you and you are wondering why she cheats on you. (Am I on your street yet?) You failed to learn how to add but you think if you keep taking a test on division repeatedly you'll one day you will pass. We desire to be wealthy but we spend foolishly and never save. If we are going to improve we can't blame the frog! The first step to improvement is to come to grips with the real reason for our failure to improve.
We can improve upon our present circumstance only by changing our course. If we've been working entry level jobs all of our lives, things won't change until we retrain ourselves for the next level. Some get frustrated and want the boss to pay more for entry level positions; but we never consider the possibility of increasing our skill level beyond entry level.
To increase, we must add something to what we had last year. We must live smarter, wiser and respond to life with more maturity if we are to increase this year.
What about our relationship with God? If we are going to increase our spirituality and get closer to God then we must improve upon what we did last year. I was a member but I gave very little service last year. I gave financially, but nothing like I should have. I prayed occasionally but not regularly. I read the bible but I avoided bible study. I came to church but I just hung around and never really got involved.
If we repeat what we did last year, we will get the same results. If we do, then we shouldn’t blame our failure to increase on God or the church. We can only blame ourselves. To increase we must add something to what we already have. We must get closer to God this year. As Christians, our desire should be to increase and improve our relationship with God. Each New Year gives us another opportunity to seek higher ground and to draw closer to God.
This text from Luke focuses on how Christ grew toward his purpose and life's work, which was the salvation of mankind. Luke paints three pictures of Christ. We see him as Christ the baby, small and fragile, destined to spiritual greatness. We see him as a boy, accepting the challenges of manhood. Finally we see him as an adult, shouldering the responsibility of the world as he carries the cross.
As a boy, Jesus learned many things expected of boys. Joseph was a carpenter, thus he immediately learned to be a carpenter in the Jewish tradition. He learned the scriptures early, committing them to memory as he prepared for his manhood. Yet there were other things that he was learning too, which was not common for poor boys. We know he learned to write for John gives us an instance in which he wrote on the ground. There is little doubt that he was able to read both Hebrew and Greek. He was obviously maturing rapidly, concentrating on that which he would need to fulfill his life mission.
The Law required all Jewish men to appear before the Lord God at three major feasts in Jerusalem every year: The Passover, which included the Feast of Unleavened Bread; the Feast of Pentecost; and the Feast of Tabernacles. In all of the preparation for returning to Nazareth, Jesus was lost in the crowd of family members. They found him learning from and teaching the rabbis in the temple.When they found Him, Mary's words were: "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
The text then spans 18 years of time. In that span of time it explains that Christ increased in wisdom and stature as well as in favor with God and man. And so, it is here that I would like to hang the sermonic spotlight. If we are Christians, then we should strive to be Christ-like. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. In other words, as Jesus got older, he got wiser
To increase in wisdom, is to increase in discernment. Wisdom and knowledge are not the same. There are many in life who have great knowledge but do not have discernment. Some call discernment "common sense" or "horse sense." Every Christian should want to increase in wisdom. A wise man generally leads a happy life. Proverbs 3:13 says, Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding."
Now let me make it plain: It is knowledge that shows us how to earn money; it's through wisdom that we are able to keep it. Good looks and charm can help us land a husband or wife but it is wisdom that shows how to keep what we have gained. It is hard work and ingenuity that helps us get to the top, but it's wisdom that teaches us how to stay on top. If we gain a lot in the coming year without the wisdom and understanding necessary to hold on to it, it will all be for nothing. That's why Proverbs 4:7 says, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." As we press forward into the New Year, we should resolve that this year will be the year that we increase in wisdom and understanding.
Jesus also increased in age. The King James Translation says “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature…” To increase in stature involves physical growth. It also involves maturity. Although Christ was only 12 years old at the time he was lost in the temple, he was tremendously mature for his age. Maturity covers a wide range of expressions. Maturity touches on our relationships with family members. Do two grown people throw temper tantrums like children?
Maturity touches on how we handle victory and defeat; and how we receive and respond to praise. The immature Christian responds to life like a child, sees the world as a child without the ability to see deep into the realities of life. If this is to be the year of our increase we should strive to become more mature in our thinking, relationships with others, and in the way we handle the frustrations of life. We should remember 1 Corinthians 13:11 which says, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
Jesus also grew, according to the scripture, in favor with God. To grow in favor with God means to live in such a way that God chooses us to be the main instruments of his will. Associated with that selection, comes all the things necessary for us to achieve our purpose. Mary was a woman who found favor with God and because of that favor she found that she was protected, directed, and provided for through his grace. Jesus increased in favor. It means that each year he become more subject to the will of God and more willing to give of himself to do what God wanted done.
To increase in favor WITH God is different from favor FROM God. Favor with God indicates how God feels about us. Favor FROM God indicates what God has done for us based on how he feels about us. Do not confuse favor with prosperity. For example: A football player who has favor with the coach has earned his respect. He gets favor from the coach when he is called to get in the game. He is called in the game not so he personally prospers but because he can help the team win. He can take a hit and may be flipped upside down but he can score. High pay and praise may be the result but that's not why he was put in the game. Beloved, God selects us and endows us for a service because he knows we can take the world's best shots and still score. If we happen to prosper in the process, great, but that's not why he put us in the game. This year, let's increase with favor in God. Let's say "Put me in coach" I’m ready to do your will.
This text also says that Christ increased in favor with man. Think back: Christ was favored by man in connection with what he did to win the favor of God. He was favored because he healed the sick, raised the dead and gave sight to the blind, but all of those miracles were performed because he was favored by God. That leads us to a great truth: believers receive the favor and praise of men because they have the favor of God. In our football example: the player who makes the touchdown receives the praise and adulation of the crowds only because he had the favor of the coach who put him in the game(help me somebody!). What does that imply to us therefore? It may explain why some of us are always selected to get in the game: serve on the committee, chair the action, coordinate the activity, help with one ministry or another, we are selected or favored by man because it is obvious to all who see us that we are in favor with God. This means that if we intend to increase in favor among men this year, we should work to increase our efforts to earn the favor of God. Those who have the favor of their peers have their trust, support and confidence. That comes most often to those who have found favor with God.
Finally, brothers and sisters, if this is to be the year of our increase then it must be the year that we increase our faith in God. There can be no increase in wisdom, maturity, and favor with God and man unless there is a proportionate increase in our faith. We need to increase our faith in our own abilities, assisted by the power of God. We need to increase our willingness to step out on God's word although the waters and storms of life are raging. The just shall live by faith. That means we walk with the Lord, not in the same old beaten path, but every year we climb higher.
Last year we were weak, but in faith, we want to increase from weakness to strength. Last year we were defeated, but this year we want to increase from defeat to victory. Last year we were discouraged, but this year we want to increase from discouragement to hope. Last year we were lonely, but this year we want to increase from loneliness to comfort. Last year we were troubled, but this year we want to increase from trouble to peace of mind. If we increase our faith this year we can do the impossible!
If we increase our faith we can reach the unreachable! If we increase our faith we can achieve the impossible! This faith we need for the year has been secured for you by a God who loves you. I know it’s true because John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life.”This faith has been assured to you by a savior who said in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” This is the faith that has been declared to you by a savior who promised us that no weapon formed against you shall prosper as long as you stay in the will of God. This is the faith can close budget deficits! This faith, can fill our pews! This faith can dream what could be into what is! This faith, can speak to what appears to be a dead situation and bring life! This faith, can help you to pick up the pieces of the life you messed up in 2008 and live a triumphant life in 2009. This faith, St. Thomas, is what we must claim and we must declare to the four corners of the earth that this is the year of our increase!
Amen!
