"As many as I love I rebuke and
chasten" (Revelation 3:19)
Audio Sermon
Many years ago, a co-worker named
Michael suggested we take a booth for a day at the Tanque Verde Swap
Meet, in Tucson, Arizona. I didn't have much to sell, but thought it
would be a chance for Michael and I to get to know each other, so I agreed to pay half the rent and spend the day in a booth with him.
Our for-sale items were not
popular - mostly we just talked, commented on life and were interested in
who passed our booth by. To our left, however, there was a space rented by
someone who had puppies for sale. The people in that booth did VERY well, and the technique
they used as puppy-salespersons was interesting.
A family would walk near them,
inevitably prompted by a child uttering a comment like, "Mommy, look at
the puppies!" By the time the family managed to navigate the few feet
from where they were to the puppy stall, one of the smiling sellers had
opened a cage door, removed a puppy, and placed it into the arms of the
child. If there were two children, then two puppies were removed and
placed, and so on.
From that moment, it became
difficult for the parents to say "No" to the child. Great tears and
loud sounds would come from the child if the parents said, "Give the
puppy back, dear," and attempted to walk away. I learned a life-long
lesson that day, which can be very well expressed by the adage: “Don't
hold the puppy!" And it is a concept that is important in many areas of life.
We are all much like little
children in the sight of God, which can easily be seen in the intense curiosity
which has been both a blessing and a curse for many in humanity. If I see it, I
want to find out what's inside, what makes it work, and so on. Early
on in life, I curiously took my parent’s favorite clock apart and then couldn’t put it
back together. My Dad couldn’t put it back together either, and he was not pleased with me.
There is nothing WRONG with
curiosity. It is God's gift to help us as a tool that will enable us to help others. I recall the words of a pastor a long time ago who related that one of the co-discoverers of anesthesia got his
idea from the Bible. The man observed that God took a few molecules of
substance (a "rib") from the first man, Adam, and fashioned it into
another separate being, called Eve. It was like cloning only much more. In doing this surgery, he put Adam into a
"deep sleep," until the procedure was complete. The inventive person was curious - would this "sleep" work for people in surgery? And it did.
I appreciated the curiosity of
the inventor at the time when surgery was performed on my wife. She was
unconscious at the time three incisions were made in her abdomen. What
if she had been awake during the process? In past centuries, MANY died
during surgery, and a lot of the deaths were because of shock due to pain. The question came
into the inventor's mind, as he read the Bible account: "I wonder if
this would help patients?" And many lives have
been saved as the result of his discovery.
But curiosity can be negative.
The commandments of God are meant to be curative in nature. "Thou
shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14) is designed to protect
the person you might be curious about and interested in, and obedience to that commandment will also
protect you and others in your life as well. It's amazing how many people destroy
themselves and others, by relentless curiosity: "I wonder what THEY
would be like?" Don't go there. "Don't hold the puppy."
As stated, your curiosity is a good thing,
but it can be mis-used. An example is a tool called the "telescope."
You can study the universe with one (that's good), or a smaller one can
be used to spy on others (that's not good). And theoretically you could hit someone over the head with one (that's very bad). God has in mind that you
will be curious about HIM, and in that regard, He has given you: 1)
God’s Word, which reveals our need of God
the Son and His love for us; 2) Jesus Christ,
who saves you and sends you His Spirit, and 3) His Holy
Spirit, enabling us to understand His Word, which brings us to God's Son.
Our Scripture verse for today is
extremely interesting: "As many as I love I
rebuke and chasten" (Revelation 3:19). You will find that life
holds many barriers and limitations, some of which you probably won't like. "I
want this" and "I want that," you might say, but you don't get what you want. Or you
do get whatever it is, and it has a negative outcome. His "rebuke"
is expressed in attractive "doors" that will not open, and "chasten"
applies to "doors" that did open, but you now wish they hadn't. There are
repercussions in what we do.
I’ll share something with you: I
like most food far too much. So, if you come up to me often, shake my
hand, smile, and reach into your backpack, somehow coming out with a
lemon meringue pie every time, my eyes will widen with pleasure and I
will smile. Too many pies and my stomach would reach the point where I’d
need the “Goodyear blimp” tattooed on my side. Food may look good and taste good,
but to be right for me, it should stay in your backpack.
In relation to over-eating the
wrong foods, the chastening of the Lord can include obesity and
diabetes. Adultery comes with an abundance of problems such as venereal
disease. Notice that in the simple marriage of a man and woman who are
faithful to one another, such diseases are rare. But, step outside of your
marriage and destruction will come to you and yours.
In both of these actions,
over-eating and adultery, people bring judgment on themselves. The
“rebuke” and “chastening” have been built into the activity. You do it
and eventually things happen you won’t like. But the “rebuke” and
“chastening” are there because He loves you. Refusing His rebuke will cause great problems but is the beginning of the end of your selfishness, though it is often at a greater price than you wanted to
pay.
I’ve wondered: How MUCH of our
diseases and other difficulties in life are self-caused? Or caused by
the sinfulness of some other person? The promiscuous person, for example,
will bring increased likelihood of diseases home to their present or future spouse. Wives
and husbands should delight in one another, but if you are tempted, go to the
Lord – TOGETHER! He will heal your marriage, restore your hearts;
redirect your curiosity and give you love. Listen to the Lord, study His Word, and - Don't hold the puppy!
Help us, Lord. Let our curiosity
be used to help others and not for selfish reasons. Fill us with the
agape love of Jesus Christ; and let us be faithful to one another,
faithful to You. We love You, Lord, and we trust in You now. In Jesus
Name. Amen.
