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God Is Throwing a Banquet—and We Are Invited

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By Larry Short

As Elim moves into the next season, God has been directing us to focus our attention on “rolling out a red carpet of Gospel hospitality.” Pastor Ryan even pivoted his sermon this past weekend away from Ecclesiastes and into the scene at the Last Supper where Jesus “showed the full extent of His love” to His disciples by taking on the role of a humble servant and washing their yucky feet—and then urging them (and us, by extension) to do likewise to one another, showing God’s love by serving each other in humility.

While reflecting on this topic of Gospel hospitality, another parable of Christ’s has been demanding my attention. In Luke 14, we find Jesus at the home of a ruler of the Pharisees, invited to a fancy dinner. This was “ordinary hospitality”—invite someone to dinner, and perhaps you will get something out of it: a return invitation, a chance to learn and observe, etc.

But Jesus was also observing. He saw many of the guests vying for the best seats at the table, the seats of honor closest to the host. He warned that in doing so they risked getting displaced by someone the host deemed more important than they and forced to sit shamefacedly in a lower position. He encouraged them instead to seek out in humility the low position, with the possibility that the host might then raise them up.

This principle of humility is one that of course syncs well with Christ’s teaching about washing His disciples’ feet. But it’s the very next thing Christ said, the parable of the great banquet, that really caught my eye:

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

I realized that the part of this parable that begins with Jesus’s words “A man once gave a great banquet” is less parable and more an actual prophecy. Because Scripture tells us of a coming day in which Christ Himself, the Bridegroom of the Church, will indeed throw a great banquet, which Revelation 19 calls the “marriage supper of the Lamb”:

 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

A couple of things that jump out at me about this end-times great feast. First of all, while all may be invited, not all will accept the invitation. The original invite list in Christ’s parable was full of people who sadly allowed “ordinary life and business” to get in the way of accepting the Master’s invitation. “Please have me excused,” they begged, and the Master did, even though it caused him distress to do so. God will never compel us to accept His invitation.

And if we do accept it, we must learn the lesson of humility. We cannot seek to seat ourselves at the place of honor, or else we risk being put in our proper place. It is far better to humble oneself than to be humbled.

In Christ’s final great wedding feast, we see that humility in the way the Bride has prepared herself. “It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.” That fine linen, we are told, is “the righteous deeds of the saints,” but those saints have been freely granted the privilege of attendance, as that righteousness comes not by our own doing, but at the cost of the blood of God’s sacrificial Lamb, the Bridegroom of the feast.

It takes true humility to realize that we are invited to the wedding not because of how holy we are, but because of how God (at His own expense) has made us holy. And the proper response to such an act of grace is deep gratitude and highest praise!

The third and final aspect of our response (humble acceptance and gratitude and praise being the first two) is shown clearly in Christ’s closing words to His listeners. Once we have accepted God’s Gospel hospitality in humility and thankfulness, we must extend it to others. The Master’s command in Luke 14:23 was to “go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” But God never forces people to accept His invitation. The basis of their acceptance will be love! Thus His mandate in John 13:34 is that we must “love one another just as he has loved us.” It is only and precisely this love and service that will make Christ’s love compelling to others.

Elim is on a journey to learn how to roll out a red carpet of Gospel hospitality to all in our community. Humble acceptance, thankfulness, selfless love, and service will be required of each of us in this priesthood of believers in order to fulfill Christ’s purposes for Elim. Are you on board?

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Overcoming Tribalism and Politics at Elim: The Challenge of Our Day

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(Adapted by Larry Short from T. J. Addington’s Leading from the Sandbox)

Last week Pastor Ryan spoke compellingly of the fact that our identity is to be Jesus followers first and primarily, and all other labels (political or whatever) are to be far secondary. This touched me deeply, as I, too, have been struggling with the way we have been dividing ourselves into ”camps” or factions for reasons not related to Jesus.

In a recent blog, former EFCA leader T. J. Addington also shines a bright light on this issue.

This is what he had to say:

Politics today has become tribal, and frankly ugly. People use social media to demonize those who don’t think like them with nasty, unkind comments. Christians are not immune. I have been called nasty names when I have posted comments regarding racial injustice, for instance, that had no political intent at all. Our tribalism is invading the church, dividing congregations, killing friendships and creating divisions that sadden the heart of God.

This is not a new problem. Even the early church dealt with differing perspectives, world views and opinions. Paul addresses this in Ephesians 4:1-6 where he writes: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Read the rest here.

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What Does God Expect from Us?

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By Larry Short

“We don’t need your money.” After reflecting on Ryan’s fascinating sermon on Acts 5 this past Sunday, that’s what I considered titling this blog. But then I realized the story of Ananias and Sapphira really isn’t about money at all, and so titling what I wrote in that manner could actually be a distraction from what God really wants us to get out of this story.

And what, exactly, does He want us to walk away with now that Ananias and Sapphira are dead and buried?

Certainly, what it isn’t is that somehow we owe God (or our church, or a ministry, or fill in the blank) our money. We’re not told what happened to the money Ananias and Sapphira brought before Peter, but it was probably a sizeable amount (even if they weren’t being honest about the final sales price), so from Peter’s perspective, why rock the boat?

This may be a spoiler, but I also thought about this in the context of Acts 8, where Philip visits Samaria and the Holy Spirit does a major work to form a new church there. One of the new converts is Simon the Magician, who previously wowed everyone with his magic arts. When the apostles come to convey the baptism of the Holy Spirit upon the new converts through the laying on of their hands, Simon observes this and really wants this new “power” for himself. So, he offers Peter a big donation to give him the ability to lay hands on someone and so convey the Holy Spirit to them.

You may recall Peter’s powerful response in verse 20: “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” In saying this, Peter is no doubt turning away a very hefty donation, but he doesn’t hesitate. His core values are, once again, clear. (And no doubt the painful memory of Ananias and Sapphira falling dead was still in his thoughts!)

So, what core values do each of these stories demonstrate? If God’s not after our money, what is it He really expects from us?

One interesting facet in both accounts is envy. Simon envied Peter and John’s ability. Ananias and Sapphira envied the respect that Barnabus (“Son of Encouragement”) gained through his generous contribution. They, too, wanted to be thought well of, even if they really didn’t have the love and faith required to “give it all” or to tell the honest truth about what they were able to give.

So, they chose to lie about it in order to hopefully bolster their own reputation and gain respect. And as Peter points out, the lie wasn’t merely to the church or its leaders—it was to the Holy Spirit!

It’s clear that money is a tool we sometimes use in ways that might seem good, but are really designed to make us appear different or better than we really are. I think this is a temptation to envy that we all experience. We all want to be seen as generous, kind, and caring individuals. The question is, do we invest the resources God has given us (money or otherwise) in being generous, kind, and caring, or do we invest them so that we may be seen as more generous, kind, and caring? See the difference here? It really matters.

Elim is a family of generous people. A couple of times I’ve been blown away when someone made a truly generous—and anonymous!—gift. For years I’ve wondered, “Could it have been so and so? Or perhaps so and so?” The humility in anonymity raised the tide that raised all boats, so to speak.

But money isn’t the only asset we sometimes use to puff ourselves up. Recently I was discussing with someone online who had raised a question about the meaning of Matthew 23:8-10, “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.” One conclusion after reflection was that there was nothing wrong with titles like rabbi, father, or teacher (or pastor, for that matter). When Jesus says “you are not to be called [insert title here],” I think what He’s really saying is that you are not to seek such titles of distinction in order to exalt yourself. This falls clearly in line with His instruction throughout the Gospels not to seek the places of honor, but to humble yourself as a servant. Even when two of His disciples asked to sit at His right hand and at His left in His coming kingdom, He made it clear that such a privilege came at the cost of service and suffering (Mark 10:35-45).

As Ryan mentioned, Jesus decried the Pharisees for doing things in order to be seen by others as somehow “more holy”: “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long” (Matthew 23:5).

We don’t do phylacteries or fringes, but what is the equivalent for us? Is it our generosity? Ministry position or title? Praying profound public prayers or writing brilliant Last Words?

What does God expect from us? Humility. Honesty. Service. Seeking to build others up before building ourselves and our own reputations. Bringing glory to God rather than to ourselves. Lord, this is our desire, but such things are all much harder for us and go against our “natural” grain, so please help us as we struggle to become more like You in love, humility and service!

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What Are You Looking At?

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By Larry Short, Elder Chair

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
(Lyrics & music by Helen Howarth Lemmel, 1863–1961)

I’m currently working my way through Isaiah during my daily reading time. At first it was fun, but along about chapter 10 the prophet begins to pronounce God’s judgment, and it’s not pretty. He singles out arrogant Assyria, Babylon, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Cush, Egypt, Dumah, Arabia, Tyre, Sidon . . . even the holy city of Jerusalem.

And then, in case anyone feels left out, in chapter 24 Isaiah presents God’s judgment against the whole earth:

Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants . . . the earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the Lord has spoken this word. (Isaiah 24:1, 3 ESV)

The rest of the chapter goes on to describe in chilling detail the disturbing events that will accompany this “emptying” judgment upon the earth for its sin: “Its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again” (v. 20).

Should I keep reading? I wondered. Could it possibly get any worse than this?

Thankfully, in chapter 25 we find a dramatic turnaround, as the prophet begins to praise God for His ultimate victory over sin—what Isaiah calls “plans formed of old, faithful and sure,” as God “has done wonderful things.” The culmination of victory comes when God “will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth” (Isaiah 25:8).

It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9)

Encouraged, I continued reading into chapter 26, where this familiar verse jumped out at me:

You keep him in perfect peace
Whose mind is stayed on you,
Because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

In the midst of all the turmoil and pain of God’s judgment poured out on a sinful world, it is possible to be “kept in perfect peace!”

When I had awoken this morning, before I read these words, I first checked the news. That’s not always a good idea. Pandemic deaths in the United States have topped 581,000, putting us on track to possibly equal or surpass deaths from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. The death rate seems to be slowing, thanks to immunizations and other measures, but of course, as we know, things can change quickly.

If the pandemic news is bad for us, it’s equally bad, if not worse, for millions of others. In India, the pandemic is a terrible disaster right now, with numbers quickly catching up to ours. They’ve just surpassed 400,000 new cases per day, with over 246,000 total deaths. Most sick people can’t even get into a hospital or have access to oxygen, so many are asphyxiating on the streets. A pall of smoke from overworked crematoria hangs over many cities in India.

Other nations also struggle: the virus is ravaging Brazil, France, Russia, and Turkey, among many others. And the global economic damage is almost incalculable. In February alone, the world saw a loss of more than $50 billion in trading revenue.

And there is plenty of other dire news to cause despair, from violence in Jerusalem to a bombing outside an Afghan school that killed dozens of schoolgirls and seriously injured hundreds.

But . . . you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you!

What does it mean to “stay your mind” on God? I love the instruction in Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV):

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

As we turn from our sin and the circumstances around us, the first gaze of the eyes of our hearts must be upon the face of our Savior, who has already won the battle that rages all around us. As we turn to Him, we offload the weight of the world around us, even that of our own sin!

We cannot ignore the world around us. Jesus Himself urged His disciples to lift up their eyes because the fields are white for harvest. Upon seeing the need of a hurting world, He had compassion for them, “because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” He responded by going throughout all the cities and villages, “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.” And he calls His disciples to be co-laborers with Him in these fertile fields (Matthew 9:35-37).

Our Shepherd engaged with the suffering sheep of the world, but that engagement was rooted in “the joy that was set before him” and what was primary to Him, His relationship with His Father. As the compassion of Christ moves us to better reflect the heart of God for suffering people, how can we be the hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world?

Our Savior, who sweat great drops of blood as He faced the agony of the cross, knew what perfect peace looks like! And He offers that to us, in the midst of all the pain and turmoil, sin and suffering within and around us. Will we start each new day by turning our gaze upon Him?

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What Is God Doing?

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By Larry Short, Elder Chair

A key challenge you and I frequently experience is the temptation to try and align God with what WE are doing. We pray, “God, I’d really like for such and such to happen or to do thus and thus. Can you please make that happen?”

But the truth is (and this is a key purpose of prayer), we will be blessed when we seek instead to align ourselves with what GOD is doing. Amen?

The purpose of this message is to highlight a few key things we as leaders feel God is doing at Elim right now and to encourage you to get fully on board!

Pandemic Rebuilding and Recovery

This week the state of Washington announced our in-service worship capacity can be doubled! This means we can have 106 people at any given event on our campus. Here are some details:

  • Face coverings and social distancing (6 feet) are still required. For those who still will not be able to join us, we will continue livestreaming so everyone can participate.
  • Moving forward we will (for the time being) continue having a single service, at 10 a.m. Enter through the front door (west side) and exit through the fellowship room entrance (north door).
  • We encourage you to come 10 or 15 minutes before service to greet new people and find a seat. If you want to hang out outside (weather permitting) afterward to fellowship, that’s fine, just keep the face coverings and social distancing going.
  • Registration is required. If you register but then can’t make it, please either go back on and unregister or contact Lori Cantu for help.
  • If you register and are told the service is full, you will be placed on a waiting list. However, you can still come on Sunday! Check with the usher at the front door. If the service is full, he or she can tap on a group of volunteers who have agreed to move out of the main sanctuary and take the service via livestream instead. We don’t want anyone to be turned away from worship!

Upcoming Special Events

This weekend, Bruce Martin, the Northwest District Superintendent for the Evangelical Free Church, will be with us to deliver a challenge. Don’t miss that! After he speaks, we will officially install (and pray over) Ryan as our next Lead Pastor!

(If you haven’t yet registered for this Palm Sunday service, don’t hesitate! It’s already over two-thirds full.)

The first service Ryan will lead is our Good Friday service, at 7:00 on April 2. A very special time is planned, so please register! (Also over two-thirds full, so don’t delay!)

Then his first Sunday worship service as our new pastor will be on Easter Sunday at 10:00 a.m.! Join us as this promises to be a wonderful time of celebrating Jesus’s resurrection and ascension.

A Highway in the Desert (Isaiah 40:1-5): Rebuilding the On-Ramps!

Do you realize that right now, we have more people requesting membership and more people volunteering to use their gifts and skills in ministry than during any time in recent memory? God is doing something special at Elim. If you are not yet a member but would like to consider it, please reach out to Lori Cantu for an application packet. And give me a call or send me an email if you’d like to talk about where you could plug into what God is doing here. Thank you!

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Taking up the Mantle

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By Larry Short, Elder Chair

While listening to Steve’s final sermon Sunday on the fascinating transition of prophetic leadership from Elijah to Elisha, I was reminded of something I wrote in my blog 13 months ago. And I realized that God used the story of the Elijah-Elisha transition then to help me prepare for what was coming.

I’m just going to quote some of the salient points. If you’d like to read the blog in its entirety (realizing it was written more than a year ago), click here. Otherwise, for an updated summary, keep reading.

We have been undergoing a “pastoral transition.” That’s a rather pleasant-sounding way to describe a lot of work and emotional trauma. In early 2019 our senior pastor of 25 years resigned and took up a new career (for which he is well-suited) as a chaplain. Some months later, our long-term (18 years) associate pastor also resigned so he could take up a senior pastorate at a church in Colorado.

That’s a lot of transition for a smallish church. Of course when anybody leaves, it’s emotionally difficult. We hired an interim pastor who is a transition specialist, and the good news is that Pastor Steve has now done his job, with prayers and sweat of a lot of Elim’s faithful leaders thrown in. Our new lead pastor, Ryan White, arrives with his family THIS WEEKEND and is on the job in April, and we are all VERY excited about what God has in store!

But when I first learned of our pastoral transitions back in 2019, I was distraught. I liked our church the way it was! Stepping into an uncertain future can fill one with foreboding.

And then there’s all the extra work. Darlene and I retired in 2019 and had happy plans for our new life. But suddenly the need to invest large quantities of time and energy in “keeping the plates spinning” at Elim began pressing down on us.

And then of course COVID-19 hit, with all its shutdowns and isolation and social distancing. Following hot on the heels of that disaster was the recurring trauma of the results of centuries of racial injustice. And we as a church struggled (as nearly all churches were doing) to resolve diverse opinions on all of these controversial topics and to figure out (with a lot of halting steps) how to move forward in the love and unity of purpose that our Head calls us to demonstrate as His Body.

In a men’s group last February we were studying aspects of leadership, and one of our studies focused on 2 Kings 2. Elijah was mentoring Elisha when it came time for a huge transition to occur. (That’s one thing we can always count on: change!)

Elijah gave Elisha several opportunities to withdraw, but Elisha insisted he would follow. He followed Elijah first to Bethel, then to Jericho, then to the edge of the Jordan River. Also in the entourage were 50 “lesser prophets,” local prophets in Israel.

Once at the river, Elijah removed and rolled up his mantle (or cloak, the symbol of his prophetic authority) and smote the river Jordan with it. Just as the waters parted before both Moses (at the Red Sea) and Joshua (also at the Jordan), so they split before Elijah, and he and Elisha continued on across, leaving the rest of the prophets behind.

Elijah then tells Elisha—both knowing that his time is short—“Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you,” and Elisha responds brazenly, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.”

Elijah replies, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” But sure enough, chariots of fire soon separate Elijah and Elisha, then Elisha sees Elijah taken up into heaven in a whirlwind.

At this point Elisha rightly grieves for what once was, just as I shed tears at the early-2019 meeting when our former senior pastor announced he was leaving. Elisha tears his garment in a sign of mourning for Elijah’s departure. But then something amazing happens. Elijah’s prophetic mantle comes fluttering down, and Elisha picks it up. He turns his back on the scene and heads back toward the Jordan. Then he does something extraordinary and incredibly risky.

Elisha takes Elijah’s mantle, rolls it up just as Elijah had done, and cries aloud (in the hearing of the prophets who are watching from the other side), “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” He then strikes the waters with Elijah’s mantle. What an enormous act of faith! Sure enough, the waters part. God shows up! His back to the departed Elijah, Elisha walks across (alone) on dry ground, and rejoins the prophets

As a result, the prophets now are compelled to acknowledge that “the spirit of Elijah has rested on Elisha!” (Duh! Right?) Yet these lesser prophets still remain focused on the glory of the past. They want to launch a search mission to try to find Elijah! “It may be that the Spirit of the Lord has caught him up to cast him onto some mountain or in some valley!” They are not yet willing to let go.

But Elisha has already let go. He seeks to convince them of the new normal: Elijah is departed! But they persist, and he finally relents. They search for Elijah for three days, to no avail. “Didn’t I tell you?” Elisha challenges them. The past is behind, the transition has occurred, and the future is now upon us.

So as he approaches that challenging and uncertain future, Elisha has chosen to leave Elijah in the past and seek the ever-living LORD of the past, present, and future. New days and new challenges lie ahead!

Through His Word, God challenged me in my grief: “Are you going to be like one of those lesser prophets, refusing to let go of days gone by? Or are you going to be like Elisha, who was prepared to meet the future, who moved forward from the past and headed out in faith and anticipation toward the river and whatever lay ahead?”

Yes, transition is uncomfortable. It is emotionally challenging, risky, and a lot of work. But so is this task to which Jesus has called us: “Take up your cross, and follow Me.” And elsewhere, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Yes, God is changing us! We are to learn from the past, thanking Him for it, but not to live in it. He calls us to move forward at this present moment, in faith, with hope for what He will do in whatever future He has in store for us. So, let’s roll up the mantle and move forward!

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