The Gladness of the Risen Son
“You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.” Acts 2:28
Three Easter Morning Questions
Let’s begin the lesson with three questions for you to answer silently in your own mind.
• First, do you want to be happy?
• Second, do you want your happiness to be partial or full?
• Third, do you want your happiness to stop or to last as long as you last?
The reason I count these questions worthy of Easter Sunday morning is not just because I think every person in this room cares about them, but also because these questions are the rock bottom concerns of the Bible.
Wherever the Bible has had its profoundest effect in people's lives, it hasn't been because of the demands of some new sense of duty, but because of the power of a new pleasure.
The Bible Produces a Serious Pursuit of Happiness
People who know the Bible best and who have experienced it most deeply are not diverted from the quest for happiness and pleasure. Instead, it has caused people to get really serious about the quest. It has caused them to ask, "Do I really want to be happy? Do I want the fullest happiness possible? Do I want my happiness to last forever?" In other words, the Bible makes us stop playing games with our happiness. It makes us serious, even desperate, in our pursuit.
It makes a harried and overworked businessman go away for a few days and sit by the lake, and look at the sunset and the stars, and ask: "Have I found it? Is this what I am really after? Does it satisfy? Will it last?"
Jesus Christ never once condemned the quest for happiness. But often he has rebuked us for taking it so lightly.
Now what does all this have to do with Easter Sunday? Let’s try to relate the two.
The Earliest Days of the Church
In Acts 1:3 Luke tells us that Jesus “appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.”
For forty days he sought to prove to his followers that he really was alive,
• that his body was new and indestructible,
• that his death for sinners was validated,
• that his teaching was true,
• that his fellowship would be permanent,
• and that his cause would triumph in the world.
Then when “..the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” (Mark 16:19) And there he will reign until He comes a second time in power and great glory, and all Believers, those of us who have a relationship with Jesus, will reign with him forever and ever.
The Apostles Pondering the Old Testament
Then the book of Acts goes on to show us that for ten days after Jesus had ascended to heaven the apostles and Jesus' mother and his brothers devoted themselves to prayer in Jerusalem. During these ten days Peter and the others must have combed the Old Testament for predictions and explanations of what was happening in these incredible days, because when the Holy Spirit finally comes upon them with power at the end of those ten days, the apostles are full of Scripture. They explain everything in terms of the fulfillment of Scripture. This is apparent in Acts 2:14-41.
One of the psalms that Peter evidently pondered was Psalm 16.
The reason we know that Peter had given thought to this psalm is that he quotes from it in Acts 2:25–28. “I see that the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.”
What Peter Saw in Psalm 16
We know that God gave David a promise (in 2 Samuel 7:12–16) that one of his own posterity would be the everlasting king of Israel — the Son of David, the Messiah (Isaiah 9:6–7). David must have often thought of this wonderful thing — that in his own body, as it were, there was a king whose reign would never end.
And Peter noticed in reading the psalms of David that sometimes, as David expressed his own hope in God, he would be caught up by the Holy Spirit to say things about himself that went far beyond what his own experience would be. It was as though David were sometimes transported into the future of his son the Messiah and would say things that only the Son of David would experience sometime in the future.
How Will David Not Be Shaken?
This is what Peter saw as he meditated on Psalm 16. He read, "I see that the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me." (Acts 2:25.) And maybe he asked, "In what sense will David not be shaken?"
So he reads on for the answer. Acts 2:26—"No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises!" And Peter ponders and answers his question: "The sense in which David will not be shaken is that he is secure in God. He will be protected—soul and body."
Will David's Flesh Really Never See Corruption?
Then Peter asks, "How will they be protected? How safe is David really? Will he not die? Did he not die?" Peter reads on (Acts 2:27), "For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave". Peter looks at this for a long time. He ponders, "Will David not die? Will David body not ever decay? Does he really expect this much protection for himself?"
And suddenly (or gradually?) it dawns on Peter that these words go beyond anything that David experienced. David did die! David was buried! David's flesh did decay. So Peter recognizes that David is no longer speaking merely for himself. The Spirit has lifted him up to see the destiny of the second David. And the voice of the Messiah is heard prophetically in the voice of his father David.
This Is What Happened to Jesus!
And then the connection with Jesus hits home. This is what happened to Jesus! Peter makes the connection for us in Acts 2:31 — "David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave. God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.”
God's Goal for Jesus' Gladness
Now right here we begin to make the connection with that longing for happiness that was mentioned in beginning of lesson. In Acts 2:28 Peter goes on to quote from the last verse of Psalm 16. But now we know that it is really Jesus, the Son of David, speaking through the voice of the prophet David: “You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.”
And the psalm ends with (though Peter doesn't finish it), "the pleasures of living with you forever”.
In other words, what we see from this text is that God's goal for Jesus Christ beyond the grave was that he might fill him with gladness. He raised him from the dead to make him full of happiness forever and ever.
Our Gladness and the Gladness of the Risen God
Now what does the gladness of the risen God have to do with us?
Sanctioning the Pursuit of Gladness
Jesus didn't just happen upon this gladness beyond the grave; he pursued it with all his might. Hebrews 12:2 says, "Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
This means that, if anyone has a deep longing for happiness, you will not be told by Jesus Christ that this longing is bad, or that it must be denied or that you should have nobler goals on Easter than happiness. Jesus lived for the joy that was set before him. He is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. And therefore he sanctioned the thirst of our souls by the thirst of his own.
But there's more. If all Jesus wanted was the glory and gladness that he had with his Father Heaven, why did he come into the world in the first place? The Bible says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
The message of Easter is doubly wonderful.
It is wonderful to see the suffering Son coming home to the Father. What a reunion that must have been when Creator embraced Creator and said, "Well done Son. Welcome home." What a wonderful thing to see the Passover Lamb of Good Friday crowned with glory and honor, and handed the scepter of the universe!
But it is also wonderful to hear Jesus say, "I want others to be with me, Father. I want others to share my glory. I want my gladness in your glory to overflow like a mountain spring and become the gladness of others. I want my joy in you to be in them and their joy to be full forever and ever."
On Easter Sunday morning Jesus blew the lock off the prison of death and gloom and returned to the gladness of God. With that he put his blessings on the pursuit of happiness. And he opened the way for sinners to find never-ending satisfaction at the fountain of the glory of his grace.
From the right hand of God he speaks to everyone of us today and invites us to the never-ending banquet:
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Blueprint for Christ's Church
Blueprint for Christ's Church
Not our typical Palm Sunday lesson but thought it is important to know what Christ died for – His “Church”.
The word "church" is not used in Romans 12. In fact, it's found only 5 times in the entire Epistle and all are in the final chapter. Yet, there is no question that the Apostle Paul is writing to all the Lord's churches in general and His church at Rome in particular.
Likewise, there is not a single reference to Romans 12 being a pattern for a healthy church. Some things are so obvious it's not necessary to spell them out. The healthy church description of this chapter is one such.
Why does this matter?
The health of the Lord's churches in this 21st century SHOULD be a major concern for every Christian. So many churches that were once healthy and strong, vibrant in their witness and effective in their mission, have fallen onto hard times. Some came under the influence of corrupt leaders, some were hijacked by “wordly” power-brokers, and some grew discouraged and surrendered to the world.
The typical young adult today “maybe” has never seen a healthy and strong church. Here is a snapshot of such a healthy church
FOUNDATION: everyone is committed to the Lord. (Romans 12:1-2)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
This is about our relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. It comes before anything else. Without this, there is no church, period.
a) The mercy of God is the starting point. Everything we do is in response to all He has done. “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory.” (Romans 11:36). It starts with Him; we are all responders. "We love each other because he loved us first." (1 John 4:19). No one not having a great appreciation for God's mercies has ever come face to face with his own sin and unworthiness.
b) We commit our lives to the Lord God through Jesus Christ. Living sacrifices. We place ourselves on His altar every day of our lives. This means after our initial salvation experience, we daily should recommit ourselves to Him.
c) We become focused on the will of God. Knowing that will and obeying it become our chief concern. "What will please the Father?" was the driving force of Jesus' earthly years. Jesus said, “Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!” This must have been important because these words are in both Matthew 11:26 and Luke 10:21.
Summing up: All the Lord's people have been the recipients of His mercy, have committed their lives to Him, and are daily focused on becoming more like Him and doing His will.
FRAMEWORK: everyone is growing in Christ. (Romans 12:3-8)
“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (vs. 3)
This is about our internal relationship. In a house, the framework is the timbers that form the rafters and joists, the underpinning and studs. It will become invisible to everyone, but if it is absent or done poorly, everything is in jeopardy.
Church members are healthy in relation to:
a) Themselves. They are humble, but not groveling. They have a solid, balanced view of themselves as sinners saved by grace.
b) The body as a whole. They belong to the entire group, and are not loners. “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” (vs. 4-5) They have a deep appreciation for the whole congregation. The more they love the Lord, the more they treasure one another. Let them backslide and this will be the first thing to go.
c) Their spiritual gifts. They accept their gifts and use them within the congregation in Christ-honoring and body-building ways. “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” (vs. 6-8) (For more of Paul's in depth teachings on spiritual gifts read 1 Corinthians 12-14.)
Summing up: There is no place for lone rangers within a healthy church. People see themselves as part of the Body of Christ. They do not exalt themselves above others. They are no soloists but performers, so to speak, in the Lord's choir or symphony.
FINISHING: everyone lives by the law of love. (Romans 12:9-21)
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. (vs 9)
As with a house, the finish work is what people see. They do not notice the foundation or the framework unless something is wrong. In a congregation, they will see the behavior of God's people toward one another and the world.
As Jesus did in Luke 6:27-38, after commanding us to "love," Paul does not stop there but explains what that kind of love within the body looks like. After all, love in scripture is never presented as an emotion, something we feel, but an action, something to be done.
If our love is pure and without pretense or hypocrisy, here is what it will look like:
a) This kind of love hates some things.
Followers of Christ will hate what He hated: bad religion, corrupt leaders, and hypocritical do-gooders, for starters.
An unhealthy church will love/accept some of the things it should be despising and opposing. (Abortion, living-together-without marriage, and homosexuality to just name a few things that are now “political correct” and “popular”. This is certainly not an exhaustive list)
b) This kind of love values good things.
It's worthwhile to note that this does not say "cling to what is religiously good." After all, "every good and perfect gift comes from Him" (James 1:17). God's people should treasure any music, art, or other expressions that are truly good, and not restrict their approval to the religious, something Scripture does not do.
An unhealthy church values unhealthy things.
c) This love puts others before itself. “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. “ (vs. 10). Seek out and treasure the church that does this and you know you have found a winner. An unhealthy church is beset by members vying for first place.
d) This love is grounded in faithfulness to Christ. “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” (vs. 11-12). This is its source, its reservoir. An unhealthy church will skip the daily faithfulness.
e) This love does kind deeds to others, particularly fellow Believers. “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.” (vs. 13). An unhealthy church does kindnesses only to the “deserving”.
f) This love treats enemies kindly. “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” (vs. 14). This is in complete agreement with what Jesus says in Luke 6:27, “I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.” An unhealthy church attacks its enemies.
g) This love blesses the hurting and the lowly. “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” (vs. 15,16).
No student of Scripture--and that should be all of us who follow Jesus--can miss that the hurting and the lowly are favorites of the Lord. And yet, they are the quickest to be deserted by an unhealthy church.
h) This love is an overcoming-with-good force “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (vs. 21). An unhealthy church can be overcome by evil.
The Lord fully intends His people to show His kind of love toward those who do us wrong. Our natural instincts kick in here and we want to retaliate. But the Lord's plan is not to destroy our enemies, but to win them over.
When we do loving things toward those who hate us or curse us or threaten us or would forcibly take from us, we do several things:
We honor God, please Jesus, and cooperate with whatever plans the Holy Spirit has going on here.
We infuriate the devil, puzzle our enemies, and silence the church's critics.
We bless the church, encourage other believers going through equally difficult times, and bear a strong witness to the watching world.
Let us practice Romans 12 as Christ’s “Church”.
Not our typical Palm Sunday lesson but thought it is important to know what Christ died for – His “Church”.
The word "church" is not used in Romans 12. In fact, it's found only 5 times in the entire Epistle and all are in the final chapter. Yet, there is no question that the Apostle Paul is writing to all the Lord's churches in general and His church at Rome in particular.
Likewise, there is not a single reference to Romans 12 being a pattern for a healthy church. Some things are so obvious it's not necessary to spell them out. The healthy church description of this chapter is one such.
Why does this matter?
The health of the Lord's churches in this 21st century SHOULD be a major concern for every Christian. So many churches that were once healthy and strong, vibrant in their witness and effective in their mission, have fallen onto hard times. Some came under the influence of corrupt leaders, some were hijacked by “wordly” power-brokers, and some grew discouraged and surrendered to the world.
The typical young adult today “maybe” has never seen a healthy and strong church. Here is a snapshot of such a healthy church
FOUNDATION: everyone is committed to the Lord. (Romans 12:1-2)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
This is about our relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. It comes before anything else. Without this, there is no church, period.
a) The mercy of God is the starting point. Everything we do is in response to all He has done. “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory.” (Romans 11:36). It starts with Him; we are all responders. "We love each other because he loved us first." (1 John 4:19). No one not having a great appreciation for God's mercies has ever come face to face with his own sin and unworthiness.
b) We commit our lives to the Lord God through Jesus Christ. Living sacrifices. We place ourselves on His altar every day of our lives. This means after our initial salvation experience, we daily should recommit ourselves to Him.
c) We become focused on the will of God. Knowing that will and obeying it become our chief concern. "What will please the Father?" was the driving force of Jesus' earthly years. Jesus said, “Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!” This must have been important because these words are in both Matthew 11:26 and Luke 10:21.
Summing up: All the Lord's people have been the recipients of His mercy, have committed their lives to Him, and are daily focused on becoming more like Him and doing His will.
FRAMEWORK: everyone is growing in Christ. (Romans 12:3-8)
“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (vs. 3)
This is about our internal relationship. In a house, the framework is the timbers that form the rafters and joists, the underpinning and studs. It will become invisible to everyone, but if it is absent or done poorly, everything is in jeopardy.
Church members are healthy in relation to:
a) Themselves. They are humble, but not groveling. They have a solid, balanced view of themselves as sinners saved by grace.
b) The body as a whole. They belong to the entire group, and are not loners. “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” (vs. 4-5) They have a deep appreciation for the whole congregation. The more they love the Lord, the more they treasure one another. Let them backslide and this will be the first thing to go.
c) Their spiritual gifts. They accept their gifts and use them within the congregation in Christ-honoring and body-building ways. “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” (vs. 6-8) (For more of Paul's in depth teachings on spiritual gifts read 1 Corinthians 12-14.)
Summing up: There is no place for lone rangers within a healthy church. People see themselves as part of the Body of Christ. They do not exalt themselves above others. They are no soloists but performers, so to speak, in the Lord's choir or symphony.
FINISHING: everyone lives by the law of love. (Romans 12:9-21)
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. (vs 9)
As with a house, the finish work is what people see. They do not notice the foundation or the framework unless something is wrong. In a congregation, they will see the behavior of God's people toward one another and the world.
As Jesus did in Luke 6:27-38, after commanding us to "love," Paul does not stop there but explains what that kind of love within the body looks like. After all, love in scripture is never presented as an emotion, something we feel, but an action, something to be done.
If our love is pure and without pretense or hypocrisy, here is what it will look like:
a) This kind of love hates some things.
Followers of Christ will hate what He hated: bad religion, corrupt leaders, and hypocritical do-gooders, for starters.
An unhealthy church will love/accept some of the things it should be despising and opposing. (Abortion, living-together-without marriage, and homosexuality to just name a few things that are now “political correct” and “popular”. This is certainly not an exhaustive list)
b) This kind of love values good things.
It's worthwhile to note that this does not say "cling to what is religiously good." After all, "every good and perfect gift comes from Him" (James 1:17). God's people should treasure any music, art, or other expressions that are truly good, and not restrict their approval to the religious, something Scripture does not do.
An unhealthy church values unhealthy things.
c) This love puts others before itself. “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. “ (vs. 10). Seek out and treasure the church that does this and you know you have found a winner. An unhealthy church is beset by members vying for first place.
d) This love is grounded in faithfulness to Christ. “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” (vs. 11-12). This is its source, its reservoir. An unhealthy church will skip the daily faithfulness.
e) This love does kind deeds to others, particularly fellow Believers. “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.” (vs. 13). An unhealthy church does kindnesses only to the “deserving”.
f) This love treats enemies kindly. “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” (vs. 14). This is in complete agreement with what Jesus says in Luke 6:27, “I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.” An unhealthy church attacks its enemies.
g) This love blesses the hurting and the lowly. “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” (vs. 15,16).
No student of Scripture--and that should be all of us who follow Jesus--can miss that the hurting and the lowly are favorites of the Lord. And yet, they are the quickest to be deserted by an unhealthy church.
h) This love is an overcoming-with-good force “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (vs. 21). An unhealthy church can be overcome by evil.
The Lord fully intends His people to show His kind of love toward those who do us wrong. Our natural instincts kick in here and we want to retaliate. But the Lord's plan is not to destroy our enemies, but to win them over.
When we do loving things toward those who hate us or curse us or threaten us or would forcibly take from us, we do several things:
We honor God, please Jesus, and cooperate with whatever plans the Holy Spirit has going on here.
We infuriate the devil, puzzle our enemies, and silence the church's critics.
We bless the church, encourage other believers going through equally difficult times, and bear a strong witness to the watching world.
Let us practice Romans 12 as Christ’s “Church”.
Monday, March 18, 2013
The Kiss of a Prostitute
The Kiss of a Prostitute
A man and his wife had a yard sale. They had decided to put out a mirror they’d received as a wedding gift. The reason they were selling it was that it had a gaudy aqua-colored metal frame and they just couldn’t find a room in their house where it looked good.
Shortly after the sale began, a man bought the mirror for one dollar. He was all excited, and he said as he bought it: “This is a great deal - it still has the plastic on it.” Then he peeled off the aqua-colored protective covering… to reveal a beautiful gold finished frame underneath.
Lots of people go to garage sales looking for bargains just like that. Some people have a saying about garage sales: "One man’s trash is another man’s treasure," The belief is that once in a while you’ll stumble upon a treasure that the owner doesn’t know the value of.
Jesus had been preaching Galilee for nearly a year now and He’s a very popular man, particularly amongst the common people. Already He has healed a leper, a paralytic and dozens of other people. He has even cast out demons and raised a widow’s son from the dead. And all this has taken place before the event we see recorded here in Luke 7:36 “One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.”
Everybody loved Jesus. Well… almost everybody. The Pharisees actually hated Him. He didn’t pander to their crowd, and occasionally He said things that ruffled their feathers and challenged their man made rules.
They don’t like Him, but they’re not sure how to handle Him. They’ve tried ignoring Him.
They’ve tried publicly opposing Him. And they’ve tried entrapping Him in doctrinal disputes. Nothing seems to work.
But now - Simon the Pharisee believes he’s found the way to take Jesus out. A way he believes will humiliate this new teacher and render His influence useless.
Simon invites Jesus to a meal – and then he snubs Him. Good manners in that day required the host to have his servant wash the guest’s feet. That servant was then expected to anoint his visitor’s head with oil. All that was handled through a servant. However, Simon did none of this for Jesus.
But why go to all the trouble invited this new teacher to your home, putting on a lavish meal and perhaps even opening your home to the community so that they can come and observe him… and then insult Jesus in front of everybody?
Simon’s objective was to get under Jesus’ skin. To throw Him off balance. He intended to goad Jesus into making a statement or behaving in such a way that he could then use to embarrass Him and use against Jesus.
Now, Jesus knew Simon’s behavior was intended as an insult. He knew Simon’s heart. In our own experience, we’ve probably had people treat us rudely too, and we probably haven’t always responded well to it. Even though we are a Christian, there was something galling about being mistreated in this way and sometimes our anger just takes over.
We’ve all encountered this at one time or another and we’ve said things we shouldn’t or… behaved in a less than gracious manner. Even Jesus could have been “tempted” to respond badly to this pettiness by Simon, too. But He didn’t!
How could Jesus overlook his slight by Simon. He could overlook it because He knew WHO He was.
Who was Jesus? (Son of God). Jesus had walked the streets of heaven and had thousands upon thousands of angels at His beck and call. Compared to that, Simon was simply a fly speck on the wall. Jesus didn’t need Simon’s approval or acceptance.
In the same way, we can rise above such pettiness in this world if we remember who WE are. We are the children of God. Jesus came to die for us. And we have an inheritance in heaven that many will never see. Compared to that, all this world’s approval means nothing.
When reading of how Jesus behaved in this setting, it’s valuable for us to remember that Jesus NOT ONLY came to give us life. He also came to show us how to live that life. In this situation, He simply ignored Simon’s behavior. He refused to give Simon the satisfaction of even commenting about this treatment.
But then something changed. A woman entered the room. She wasn’t the kind of woman you’d ordinarily invite to nice party. She was a streetwalker, a prostitute, a pavement princess. In our culture you can tell a prostitute by way she dresses she’d be wearing a short skirt, high heels, fishnet hose, and a low cut blouse. But in that day, she’d have been dressed just like most others… …except she’d be wearing very expensive perfume. Some have said that prostitutes of that day wore a vial of perfume by a cord around their neck. In a culture where bathing was infrequent, a pleasant fragrance would’ve been her stock in trade.
And now here she is at Simon’s home. She’s unescorted, uninvited, unwanted. What’s she doing there? Luke 7:37 tells us that she “heard he was eating there”.
Perhaps her jar of perfume was a gift for Jesus. Maybe she slipped in through the side door, hoping to be unnoticed standing quietly behind Jesus, waiting to catch His attention, present her gift… and then leave.
BUT then she begins to weep. This was probably not in her original plans. But there was something about being this close to Jesus that simply overwhelmed her.
It is quite possible that she was a lot like people we know today who come to church. They don’t come because they love Jesus, but because they are fulfilling some sense of religious duty. BUT while they are there something about Jesus gets thru to them, and suddenly they sense how shabby their lives are. How much emptiness lies within them.
And now, here stands this woman behind Jesus. Something breaks within her and the tears begin to flow.
Her tears literally fall on Jesus’ unwashed feet and leave streaks in the dirt and grime Simon has refused to wash away
In her embarrassment she falls to her knees and begins to wipe his feet with her hair. Then she pours perfume from her jar onto his feet. Its aroma fills the room. And she kisses his feet.
Uh Oh! Simon has been watching this little drama unfold. We can almost see him… smile. “Gotcha… I’ve gotcha Jesus! This man claims to be a prophet, but He doesn’t even know who this woman is that’s wiping His feet with her hair. He doesn’t know that the perfume she’s poured on Him is part of what she uses in her foul occupation… I’ve got him.”All Simon has to do to destroy Jesus… is destroy this woman. To expose her for what she is in front of all of his guests.
You know, self-righteousness is an ugly thing. It puts a nasty “aqua colored” film over a person’s eyes and makes it so they can’t see the inner value in other’s souls. Self-righteousness like Simon’s is the type that scorns tears, laughs at repentance, mocks mercy. His is the attitude of the school yard bully that just knows he’s better than you are and he has every intention of reminding you of that. We can be sure as Simon is watching this woman kneel at Jesus’ feet he’s thinking of some sharp, ugly comment to make that would embarrass this woman, and Jesus with her.
Jesus can handle insults against his own character. But He’s not about to put up with an arrogant attack on this woman’s sorrow. With the precision of a surgeon Jesus proceeds to cut Simon to his heart and reveal the hypocrisy that lay within. He knew Simon’s thoughts:
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” 40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied. 41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” (Luke 7:41-42)
Simon just couldn’t help himself. He was a good Pharisee and he just couldn’t help showing his wisdom to this upstart teacher. So he responded: 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. (Luke 7: 43b)
Then Jesus literally turned His back on Simon and faced the woman. He turned away from the judgmental, self-righteousness of the Pharisee toward the simple repentance of this woman.
“Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.” (Luke 7:44-46)
And then Jesus says,, 47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?” 50 And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:47-49)
He who has been forgiven little, loves little. What a scathing comment. Simon was a man who never felt the need for much forgiveness and therefore felt little love for those who did.
Sometimes we will see this in churches of today. It usually happens in older congregations where people go to church there because their grandfather did. Their daddy had been an Elder or their mother had been the piano player. And these folks regard this as “their church.” It’s not just the church they go to… it’s literally “THEIR” church. It belongs to them. And they’re not about to let anyone be part of that congregation that doesn’t measure up to their standards.
Jesus told Simon: “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love.” (Luke 7:47) How can we know that she loved much? Because she when she kissed Jesus’ feet, she got down on her knees. She knelt before Jesus because He was righteous… she wasn’t. She LOVED JESUS.
But, of course, Simon didn’t. That’s what Simon revealed when he refused to kiss Jesus.
There are people like that today. They don’t want to kiss Jesus. He’s not important to them.
And there are others who are willing to kiss Jesus… but they do so as if He were an equal. Not as their God, but as an acquaintance who they can listen to if they like, but ignore if they choose.
But then there are those who kiss Jesus in the way this sinful woman did. They know they’ve sinned and fallen short. And they realize the only proper way to approach Christ is to kneel before Him and give Him the love He deserves because He has forgiven so much.
When Simon the Pharisee looked on this woman, all he saw was a prostitute. She was a streetwalker. A gaudy, pitiful excuse for a woman. That’s all she was – all she’d ever be, and she was never going to change. When Simon looked on her in his house, all he saw was a prostitute.
When Jesus looked on such women He didn’t see them as they were. He saw them as they could be.
To Jesus, sin has always been an ugly aqua colored film that hides the true beauty underneath.
It’s an aqua colored filth that needs stripped away to reveal the image of God that it has clouded.
When we humble ourselves at the feet of Jesus – when we acknowledge our sin and emptiness, then Jesus takes away film of sin and remake us in way God intended
A man and his wife had a yard sale. They had decided to put out a mirror they’d received as a wedding gift. The reason they were selling it was that it had a gaudy aqua-colored metal frame and they just couldn’t find a room in their house where it looked good.
Shortly after the sale began, a man bought the mirror for one dollar. He was all excited, and he said as he bought it: “This is a great deal - it still has the plastic on it.” Then he peeled off the aqua-colored protective covering… to reveal a beautiful gold finished frame underneath.
Lots of people go to garage sales looking for bargains just like that. Some people have a saying about garage sales: "One man’s trash is another man’s treasure," The belief is that once in a while you’ll stumble upon a treasure that the owner doesn’t know the value of.
Jesus had been preaching Galilee for nearly a year now and He’s a very popular man, particularly amongst the common people. Already He has healed a leper, a paralytic and dozens of other people. He has even cast out demons and raised a widow’s son from the dead. And all this has taken place before the event we see recorded here in Luke 7:36 “One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.”
Everybody loved Jesus. Well… almost everybody. The Pharisees actually hated Him. He didn’t pander to their crowd, and occasionally He said things that ruffled their feathers and challenged their man made rules.
They don’t like Him, but they’re not sure how to handle Him. They’ve tried ignoring Him.
They’ve tried publicly opposing Him. And they’ve tried entrapping Him in doctrinal disputes. Nothing seems to work.
But now - Simon the Pharisee believes he’s found the way to take Jesus out. A way he believes will humiliate this new teacher and render His influence useless.
Simon invites Jesus to a meal – and then he snubs Him. Good manners in that day required the host to have his servant wash the guest’s feet. That servant was then expected to anoint his visitor’s head with oil. All that was handled through a servant. However, Simon did none of this for Jesus.
But why go to all the trouble invited this new teacher to your home, putting on a lavish meal and perhaps even opening your home to the community so that they can come and observe him… and then insult Jesus in front of everybody?
Simon’s objective was to get under Jesus’ skin. To throw Him off balance. He intended to goad Jesus into making a statement or behaving in such a way that he could then use to embarrass Him and use against Jesus.
Now, Jesus knew Simon’s behavior was intended as an insult. He knew Simon’s heart. In our own experience, we’ve probably had people treat us rudely too, and we probably haven’t always responded well to it. Even though we are a Christian, there was something galling about being mistreated in this way and sometimes our anger just takes over.
We’ve all encountered this at one time or another and we’ve said things we shouldn’t or… behaved in a less than gracious manner. Even Jesus could have been “tempted” to respond badly to this pettiness by Simon, too. But He didn’t!
How could Jesus overlook his slight by Simon. He could overlook it because He knew WHO He was.
Who was Jesus? (Son of God). Jesus had walked the streets of heaven and had thousands upon thousands of angels at His beck and call. Compared to that, Simon was simply a fly speck on the wall. Jesus didn’t need Simon’s approval or acceptance.
In the same way, we can rise above such pettiness in this world if we remember who WE are. We are the children of God. Jesus came to die for us. And we have an inheritance in heaven that many will never see. Compared to that, all this world’s approval means nothing.
When reading of how Jesus behaved in this setting, it’s valuable for us to remember that Jesus NOT ONLY came to give us life. He also came to show us how to live that life. In this situation, He simply ignored Simon’s behavior. He refused to give Simon the satisfaction of even commenting about this treatment.
But then something changed. A woman entered the room. She wasn’t the kind of woman you’d ordinarily invite to nice party. She was a streetwalker, a prostitute, a pavement princess. In our culture you can tell a prostitute by way she dresses she’d be wearing a short skirt, high heels, fishnet hose, and a low cut blouse. But in that day, she’d have been dressed just like most others… …except she’d be wearing very expensive perfume. Some have said that prostitutes of that day wore a vial of perfume by a cord around their neck. In a culture where bathing was infrequent, a pleasant fragrance would’ve been her stock in trade.
And now here she is at Simon’s home. She’s unescorted, uninvited, unwanted. What’s she doing there? Luke 7:37 tells us that she “heard he was eating there”.
Perhaps her jar of perfume was a gift for Jesus. Maybe she slipped in through the side door, hoping to be unnoticed standing quietly behind Jesus, waiting to catch His attention, present her gift… and then leave.
BUT then she begins to weep. This was probably not in her original plans. But there was something about being this close to Jesus that simply overwhelmed her.
It is quite possible that she was a lot like people we know today who come to church. They don’t come because they love Jesus, but because they are fulfilling some sense of religious duty. BUT while they are there something about Jesus gets thru to them, and suddenly they sense how shabby their lives are. How much emptiness lies within them.
And now, here stands this woman behind Jesus. Something breaks within her and the tears begin to flow.
Her tears literally fall on Jesus’ unwashed feet and leave streaks in the dirt and grime Simon has refused to wash away
In her embarrassment she falls to her knees and begins to wipe his feet with her hair. Then she pours perfume from her jar onto his feet. Its aroma fills the room. And she kisses his feet.
Uh Oh! Simon has been watching this little drama unfold. We can almost see him… smile. “Gotcha… I’ve gotcha Jesus! This man claims to be a prophet, but He doesn’t even know who this woman is that’s wiping His feet with her hair. He doesn’t know that the perfume she’s poured on Him is part of what she uses in her foul occupation… I’ve got him.”All Simon has to do to destroy Jesus… is destroy this woman. To expose her for what she is in front of all of his guests.
You know, self-righteousness is an ugly thing. It puts a nasty “aqua colored” film over a person’s eyes and makes it so they can’t see the inner value in other’s souls. Self-righteousness like Simon’s is the type that scorns tears, laughs at repentance, mocks mercy. His is the attitude of the school yard bully that just knows he’s better than you are and he has every intention of reminding you of that. We can be sure as Simon is watching this woman kneel at Jesus’ feet he’s thinking of some sharp, ugly comment to make that would embarrass this woman, and Jesus with her.
Jesus can handle insults against his own character. But He’s not about to put up with an arrogant attack on this woman’s sorrow. With the precision of a surgeon Jesus proceeds to cut Simon to his heart and reveal the hypocrisy that lay within. He knew Simon’s thoughts:
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” 40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied. 41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” (Luke 7:41-42)
Simon just couldn’t help himself. He was a good Pharisee and he just couldn’t help showing his wisdom to this upstart teacher. So he responded: 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. (Luke 7: 43b)
Then Jesus literally turned His back on Simon and faced the woman. He turned away from the judgmental, self-righteousness of the Pharisee toward the simple repentance of this woman.
“Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.” (Luke 7:44-46)
And then Jesus says,, 47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?” 50 And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:47-49)
He who has been forgiven little, loves little. What a scathing comment. Simon was a man who never felt the need for much forgiveness and therefore felt little love for those who did.
Sometimes we will see this in churches of today. It usually happens in older congregations where people go to church there because their grandfather did. Their daddy had been an Elder or their mother had been the piano player. And these folks regard this as “their church.” It’s not just the church they go to… it’s literally “THEIR” church. It belongs to them. And they’re not about to let anyone be part of that congregation that doesn’t measure up to their standards.
Jesus told Simon: “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love.” (Luke 7:47) How can we know that she loved much? Because she when she kissed Jesus’ feet, she got down on her knees. She knelt before Jesus because He was righteous… she wasn’t. She LOVED JESUS.
But, of course, Simon didn’t. That’s what Simon revealed when he refused to kiss Jesus.
There are people like that today. They don’t want to kiss Jesus. He’s not important to them.
And there are others who are willing to kiss Jesus… but they do so as if He were an equal. Not as their God, but as an acquaintance who they can listen to if they like, but ignore if they choose.
But then there are those who kiss Jesus in the way this sinful woman did. They know they’ve sinned and fallen short. And they realize the only proper way to approach Christ is to kneel before Him and give Him the love He deserves because He has forgiven so much.
When Simon the Pharisee looked on this woman, all he saw was a prostitute. She was a streetwalker. A gaudy, pitiful excuse for a woman. That’s all she was – all she’d ever be, and she was never going to change. When Simon looked on her in his house, all he saw was a prostitute.
When Jesus looked on such women He didn’t see them as they were. He saw them as they could be.
To Jesus, sin has always been an ugly aqua colored film that hides the true beauty underneath.
It’s an aqua colored filth that needs stripped away to reveal the image of God that it has clouded.
When we humble ourselves at the feet of Jesus – when we acknowledge our sin and emptiness, then Jesus takes away film of sin and remake us in way God intended
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Listening to that Still, Small Voice
Listening to that Still, Small Voice
Introduction: Let’s, just for a moment, look at scripture from Luke 5:1-3. “One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.” Okay, now Jesus is in a boat “preaching” to a “great crowd”. Did you ever stop to think about how they all heard him? I think I would be correct in saying that this was before mikes and amplifiers. And not even a “jumbotron”. Now today many preachers really raise their voices when preaching and especially when emphasizing a point. And the ones that don’t have great sound systems to reach the crowds. How many of you think that Jesus was a “loud” preacher? My opinion is that He never raised His voice. I think that he just talked to the people in a kind, soft voice. I can’t prove this from scripture so this is just “Haywardology”. But, back to point I want to make – how did all these people hear Jesus? Do you think it is possible that the Holy Spirit may have played a part in this? Hmmm.
Okay, on to lesson:
Following God can sometimes appear to be confusing.
Because sometimes, he tells us in big, bold, you-can’t-miss messages what it is he’s doing and how he wants us to follow him or where he wants us to go next. Sometimes it’s just incredibly, refreshingly, undoubtedly obvious. Psalms 29:4 tells us that “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.”.
But then there are those times when you pray and you pray and you just don’t know what he wants you to do next or whether he’s speaking to you. When you try everything you can think of to hear what he’s saying to you, and the line just continues to be silent. However we can be assured He hears based on what Apostle John tells us, “….we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.” (1 John 5:14-15).
There are times in our life when we feel absolutely certain that we know exactly what God was telling us to do. When Scripture lined up with our heart’s desire, when we were overwhelmed by an only-from-God sense of peace about a decision, when words of confirmation came raining down on us in every direction. Paul writes in his letter to the church at Corinth that “God is not a God of disorder (confusion) but of peace…”. (1 Corinthians 14:33a) We need to remember that God does not try to confuse us. Most of our “confusion” or disorder comes from us because we are not good at listening.
Yet, those times, when it almost seems like God had a bullhorn he was using to keep our attention, are exceedingly rare, especially the longer and further we go in our faith.
In the Old Testament we’re introduced to the idea that God exists not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire but instead in a quiet whisper. God told Elijah, “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12) The KJV Bible translates this as “a still small voice.”
There’s a comfort in this, that even when God isn’t banging on a drum or blasting a trumpet in our ear, he’s still reaching out and leading and guiding us. He’s still speaking to us and beckoning us, it’s just with a more subtle approach. Sometimes, he’s just waiting for us to stop, listen and—this can almost be the hardest part—trust that still, small voice.
Because with such a still, small voice, sometimes it isn’t clear or obvious that what we’re hearing or thinking is from God. What if it’s from me? Even worse, what if it’s from Satan?
Fortunately, though, Jesus tells us that “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)
Through much of Scripture, we see this assurance that, like the psalmist wrote, “You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.” (Psalm 73:24)
Sometimes we just have to trust that if we are following God and obeying him and loving him and reaping the fruits of the Spirit, that he is guiding us and speaking to us—even when all we’re getting is the faintest whisper and an inkling of what to do next.
For many of us, it’s a matter of taking the Lord at his Word—literally, trusting that these things he’s said in Scripture are true—and then taking the step to be “faithful with little,” like we see in the parable of the talents (Luke 19).
What this means is that when some vague idea to serve Him or to follow Him or to reach out and show love to another comes to mind—assuming it is not violating Scripture or the fruits of the Spirit—then we choose to trust that it is from the Lord and take a step in faith to pursue it.
For instance, have any of you ever had a “feeling” that you needed to call someone maybe you haven’t spoken with in some time, maybe send a FB message encouraging a friend (maybe not a close friend, just a casual one), maybe said a kind word to a stranger. etc. Maybe you just feel the need to lift up someone in prayer. Now these are simple but important.
When we do these things, we may never know if our action had any effect on this person. But that’s not really the point.
The point is that we choose to credit the idea to the Lord and to take it as an opportunity to, in one tiny way, follow and obey him. Because, as he said while he was here on earth, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.” (John 14:23-24)
So in this instance—and many others—where we have a vague notion of serving Him in some—often seemingly random—way but we’re not certain whether it’s truly from the Holy Spirit, we can make the choice to trust that it is.
This can be our attempt to be “faithful with little”—and trust the rest to Him.
Introduction: Let’s, just for a moment, look at scripture from Luke 5:1-3. “One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.” Okay, now Jesus is in a boat “preaching” to a “great crowd”. Did you ever stop to think about how they all heard him? I think I would be correct in saying that this was before mikes and amplifiers. And not even a “jumbotron”. Now today many preachers really raise their voices when preaching and especially when emphasizing a point. And the ones that don’t have great sound systems to reach the crowds. How many of you think that Jesus was a “loud” preacher? My opinion is that He never raised His voice. I think that he just talked to the people in a kind, soft voice. I can’t prove this from scripture so this is just “Haywardology”. But, back to point I want to make – how did all these people hear Jesus? Do you think it is possible that the Holy Spirit may have played a part in this? Hmmm.
Okay, on to lesson:
Following God can sometimes appear to be confusing.
Because sometimes, he tells us in big, bold, you-can’t-miss messages what it is he’s doing and how he wants us to follow him or where he wants us to go next. Sometimes it’s just incredibly, refreshingly, undoubtedly obvious. Psalms 29:4 tells us that “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.”.
But then there are those times when you pray and you pray and you just don’t know what he wants you to do next or whether he’s speaking to you. When you try everything you can think of to hear what he’s saying to you, and the line just continues to be silent. However we can be assured He hears based on what Apostle John tells us, “….we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.” (1 John 5:14-15).
There are times in our life when we feel absolutely certain that we know exactly what God was telling us to do. When Scripture lined up with our heart’s desire, when we were overwhelmed by an only-from-God sense of peace about a decision, when words of confirmation came raining down on us in every direction. Paul writes in his letter to the church at Corinth that “God is not a God of disorder (confusion) but of peace…”. (1 Corinthians 14:33a) We need to remember that God does not try to confuse us. Most of our “confusion” or disorder comes from us because we are not good at listening.
Yet, those times, when it almost seems like God had a bullhorn he was using to keep our attention, are exceedingly rare, especially the longer and further we go in our faith.
In the Old Testament we’re introduced to the idea that God exists not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire but instead in a quiet whisper. God told Elijah, “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12) The KJV Bible translates this as “a still small voice.”
There’s a comfort in this, that even when God isn’t banging on a drum or blasting a trumpet in our ear, he’s still reaching out and leading and guiding us. He’s still speaking to us and beckoning us, it’s just with a more subtle approach. Sometimes, he’s just waiting for us to stop, listen and—this can almost be the hardest part—trust that still, small voice.
Because with such a still, small voice, sometimes it isn’t clear or obvious that what we’re hearing or thinking is from God. What if it’s from me? Even worse, what if it’s from Satan?
Fortunately, though, Jesus tells us that “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)
Through much of Scripture, we see this assurance that, like the psalmist wrote, “You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.” (Psalm 73:24)
Sometimes we just have to trust that if we are following God and obeying him and loving him and reaping the fruits of the Spirit, that he is guiding us and speaking to us—even when all we’re getting is the faintest whisper and an inkling of what to do next.
For many of us, it’s a matter of taking the Lord at his Word—literally, trusting that these things he’s said in Scripture are true—and then taking the step to be “faithful with little,” like we see in the parable of the talents (Luke 19).
What this means is that when some vague idea to serve Him or to follow Him or to reach out and show love to another comes to mind—assuming it is not violating Scripture or the fruits of the Spirit—then we choose to trust that it is from the Lord and take a step in faith to pursue it.
For instance, have any of you ever had a “feeling” that you needed to call someone maybe you haven’t spoken with in some time, maybe send a FB message encouraging a friend (maybe not a close friend, just a casual one), maybe said a kind word to a stranger. etc. Maybe you just feel the need to lift up someone in prayer. Now these are simple but important.
When we do these things, we may never know if our action had any effect on this person. But that’s not really the point.
The point is that we choose to credit the idea to the Lord and to take it as an opportunity to, in one tiny way, follow and obey him. Because, as he said while he was here on earth, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.” (John 14:23-24)
So in this instance—and many others—where we have a vague notion of serving Him in some—often seemingly random—way but we’re not certain whether it’s truly from the Holy Spirit, we can make the choice to trust that it is.
This can be our attempt to be “faithful with little”—and trust the rest to Him.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Reasons We Don't Share Our Story/Faith
The lesson today is a follow up to last week's lesson about telling our "story".
Let's face it. As Christians, we all know, by now, that we are supposed to share our faith. Most of us have heard countless sermons on the importance of evangelizing. But . . . most of us don't take the time to do it. Or we do, but not nearly as much as we should. So what's the problem? Why don't Christians share the good news of the gospel message? Paul writes to Timothy, “So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. ….. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer …. for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 1:8-9
Looking at my own life, I know that I personally have been disobedience in this area. It should be a high priority and easy to do --- but it is not always. So today let’s look at five reasons we aren't more vocal about telling others what we ourselves believe:
1) We don't share our faith because we don't realize we have a mission. The command to follow Christ as a disciple (for the record disciple means “follower” and not always referring to the 12 Apostles.), as an ambassador, as a proclaimer of the good news is just that . . . a command. Jesus Himself said, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” (Matthew 28:18-20) And yet if we were honest, most of the time we treat our mission in this world as something that is optional. We look at the calling of a Christian, “you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24), as something we should do, if we have time. We don't take our mission seriously. Or we think that perhaps this mission was given only to a select few specialists, such as the pastor or the missionary. This is why the world hardly notices a difference between God's people and the rest of the world. We are so preoccupied with our own well-being, our own survival or success, that we blow off the mission of God. Now the Bible does say in Ephesians 4:11-12 “…these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.” But notice the phrase “equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church”. This means all of us are to do God’s work!
2) We don't share our faith because we misunderstand our mission. Even if we want to obey the sending mission of God, we often fail because we misunderstand the mission. It is highly likely that much of the fear that keeps Christians from sharing the good news of the gospel with their friends and neighbors and coworkers stems from a confusion of two things: method and message. Sometimes we confuse the method with the message. So does to evangelize mean to dump the entire book of Romans (the Roman Road) on an unsuspecting mall clerk or does it mean reciting a memorized spiel of the steps to salvation or knock on the door of a stranger and ask if they know the Lord. But while this methods can work so can be good--they change with the audience. This type of “sharing the Gospel” will not always work with all people. Paul knew this and so he didn't necessarily try out the same method on every people group. He writes in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, “When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. …….. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. ….. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.”
When we put so much confidence in a few Christianese phrases and memorized, out-of-context verses, we end up sounding like a salesman for something we don't really want to sell. Much of the fear would go away if we, instead, relied on the Holy Spirit to guide us in each interaction, if we resisted impatience, and worked to build long-term relationships that can one day lead to a person into a relationship with Jesus.. What if we were so in love with the gospel message, if we never lost our awe and wonder, if we made it a lifetime study? Perhaps that passion would so fill our souls that it would leak out into every single sphere of life and thus . . . the good news would be less of a canned pitch and more of a lifestyle. The gospel is good news, after all. Paul writes to the church in Romans, “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16) And we shouldn’t be ashamed of it either.
3) We don't share our faith because we misunderstand the Holy Spirit's mission. Many evangelistic methods, while good and helpful and fruitful, put an emphasis on "closing the deal." We mistakenly think that it is the cleverness of our methods that turns a soul from death to life. But it is the Holy Spirit who does the work of us becoming a “new creation”, it is God who saves people, not mere men. “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (Romans 8:14) Our job is to explain, to share, to proclaim and then we must trust the Spirit to do the work we cannot do. We need to be careful here, because part of our mission is to persuade to encourage, to call people to repentance and faith. Yet it is God who saves, always. Every time. Releasing ourselves from the pressure to "close the deal" and "make the sale" allows us to be faithful. It releases us from the our human way of thinking that wrongly puts confidence in a certain method. It often takes several contacts in a person's life before the Spirit helps them understand the message of the Gospel. Sometimes you may be the person present when someone trusts Christ and in doing so, you see the harvest of many years of careful work by others. And at times it may be that your first conversation with an unbeliever is just the mustard seed that the Spirit implants in their heart, a seed that others will water and see brought to full flower. This is just as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.”
4) We don't share our faith because we misunderstand what it means to be a friend of the world. There is a certain tension in Scripture. On the one hand we are called to be different from the world. We are called to live above the world. We are citizens of another kingdom. Christians should live and think and act differently than nonChristians. And yet, we are called to go into the world and make disciples of Jesus. Jesus, right before His ascension to Heaven told his disciples “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) We are to bring the gospel to the farthest reaches of the planet. Sometimes we put such an emphasis on our difference that we intentionally avoid unbelievers. But while we are called to live differently, we are also called to live among the lost of the world. If we are really on mission in our communities, if our commission from the Lord is to spread the fame of his name among all peoples, we need to start making intentional connections. It's hard to share Christ with people we don't actually know. It's hard to love people from a distance. As our culture becomes more and more post-Christian, it will become even more important for Christians to develop intentional relationships with unbelievers. It's pretty difficult to obey the Great Commission if we are never actually exposed to people who don't know Jesus.
5) We don't share our faith because we are ashamed of our identity. Christians should be wise to articulate the gospel in the way that most suits their audience. “The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. the decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:17) But even if we perfectly "get out of the way" of the gospel, there is a point where the cross of Christ becomes a point of conflict. Some will embrace the message of salvation and others will reject it. And sometimes our refusal to evangelize is tied to our desire to be liked by the people who may not like Jesus. We don't want to be social martyrs. We don't want to be uncool. We don't want to lose friendships and alienate important people. So we stay silent. But the call of the gospel is the call to come and die, the call to give up our prestige, our desire to be affirmed by the world. We shouldn't be obnoxious jerks or as I like to say “holier than thou” folks.. We should be kind, loving, gracious, giving, generous. But we can sometimes do all these things and still be considered a backwards bigot, simply for loving Jesus. It's a question of what we value. Do we value the limitless grace of the gospel that brought us from the enslavement of sin to the arms of the Father or do we value our own fleeting approval by world system? The way to get motivated to share the good news is not by guilt or manipulation, but by plunging once again into the heart of the very gospel itself.
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Telling Your Story - Contagious Christianity
Telling Your Story - Contagious Christianity
Most of us have heard that being a “preacher’s kid” can be difficult for a young child. A preacher’s little boy who was told by his mother that he should wash his hands because there were germs living in all the dirt he’d been playing in. He looked up at his mother and got this really disgusted look on his face. “Germs? Germs?” He said. “Germs and Jesus! Germs and Jesus! That’s all I ever hear around this house! And I’ve never seen either one!”
At that young age, that little boy wasn’t sure he was comfortable believing in something that he hadn’t seen. A lot of people are like that.
Remember how Thomas reacted to the news that Jesus had risen from the dead? John 20:25 tells us that Thomas told the other disciples, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Thomas had difficulty believing in something he had not seen and touched.
John wrote “….. what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)
Now, you’d think that it would be easier for us if we, like the Apostle John here, could claim to have seen and touched and heard Jesus. You’d think that it would be easier for us to convince people about Jesus if we ourselves had actually seen and touched and heard Jesus.
But the Gospels repeatedly point out that even when people PERSONALLY SAW the miraculous power of Jesus, they still rejected Him. Even when they heard from the lips of those who had personally seen Jesus they still would not believe. Being an eye-witness to Jesus did NOT make it easier to convince people to become Christians.
Lee Strobe, in his book “Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary”, maintained that the unchurched aren’t necessarily looking for miracles and appearances of Christ.
• The unchurched haven’t necessarily rejected God - they’ve rejected “church.”
• Many of them are morally adrift, but they secretly want an anchor.
• They often don’t understand Christianity, but they’re also ignorant about what they claim to believe in.
• Often they’re not so much concerned with the question of “Is Christianity true?” Instead, they’re more concerned with “Does Christianity work and how can I experience it?”
In other words, just like the people in John’s day… the unchurched today want to hear about what YOU’VE seen…
what YOU’VE touched…
what YOU’VE heard
They want to know if it works for you.
A woman put an ad in the local paper: “Lost 50 pounds! Selling my fat clothes – they’re in good condition, sizes 18-20.” She was bombarded with phone calls, but nobody wanted to buy the clothes – they all wanted to know how she had lost the 50 pounds.
You see, the callers wanted to know about something that had changed her life hoping that this something could change their lives too!!!
That’s what the unchurched are really looking for. They want to know if Jesus really works in your life.
Now… there are a couple of ways that can help your friends decide Jesus works in your life:
1st they can hear your story
• Why did you become a Christian?
• Why do think Jesus has made a difference in your life?
• Or… why are you a Christian?
Now, I’m going to do something really scary for me… I’m going to quit talking for a few moments. The reason that’s scary is that I never stop talking! And, no I do not need any feedback here!
But I want you to take a few moments and answer at least one of those questions. You can write your answer on your copy of the lesson, or you can write in some corner of your mind. But for the next few moments, I want you to ponder on these questions:
• Why did you become a Christian?
• Why do think Jesus has made a difference in your life?
• Or… why are you a Christian?
The reason for this “exercise”, is because some believers have never given much thought to those questions. They never give much thought to why they are Christians or even to why they first became Christians. They simply go thru the motions of going to church and Sunday school and Bible studies and youth activities… but they often times they don’t consider why they do them. And so they have a hard time explaining to others why they should love Jesus like they do.
SO 1st – to help people understand how Jesus has worked in your life, they can hear your story .
THEN a 2nd way up can convince them Jesus works is if they can see Jesus in your life.
On the way home from church a little girl who said, “Mom, I’ve been thinking.”
The mother said, “Oh! About what?”
The girl replied, “Well, my teacher this morning said God is bigger than we are. Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s true,” the mother replied.
“He also said that God lives within us. Is that true too?”
Again the mother replied, “Yes.”
“Well,” said the girl. “If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”
You and I need to ask ourselves – does Jesus show thru our lives.
But… how would we know if Jesus is showing thru? Galatians 5:22-23 will give us some insight into this. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
If you show these qualities in your life… people will see Jesus in you.
OK… SO HOW DOES THAT WORK?
Let’s just pick one of these “fruits” out of the list as an illustration. Galatians tells us that one of the fruits of the Spirit is having joy.
So… do people see you being filled with joy? When people are around you – do they see you being at peace. Contented with your life…? Or do they see you as one who complains about things instead?
Now… we all complain now and again. In fact, let’s take a poll. How many of you have complained at least once this week?
Ok. So we all complain when life gets uncomfortable or someone has rubbed us a little raw… but some people seem to have developed that trait of complaining down to a fine art. If you asked them, they might even try to explain to you that this is somehow their Spiritual gift.
A pastor tells the story of a man in his church that reminded him of a rose. He did beautiful things for the church. He’d worked with the youth, he’d been actively involved in outreach for church, worked with missions. He was extremely talented. He was just like a rose – so much that was beautiful about him. But roses have thorns, and so did he. Whenever you were around him all he did was complain.
He complained about the preacher, the church leadership, the music, the way the church did this…
-or did not do that. He never seemed to be happy. He had no joy in his life. He was just like a rose. There was so much that was beautiful about him. But being around him was like holding on to the stem of a rose that loaded with thorns. He had no joy in him… and that made him really uncomfortable to be around.
DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE LIKE THAT?
They’ll complain a lot about how things are going at work, or at home, or at church?
They might say… “Well you don’t understand my situation… You don’t understand the type of people I have to deal with!
Well, no… we don’t. You nor I really know what other people have to go thru in their life and what effect it can have on their outlook on life.
But we need to understand that joy isn’t so much a BY-PRODUCT of life or our circumstances… as it is a CHOICE that we make.
And that’s the way it is with us to belong to Jesus Christ: we get make choices in our lives. And because we belong to Jesus we have the opportunity to choose the brightest and most cheerful “fruits” because we have a reason to do so.
Now there are some people that just come naturally by these traits of love and joy and patience and long-suffering. But for most of us this can be a struggle at times. The reason we can show these fruit of the Spirit in our lives – even when we’re faced with difficult situations and people around us – is because Jesus shines in our lives and brightens up even the darkest corners.
John wrote: “…if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
You see… Jesus has the power to just light up our lives so that the vibrant colors can truly color our lives. And when people see that in us… they see Jesus.
Most of us have heard that being a “preacher’s kid” can be difficult for a young child. A preacher’s little boy who was told by his mother that he should wash his hands because there were germs living in all the dirt he’d been playing in. He looked up at his mother and got this really disgusted look on his face. “Germs? Germs?” He said. “Germs and Jesus! Germs and Jesus! That’s all I ever hear around this house! And I’ve never seen either one!”
At that young age, that little boy wasn’t sure he was comfortable believing in something that he hadn’t seen. A lot of people are like that.
Remember how Thomas reacted to the news that Jesus had risen from the dead? John 20:25 tells us that Thomas told the other disciples, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Thomas had difficulty believing in something he had not seen and touched.
John wrote “….. what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)
Now, you’d think that it would be easier for us if we, like the Apostle John here, could claim to have seen and touched and heard Jesus. You’d think that it would be easier for us to convince people about Jesus if we ourselves had actually seen and touched and heard Jesus.
But the Gospels repeatedly point out that even when people PERSONALLY SAW the miraculous power of Jesus, they still rejected Him. Even when they heard from the lips of those who had personally seen Jesus they still would not believe. Being an eye-witness to Jesus did NOT make it easier to convince people to become Christians.
Lee Strobe, in his book “Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary”, maintained that the unchurched aren’t necessarily looking for miracles and appearances of Christ.
• The unchurched haven’t necessarily rejected God - they’ve rejected “church.”
• Many of them are morally adrift, but they secretly want an anchor.
• They often don’t understand Christianity, but they’re also ignorant about what they claim to believe in.
• Often they’re not so much concerned with the question of “Is Christianity true?” Instead, they’re more concerned with “Does Christianity work and how can I experience it?”
In other words, just like the people in John’s day… the unchurched today want to hear about what YOU’VE seen…
what YOU’VE touched…
what YOU’VE heard
They want to know if it works for you.
A woman put an ad in the local paper: “Lost 50 pounds! Selling my fat clothes – they’re in good condition, sizes 18-20.” She was bombarded with phone calls, but nobody wanted to buy the clothes – they all wanted to know how she had lost the 50 pounds.
You see, the callers wanted to know about something that had changed her life hoping that this something could change their lives too!!!
That’s what the unchurched are really looking for. They want to know if Jesus really works in your life.
Now… there are a couple of ways that can help your friends decide Jesus works in your life:
1st they can hear your story
• Why did you become a Christian?
• Why do think Jesus has made a difference in your life?
• Or… why are you a Christian?
Now, I’m going to do something really scary for me… I’m going to quit talking for a few moments. The reason that’s scary is that I never stop talking! And, no I do not need any feedback here!
But I want you to take a few moments and answer at least one of those questions. You can write your answer on your copy of the lesson, or you can write in some corner of your mind. But for the next few moments, I want you to ponder on these questions:
• Why did you become a Christian?
• Why do think Jesus has made a difference in your life?
• Or… why are you a Christian?
The reason for this “exercise”, is because some believers have never given much thought to those questions. They never give much thought to why they are Christians or even to why they first became Christians. They simply go thru the motions of going to church and Sunday school and Bible studies and youth activities… but they often times they don’t consider why they do them. And so they have a hard time explaining to others why they should love Jesus like they do.
SO 1st – to help people understand how Jesus has worked in your life, they can hear your story .
THEN a 2nd way up can convince them Jesus works is if they can see Jesus in your life.
On the way home from church a little girl who said, “Mom, I’ve been thinking.”
The mother said, “Oh! About what?”
The girl replied, “Well, my teacher this morning said God is bigger than we are. Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s true,” the mother replied.
“He also said that God lives within us. Is that true too?”
Again the mother replied, “Yes.”
“Well,” said the girl. “If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”
You and I need to ask ourselves – does Jesus show thru our lives.
But… how would we know if Jesus is showing thru? Galatians 5:22-23 will give us some insight into this. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
If you show these qualities in your life… people will see Jesus in you.
OK… SO HOW DOES THAT WORK?
Let’s just pick one of these “fruits” out of the list as an illustration. Galatians tells us that one of the fruits of the Spirit is having joy.
So… do people see you being filled with joy? When people are around you – do they see you being at peace. Contented with your life…? Or do they see you as one who complains about things instead?
Now… we all complain now and again. In fact, let’s take a poll. How many of you have complained at least once this week?
Ok. So we all complain when life gets uncomfortable or someone has rubbed us a little raw… but some people seem to have developed that trait of complaining down to a fine art. If you asked them, they might even try to explain to you that this is somehow their Spiritual gift.
A pastor tells the story of a man in his church that reminded him of a rose. He did beautiful things for the church. He’d worked with the youth, he’d been actively involved in outreach for church, worked with missions. He was extremely talented. He was just like a rose – so much that was beautiful about him. But roses have thorns, and so did he. Whenever you were around him all he did was complain.
He complained about the preacher, the church leadership, the music, the way the church did this…
-or did not do that. He never seemed to be happy. He had no joy in his life. He was just like a rose. There was so much that was beautiful about him. But being around him was like holding on to the stem of a rose that loaded with thorns. He had no joy in him… and that made him really uncomfortable to be around.
DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE LIKE THAT?
They’ll complain a lot about how things are going at work, or at home, or at church?
They might say… “Well you don’t understand my situation… You don’t understand the type of people I have to deal with!
Well, no… we don’t. You nor I really know what other people have to go thru in their life and what effect it can have on their outlook on life.
But we need to understand that joy isn’t so much a BY-PRODUCT of life or our circumstances… as it is a CHOICE that we make.
And that’s the way it is with us to belong to Jesus Christ: we get make choices in our lives. And because we belong to Jesus we have the opportunity to choose the brightest and most cheerful “fruits” because we have a reason to do so.
Now there are some people that just come naturally by these traits of love and joy and patience and long-suffering. But for most of us this can be a struggle at times. The reason we can show these fruit of the Spirit in our lives – even when we’re faced with difficult situations and people around us – is because Jesus shines in our lives and brightens up even the darkest corners.
John wrote: “…if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
You see… Jesus has the power to just light up our lives so that the vibrant colors can truly color our lives. And when people see that in us… they see Jesus.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
3:16 The Numbers of Hope
3:16 The Numbers of Hope
Max Lucado has written a book titled simply 3:16. The entire book focuses in on just one single verse from the Bible--John 3:16. This verse just may be the single most significant sentence in all of Scripture--3:16 the verse.
Preschoolers can recite it. Football fans paint boldly across cardboard signs. Tim Tebow wore it under his eyes during ball games at Florida. This caused thousands to Google John 3:16 to see what it said. Hmmmmmm! It’s brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in moment, yet solid enough to withstand 2000 years of storms and questions. It begins with God, ends with life, and urges us to do the same! Listen to the impact this verse has had on people’s lives:
If you know nothing of the Bible, begin here. If you know everything of the Bible, return here. This is the Hope diamond of Scripture!
But before we can get to 3:16, we have to set the stage. It all begins with a silent figure moving stealthily through the darkened streets of Jerusalem. Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees, the religious elite who militantly rejected Jesus. So when he decided to seek Christ out and learn from him, he had to do so in secret. Slipping through alleyways and dimly lit streets, Nicodemus finds his way to a simple house where Jesus and his followers are staying.
“Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you” (John 3:2 NLT).
Without hesitation, Jesus replies, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). We don’t know for sure what was on Nicodemus’ mind that night, but it’s clear what was on Jesus’ mind. Christ’s ”speech” on salvation reaches it’s climax in the sixteenth verse.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)
In this one verse, we see the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ how it relates to us. Let’s look at this verse, starting with two simple words...
HE LOVES:
“For God so loved the world…” If those words are true, it changes everything, doesn’t it? Imagine what the world would be like without God’s love… A dark planet hurtling through space unguided, undirected. No hope. No future. Nothing to live for. No greater purpose to our existence. Every death would be an end. Every grave one’s final destination..
But God does love the world! We see it in every sunrise… every blade of grass… every fountain of water… every birth… every child’s face. God so loved the world!
Most of you have heard of Veggie Tales, which is a Christian cartoon who character are vegetables. Bob the tomato says, “Remember kids, God made you special, and he loves you very much!”
Isn’t that the message of John 3:16? Isn’t that the message the world needs to hear? God made you special and he loves very much
The Bible says, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NLT).
Max Lucado writes in one of his books, “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, he’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart...”
He loves. And because he loves…
HE GIVES:
Jesus said, …” Just to say, “I love you,” doesn’t really mean a whole lot. Love--agape love, God’s love--is a verb. It has to be visually demonstrated. It has to be proven. The Bible says, “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8 HCSB).
That sounds strange to some people. So many people in the world respect the teachings of Jesus. They admire his example. But no matter how they turn it around, they can’t see any significance in his death. One man even said, “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t need God to give anyone for me,” he claimed. “I’ve led a good life. Held a good job. People respect me. My wife loves me. I don’t need God to give me his son.” Maybe you agree. But are we really as good as we think we are? Let’s see how well we score against God’s basic laws--the Ten Commandments:
1. “You shall not steal.” have you ever stolen anything? A paper clip, a peanut? That makes you a thief.
2. “You must not lie.” Those who claim they never have, just did.
3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” Ever let God’s name slip passed your lips in anger or frustration? The Bible calls that blasphemy.
4. “You shall not commit adultery.” Before you excuse yourself from this one, Jesus said that if you so much as look at a woman with lust, you’ve committed adultery in your heart.
And that’s just four out of ten. We could keep going, but we probably wouldn’t we’d fair any better. If we think well we are not a murderer, look what Bible says in 1 John 3:15, “Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart.” Most sincere people, when we’re honest (when we’re alone at night with just our thoughts), we know that we’re really not all that good. We all have regrets. We’ve all made mistakes. The Bible calls that sin. And we do it all the time.
The Bible tells us, “Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NCV). Our sin separates us from God. So if any of us are ever going to have a real relationship with our Creator, then it’s up to him to find a way to reconcile us. That’s where Jesus comes in. He determined to build that bridge with an old rugged cross. He gave himself. He gave Jesus to bring salvation to the world through his death.
And although God loves and Jesus sacrifice was sufficient for the whole world, it is only efficient if…
WE BELIEVE:
Jesus said that God, “gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish…” This concept runs contrary to our instincts. And it’s so simple. We expect a more complicated cure, a more sophisticated salvation. And what about that Bible verse that says, “God helps those who help themselves”? Well, that’s not really in the Bible.
No other religion offers what Jesus promises. Judaism sees salvation as a Judgment Day decision based on morality. Buddhism grades your life according to the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Muslim earn their way to Allah by performing the duties of the Five Pillars of Faith.
But not Christianity. Jesus calls us to do one thing: believe! Listen to what the Bible says:
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NIV)
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18 NIV)
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36 NKJV)
I tell you the truth, whoever believes has eternal life. (John 6:47 NCV)
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38 NKJV)
And remember the jailor who asked Paul and Silas after the prison doors were opened by the power of God “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” (Acts 16:31 NLT)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)
Maybe you’re thinking what about baptism, repentance and a changed life? Are you saying those things aren’t necessary? No, of course not. Those things are absolutely essential. But baptism, repentance, a changed life, and things like that are not in addition to faith. They are expressions of it. They acts of faith that work together with our faith to make our faith real.
But what Jesus wants us to see is that it’s not because of what I’ve done, but because of who he is. It’s not because of who I am, but because of what he has already done! And all he asks is for us to put our trust in him, and him alone!
Conclusion:
He loves. He gives. We believe. We live.
It really is that simple. God loves this world, more than we’ll ever know. He gave his one and only Son so that we could live forever with him. Apart from him we die. With him we live. Choose life. Choose Jesus!
Max Lucado has written a book titled simply 3:16. The entire book focuses in on just one single verse from the Bible--John 3:16. This verse just may be the single most significant sentence in all of Scripture--3:16 the verse.
Preschoolers can recite it. Football fans paint boldly across cardboard signs. Tim Tebow wore it under his eyes during ball games at Florida. This caused thousands to Google John 3:16 to see what it said. Hmmmmmm! It’s brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in moment, yet solid enough to withstand 2000 years of storms and questions. It begins with God, ends with life, and urges us to do the same! Listen to the impact this verse has had on people’s lives:
If you know nothing of the Bible, begin here. If you know everything of the Bible, return here. This is the Hope diamond of Scripture!
But before we can get to 3:16, we have to set the stage. It all begins with a silent figure moving stealthily through the darkened streets of Jerusalem. Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees, the religious elite who militantly rejected Jesus. So when he decided to seek Christ out and learn from him, he had to do so in secret. Slipping through alleyways and dimly lit streets, Nicodemus finds his way to a simple house where Jesus and his followers are staying.
“Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you” (John 3:2 NLT).
Without hesitation, Jesus replies, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). We don’t know for sure what was on Nicodemus’ mind that night, but it’s clear what was on Jesus’ mind. Christ’s ”speech” on salvation reaches it’s climax in the sixteenth verse.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)
In this one verse, we see the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ how it relates to us. Let’s look at this verse, starting with two simple words...
HE LOVES:
“For God so loved the world…” If those words are true, it changes everything, doesn’t it? Imagine what the world would be like without God’s love… A dark planet hurtling through space unguided, undirected. No hope. No future. Nothing to live for. No greater purpose to our existence. Every death would be an end. Every grave one’s final destination..
But God does love the world! We see it in every sunrise… every blade of grass… every fountain of water… every birth… every child’s face. God so loved the world!
Most of you have heard of Veggie Tales, which is a Christian cartoon who character are vegetables. Bob the tomato says, “Remember kids, God made you special, and he loves you very much!”
Isn’t that the message of John 3:16? Isn’t that the message the world needs to hear? God made you special and he loves very much
The Bible says, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NLT).
Max Lucado writes in one of his books, “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, he’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart...”
He loves. And because he loves…
HE GIVES:
Jesus said, …” Just to say, “I love you,” doesn’t really mean a whole lot. Love--agape love, God’s love--is a verb. It has to be visually demonstrated. It has to be proven. The Bible says, “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8 HCSB).
That sounds strange to some people. So many people in the world respect the teachings of Jesus. They admire his example. But no matter how they turn it around, they can’t see any significance in his death. One man even said, “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t need God to give anyone for me,” he claimed. “I’ve led a good life. Held a good job. People respect me. My wife loves me. I don’t need God to give me his son.” Maybe you agree. But are we really as good as we think we are? Let’s see how well we score against God’s basic laws--the Ten Commandments:
1. “You shall not steal.” have you ever stolen anything? A paper clip, a peanut? That makes you a thief.
2. “You must not lie.” Those who claim they never have, just did.
3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” Ever let God’s name slip passed your lips in anger or frustration? The Bible calls that blasphemy.
4. “You shall not commit adultery.” Before you excuse yourself from this one, Jesus said that if you so much as look at a woman with lust, you’ve committed adultery in your heart.
And that’s just four out of ten. We could keep going, but we probably wouldn’t we’d fair any better. If we think well we are not a murderer, look what Bible says in 1 John 3:15, “Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart.” Most sincere people, when we’re honest (when we’re alone at night with just our thoughts), we know that we’re really not all that good. We all have regrets. We’ve all made mistakes. The Bible calls that sin. And we do it all the time.
The Bible tells us, “Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NCV). Our sin separates us from God. So if any of us are ever going to have a real relationship with our Creator, then it’s up to him to find a way to reconcile us. That’s where Jesus comes in. He determined to build that bridge with an old rugged cross. He gave himself. He gave Jesus to bring salvation to the world through his death.
And although God loves and Jesus sacrifice was sufficient for the whole world, it is only efficient if…
WE BELIEVE:
Jesus said that God, “gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish…” This concept runs contrary to our instincts. And it’s so simple. We expect a more complicated cure, a more sophisticated salvation. And what about that Bible verse that says, “God helps those who help themselves”? Well, that’s not really in the Bible.
No other religion offers what Jesus promises. Judaism sees salvation as a Judgment Day decision based on morality. Buddhism grades your life according to the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Muslim earn their way to Allah by performing the duties of the Five Pillars of Faith.
But not Christianity. Jesus calls us to do one thing: believe! Listen to what the Bible says:
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NIV)
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18 NIV)
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36 NKJV)
I tell you the truth, whoever believes has eternal life. (John 6:47 NCV)
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38 NKJV)
And remember the jailor who asked Paul and Silas after the prison doors were opened by the power of God “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” (Acts 16:31 NLT)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)
Maybe you’re thinking what about baptism, repentance and a changed life? Are you saying those things aren’t necessary? No, of course not. Those things are absolutely essential. But baptism, repentance, a changed life, and things like that are not in addition to faith. They are expressions of it. They acts of faith that work together with our faith to make our faith real.
But what Jesus wants us to see is that it’s not because of what I’ve done, but because of who he is. It’s not because of who I am, but because of what he has already done! And all he asks is for us to put our trust in him, and him alone!
Conclusion:
He loves. He gives. We believe. We live.
It really is that simple. God loves this world, more than we’ll ever know. He gave his one and only Son so that we could live forever with him. Apart from him we die. With him we live. Choose life. Choose Jesus!
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