How to Slow Down So We Don’t Miss What Jesus Has to Teach Us About Himself

We often rush through Bible passages, trying to gain spiritual growth from reviewing them quickly before moving on to the rest of our lives. But Jesus Christ was never in a hurry during His time on Earth. The life Jesus modeled was one of patience, and patience is necessary for us to learn the lessons that He wants to teach us.

Slowing down will enable us to pay attention well to what Jesus has to tell us, so we don’t miss lessons about His character that can change our own life for the better.

Here’s how we can slow down so we don’t miss what Jesus has to teach us about Himself:

Learn about his “out of the box” glory. Making the time to fully reflect on the humble way that Jesus chose to enter our world (“…. the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger….” Luke 1-12) – as a baby in a feeding trough for animals, a manger, can show us how different God can be about His glory. Just as Jesus’ touch transformed the lowly manger into a symbol of God’s glory, God’s touch transforms our lives. We’re forgotten “beings” without moral principles until we begin relationships with Jesus, but from then on, we become treasures who are free to pursue glorious purposes. Jesus welcomes us “just as we are” (sinful, lost, and helpless) and transforms us into people who enjoy His glorious presence and radiate it to others as His love flows through us.

Learn about mysterious grace. The Bible story of how Jesus met with a Samaritan woman at a well (John 4:1-15) and offered her “living water” (“… those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again.” John 4:14)  shows how He draws people to Himself by pointing out something we need but don’t currently have or something we want to know that only He can reveal to us. Jesus’ interaction with the woman shows both the curiosity of human nature and the mystery of God’s grace at work. Studying this story, we realize that God won’t be defined or limited by human expectations, so He can’t be easily explained or understood (“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”) – but in every one of God’s mysteries that we encounter, we see glimpses of God at work that can help us get to know Him better.

Learn about almost unbelievable kindness. We read how Jesus transformed Levi the tax collector, who was considered a criminal due to his corrupt practices, into Matthew the apostle. (^“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth.“Follow me and be my disciple...” Matthew 9:9) Matthew joined Jesus in His earthly ministry and wrote the Gospel of Matthew.  This shows us that when Jesus comes along, even people with the worst behavior can change us into people who work for the best. Reflecting on this story teaches us that Jesus sees us as a beloved person that He wants to use in His kingdom – regardless of the mistakes we may have made in the past – and inspires us to say “yes” whenever Jesus calls us to follow Him into an adventure.

Learn about His mighty power. When we reflect on how Jesus calmed the storm that was raging on the Sea of Galilee around his frightened disciples, (“Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat……… he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” Matthew 8:26-27) we can discover the wonder of how Jesus can help us, too, in even the scariest circumstances we encounter. Jesus hasn’t promised to help us avoid trouble.  In fact he said “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33), But He will be with us to help overcome it. Jesus is always in control of the circumstances in our life, and we can tap into His awesome power to deal with them. We should choose to trust Him to help and guide us when storms hit our life.

Learn about His miracles. The Bible story of how Jesus miraculously healed a woman who had been suffering from a bleeding condition for years can teach us about the proper perspective on miracles. (“then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”  Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:18-22) Jesus won’t simply hand out miracles just because people ask for them, and when He does choose to perform miracles, He does so in unexpected ways. Jesus’ compassion is bigger than our vision; it encompasses everything we need, including factors we didn’t even realize that we needed. Choose to trust Jesus even when His vision for us is different from our expectations of Him.

Learn about tattered faith. Reflecting on how Jesus responded when the imprisoned John the Baptist expressed damaged faith can teach us how to deal well with doubts and discouragement of our own. (“John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” Matthew 11:2-3) John sent some men to ask Jesus whether or not He really was the Messiah. Jesus answered by telling the men to report to John the evidence that supported his role as the Messiah (from the blind receiving sight to good news being proclaimed to the poor). From this story, we can learn that faith in Jesus is more than just hope; it’s the substance of hope, because there’s real, solid evidence that Jesus is exactly who He claims to be. We can always be honest with Jesus about our thoughts and feelings when our faith is tattered, and ask Him hard questions, too. He will respond by giving us stronger faith.

Learn about beautiful sorrow. As we consider the Bible story of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha (John 11:1-40), we can learn about the beauty of Jesus’ willingness to enter fully into human sorrow, as well as His power to redeem it. Jesus’ intentionally let Lazarus die (and Mary and Martha grieve) before He resurrected Lazarus so He could show how beauty can come out of suffering for those who place their trust in God. Jesus is a Man of Sorrows who cares deeply about our own sorrow and stands ready to redeem it.

Learn about His servant’s attitude. Reading the Bible story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, (John 13:1-17) we can discover what true service looks like: a willingness to do whatever God requires (even when it seems insulting to other people) with humility that ironically marks true greatness at work. Jesus said after performing this lowly task “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15) Instead of serving others to impress God, we should serve simply as a way of expressing our love for a God who already loves us completely and unconditionally. Serving with great love – even in the humblest of ways – will lead to great results.

Learn about brutal love. Jesus’ brutal death on the cross to pay for humanity’s sins was motivated by His great love. Reflecting on Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross helps us grasp the contrast between the brutality of sin and the love of God, who is willing to do whatever it takes to save us from sin. Thanks to what Jesus did for us on the cross, we don’t have to be destroyed by sin but can be reconciled to the source of all love: God.

Learn about bloodied hope. Studying the Bible story of “Doubting Thomas” (the apostle Thomas who said, “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.” John 20:25) can teach us that true confidence and peace come from Jesus meeting us wherever we are. Jesus stands ready to respond to our doubts and answer our challenging questions, just as he did for Thomas, so we need to bring them to Him with an open mind. We can find real hope in Jesus’ bloodied body because it’s evidence of what He did to connect us with God forever.

Paul writes to Timothy “Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:11-12)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you see this lesson and would like to get on email list, please email hdunkin@charter.net. 

Current lesson and archive of prior lessons available on WhoSoEver Blog at: http://imawhosoeversslessons.blogspot.com/

But Nails Hurt!

If you really want to grow, it’s going to cost you. If you truly expect to be built up, there will be some pain involved. No growth ever takes place without pain. That’s a law of life. That’s not negotiable. No pain, no gain. No hurt, no growth. No rough edges, no building up. If you truly want to be built up, prepare to encounter pain.

When Peter speaks about spiritual growth, he uses a word picture. (1 Peter 2:1-7) The word picture is about a building. He says we are to let ourselves be built into a building. “⁵ And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple”. (1 Peter 2:5)

That sounds good. It sounds good until you read a little further, and you find Peter speaking also about sacrifice, rejection, stumbling. Those things sound rather painful, don’t they? Sacrifice and rejection and stumbling – painful experiences. (From 1 Peter 2:5b-8)

But remember: no growth ever takes place without pain. If you truly want to be built up, prepare to encounter pain.

I happen to enjoy woodworking, building things and repairing things.  I just got through repairing an exterior wall and foundation on bedroom at our old farm house.. There’s just something special about the whack, whack, whack of a good solid hammer hitting the nail right on the head. It feels like this is the real thing! Oh, skill saws whine, but saws cut things apart instead of putting them together. The sound of the hammer, driving nails into wood, that really says, “building”! Hammers nail board to board; hammers nail the frame together, hammers nail the roof in place; hammers nail the wallboard on. Hammers, nails, that’s what building really is.

And so, today, in order to help Peter speak to us about being built into a spiritual house, we’re going to pound some nails. We’re going to demonstrate some spiritual principles. Up here, I’ve got a board, I’ve got nails, and, “if I had a hammer …” – oh, I do have a hammer. I’m ready to show you what Peter meant. But I need your help too.

You have nails. You don’t have hammers or boards, but you do have nails. And as you handle your nails from time to time, you’ll be reminded of one important fact: nails hurt. Nails hurt. But again: no pain, no gain. No hurt, no growth. If you truly want to be built up, prepare to encounter pain.

First, if you want to be built up, you will have to endure some pounding. Somebody will hit at you. And not just once, but repeatedly. Somebody will find your weak spots and pound away at them. Just as if I want to drive a nail into this board, don’t look for the hard knots, because I won’t be able to get the nail through the knots, but I look for the soft fleshy part of the wood – in the same way, somebody is going to look at where you are not solid, where you are not secure, and is going to pound on that.

Is that a bad thing? Is it damaging for somebody to get on our case because we have flaws and failings? Is it bad for us to be told, repeatedly, where we are going wrong? No, it is not bad. It can be painful, but it is a good thing. Like the repeated pounding of the hammer on the nail, it can hurt to be told what you don’t want to hear. Nails hurt. But most of us have to be hit, over and over again, with the unpleasant truth about ourselves. We have to be hit, over and over again, in order to be built up. It’s painful. Nails hurt. But it is for our good.

Peter starts this second chapter of his letter in a very challenging way. He gets down to it. I guess you could say he “hits the nail on the head.” He says, “So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.” 1 Peter 2:1

“get rid of….” If you want to be built up, there are some habits that you have to deal with. There are some things that get so deeply ingrained in us that it will take lots of work in order to get rid of them. But there is a way. There is a way. Evil behavior– how will I know if I am acting evil? I will know it if you will tell me about it. Deceit – the very nature of deceit is that we are trying to fool ourselves as well as other people. How will I know that I am being deceitful unless every time I do this, somebody hits me with the truth? How will I know that I am speaking insincerely, how will I understand my jealousy how will I get my unkind speech called, unless somebody stands up, in my face, and hits me with the truth? And since these negative habits die hard, hits me again and again and again. Pounds me! Repeatedly. Pounds me, like a hammer hitting a nail, until I learn the awful truth that there are things I must get rid of. If you want to be built up, you must endure the hammer pounding the nail, confronting you about yourself.

And remember, it is your true friends who will do this for you. Your sunshine friends will smile to your face and agree with you, but will then talk about you behind your back. Your true friends are the ones who will tell you, over and over and over again, what you need to get rid of. Your true friends are like hammers pounding nails into your weaknesses.

So would you take your nail? Hold it in one hand. Carefully now, we don’t want blood on the floor – carefully but repeatedly, several times, just poke at your other hand or your arm. Gets to hurting a little after a while, doesn’t it? Even if you are gentle, you feel it. Nails hurt. But if that nail, probing you repeatedly, represents a friend, a teacher, a pastor, convicting you of something that’s wrong in your life, be thankful. Take joy in this. It means that somebody loves you enough to get at you for the stuff you need to remove. Nails hurt; pounding hurts. But remember: no growth ever takes place without pain. If you truly want to be built up, prepare to encounter pain.

If you want to be built up, you’re going to have to endure having holes punched in your comfort zone. If you want to grow, you’re going to have to face the fact that the world is unforgiving, the world is not polite, the world is caustic, the world is going to punch holes in your comfort zone. And once those holes are punched, they can never be put back the way they were. That’s painful, but it’s part of building up. It’s part of growth.

Peter says that something like this even happened to Jesus. Jesus is called "The stone that the builders rejected”. (1 Peter 2:7b) They rejected Jesus. When Jesus stood to teach, they punched holes in His theology. When Jesus went to heal, they punched holes in His compassion. When Jesus tried to love Jerusalem, they punched so many holes in His motives that He looked out over the city and wept! It is not easy when people punch holes in everything you stand for. It hurts when they drive holes in your beliefs.

But give thanks when it happens! Give thanks. Because you will not know what you really believe until you have to defend it. You will not understand how precious your values are until you have to prove them to someone else. You will not know how right you are until you have to stand up for the truth. If you don’t have anybody trying to drive holes in your comfort zone, you’ll just sit here, fat and sassy, but you won’t grow. You won’t be built up. Somebody needs to punch holes in your comfort zone.

Take your nail – don’t get worried. I’m not going to ask you to drive holes in yourself. But now take that nail – press its point into your hand or your arm, just enough that it stings a bit. Now hold it there a moment. Bring it out. Now look at the place where you held it. What do you see? Some kind of mark. A change in skin color, a little indentation, maybe a scratch. A hole, even if a very small one, punched in your comfort zone. And it hurts!

But we need to be grateful for hurting holes. Because Peter says about Jesus, and how Jesus was rejected, "1The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” (1 Peter 2:7)

Jesus was despised, rejected, questioned, criticized; but because of that, God was able to use Him in a tremendous way. Jesus is now the “head of the corner”, He is the cornerstone of the building, He is the foundation of everything.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:20-22, “²⁰ Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. ²¹ We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. ²² Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.’

When holes get punched in you, you get changed, but you grow. And God is able to fill you with something better. You are built up.

Nails hurt. Holes driven in your comfort zone hurt. But remember: no growth ever takes place without pain. If you truly want to be built up, prepare to encounter pain.

Now do you want the truly good news? The good news is that nails, used properly, join things together. Nails, hammered in by a skillful carpenter, join things firmly. Nails hold everything together so that the building will not fall. And that’s good news. It’s good news because in so apparently simple a thing as this nail, there is tremendous power to build.

Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. We share a common pain: the pain is that we all are sinners, all of us. But we also share a common joy: the joy is that we are forgiven. That joins us together.

Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. We share many hurting places: job failures, anxieties, health worries, family life struggles. You may think that you are the only person in this room that’s going through whatever. “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” But I would guarantee you that someone here has seen it, someone here has suffered it, someone here has dealt with it, someone here has been delivered from it. We share many hurting places; but we also, by the grace of Christ, share salvation. We share experience, we share knowledge, we share a living, healing savior. And in the fellowship  of those who have been nailed together, built up, into God’s spiritual house, the good news truly comes alive.

For, again, no growth ever takes place without pain. If you truly want to be built up, prepare to encounter pain.

And yet, it remains true: no growth ever takes place without pain. Oh, one day they hurt Jesus. One day they pounded on His hands, His strong carpenter’s hands. They pounded, they pounded, until they put raw, red holes in those hands. Nails that hurt. On that same day they took nails, huge nails, and a hammer, and they crossed His legs and joined foot to foot and feet to timber. Nails that hurt more deeply than you or I will ever imagine. Despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

But it was for us. Folks, it was for us. It was for our forgiveness. It was for our growth. It was to join us together. Nails that hurt Him deeply!  “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”  (Isaiah 53.5)

No growth ever takes place without pain. If you truly want to be built up, prepare to encounter pain. But the pain of Jesus Christ will heal you. The blood of Jesus Christ will save us. And the heart of Jesus Christ keeps pounding, pounding, pounding with love for us. 

%&*#! What You Say Will Change Your Life!

%&*#! What You Say Will Change Your Life!

Potty mouth. Sexual innuendo. Cussing. Cursing. Smack talk. Smut. Swearing. OMG…Taking the Lord’s Name in vain!!! We have become desensitized to vulgarity.
 
“PG” ratings now use “R” language. What has happened to us? When did Christians tolerate such unclean language? Perhaps you don’t say those forbidden words…maybe you don’t say them in front of your children. But do you recoil when you hear them in the office, on your television or in the movie theater? Probably not.
WE CAN HAVE A BLESSED OR CURSED LIFE DEPENDING ON WHAT WE SAY.
Our words can change us. “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.” (Exodus 20:7) What does it mean to “misuse the name of the Lord “? Any misuse of God’s Name devalues His character and holiness. The Jews never even spoke the name of YHWH. Oh yeah-and God ALSO says that He will not let us go unpunished for using His name irreverently. It’s hard to obey a God we don’t respect. When we devalue Him, we will take His commands casually and flippantly disobey Him. This is serious stuff.
A pastor said he first noticed how pervasive the use of God’s name was when he watched a television show on HGTV. A safe enough show, one would think…..The designer transformed the ratty room of a client and then brought the fortunate family in for the “reveal.” To his shock and chagrin, EVERY person who viewed the transformation said the same three words. “Oh, my God!”
Now we don’t think this is a “big thing”, right?  Be honest.  Our grandson says this some times.  My response to him is this, “Son, do not use God’s name unless you are really talking to him or about Him”.
Come on, people! God has better things to do: creating universes, writing history, transforming lives. It is not likely that He spends a lot of time hanging wallpaper. Is our vocabulary so limited? Are our pea brains so small that we no longer have descriptors other than “Oh, my God?” Is He your God? If He is, then that statement is the most powerful declaration you can make. We are His and He is ours. Say it every day! All of the time! But say it because you love and worship the One who gave His only Son to die for your sins.
Also, if we call ourselves CHRISTians and don’t reflect Jesus through our 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, then we are misusing His name!
EMPTY PROMISES
Jesus warned about making empty promises and swearing in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:33-37 reads:
³³ “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.³⁷ But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one”. (NKJV) Jesus included these verses in His most significant sermon. He said, “Don’t make empty promises you don’t intend to keep. Do what you promised God you would do.” The Message translation describes this passage in a very relevant way:
“Don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it.” You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’”
Here comes the kicker in Verse 37. ³⁷ But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one”.
Swearing comes from the Devil. He is the father of lies, the prince of darkness. We trivialize our empty promises, assuming there will be no repercussions for our insincere words. But guess what? We have just given Satan a foothold in our lives.
UNCLEAN WORDS
One man relates this story about profanity. His family reunion was in full swing.  Aunts, uncles and cousins gulped down boatloads of fried chicken, sweet tea and strawberry shortcake. In the midst of the fellowship, five-year-old Roger skipped into the kitchen yelling the F bomb at the top of his little lungs. He was simply repeating the words of an oldest cousin. His mom was appalled. She grabbed him by the arm, marched him to the bathroom and made him wash his mouth with Ivory soap until he puked. Her punishment was rather extreme, but Roger never said that word again. Now it is obvious that this occurred many years ago.  First you would probably be brought before DHR for child abuse if you did this today, but secondly, today most parents would giggle and give their kids an empty warning if they use unclean words.
Why should we clean up our speech? Because unclean words come from a smutty heart. We become crass, filthy people. Our light to the world is extinguished and no one sees Jesus in us.
¹⁰ Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. ¹¹ It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” (Matthew 15:10-11)
Jesus also says that our unclean words lead us into depravity and sin. Our Christian purity is flushed down the toilet.
¹⁶ “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked (of His disciples). ¹⁷ “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. ¹⁸ But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.¹⁹ For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. ²⁰ These are what defile you.”  (Matthew 15:16-20)
James sums up the power of unclean speech in James 3:5-10.

⁵ ……….. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. ⁶ And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.^[a]

⁷ People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. ¹⁰ And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

Notice the words that are underscored. Unclean words contaminate us and come straight from the pit of hell.
SO HOW DO WE CLEAN UP OUR MOUTH?
⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (1 John 1:9). God not only forgives us, he helps us clean up our act.
Stop talking. Let our words be few. Okay, Okay, I know this will be hard for me to do! J
That’s how you tame a horse. You but a bit is his mouth and attach to a bridle. So bridle our mouth and give the reins to the Holy Spirit.
Read the Bible often. God’s Words are like Ivory soap. They purify your heart and uplift your thoughts.
Filter the filth input in your life. Practice saying and thinking positive things. Follow Paul’s advice, and we will experience peace and blessing.
^“8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”  (Philippians 4:8-9)
And as the Psalmist wrote in this very popular scripture – Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you,   O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Start today and watch God bless your life!

IF JESUS CAME TO OUR HOUSE

IF JESUS CAME TO OUR HOUSE

When Dwight Eisenhower was president, on one occasion he vacationed in Denver, Colorado. There was in Denver a six-year old boy who had incurable cancer. The boy had expressed the wish that he might see the President. President Eisenhower heard the little boy's wish and on a Sunday morning he visited him. The Presidential limousine pulled up in front of the house. He walked up to the front door and knocked. The father, in blue jeans and an old shirt with a day's growth of beard, opened the

door. When he saw the president he was speechless. The president took the six-year old boy out to see the limousine and talked with him for a while. Then he shook his hand and left. Afterward, when the father would tell the story, he would say, "And just to think, there I stood with my blue jeans,

my old shirt, and a day's growth of beard. What a way to meet the president!'

Imagine one day you are sitting on your front porch and a car pulled up in your driveway. Three men get out, and immediately you realize that one of them is the Lord, and the other two are angels. How would you act? What would you do? What would you say?

If you can imagine such a thing happening then you begin to understand the scene before us in Genesis 18. Notice Genesis 18:1-2, "The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. ² He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.”

Abraham had a visit from God. God came to his house and spent the afternoon with him. Three times the Bible speaks of Abraham as being a friend of God, and here is a good indication of how good a friend he was with God.

Note: The Bible says that no one has seen God. “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (John 1:18)  We could discuss this for the entire class time but for now let’s put this discussion on hold.

What if God, the Lord Jesus came to our house for a visit? Would we have to do some rearranging of things? Would we have to put up some things or put out some things? Would there be some magazines lying around we would not want him to see? Would you need to change the channel of the TV or change stations on the radio? Maybe delete some Facebook comments?

This is one of several Old Testament appearances of the Lord. This is what we call a pre-incarnate appearing of the Lord Jesus. As we know from the Bible the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit has always been. So this is referring to times the “Son” appearing before He came into the world as the Savior.  In other words it is a visible appearance of God in the Old Testament period often, but not always, in human form. 

Let’s notice this story and notice how this friend of God responded and reacted to this surprise visit to his home from God.

HE RIGHTLY WELCOMED HIS GUEST!

Notice Genesis 18:3, how Abraham greeting the Lord:  “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. ⁴ Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet.”

Abraham is taking a nap in the hot afternoon. He looks down the road and saw 3 men coming. We can imagine him saying to himself, "I wonder who that might be?" He looks, and suddenly he realizes that one of them is God. Notice how he re-acted.

HE EAGERLY WELCOMED THE LORD TO HIS HOME.

Imagine this scenario. There's a knock at your door and when you open a door, there stands a dear friend of many years. You haven't seen this friend in years. You would be glad to see them and maybe embrace them.

When Abraham looked up and saw 3 men coming, he saw them as friends to embrace.

Notice in verse 2, that Abraham "ran to meet them and welcomed them." As soon as he realized who this was, this 99-year-old man jumped up out of his seat and took off running toward them.

Abraham knew this was the Lord. He didn't say, "Oh, no, it's the Lord," but "It's the Lord!" This was someone he loved. This was his dear friend. He eagerly welcomed his guest.

There is a song, "Holy Spirit, Thou Art Welcome In This Place." The Lord is welcome to visit here anytime He so desires. He should be welcome in our heart and in our home. He is welcome to visit us on Monday and welcome to visit us on Sunday.

We fuss about people who just drop in unannounced. The Lord is One that is welcome to drop by anytime He wants to. He can show up anytime, anywhere, any day, and any hour. He is a welcome guest.

HE EARNESTLY WANTED THE LORD IN HIS HOME.

Notice again Genesis 18:3, "My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while."

Have you ever had company that you wished would leave? There is an old story about one fellow who had company and they stayed and stayed and stayed, until it was getting late. Finally he said  to his wife, "Honey, we'd better go to bed so these folks can go home."

In Abraham's case, this was not company that he wanted to leave. His desire was for the Lord to stay for a while. He was not only glad to see Him, but he wanted The Lord to stay."

There is no way of knowing how we all feel but when the Lord shows up, we should not be anxious for Him to leave. Some folks on Sunday morning act like they can't wait until 12:00 so they can get out. Around 12:00 they start looking at their watches and about 10 after they are squirming. If it goes to 12:20, they are really getting into a frenzy. Lord help them, if it goes to 12:30.

If the Lord pays us a visit, we shouldn’t care if it's 1:00 o'clock. Wouldn’t we want to say, "Lord, please stay with us." There is nothing like being in his presence and being around Him.

He Rightly Welcomed His Guest!

HE REVERENTLY WORSHIPED HIS GUEST!

Notice in verse 2, that he not only ran to meet them, but was "bowing low to the ground." The word 'bowed" is the most common word in the Old Testament for worship. It means to bow down, to do homage, to show reverence, to worship.

if Jesus Christ entered the room would we all fall on our faces?

Abraham worshiped the Lord. What was he doing and why was he doing it? What is worship and why do we worship?

WORSHIP IS A REVERENCE OF GOD.

Abraham recognized that his visitor was God. This was no ordinary guest or just another person passing by. This was God. His actions were an expression of reverence.

Notice in verse 1, that it was the "LORD" (capital letters). This was Jehovah. Because of Who He Was, Abraham showed reverence and paid Him homage. That is worship: a reverence of God.

Have you ever noticed that some people refer to God as the man upstairs or some other name that really is disrespectful of God. Because He is LORD and because of Who He is, He should always be spoken of in terms that are reverent and respectful.

Abraham did not walk up and give God a high five and say, "Put it on me big guy." No he fell before Him in worship. This was God and the only response deserving of Him was an expression of reverence. God is always deserving of our respect and reverence.

WORSHIP IS A RESPONSE TO GOD.

Far too many Christians are only concerned about what they get from God, not what they give to God. Abraham was not getting something from God; he was giving something to God.

Worship is something you give to God. Someone has given us this definition of worship: "Worship is the giving to God the glory, praise, honor, and thanks due Him, both for Who he is and for what he has done."

What if Jesus came to our house? As a Christian He is a guest at our house. The issue is, how are we treating him.

 Our House

The Strength of our house does not lay within its foundation.

It has been built through the hands of man but is held together by the love and word of God.

With our security in Christ, each brick has been blessed by His touch.

The lock found at our front door is always open in His eyes.

Each friend’s visit blesses our lives, deepening the roots we have planted in our walk with Christ.

Our home is one in the neighborhood of many, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15

Why Some Stop, Why Some Pass By?

There are stories in the Bible were we all cheer the hero of the story, go home rejoicing in what they had done, but then go back to our ordinary lives. One of those stories is the good Samaritan—the priest passes by, the Levite passes by, but the Samaritan stops, loves, heals, gives, and even goes the extra mile and says, whatever else they need, put that on my account. Jesus tells this story to show the difference between heroes and the ordinary, the difference between being religious or making a difference for God. So many churches are dwindling down in number, they are looking for the next great program or great marketing strategy to put them over the top, but it is really simple, become a hero, stop passing up the opportunity to make a difference in the world.

Parable of the Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

³¹ “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. ³² A Temple assistant^[a] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

³³ “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.³⁴ Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,^[b] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

³⁶ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

³⁷ The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”  (Luke 10: 30-37)

We have all passed by in our lives, we all have walked on the other side of the street. Many times we look for those to come to the church that are going to help support the cause, not be a cause for support. Do we want to be someone who stops, do we want to be a hero for God. Let’s look at who passed by in the story, why they might have passed by, the reasons we might pass by, and what could cause us to stop.

1. Who passed by—A priest and A Levite—this really stings since they are supposed to be “Godly” people, and they both represent something that really isn’t good about religious service. Jesus used these two to drive home a point to all those who want to serve God from a religious point of view.

a. they were both busy in religious service—this is a real problem, there is a difference between religious service and Christianity.

b. Sometimes in our quest for the good, we bypass the best. The goal isn’t theology, or spiritual recognition, our goal is to be like Christ.

c. They were in the ministry—it is true that there is a real danger that ministry can become what others can do for us, over what we can do for others.

2. Why they might have passed by—

a. they may have been in a hurry to get to Synagogue—religion can cause us to become churchy, to feel like ministry must go on inside the four walls under the steeple.

b. they may have decided the person had it coming to them. Many times the lack of effort in helping those in need is the predisposition we have of making the judgment that they should have been in church. Or I knew they would never amount to anything. Or they should have listened to us a long time ago.

c. Maybe they could just care less—as long as I am righteous, as long as I’m on my way to heaven, as long a my family is doing good. Religion has the tendency of making people self centered and self absorbed.

3. Why might we pass by?

a. one of the main reasons we might not care for the lost and hurting in this world is the effort required to help people. It takes time, effort, energy and sometimes money, and it is easier just to go to the weekly church service.

b. Maybe we don’t have as much of Christ in us as we profess. Maybe we are still worldly and given over to our own appetites and needs.

c. We might just not like people—people love the church, they love the ministry, they love the conferences, the councils, the committee meeting, they just don’t like dealing with problematic people. It’s like, if it were for all these rotten people, the world would be a better place. When we get out of the people business, we pass by.

4. What Could Cause Us To Stop?

a. have compassion—the Samaritan had compassion, Jesus had compassion on the multitudes, and until we get a good dose of compassion and love for sinners, the lost, the sick, the lonely, the hurting of society, we won’t ever stop.

b. To realize the church has lost its impact on society as a whole, and if we don’t start stopping, this old world is going to fall apart. The church can be the spiritual glue that can hold things together. We have the ability to make a difference by our love.

c. a fresh revelation of the cross—if we realize that Christ didn’t just die for us, but for this whole world, it could be the attitude adjustment that could cause us to stop, to help, to care, to listen. Maybe we will get burned a few times, maybe some will take advantage of us, but at least we are on the right side of the road.

In many occasions Jesus would tell a story and then say, go and do likewise. Jesus tells us to walk on the right side of the road. Anyone who is a giver, a helper, a person of love and compassion, is a true neighbor. So many people profess a great love for God, but 1 John 4:7-11 says that the love for God, who we have never seen, is proven by those who we do see.

⁷ Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. ⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

¹¹ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

We have all passed by before, let’s pray God gives us a chance to stop. When we stop, we aren’t doing the people near as much good as we are doing ourselves. It is when we do real ministry we feel like we are doing God’s will for us by fulfilling this commandment: “…. through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:13b-14 NASB)