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Welcome to Lechem Panim. Last week we began taking a look at perhaps the most tragic personal encounter Jesus had in His ministry; and that was His encounter with a rich young ruler. The young man had asked Jesus what it would take to share in His life. And Jesus said: “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:21-22)
Porcelain Elephant-- My dad and his brother both grew up overseas while my Grandma and Grandpa were missionaries in Taiwan. Now my Grandmother (we call her Geemo) is a simply incredible person. If there is a godlier person on this planet, I can honestly say without hesitation or exaggeration that I do not know them. A woman who in everything she does seeks the face of Christ. And she cannot put more than a few sentences together without praising the name of God. But because she is so heavenly-minded, she is very unattached to stuff. Now this is a very good thing, but the problem is that whenever we try to give her gifts she rarely keeps them. She is so generous she will often times just give it away to somebody. And I’m not just talking about cheap stuff. I mean she clings to nothing but Jesus; and she will tell you that. And when I was a kid she used to pray that my family would be poor...so that in everything we might be fully reliant on Jesus. And for many years the Lord honored her prayer. (PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER). In all her years my family has only ever known her to cling to one thing besides Christ. When my dad (Thane Ury) and his brother (Bill Ury) were kids, my Grandmother was given this beautiful porcelain elephant from a dear friend of theirs who was a US diplomat in India. And she treasured that porcelain elephant. But one day my dad and my uncle were playing and, in the midst of their horsing around, they shattered that porcelain elephant. Now my dad, the smart one, turned tail and ran before my grandmother entered the room, but my uncle stayed. And my Grandmother entered the room. And my uncle was understandably terrified. But when she came in, she looked down at the shattered porcelain elephant and, turning away, my uncle heard her mutter these words, “Thank you Jesus. I’m free.” (PAUSE) “Thank you Jesus. I’m free.” And never since then has she ever allowed herself to become attached to stuff. How attached are you and I to our things? What would happen if Jesus challenged us with the same command He gives the rich young ruler. Would we succeed where the rich young ruler failed? Now of course Jesus is talking here about living the life of the cross; giving up those things that we have allowed to hold claim on us so that we might embrace Jesus and the life He offers. And we talked about that last week. But there is something else we often miss (my Grandmother hasn’t, but I and many Christians often do). And that is what comes next after Jesus says sell everything you have. He gives a second command. He says, "give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” Now why does Jesus say this? I think it’s because taking your wealth and using it to invest and help the poor is eternal. You are sowing fruit that will not perish. You are using physical wealth to produce eternal fruit. And I think that is the drive behind what Jesus is saying. Jesus cares about how the resources we have on this blip on the screen called life can effect the eternal needs of others. Jesus is saying, “Give up control of your resources and invest in those I care about.” Solomon: Vanity, vanity!— King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, looked at how people were enslaved to the get-wealth system. He writes some pretty depressing things in his book of Ecclesiastes. “Vanity, vanity.” “Everything is vanity.” "Everything is meaningless.” Now does Solomon hate everything? No. But what his frustration was was that, in looking at people’s lives, he saw them striving to gain wealth and then, after they die, leaving that wealth to another. Then that person dies and his wealth that he had focused on amounting was also given to another. Solomon saw the futility of the pursuit of wealth. He (being wise) saw that nobody could take their wealth with them beyond the grave. Therefore, everybody is caught in a system of amounting wealth that bears no eternal fruit either for them or for others. Not a Side-note— Now Jesus’ point in saying “give to the poor” is not a sidenote. We often make it kind of a nice afterthought. But I had to ask myself in my study on this passage if this last part about giving to the poor is not the focal point or climax of the whole passage. Sowing for Eternity-- Solomon saw how all things we strive for eventually pass away. And Jesus wants us to realize this now so that we don't accumulate wealth just to lose it. He wants us to, when we get to heaven, to still have the fruit of that wealth in the people we chose to invest it into. Jesus wants you to be wealthy. But not the kind of wealth the prosperity gospel prophets teach. “If you believe God can make you wealthy and make you a millionaire and give you a fancy Lamborghini, He will. All you have to do is claim it!” That’s not what Jesus says. He wants you to give UP so that in heaven you will gain. Old Tapes— Some time ago my dad gave me I think the most meaningful gift he could have ever given me; a box of my late Grandfather’s sermons on tape. And although I had listened to a couple of his sermons on tape before, I had only ever been able to attend one of his messages; at a church in Michigan. That was the only time I had ever seen him preach; and then I was probably in my very early teens. And I just remember him sharing about what was closest to his heart; people who needed Christ. He had devoted his life (along with my Grandmother) to sharing the Gospel in Asia. And, working with Trans World Radio, they broadcast the Gospel into countries that could not be reached (legally) with the Gospel; and because of their ministry, millions of people in Asia and elsewhere heard the Gospel through the radio for the first time. My Wife and TWR— My wife, when she was just a girl living in poverty in Ukraine, would huddle close to her radio. She had to fool with the dials just right to catch the broadcast (because during Communist times in the Soviet Union they would do everything they could to block the signal); but there, curled up by that radio my wife (listening to Trans World Radio) was having the very first seeds of the Gospel sown in her heart. “There are people”— Now as I was listening to my grandfather preach that night, he started weeping. And the only words I remember him saying he said in that moment, “There are people.” “There are people.” What kind of people? People who need Jesus. His mind was so bent on the eternal, he could see in his mind those people like my wife who (living in a culture void of hope; void of Christ) were waiting for someone to be courageous enough lay it all down and follow Christ in bringing the hope of the Gospel to them. Everything is Meaningful— When we get to heaven, we will be greeted by those we chose to invest in. This giving to the poor is more than an afterthought of Jesus. Investing yourself in eternity with every aspect of your life is what Jesus is after. He wants all your resources devoted to Him because only by investing in people can you take your wealth into eternity. Then, because we invest in eternity, we can cry out, “Everything is meaningful!” Now Jesus has just said to the rich young man, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” And then comes the man’s response. It says… Mark 10:22-26 (ESV)— 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Wealth = Alms = Salvation-- And the reason they asked this was because the Jews of that day (as recorded in the Talmud) believed that you could purchase your salvation with alms. And so if you had more money, you could give more alms, more sacrifice and offerings, and thus purchase your redemption. And yet here the disciples’ asking Jesus this question in verse 26 makes it clear that they understand that Jesus is saying that not even the rich can buy their salvation. And they are shocked. “Well Jesus, if that is true, who then can be saved?" And it says…] Mark 10:27 (ESV)— 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Complete Surrender-- And of course Jesus is making the point that it is not by any kind of wealth that we are saved, but rather salvation is a free gift given by God. But to follow Jesus, we will have to surrender and give Him control of all of who we are. And so it says… Mark 10:28-31 (ESV)— 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Let me ask you something today. If you were to take an inventory of how you spend your resources and your time right now, would that inventory reflect a kingdom-focused, needy-focused, lost people-focused mindset. If you got a text message from Jesus right now asking for that inventory to be emailed to immediately, would you be filled with fear or excitement. Would there be any porcelain elephants you might try to hide? This passage is about embracing a Jesus who abandoned His heavenly throne so that He could die on a cross in order that we might have life. That was the sacrifice He made to make our relationship with God work. What are you willing to give Him? I want to challenge you today to surrender everything to Him; to love Him with all of your heart. And when we do, we will love those He loves, we will care for those He cares about, and we will join Him in a serving real people with real needs in order that in some way we might point them to Him and the eternal life He offers. Let us commit today to living lives invested not in the world, but in eternity. Amen.
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Greetings! Welcome to Lechem Panim. You know, one of the hard lessons I have had to learn in and throughout my Christian walk is how easy it can be to be religious and yet at the same time completely miss the presence of Jesus. I face this temptation often. And I think that this is because the presence of Jesus is uncomfortable (at least until we surrender to Him) because Jesus is always interested not just in changing my eternal destination, but in changing me; moving me to lay down my wants, my addictions, my own plans for what I think my future ought to be. I think I am like a lot of Christians, where I sometimes want Jesus to be a part of my life but I don’t want Him to take my life and BE my Life. But one thing Jesus never lets us escape, in all His preaching and teaching, is that the way to life is found in following Him; and He states directly and unabashedly (to the dismay of many a prosperity gospel prophet today) that that will involve our carrying our cross; laying our lives down (participating in His death in how we live our lives) in order for us to experience His life. And if we don’t every come to that point of surrender, we will miss the very saving presence of Jesus. That is why I would like to begin a study today on a passage many of you may know well. It is perhaps one of the saddest encounters Jesus experienced during His ministry; and that is His encounter with a rich young ruler. It says in…
Mark 10:17-31 (ESV)-- 17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Roosevelt and Non-listeners— [The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." The guests responded with phrases like, "Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir." It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Nonplussed, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, "I'm sure she had it coming.”] Listening makes all the difference. And this is especially true when it comes to our relationship with God. And it’s not just about hearing audibly, but listening to what we have heard by changing our behavior or obediently following Jesus in the direction He wants to take us. Now in Jewish culture, one of the things you would recite on a daily basis was the Shema. And the main passage of the Shema comes from Deuteronomy 6... Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (ESV)— 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Shema— And the reason this is called the "shema" is because "shema" is the Hebrew word for "listen" or “hear". It is an interesting word because it conveys (in one word) the concept of hearing and doing. So every day, the Jews would remind themselves of the simple fact that they are to hear and obey Yahweh. To Whom God Reveals Himself-- Now God tends to reveal Himself to those whom He knows will obey Him. And often times God will cease communicating with and withdraw Himself from those who habitually fail to act on what He has told them to do. Hundreds of Them-- Once an old man was driving home from work when his wife called him on his cell phone. "Honey", she said in a worried voice, "be careful. There was a bit on the news just now, some lunatic is driving the wrong way down the freeway”. "It's worse than that", he replied, "there are hundreds of them!”]. This story illustrates the importance both of having an outside voice that is wiser than we are, and the importance of listening to that voice; Shema. If we don’t obey and turn, we’re in trouble. Even the demons practice Shema— And, in coming to our passage today on the rich young ruler, it is amazing to me that, in looking at the the previous chapter (where Jesus casts a demon out of a young boy), we find that this story takes place within a context where demons are hearing and obeying Jesus immediately in coming out of people at His command. And yet the people around Him are (like the rich young ruler) failing to obey. And we often times think of failure to obey God as demonic; but actually it is worse than being demonic because the demons obey. What amazes me in looking at the text is that the demons are practicing Shema and the rich young ruler (obviously Jewish because of his reverence for the Ten Commandments); a Jewish man who recites the Shema every day; fails to practice Shema. Now he wants to. He wants to be pleasing in God's eyes; he wants eternal life. So he comes to Rabbi Jesus and asks Him what he needs to do to obtain eternal life. Mark 10:21 (ESV)— 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” all that you have-- Now what is interesting here is Jesus doesn’t say, “Give ten percent.” He doesn’t say “Give 30, 50, or 75 percent.” Jesus says, “go, sell all that you have”. And this reminds us of what true discipleship really costs; Jesus demands everything. Now we are pretty quick to say, “Well, the only reason Jesus said this to this rich young man was because He knew that to be this man’s particular idol. And so maybe Jesus commanded that from him, but surely Jesus doesn’t want me to give up all my stuff. Does He?” And so you see we water it down, telling ourselves that what Jesus wants is for us to, while still keeping our wealth, make sure that He is our focus and not our wealth. We say, “It is ok to have wealth as long as we put Jesus first.” Now I think that may be true. But I wonder if Jesus were to give to you and to me the same command He gave the rich young ruler, how we would respond? Would we take off faster than a wig in a fan shop? Or would we Shema? Does Jesus expect everyone to sell everything they have? Probably not. But might He expect that of you? Absolutely. You see, when we come to passages like this, instead of talking about forsaking all things, we talk about prioritizing Jesus above all our stuff. And the reason we do this is often grounded in our own reluctance to embrace the abandoned life that Jesus is pointing to; a life that has let go of everything in abandon to Him. “I can keep my money, my habits, my current occupation, and my dreams as long as I love Jesus more.”; though we never ask what we mean by “more”. What defines our “more” or what defines our “love”. More importantly, we never clearly define how we are going to measure the “more” or the “love”. How do we know how much of my own life I can still cling to? The answer is simple. The language of this story, which is recorded in all three of the synoptic Gospels, is not to prioritize, but to abandon; not to reduce, but to utterly forsake. This means that everything I have and everything I am and ever will be is surrendered without reservation to Him to be used by Him for whatever He wills whenever He wills it. This includes our hopes, our dreams, and our deepest desires; and ultimately the direction our lives are headed. It may be the job you think you should have; or that thing you have been saving for that you think you need or have a right to. Christ wants it. It involves our television time and what we read; what we shop for and look at on the internet. Christ wants it. This surrender even impinges upon the confines of our minds and hearts; what we think about, what we dwell on, and what we love. Do our hearts truly belong to Jesus? Have our dreams been surrendered to Jesus? In a society that cries out for us to embrace its thinking, Jesus calls us to have the mind of Christ. In a culture that beckons us to grasp what it has to offer, Jesus calls us to live as strangers in a foreign land and to set our hearts on things above. In a commercialized world that terms us “consumers”, and which calls us to accumulate more for ourselves and our kids, Jesus says to abandon all things. But why? I once read a touching story… Your Hand Is Bigger-- A little boy and his father visited the country store, upon leaving the store the owner of the store offered the little boy some free candy. "Get a hand full of candy", the merchant said to the boy. The boy just stood there, looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, "Son get a hand full of candy, its free." Again the boy did not move, continuing to look up into the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a hand full of candy and gave it to his son. As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a hand full of the free candy. The boy, with a big smile on his face, looked into the face of his father and said, "Because I know that your hand is bigger than mine.” Jesus’ command here to this man in this situation is not to simply try to rearrange his priorities. Jesus tells him to give up his wealth; to sell it! And it’s not so that he can have less, but so that he can have more. Because Christ’s hands are bigger. And then comes the man’s response. It says… Mark 10:22 (ESV)— 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. What a tragic verse. Just think of all that he missed out on; and for what?! Stuff that (sure enough) passed away. Everything he had has passed away. Note how although He is a rich young ruler; an important figure (apparently); not even his name survives. We don’t have any idea who he was. And that’s the point isn’t it. The only life that will last is the life we give to Jesus. And that is why I want to say to you: today don’t hold back from Jesus. If there is anything that is keeping you from following Jesus with ALL of your heart, give it to Him. Maybe there is an area of your life that He wants control of. Maybe He is calling you to invest in eternity with your time, your resources, or even your life. If so, don’t water down what He is trying to say to you. Don’t make the mistake of clinging to that which will pass away. Hear what the Lord is saying to you. And don’t just hear, but listen. Shema Him this week. Hear and obey, so that in Christ you might reap a reward that will not perish or fade away. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show! It’s good to have you with us. We have been moving through the first of Jesus’ miracles, which He performs at a wedding in Cana. The wine has run out and Mary (Jesus’ mother) points out the situation to Him, expecting that He will help. Yet Jesus responds to her rather evasively. It says in verse 4…
John 2:4a (ESV)-- 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? Isn’t This Harsh?-- Now this seems harsh to us, that Jesus would call His mother “woman”. And dangerous for any of us. If you ever address your mother or wife like that, I can guarantee you are probably going to have problems. Yet here Jesus means no disrespect. The word here translated “woman” some would say is like our word ma’am; it is not demeaning in any way; quite the opposite, in fact. It is actually the same word that Jesus uses of Mary later when He is hanging on the cross and He places her into the care of John. Remember Joseph died sometime during Jesus’ childhood or youth; sometime during those “silent years”; definitely by the time of the cross, because Jesus commits Mary into the care of John because she is a widow. Jesus therefore (because He was the oldest) had become the head of the household (taking responsibilities for the family ever since Joseph’s death) has the responsibility of caring for Mary. And for that reason, He was the go-to person for Mary’s every need. And He was a good caregiver; because He never made a mistake or a bad judgment call. He was the very embodiment of the wisdom of God. And therefore Mary trusts him implicitly. And that is why she comes to Him with this request to begin with, because she knows that Jesus will be able to give the best possible help to the situation. Now the reason Jesus responds the way He does to her is highlighted by His next statement… John 2:4 (ESV)-- My hour has not yet come.” His Hour Had Not Yet Come-- Now what Jesus meant was that the time for His glory to become complete had not yet come. He is operating on a divine time table and is moving in perfecting timing towards the fulfillment of His mission. All throughout John’s Gospel is repeated the phrase “His hour had not yet come.” all the way up until His hour finally does come at the time of His crucifixion; and He is glorified (lifted up) on the cross; becoming the very means of our glory. It is arrival language; His hour had come. And so here Jesus is showing that He is about to enter into the purpose for which He came to earth and is saying that everything He does must be brought into submission to that mission. Mary’s Relationship With Jesus Had To Change-- But in addition to this, in saying this the way He does, He is distancing Himself from Mary (in a way) and indicating that (because His ministry is starting) their relationship is going to have to change. She is to recognize Him not just as the son she raised, but is to start relating to Him as the promised Messiah and Son of God. He was no longer accountable to her, but from this point onwards was accountable only to His Father in heaven. But Jesus never denies her; this was always a part of His plan. And this is further demonstrated by the fact that she doesn’t take it as a denial. She knows He is going to do something about it because of what she then says to the servants. It says in… John 2:5-6 (ESV)-- 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Why the Pots?-- Now it is interesting that Jesus chose these water pots as the means by which He would perform this sign; because these Jewish water pots weren’t meant for wine at all, but were meant for hand-washing in order that you might be made ritually clean before you ate. And so they represented the whole Jewish system of purification; and the old covenant. And in verse 7 it says… John 2:7a-8 (ESV)-- 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” They Obey-- Now I don’t know what the servants who had been commanded by Jesus to do this must have thought. They obviously probably would have been scratching their heads. But they obey and fill each of these stone water pots with water. It says… John 2:7b (ESV)--And they filled them up to the brim. And together these pots held somewhere between a hundred and twenty and a hundred and eighty gallons. John 2:8 (ESV)— 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. At what point?-- Now we don’t know at what point the water became wine; before they took it or after they took it in faith, we don’t know. All we know is that they took it. They take it to the master of the feast; the maitre’d or head waiter. And it says… John 2:9-10 (ESV)-- 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” Leftovers-- And isn’t that how it is. Somebody comes over to your house for a couple days and you serve them the best, but toward the end you are serving leftovers. The food quality depreciates somewhat. Yet here it is just the opposite. The master of the feast says, “Hey, this is the good stuff! What are you doing waiting to serve this! How much do we have?” “Well, gallons and gallons of it.” “What! You kept the best till the very end?” Who Knew?-- You see, he didn’t know where the wine had come from. Few at the party ever did. Not even the chief waiter knew. It was all kept secret. In fact, interestingly enough, the couple that was getting married may not even have been aware of what Jesus did at their wedding. Imagine having no idea what Jesus had done for you. And yet (in a way) there is a beauty in that. The quiet grace of Jesus allowed a wedding to be preserved and enjoyed. Unseen Touches of Grace-- And this is true in our lives as well. Jesus moves unseen in our lives every day; preserving us in an untold number of ways. When we get to heaven I can only imagine the awe we will have in looking over all those areas of our lives He touched; how many empty jars He has filled for us. The Servant Knew-- Yet the servants (who had no stake in this); they knew and were witnesses to what Jesus had done. And even more importantly, so were the disciples. The disciples knew where it came from. And we are told that they saw His glory… John 2:11 (ESV)-- 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. Beyond Expectation-- And what a joyous occasion to perform His first sign. In the Old Testament the two events that are almost alway mentioned in accompaniment with joy are the harvest and when you would hear the voice of the bride and the bridegroom. Those are the two greatest times for rejoicing. And here, the joy is found in the fact that, like I said before, Jesus doesn’t just fulfill a need, He does so abundantly (with a better wine; with excess and overflow; gallons and gallons of overflow). He’s saying to His disciples (and us), “Even though you expect me to stop at fulfilling the Jewish law (what these stone pots represent), I am going to go so much further. I have what it takes to meet your greatest need; to fill your emptiness; to cleanse you. The Jews had been trying to clean their hands; the outward parts, but Jesus is saying, “I want to go deeper than that. Just as I changed the inside of those pots, so also I want to change you from the inside.” He says in… Matthew 23:25-26 (NIV)-- 25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. From The Inside Out-- And so Jesus touches those pots on the inside and makes wine that is altogether new; altogether better; altogether perfect; the most wonderful wine that had been tasted by any other person since the fall. And Jesus is saying to us, “Give me your cup and let me fill you. If you feel empty, let me fill you so that you will never thirst again!” Church More Than Ritual-- As a pastor, I notice when a person or persons stop attending church. And there are any number of reasons why. But I think that often times the reason some people eventually come to skip Church is that Church itself has often become just a ritual we go through (like washing our hands in those stone pots) to cleanse and wash our consciences every week; not a place we go to to experience the rich, overflowing, wine of the presence of God. In many ways, we find that we have lost the wine. We have lost the wine of the presence of God. Offering More than Ritual-- What Jesus is offering you today is more than ritual; He is offering you more than just forgiveness; He is offering you the life-giving joy of intimate fellowship with Him in a marriage relationship with Him. That is the depth of the relationship He wants to share with us; a marriage that begin now and extends on into eternity. And so today I would like to enter into the presence of Jesus in prayer and allow Him to fill you, to renew your strength, to cleanse you, and to make you new. And He will; and your life will be full; and you will also be a blessing and a source of life for those around you. Give yourself to Jesus today. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show! It’s good to have you with us. Last week we began talking about the first of Jesus’ miracles, which He performs at a wedding in Cana. And after laying some groundwork, let’s go ahead and start moving through this passage, starting with chapter 2, verse 1. It says…
John 2:1a (ESV)-- 1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,… A Wedding in Cana-- Now the third day means the third day since Jesus’ encounter with Nathanael. On the third day after that, there is a wedding in Cana. Now weddings during that time were major, major events. In fact, in small rural life, it was the single most important community event. And this wedding took place in the small rural town of Cana in Galilee, a close neighbor of Nazareth (them being about eight or nine miles from each other). And I said recently how insignificant Nazareth was. During the time of Christ we are talking about a max population of about 500 people. Cana, however, had only a few dozen. I mean this is a very small village. And so (when understood in that light) that makes this wedding all the more significant of an event. And you have people coming from Nazareth as well, because during this time people weren’t mobile like we are in our society. No, people married and stayed within the area. And they intermarried with people in the surrounding area. Nazareth and Cana were very connected; they had been for generations; for generations they traded with one another; they intermarried with each other. And, in fact, it is very possible that the bride or groom (or both) were relatives of Jesus (very possibly distant cousins). There’s a joke about how, in small towns, everybody is related. How much more so when you and your family have been connected with a place for hundreds of years. So because of that this is a community event for Nazareth as well. And it (like all weddings) involved numerous people. And one of those people is Mary, the mother of Jesus. It says in verse 1… John 2:1b-2 (ESV)-- …and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. Mary’s Role-- Now Mary does not seem to have been there as merely an attendee, but as one who is either serving (which matches her personality) or helping in some other capacity. And why this seems to be the case is because she is obviously privy to information relating to the problem that occurs; a problem that was very sensitive and dangerous; and (as we will see) only a handful of people knew. She is facilitating or serving in some way. Jesus and Disciples Invited-- And Jesus and what disciples He had already called (which included Nathanael, who was himself from Cana) also have been invited and make the three day, 20-22 mile trip from where Jesus had called Philip and Nathanael up in Bethsaida. And remember Jesus had said to Nathanael that he would see the glory of God revealed in Himself, saying in… John 1:50-51 (NIV)-- 50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” An Obscure Bridge-- And Jesus has been living for 30 years in absolute obscurity. And now He is about to bridge out and launch into His public ministry. And where Jesus would perform His first miracle would be very significant. And nobody (not even His disciples) expected His glory to be revealed here; in this kind of situation. Surely the Son of God would manifest His glory in the temple (His house); or at least in Jerusalem; or even in Judea. But, oddly enough, He chose to reveal His glory not in Judea or in Jerusalem; but in this tiny Galilean village for a relatively small gathering of friends and family (a place that would make a mere pinpoint on the map, if that) and to a simple couple who are so simple, they are not even named; we don’t know even know who they were. And there may be a beauty in that. Jesus cares (as Matthew 25:40,45 says) for “the least of these”. But, regardless of who this couple was, one of the worst things that could happen in a wedding during that time happens to them. It says in verse 3… John 2:3 (ESV)-- 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” The Necessity of Wine-- Now wine was the staple drink of the ancient world and was made from all kinds of fruit, not just grapes. Now some argue that this was not really wine, but merely grape juice. That is simply not the case because you have to remember that they had no preservatives or refrigeration; and so because of that, all those juices were subject to fermentation; in fact they fermented and became alcoholic very quickly. But it was safer to drink than water because there was no such thing as a water purifier. And though moving water (like a river or a stream; what they called “living water” because it produced life, not death) was good, the majority of water you had access to was standing water; either from a lake or from wells; and whenever water sits it becomes subject to bacteria and disease. So wine (or wine mixed with water) was safer to drink; but because you might be working in the fields on a hot day and drink to become hydrated, you could very easily over-drink and become intoxicated. This is why scripture warns so adamantly about the dangers of alcohol; because drunkenness was so prevalent. And those who would use this passage in order to say that what Jesus is doing here is baptizing all social drinking as okay have no idea what is actually going on here; comparing modern drinks (which are designed to be intoxicating) to what naturally happened and was necessary in the ancient world; something which (with modern purification techniques and medicine) is completely unnecessary today. Fermentation was the only source of purification they had. A major catastrophe-- But nevertheless, wine (throughout much of the Old Testament) was a symbol of God’s favor and blessing. Therefore, to run out of wine was a big deal. Now this may not seem like a big deal to us, but in the first century this was a catastrophe; a disastrous embarrassment of the worst kind. In fact, you may be surprised to find out that the offending party could in fact be sued over this. The Betrothal Period-- And the reason this was so humiliating was due in large part to the fact that the bridegroom, after proposing to his prospective wife, would then enter into the beginning stage of the marriage covenant; which would be a betrothal period of about one year. And although they did not live together, the betrothal could not be dissolved except by divorce. And during this time, all throughout the year, the bridegroom would be making preparations for his betrothed; usually building an addition onto his father’s house and planning for the wedding and making provision for her to come and live with him in his father’s house. And so the responsibility of paying for and preparing the wedding fell solely on the groom. During this time before the wedding he had to prove that he could provide and care for her and meet her every need. And when he had demonstrated that he had what it took to provide and care for his bride, the festivities began, culminating in what was usually a seven-day-long wedding feast known as the marriage supper, after which the marriage was consummated. And so this was the moment that all of this time of preparation had been building towards. It was finally completed; the groom’s readiness to receive his bride was at hand. And then this happens. A Father’s Worst Nightmare-- And as a father, this is the last thing you would want to see. And many of you fathers can relate to this. In marrying your daughter off, your number one concern is that you want to know that your daughter is going to be taken care of; even more so in such a precarious culture and time such as this. And yet right at the outset of their marriage the wine runs out. And you (like all fathers) would wonder, “Does this guy really have what it takes to take care of my daughter; maybe he can’t plan.” So there is that element to it. But there is also the fact that because living during this time was so extremely difficult, weddings provided a relief from the difficulties a town like Cana would face; weddings were a pleasant distraction from the harsh realities of day to day life. And so running out of wine could ruin the spirit of the wedding by bringing in that harshness, bringing a very bad vibe to the whole celebration. That The Wedding Might Go Through-- And so what Jesus does here is truly remarkable. All throughout the Old Testament, just as God had made provision for His bride, so we now see the very picture of that as here Jesus (God in the flesh) begins His ministry by making provision for this bride in order that the wedding might go through. What a picture this is of the entire ministry of God; making provision for His bride (through Jesus) in order that our marriage to Him might go through. Mary’s Request-- Now Mary’s coming to Jesus with this problem plays out kind of humorously. She says to Him, they have no wine. Now here she is being very motherly. She is not merely stating a fact. I had a professor in seminary who said that it is kind of like when your wife or mother says to you [“The trash can is full.”? Or “The grass is long or “The car sure is dirty.” Yes those are all statements of fact, but we know that they are indeed much more {than} a statement of fact and if that is said {to me}, it is really going to be the best thing for me to empty the trash, cut the grass, or wash the car.” Such a mother thing to say. And yet it is a statement that also reveals that she knows there is something special about this person. To say that to a normal person, they would not be able to do anything about it. But she knows that there is something special about Jesus.] How she knew Jesus could do something about it, we don’t know. There are ancient legendary stories of Jesus having performed miracles as a child. We don’t know which (if any) of them are true. This is the first public miracle He performs. But she chooses to trust that in Jesus her needs (and the needs of others) can be met. A Great Immediate Response-- How awesome it would be if we could have that kind of trust in our relationship with Jesus; that when things get tough, our immediate response is to put the situation into Jesus’ hands; to hand it over to His control. Mary’s faith here is truly extraordinary. But it is a faith that each and every one of us can have. That illness you or a loved one may have; give it to Jesus. That lost family member or friend; turn the over to Jesus. Any emptiness in your life can be (like those jars) platforms upon which He can perform some of His greatest miracles. And so let us be faithful to give those situations over into His hands. Why? Because He is able. Give it to Him today. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show! We appreciate your joining us today. Our mission here on this radio program is simply to offer the life and encouragement that is found in the presence of Jesus. He is the Bread of Life; the source of all life; because He is the life. And He has life that He wants to offer you today; life in Himself. Last week we finished the end of John chapter 1. Jesus has just called about five of His disciples and at this point is preparing to enter into public ministry. But before that, He is invited to a wedding. And I’d like to pick up there today. John 2:1-11 reads…
John 2:1-11 (ESV) The Wedding at Cana-- 1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.[a] 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. Witnesses-- Now the Gospel of John is all about witnesses to who Jesus is and the reader’s response to the testimony of those witnesses. Up until this point in the life of Jesus you have had people bearing witness to who Jesus is. John the Baptist has born witness about Jesus; God Himself has born witness at Jesus’ baptism; and Nathanael has born witness. So we have verbal testimony. But starting in our passage this morning, we also have the testimony of the signs that Jesus performed. And we know that there are many. In fact so many, that the Apostle John writes in… John 21:25 (NIV)-- 25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. Nevertheless John chooses eight of these signs that bear testimony to Jesus as being fully man, yet fully God; and that show His awesome power and authority over every element of creation and (more specifically) every trial and difficulty that you and I face in our day to day lives. The Eight Signs-- He turns water into wine (2:1-12) so that we might know He is the source of life. He heals an official’s son (John 4:46-54) so that we might know that He is the master over distance. Jesus heals a lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-17) so that we might see that He is master over time. He feeds the 5,000 (John 6:1-14) so that we might see that He is the bread of life. He walks on water and stills a storm (John 6:15-21) so that we might see how He is master over nature. He heals a man blind from birth (John 9:1-41) so that we might see that He is the light of the world who extinguishes our darkness. He raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:17-45) so that we might know that He has power over death. He causes an abundant catch of fish (John 21:6) so that we might see that He has mastery even over the animal world; and that His authority; His dominion knows no boundaries. And that is so comforting to know as we move through our day to day lives; knowing who He is and the length of His arm; His power over those things that seems so unconquerable to us. Christ’s Authority, Our Hope-- This is why John’s Gospel is so important to us. Because it shows us that every element of our lives is in the control of Jesus. His dominion is complete; His power is perfect; and in Him is hope of life; if not healing in this life, in the life to come! The Apostle John drives home the reality the power Christ’s presence has in our day to day lives. In Him is the assurance of His power that (unlike anything else) can give us hope during times like this. But we have to believe. We have to believe. Our hope hinges on belief; our placing our faith in Him. This is why, John in the purpose statement of his Gospel, writes… John 20:31 (NIV)-- 31 But these (meaning the eight signs found in the book of John) are written that you may believe[a] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. “Are you going to believe?”-- So the question becomes, “Are you going to believe?” And throughout John’s Gospel, after every sign Jesus performs, John records for us the responses of those who believed and those who didn’t and the affect that response had on their lives. Those who did believe experienced the life-giving presence of Jesus and the hope that He offers. And that is what Christ wants you and me to experience this morning. So please don’t miss it. Jesus wants to bring His life into your life today. A Hospital Encounter-- Once I was visiting somebody in the hospital; and while I was waiting to see the individual I had come to see, the Lord allowed somebody to come to me; somebody I had never met who began talking with me; and he freely confessed he was not a Christian nor had any interest in becoming one. And when I asked him what it was that he found most difficult to believe about the Christian faith, it was that God would care enough about us to interact with us in our world. And you know, I can identify with his struggle. The fact that God loves us and is willing to interact with us so personally; to suffer and die for us can be very hard to wrap your mind around. Even many of the Biblical writers had difficulty comprehending it. David himself writes in… Psalm 8:3-4 (NIV)-- 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? God’s Marriage-- And the Bible is so graphic in its language. In the Old Testament, the predominant picture is the intimate marriage relationship between a man and a woman. God enters into a relationship with Israel softly and tenderly. He woos her to Himself. He declares His love; He makes a covenant with her. He protects her like a jealous husband; He forgives and receives her back after her numerous affairs with other lovers (her idolatry). He picks Israel up in all of the brokenness she has led herself into and He clothes her anew and promises to heal her and make the marriage work. I mean it is some of the most moving imagery we have that unites the Old Testament with the New and gives us the grandest theme of all of Scripture; that God would choose to wed Himself to mankind is a wonderful and marvelous reality. A Ministry Bookended by Marriage-- And you cannot miss the significance of the fact that the very first sign Jesus performs, He performs at a wedding. In fact, His ministry is bookended by weddings. The Wedding in Cana begins His ministry and His ministry is punctuated and consummated in the Last Day at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. His ministry begins and ends with weddings. And that alone ought to reveal to us in a remarkable way just what kind of relationship our Creator wants to share with us. One-Flesh With Us-- That is the glory revealed to us in Christ Jesus; the glory Jesus promised Nathanael that he would be a witness to; that He (God) had become one-flesh with us and was making preparations for us to be able to enter into a marriage relationship with Him and live with Him in His Father’s house; a relationship so personal, that when the disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray, He doesn’t say to pray saying, “The Father”, or “His father, but “Our Father”. In Jesus, God has become our Father because we have (as one hymn puts it so beautifully) become “part of the family of God”. It’s words are so powerful. Just listen… Hymn: “Family of God” From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King, No longer an outcast, a new song I sing; From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong, I'm not worthy to be here, but praise God I belong! I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God, I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood! Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, For I'm part of the family, The Family of God God’s Abundant Provision-- And that is what our story today is all about; it reveals to us the abundance; the overflow of God’s blessing; as He doesn’t only give mankind what we needed (which was a Savior) but He gives us a Bridegroom; a Bridegroom with and in whom we might experience the wonder of a marriage relationship with God. If you understand nothing else from the Bible, understand this. God loves you wholly and completely; He loves you unconditionally. And not your past; not your brokenness; nor any of the barriers you think are too great for His love to overcome can hold a candle to His love for you. And Jesus His Son bled and died so that you might be wed to God Himself. And no matter who you are or what you are going through today, don’t let that offer of marriage slip you by. Don’t fail to accept that free gift He offers to us. Receive Him as your Bridegroom and you will be a part of the family of God. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show! It’s good to have you with us. I want to open today with an experiment; one that you can try out with your own friends & family.
Illusion: A Number between 1 and 50— I want you to think of a number between one and fifty. Both digits have to be odd, but not the same number. Once you have that number, hold it in your mind. Was it 37? If so, pretty awesome. If not, that’s okay, I’m not a mind reader. However, when phrased the right way, most people will choose 37. 35 is next and 17 is also sometimes chosen. What would it be like for somebody to reveal something to you about yourself that nobody but you could possibly know? And that is something that we see taking place in our passage today. Jesus astounds a man with a revelation of knowledge the man thought only he was privy to. Except, unlike this, it was not an illusion or a trick. Jesus does something that only God can do. First, He reveals the previous location of the man (which if Jesus were a mere man, He couldn’t possibly know); and then He reveals something much more incredible: the nature and character of the man (which only God could know). And in this revelation we discover something not just about the man, but about Jesus Himself. So if you would, go ahead and turn with me to John chapter 1. That’s John chapter 1. We’ll look at verses 43-51. Nathanael Comes With Philip-- Now Nathanael didn’t know what to think about Philip’s testimony, but he saw the presence of Jesus emanating through the life of his friend. And so he comes with Philip to see what this Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth was all about. Now it says in… John 1:47 (NIV)— 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” A Character Statement— And Jesus was here making a character statement about Nathanael. He compliments Nathanael as being an Israelite who has remained true to God’s calling, “in whom there is no deceit!”. Now in that word “deceit” Jesus is hinting at a story he is going to bring up later in His conversation with Nathanael; and that is the story of Jacob. You will remember that Jacob’s name means “supplanter”, which suits him because of how he deceived and manipulated first Esau, then his father Isaac, then Laban, and just about everybody around him, at least until the Lord laid hold of him (literally) and wrestled him to the ground. And in that encounter God blesses Jacob and re-names him, giving him the name “Israel”. It was a change of name that signified both a change of identity and a change of future. In Nathanael’s Shoes-- And what Jesus is saying to Nathanael is (and I love how J. Vernon McGee puts it): [“Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no Jacob.”] And we know this is in Jesus’ mind because of how He references the story later. But picture this. Let’s say that somebody came up to you that you had never met before, from a completely different town than the one you live in and greets you by saying, “Ah, here is a righteous person indeed. A good spouse; a loving parent; this person is one of absolute character.” What would you think? Wouldn’t you be a little bit skeptical, like somebody who is having their fortune told. Was Jesus nothing more than the equivalent of a palm-reader? […Galilee had already seen a number of men come forward who had made some claim to messiahship. Nathanael will have none of it.] He is careful, as he should be. And to be honest, Jesus had not yet said anything yet that any pious Israelite would not love to hear. But Jesus is saying them as if He knows them to be true of Nathanael. Now while a man might be able to say these things as a compliment, only God can say these things in an absolute sense because only God knows the heart of a person. 1 Samuel 16:7b (ESV)— 7…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 1 Chronicles 28:9 (ESV)-- 9…the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought…. Jeremiah 12:3a (ESV)-- 3 But you, O Lord, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. 1 Kings 8:39 (ESV)— 39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), Psalm 44:21 (ESV)— 21 would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. Psalm 139:1 (ESV)-- 1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! Proverbs 16:2 (ESV)— 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Jeremiah 17:10a (ESV)— 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind,… Divine Implication-- So, to be able to know (in an absolute sense) the character of the heart is a divine attribute. So by the authoritative way that Jesus declares Nathanael to be a man in whom there is no deceit, He is implying that He shares in the Divine all-knowing attribute of God, which points to His own deity. And Nathanael I think realizes this. So Nathanael decides to put Jesus to the test to see if Jesus is the real deal. So it says… John 1:48 (NIV)— 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Supernatural Knowledge-- Ok, now what is incredible is that Jesus tells Nathanael where he was before Philip even reached him. He reveals that location as being under the fig tree. We are not sure exactly what brought Philip to that fig tree. In the ancient world [The shade of a fig tree was a favorite place for study and prayer in hot weather.] Fig trees had huge branches that would provide a lot of shade and were typically grown by poor people who lived in small one-room houses who wanted to escape to someplace private and cool. [Perhaps Nathanael had some significant or outstanding experience of communion with God at the location]. We don’t know. But […the main point is that Nathanael knows exactly what Jesus is talking about;] And this gives Nathanael a glimpse of Jesus’ supernatural knowledge. And for Nathanael it meant that because Jesus knew the geographical information that was impossible for Him to know, Jesus’ declaration of Nathanael’s inward condition could also be trusted. And what is key here is Nathanael’s response. It says… John 1:49 (NIV)— 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” High Titles-- [Nathanael has witnessed a miracle, and from it decides to make a remarkable step of faith. At once Nathanael, who now has experienced Jesus for himself, addresses him with a litany of titles: “Rabbi! . . . Son of God . . . King of Israel.” “Rabbi” is a title of respect for a Jewish teacher (1: 38). “Son of God” is an unexpected recognition of Jesus’ deity that was used with tremendous reserve in the Old Testament. “King of Israel” is used elsewhere at the triumphal entry (12:13) and when Jesus is on the cross (Matt. 27: 42); {yet} here it is no doubt an expression of Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. Together these three names complete the portrait of John that has been building throughout this chapter.] Now what is amazing to me is that we already have a wholistic picture of Jesus in this and we haven’t even gotten to chapter 2! Nathanael (apparently) is quick to understand, which may be why Jesus calls him a true Israelite; because that is how all the Israelites ought to be. Now Jesus responds to Nathanael. It says… John 1:50-51 (NIV)— 50 Jesus said, “You believe[a] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[b] you[c] will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[d] the Son of Man.” Truly, Truly— Now [Truly, truly, I say to you is a solemn affirmation stressing the authoritative nature and importance of Jesus’ pronouncements. The expression is found 25 times in this Gospel. The two references to “you” here are plural.] When we want to affirm something is true in Church, we say “Amen!” afterwards. In Biblical times if you wanted to affirm something that had been said was very true, you would say it twice. But Jesus changes the order of the sentence and begins with “Amen, Amen”. It is his way of declaring that what He is going to say is very important and we need to tune in. He says: Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” Jacob’s Ladder-- And Jesus is of course referring here to Jacob’s dream of a ladder all the way back in Genesis 28. In that dream there was a ladder that stretched between heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending from it. And it was a means of man coming to and entering into a relationship with God. And what Jesus was saying to Nathanael was that He Himself (the Divine Son of Man as prophesied about through the prophet Daniel) was that ladder; and that Nathanael himself could enter into a relationship with God in and through Him. He was the bridge! And that relationship is open to anybody who is willing to receive Christ. You want to get to God? Jesus is the Way; the only Way. And He is the greatest road that we could ever take; leading us to life; to rebirth; to renewal; to healing; to forgiveness; to reconciliation; to redemption; to freedom. He is the key to every element of your life. And He wants you to come; He wants you to come to Him. And if you do, He will change you. If you’re a Jacob, He’ll make you an Israel. If you don’t know Him, receive Him into your life. Simply ask Him in and He will bring you into a saving relationship with God. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show! As, always, it is good to have you with us and we sincerely appreciate your tuning in to Lechem Panim. Lechem Panim is the Hebrew phrase for the bread of the presence of God that was in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. And it represented the reality that what we need for everyday life (bread) is found in the presence of God. And Jesus (who called Himself the Bread of Life) was saying that in Him we can have life. And so each week we seek to draw closer to Him through His word so that we can eat that Bread ourselves; but also so that we might share that Bread with the world.
Kreisler’s Violin-- I’d like to open today with a story I read some time ago. [Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase the beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. "Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?" he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred. "I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed. "It's yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it.”] It Must Be Shared-- I find it so fascinating how strongly Christianity is associated with music. From the earliest days of Christianity, Christians were known to be men and women who were singing. Other religions have music to some degree, but nothing in comparison to Christianity. There is something about Christianity that (whether through proclamation or through music) is not content to remain in storage. It must be shared; it must be declared; it must be proclaimed. The invitation of Jesus is to “Come and See”. But what we find in scripture is that those who “Come and See” also “Go and Tell”. And this is where we find Philip. Philip has caught the music; he has encountered Jesus. And he has to go and tell the world; and he begins with those closest to him, which includes Nathanael. It says in… John 1:45a (NIV)-- 45 Philip found Nathanael… Nathanael/Bartholomew-- Now Nathanael (or Bartholomew), as he is sometimes referred to (Bartholomew simply means “son of Tholomaios”; Bartholomew simply reveals to us who his father was), [is linked with Philip in all three Synoptic lists of apostles (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14).] There is a close relationship between these two disciples, which we talked about before. And because of that close relationship, Philip wants Nathanael to know the same hope that he himself has found in this Rabbi named Jesus. So it says in… John 1:45 (NIV)-- 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Philip’s Witness-- Now here we see that [When Philip witnessed to Nathanael, the evidence he gave was Moses and the prophets (John 1:45). {We are not sure how Philip was able to connect all these dots. It has been suggested that} Perhaps Jesus gave Philip a “quick course” in the Old Testament messianic prophecies, as He did with the Emmaus disciples (Luke 24:13ff.). {And if so, Philip then relays to Nathanael how Jesus is the fulfillment of those prophecies. And} It is always good to tie our personal witness to the Word of God.] But it is the last title that really throws Nathanael. It is the title Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. He responds… John 1:46a (NIV)— 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. A Region, A City, a Father of Bad Repute-- Now the reason that Nathanael reacts the way that he did was because the Messiah should be from a place like Jerusalem in Judea (somewhere important and religious; where the temple was). Now it would have been bad enough for Jesus to be from Galilee because of the unclean nature of Galilee in general (a place filled with Gentiles and Jews who were perceived to be sub-par because of their having mixed with the Gentiles. That would have been ridiculous enough. But Philip was saying not only that Jesus was from Galilee, but that Jesus was from Nazareth! Now [Nazareth did not have a bad reputation in Jesus’ day, but neither did it have a famous reputation. It was a small south Galilee mountain village, a fraction of the size of the modern Arab Christian city {that we see today.] Possum-neck— Now what’s the name of the town around here that whenever you want to make fun of a person for being from a small town, you say they are from there? In and around the city where I pastored my first church; Kosciusko, MS (which itself qualifies) was an even much smaller town called Possum-neck. And I’m not sure you can get smaller than Possum-neck, Mississippi. Before the great depression it got large enough to support it’s own post office, but has long since faded from that not-so-glorious glory. But Jesus was from Possum-neck, Galilee. I mean this a tiny tiny town. You could throw a frisbee from one side to the other. I mean this place is so small, that for years secular historians and critics called us Christians neanderthalic boneheads and crazy for believing it even existed. But of course the ruins of Nazareth were then discovered. But you can’t get more insignificant than Nazareth! It was the Possum-neck of Galilee. Two Skeptical Pharisees-- So Nathanael responds: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” And he’s making a joke. “Okay Phillip, who stopped payment on your reality check?” And we probably see some town-rivalry here. I know you guys don’t know what that is. It’s when one place thinks they are better than another place. It is known in some places as sports. Now Nathanael is no doubt laughing at his own joke. He’s very cynical. He’s probably thinking, “Yeah, the more Nazarenes I meet, the more I like my dog.” He has a very low opinion of Nazareth. Philip’s Invitation-- Now I love Philip because he doesn’t suddenly start to explain or get into some sort of theological discussion or try to debate Nathanael. No his response is so simple; and is probably the greatest evangelistic and apologetic call that we can make in our witness for Christ. John 1:46b (NIV)— “Come and see,” said Philip. The Mirrored Call: “Come”-- And that invitation, [“Come and see” is the refrain heard the previous day in Judea (1:39) and now becomes Nathanael’s challenge.] And this is the most effective method because it is the one that mirrors most closely the call of Christ Himself. Warren Wiersbe points out that [When Nathanael hesitated and argued, Philip adopted our Lord’s own words: “Come and see” (John 1:39). Later on, Jesus would invite, “Come … and drink” (John 7:37), and, “Come and dine” (John 21:12). “Come” is the great invitation of God’s grace.] Another author said, [Throughout the Gospel many people will be challenged to “come and see.” Conversion is not about knowledge alone; it is about coming yourself and appropriating a relationship with Jesus personally.] And the question we ought to ask ourselves is, “Have we truly come and experienced Christ personally?” “Do we know of Him; talk about Him? Or do we know Him? Do we talk with Him? The call of Christ is to come and know Him personally. The question is, “Is He personal for us?” The miracle that Jesus Christ offers us is the ability to (at any moment we choose) to come into the presence of God and find forgiveness, healing, and grace. And when we “come and see” our immediate response will be to go and tell what Christ has done for us; to take somebody else by the hand and lead them to Him. The Strongest Argument-- You know, I love studying the historical evidence of the truth of Christianity. I love the field of apologetics. But you know [The strongest argument for the Gospel of Christ is {not argument, but rather} the personal testimony of someone whose life has been changed by it. Charles Bradlaugh, an avowed infidel, once challenged the Rev. H.P. Hughes to a debate. The preacher, who was head of a rescue mission in London, England, accepted the challenge with the condition that he could bring with him 100 men and women who would tell what had happened in their lives since trusting Christ as their Savior. They would be people who once lived in deep sin, some having come from poverty-stricken homes caused by the vices of their parents. Hughes said they would not only tell of their conversion, but would submit to cross-examination by any who doubted their stories. Furthermore, the minister invited his opponent to bring a group of non-believers who could tell how they were helped by their lack of faith. When the appointed day arrived, the preacher came, accompanied by 100 transformed persons. But Bradlaugh never showed up. The result? The meeting turned into a testimony time and many sinners who had gathered to hear the scheduled debate were converted.] The greatest testimony we can have is showing how Christ has made a difference in our lives and inviting those we come into contact with to “Come and see” the Savior. People, Our Lasting Monuments-- You want to know what the impact of Nathanael’s response to Philip’s call to “Come and see” was? In later years he became [one of the Church's most adventurous missionaries. He is said to have preached with Philip in Phrygia and Hierapolis; also in Armenia. The Armenian Church claims him as its founder…], a Church of over 11,000,000 self-proclaimed members. Perhaps it is little wonder that Nathanael’s name means “Gift of God”. To those of you who are listening today, I want to encourage you to not let Christ remain silent in your life. Let Him be played. Let people be able to hear the song sung through your life and hear in that melody the chord their own hearts have been searching for. And then invite them to “come and see” Jesus so that He might bring about that song in their own lives. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show! It’s good to have you with us. Our passage today comes from the book of John; chapter 1, verses 43-44. It reads…
John 1:43-44 (NIV)— 43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. We have been talking in recent weeks about the reality that anytime Jesus has truly touched our life; anytime we have truly experienced who He is and what He has done for us, our immediate response is always to go out and find somebody else that needs His touch on their lives. And the next disciple Jesus calls also has this same spirit. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and look with me, starting at verse 43… John 1:43a (NIV)— 43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Galilee of the Gentiles-- Now Galilee was a highly unusual place for a good Jewish Rabbi to begin His ministry. Because way back in the Old Testament, Israel (if you remember) was carried away into captivity by Assyria. So when the Jews in Galilee were carried away, they were “replaced by a colony of pagan immigrants (2 Ki 15:29; 17:24). That is why it became known as “Galilee of the Nations” or “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isa 9:1; Mt 4:13, 15–16). Now even though Jews returned to Galilee after the captivity, it still remained predominantly Gentile and therefore was (in the Jewish mind) unclean. And so, because of that pagan influence, you could tell a Galilean by his accent (John 26:73). And this unholy mix “caused the southern Jews of ‘purer’ blood and orthodox tradition to despise the Galileans (Jn 1:46; 7:52).” Why Galilee? It Was Dark-- So why would a good Jewish Rabbi, much less the Messiah; the Son of God choose this region as the place to begin His ministry? I read an author some time ago who said that [Galilee’s very darkness was the Lord’s reason for granting more of the light of his presence and ministry to this region than to self-satisfied and privileged Judea. Christ was sent for “a light for the Gentiles” (Isa 42:6), as well as to the “lost sheep of Israel” (Mt 15:24). {He said} Galilee’s very debasement made some of its people feel more acutely their need of the Savior.] Jesus Comes to Those Whose Hearts Ache for Him-- Now you know what that says to me. Jesus comes to those whose hearts are aching for Him. He will not come first to those who feel satisfied. No, He comes to those who (having come to the realization that they are lost without Him) cry out for His touch. And even while that cry is still on our lips, He is already in our midst. Now we don’t have Philip’s backstory and therefore we don’t know why Jesus came to Philip; all we know is that Jesus intentionally goes to Galilee and apparently seeks Philip out. And it says in… John 1:43b (NIV)— Finding Philip, he {(Jesus)} said to him, “Follow me.” He will find you-- And what this shows us is that no matter who we are; where we live; what it is we are going through or what it is we are struggling with; when our hearts cry out for Jesus, He will find us. And He will lift us up. Now it says of Philip… John 1:44 (NIV)— 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. The Disciples from Bethsaida-- And actually Andrew, James the Elder, the Apostle John, Simon Peter, and Philip were all from Bethsaida, though Peter and Andrew had re-located to Capernaum. In Mark 1:21,29 we find that Andrew lived with his brother Peter and Peter’s wife in Peter’s house (remember Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law in Mark 1:31; she was staying with them). And this house has been discovered and you can go and see it today. Fishing Villages-- Now both Bethsaida and Capernaum were fishing villages on the northern coast of Galilee. In fact [Bethsaida means “house of fishing”] Sounds like my kind of place. And I have been to the coast of Galilee and witnessed the people there still fishing those same waters. And I got to eat some of that fish in a restaurant there. I prefer my fish headless; this one was not. I don’t particularly like food that looks back at me while I am eating it. But nevertheless it was fascinating to me to watch the people there (millennia later) still bringing forth that harvest from the sea in order to sell and trade. And these fishing villages (like Bethsaida and Capernaum [were important places because they resided on the main highway (the Via Maris or Way of the Sea) that brought traffic from the coastal hills of Judea to the northern regions of the country.] And so they did not only sell fresh fish locally, but exported fish as well. In fact, one of Bethsaida’s chief exports was dried fresh-water fish. During that time you had only tilapia, sardines, and eel in the Sea of Galilee. And eel was unclean to eat. You will remember that in the feeding of the five thousand (which took place only about 9 miles away from Bethsaida) a small boy approaches with five loaves and two small fish; and those two fish were most likely a couple of these dried sardines; a little protein to go along with his bread. And so we see that many of the disciples have this kind of industry in their background; most likely Philip as well. So this is the kind of place where Philip grew up. Imagine This-- Now imagine this. Jesus walks up to Philip and probably greets him. Philip probably greeted him back and said, “Hello good sir, what’s your name and what brings you to Bethsaida.” “My name is Jesus.” “Oh that’s right, you’re that rabbi from Nazareth. I have heard of you. I am deeply honored to meet you. What can I do for you?” “Come, follow me.” “Come, be my disciple.” Not Random-- Can you imagine? I mean Philip has never even met Jesus. Jesus comes all the way up from Judea, and the scriptures say he finds Philip (which implies that he was looking for him) and says “follow me.” You know, I don’t know about you, but it always seemed to me that Jesus’ way of choosing disciples was kind of random. I mean, it seemed as though Jesus would just pull random guys from whatever location he happened to be in. But here we see that Jesus is very intentional about the disciples He chooses. Nothing is random. He comes to Galilee; and not only because that is where He is going to start His ministry. No, He goes specifically to Bethsaida to handpick His first disciples. Now we are often tempted to think that our coming to Christ was random. But that is not true. Christ has specifically chosen each one of us for a special plan and purpose. He has handpicked us for a special task. And, I don’t know about you, but that is a great comfort to me; to know that my following Christ wasn’t a random decision with little to no aim in mind. But Christ sought out each one of us in order to bless us and call us to be His disciples. Phillip’s Response-- Now I would have loved to see Philip’s reaction to Christ’s call. It must have been one of fascination and awe because we have no other explanation than that Philip obeys that call. Apparently his own personal experience of Jesus; his experiencing Jesus for himself was all he needed; and he became immovably convinced that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. And so he begins to follow Jesus. And, as anyone who has encountered Jesus must do, he has to go and tell somebody. And of course he will go to tell Nathaniel, which we will talk about next week. The Living Link— But not long ago I read a historical story shared by Warren Wiersbe. [Britain’s King George V was to give the opening address at a special disarmament conference, with the speech relayed by radio to the U.S. As the broadcast was about to begin, a cable {that ran to the generator that powered the whole broadcast} broke in the New York radio station {(somebody having tripped over it)}, and more than a million listeners were left without sound. A junior mechanic in the station, {NY NBC radio engineer} Harold Vivien, solved the problem by picking up both ends of the cable and allowing 250 volts of electricity to pass through him. {And, though his body twitched with spasms, he held on (in pain) for 20 minutes until new wires could be connected.} He was the living link that allowed the king's message to get through.] We Are the Living Links— This morning I want you to imagine yourself as that living link between Jesus and those who need to hear Him; that (like that cable) allows His message to come through and touch their lives. You and I, whether we realize it or not, are often God’s means of allowing the very voice of Jesus to be heard. (LONG PAUSE) Yet sometimes the worst thing we can do we end up doing; and that is to remain silent. The Silent Lawyer— Once there was […a court case that was lost because of the silence of an attorney. The distinguished lawyer Samuel Hoar (1778-1856) was representing the defendant. When it was time to present his case, he told the jurors that the facts favoring his client were so evident that he would not insult their intelligence by arguing them. The jury retired to deliberate and returned in a few minutes with a verdict of guilty. Samuel Hoar was astonished! "How," he asked, "could you have reached such a verdict?" The foreman replied, "We all agreed that if anything could be said for a case, you would say it. But since you didn't present any evidence, we decided to rule against you." Silence had lost the case. How often the opportunity to speak a word of testimony for Christ is lost because we remain silent. Those who need to hear the gospel may conclude that salvation is not important enough to talk about. ] Through Your Life— This is why it is so important for us to speak up; to be that link that connects people with the voice and presence of Jesus. Through your life; through your witness, people come face to face with Jesus. We are all Christians because of the ministry of somebody else. I guarantee it. None of us has come to Christ on our own merit. All of us came because of the ministry of somebody else. And that was because Christ, in and through that person, was seeking to save you and to call you to come follow Him. Now the question is, who is Christ calling you and I to bring to Him? Who is Christ burdening our hearts for? Are we going to allow Christ to use us to bring those people to Him. This week I want to challenge you, find who that person is and begin praying for them. And look for opportunities to share with them the life you have found in Jesus. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show! It’s good to have you with us. Our passage today comes from the book of John; chapter 1, verses 43-44. It reads…
John 1:35-42 (ESV)— 35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.[b] 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus[c] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). Last week we got to meet three of Jesus’ first disciples. First we met Andrew and John; as John the Baptist pointed them to Jesus as the one they needed to follow. And so they began to follow Him. And Andrew then goes and tells His brother Simon all about Jesus. And so (because of Andrew) Simon Peter also comes, meets, and begins to follow Jesus. Simon Peter’s Brother-- I heard of one person who, when asked what Bible character they could relate to the most, their answer was Andrew. And, kind of surprised by the answer, this person was asked why. And that person’s response was, “Because when Andrew is mentioned, he is known as “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.’” How does it feel to always be known by “Oh yeah, you’re so and so’s brother (or sister or son or daughter).”? What is it like to always be living in the shadow of someone else? Sometimes that is difficult. Those kinds of people often get overlooked. And Andrew is one of those overlooked disciples. Andrew Always Bringing Someone To Jesus-- And yet I think that Andrew is one of the great unsung heroes of scripture. Because if you look at every passage in which his name pops up, you will discover that every time he is mentioned, he always seems to be bringing somebody to Jesus. Here in John 1 he brings his brother Simon. In John 6:8 he is the one who brings a young boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, with which Jesus feeds the five thousand. In John 12:22 both Andrew and Philip are instrumental in bringing some Gentiles to see Jesus. [Each time we meet Andrew in the Gospel he is bringing someone to Jesus (6:8; 12:22).] How great it would be if that element could characterize every one of our lives. Because that is the greatest thing that could be said of any person. And those are the kinds of people that Jesus uses to further His kingdom. The method Jesus most uses to call people to Himself is (interestingly) other people. How The First Disciples Were Called-- We see this principle at work when we look at how most of the first disciples became followers of Jesus Christ. We always think that Jesus was the one who sought out the first disciples. Actually, when we look at Scripture, we tend to find the exact opposite. Of the first six disciples that were called, only one was approached directly by Jesus. And that was Philip; and we will learn more about him today. But all the other five came as a result of somebody else's ministry; somebody else's pointing them to Jesus. Andrew and John became followers of Jesus because of John the Baptist’s pointing them to Jesus. And of course Peter came to Jesus as a result of Andrew’s witness. It says in… John 1:41 (ESV)-- 41 He {(Andrew)} first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). Protos-- Now that word “first” in Greek is usually proton. But here there is a special form, protos. And whenever this form appears it means that after that first, there must be a second. So what most scholars agree is that this implies that John also went and found his brother, which would be James (not the brother of Jesus, but James the disciple). So you have another person coming to Jesus as the result of someone else. And then of course Nathaniel later comes because of Philip. And this should tell us something remarkable about the way that Jesus chooses to build his kingdom. Yes, His disciples were all divinely called. For Jesus says in… John 6:44 (NIV)-- 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. Through Somebody Else-- But while this is true we find that the disciples were led to Jesus through the ministry of somebody else. And the same is true even today. The way that most people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is through the ministry of another person. Our Witness-- So what should challenge us is this. If Jesus chooses His disciples through the ministry of somebody else (through our ministry), what happens when you or I fail to be that witness? Just think of this: the main disciples that you and I think of as being the most important disciples (e.g. Peter and John) were not first approached by Jesus but came through the ministry of somebody else. And Peter was the one Jesus said would be his primary instrument in the building of his Church. Now that is amazing to think about; what a difference one person who is brought to Jesus by another person; what a difference that one person can make for the Kingdom of God. The Most Unlikely-- Now Peter (who we talked about last week) was not an ideal person to be chosen to be a disciple. He was outspoken; he was rash; he never seemed to be able to say the right thing. His mouth must have been in the shape of a shoe because of how many times he ended up putting his foot there. And yet God chose Him. Like always, He chooses the most unlikely; the people we think the least likely to be able to do anything substantial for His Kingdom to come follow Him; and then He fills them with His Spirit as he did with Peter and uses them to change the world. Peter was so inept, when faced with danger following Jesus’ arrest, he denied three times that he even knew Jesus. Yet when Christ got through with Him and filled him with His Spirit, Peter preached fearlessly and boldly at Pentecost, pronouncing all the people guilty of having slain the Messiah. He boldly proclaims the Gospel in a way that can only be explained by the infilling of the Holy Spirit; and when he is done preaching, three thousand people convert on the spot and the Christian Church is born. Every day you and I run into people like Peter; people who may be rough around the edges; but people who, if we lead them to Jesus, can make a lasting and tremendous impact on the Kingdom of God. Geemo’s Believing Praise-- My Grandmother (we call her Geemo) is a very remarkably encouraging person. Even today, but especially when I was growing up, whenever she talked to me, my siblings, or anyone else for that matter, she would always praise us and say things like, “Oh what a warrior for Jesus you are; Oh how you are taking a stand for Oh name; Oh how the Lord is using you.” Now, looking back, I know that in many cases I wasn’t those things she was praising me for being. And you know what, I think she may have known that too. But I tell you what. Because she chose to believe in us, we wanted to be those things that she praised us for being. Now this wasn’t some kind of deception or lying, but rather she was believing God for the plan she knew He had for us. Their Biggest Fans-- And I wonder if that is not how we should be with other people, especially non-believers. We need to be their biggest fans, cheering them along in every stage of their journey. And if they know that we believe in them, they will want to be all that we think they can be and eventually will want to be all that God wants them to be. But we have to believe in them and be instruments of encouragement in their lives. And if we do, there is no telling what they might become. The Next Billy Graham Might Be Drunk Right Now-- Some time ago I read an article that said this: [The next Billy Graham might be drunk right now. The next Jonathan Edwards might be the man driving in front of you with the Darwin Fish bumper decal. The next Charles Wesley might currently be a misogynistic, profanity-spewing hip-hop artist. The next Charles Spurgeon might be managing an abortion clinic today. The next Mother Teresa might be a heroin-addicted porn star this week. The next Augustine of Hippo might be a sexually promiscuous cult member right now, just like, come to think of it, the first Augustine of Hippo was. But the Spirit of God can turn all that around. And seems to delight to do so. The new birth doesn't just transform lives, creating repentance and faith; it also provides new leadership to the church, and fulfills Jesus' promise to gift his church with everything needed for her onward march through space and time (Eph. 4:8-16).] Someone You Touch-- The next Billy Graham may be someone you touch with the Gospel of Christ! Someone who, experiencing that life in you, responds to your pointing; your call to come and see Jesus. They are important; the lives we touch for Jesus. Geempa's Dash-- Whenever I am able to visit my family on the east coast, I usually have an opportunity to visit my grandfather's grave. And on the gravestone, just like on most gravestones, are two dates; one representing that person's birth and the other representing that person's death. And in between those dates is a tiny little dash; a dash representing the entirety of that person's life. What is it that makes that dash mean something; that makes this brief life we live count on an eternal scale? My grandfather left a clue to the answer to that question. Below those dates on my grandfather's grave are three very simple words that defined his life: "Behold The Lamb." Living with his eyes fixed on Jesus and with the mission of pointing others to Jesus was the central focus of his life. And it was because of that vision that that dash means something. Because of that dash lived for that purpose, his life was richer and the kingdom of heaven is more populated. C.T. Studd-- It's as C.T. Studd once said: Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. (C.T. Studd) And that is why I want to encourage you today to (in whatever context you are in) to point people to the Lamb of God. It will change their life, but it will change yours to. Point somebody to Jesus this week. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show! It’s good to have you with us. Our passage today comes from the book of John; chapter 1, verses 35-42. It reads…
John 1:35-42 (ESV)— 35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.[b] 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus[c] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). “We have found the Messiah”— You know, the single most important characteristic of any person who has truly encountered Jesus is they have to go and tell somebody. There is a reason we use the word Gospel (which means Good News). Because (like all good news) there is a desire to proclaim it, which is exactly what we see Andrew do in our passage today. He runs and finds his brother Simon and tells him: “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). (v.41) And he brings his brother Simon to Jesus. Who’s Evaluating Who?— Now you expect at this point for Peter to evaluate Jesus to see if indeed He is the Messiah. But instead Jesus begins to evaluate Peter. It says in verse 42: Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). A Rock-- Now Cephas is the Aramaic word for rock and Peter is the Greek word for rock. So his name became (literally) “rock.” Now everybody who heard this who knew Simon probably laughed that day because up until that point and even [In the Gospels, Peter was anything but a rock; he was impulsive and unstable.”] And yet Jesus calls him a rock. And later in Jesus’ ministry after Peter’s confession of Christ, Jesus affirms this name once again. Hebrew Names— Now in Jewish and much of ancient culture names were very significant. Names were not only a way of identifying you, but also a way of defining you; and I would even go so far as to say (at times) to even reveal ahead of time who you were going to be. Just think of some of the big names found in the Old Testament: Adam-- Adam is not just a name; it is the Hebrew name for “man” or “mankind”— Adam was the first Adam (the first man). His name [could be ultimately derived from {the} Hebrew אדם ('adam) meaning "to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin], which is reflective of the color of the earthy ground He was created from. Abram-- Think of Abram. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “father of a great multitude”. So in naming Abraham, God was determining to bring about His promise. Jacob-- Jacob, whose name means “supplanter” or literally (“heel-grabber”) supplanted his brother Esau. But God changed His name to “Israel”, which is a name that is a combination of the Hebrew words for "wrestle" and “God”. And so that wrestling with God became the definition of who he was; or you might say that that event became the defining moment of his life (LITERALLY!!!!) Micah-- The prophet Micah (whose name means “messenger”) was sent as a messenger to God’s people, actually foreshadowing (some think) John the Baptist’s ministry. Immanuel-- Even the name given to us in Isaiah in prophecy of Jesus (Immanuel) means “God with us”; not just a name for Jesus, but an actual definition of who He is. Jesus/Yeshua-- The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua (meaning “a savior; a deliverer”) (Joshua and Jesus are the same name). Just think of the significance of that. Jesus is the second Joshua. As Joshua led the people to the promised land, so also Jesus leads God’s people to the Kingdom of Heaven. He (Jesus) is the ultimate Savior and Deliverer; the second, greater Joshua. Changing the Course of Peter’s life-- Now we have to understand this unique way names are used because this is more than just some nice passage where Jesus is giving Simon a new name that reflects who He wants Simon to be. No, Jesus is (at this moment) changing the course of Simon’s life. Jesus was saying to Simon that because of their new relationship, Simon (now Peter) was going to be be someone altogether new. He says “you shall be Cephas; a rock.” Right from the get go Jesus has determined Peter to be that rock who would help Him build His Church. And Peter soon accepts that call. He has to. His name had been Simon (which means “that hears; that obeys”). But notice also that in the Old Testament, most often when someone is given a new name, the one giving that name is almost always God. It is God who changes the person’s name; their identity; who they are destined to be. And so Jesus is very powerfully (and shockingly) carrying on that divine role. He (God in the Flesh) gives Simon a new name; a new name for a new identity; a new future; a new mission. Can you imagine what this must have meant to Peter, an impulsive, immature person to hear Jesus (a Rabbi) say that he would be a rock? And we know that Peter did indeed live up to that expectation. His name; his identity became altogether changed. He would go from being an unstable, fearful person to being a bold, fearless rock for the Church and the cause of Christ; an unbelievable transformation. The Full Gospel-- Some time ago I remember I was listening to a speaker talk about the cross of Christ. And though many of his points were good, he said that it doesn’t matter if there is sin in your life, God still accepts you. Now while He does accept us as we are, He never allows us to remain as we are. And what we cannot miss in the Gospels is that Christ’s call to follow Him is a call to be like Him in His nature and character. Forgiveness The 1st Step To Becoming New Creatures-- Dr. Dennis Kinlaw put it so succinctly when he said: [God not only wants to forgive us; he also wants to regenerate us, make us new creatures. Forgiveness is the first step. It removes the things that alienate us from each other. God forgives our offenses against him and forgets them. Therefore, when he sees us he is not offended. We accept that forgiveness. Then when we turn to God, we are not afraid or loaded with guilt. The personal relationship between us and God is wholesome, good, and free. But he wants to do more. He wants to transform us to fit us for a future very different from our past. Forgiveness and regeneration are like two sides of the same coin. They cannot be separated. Salvation is more than a change of record. It is a change of us. It deals with our sin, the bent within our nature that causes us to commit our sins. It affects who we are as well as what we do.] Our Transformation-- That is the kind of transformation Peter experienced; and he experienced it at Pentecost, when God poured out His Holy Spirit during that festival and birthed the Christian Church; and those upon whom the Holy Spirit came were completely and utterly transformed. This was the moment Peter (the unstable person who had denied and abandoned Jesus) became SO transformed that the very first time he preached with that anointing of the fire of the Holy Spirit of God upon his life, it says three thousand were added to their number that day. You see, Jesus’ name for Simon (Peter) was a promise; a promise that Jesus was faithful to keep. And what this means for us is that when WE meet Jesus and enter into an abiding relationship with Him, that same promise of transformation extends to us as well. Can He REALLY change us? Apparently you can’t get past the very first words of Jesus without being confronted with the reality that not only can He, but He has determined to change us; He expects it; not just in heaven, but now. Jesus has a new identity for us NOW! That is why so many Christians throughout history, when they became Christians, they took new “Christian” names; because they were embracing a new identity in Jesus and were trusting in Him for His promise of working in them a mighty transformation work. And the message of the Gospel is that any one of us can experience that transformation. God wants permission not only to save you, but to give you a new name; a new identity. The question is, how are we going to respond to Christ’s question to us, “What are you seeking?” What do we truly want Jesus to do for and in us? John reveals an amazing promise from God to each and every one of us in… Revelation 2:17 (ESV)-- 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’ Are We Willing?-- God has a new name; a new identity for you and for me. But we have to choose how we are going to respond. Are we willing to let Jesus change who we really are?…..Jesus has big expectations for every man, woman, boy, and girl listening today; expectations that we ourselves might be rocks He can use to build His kingdom. But we have to let Him give us a new life and purpose and be willing to leave the former identity behind. And God is calling to every single one of us to do that today. Whether you are 5 years old or 95 years old, Jesus wants you to allow Him to remake you. He can do it, if we but let Him. And so today, I want to invite you to do that; to allow Him to become your starting point for a complete change in identity and purpose. Give your old self to Him and allow Him to transform you and make you altogether new. Follow His leading this morning in embracing His name; His calling upon your life. Do this today. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show! It’s good to have you with us. Our passage today comes from the book of Mark; chapter 1, verse 16. It reads…
Mark 1:16 (ESV)-- 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. A Key Location-- You know, in talking about the calling of Jesus’ first disciples, we often times focus on their occupation (fishermen) but overlook the location. And yet this location (the Sea of Galilee) had huge significance for Jesus and His ministry, as we find it the common backdrop for much of His preaching and teaching. As I was going through the opening chapters of the gospel of Mark this week, I kept seeing how often Mark highlights the Sea of Galilee as the place Jesus taught by and often even on (as the crowds were often so large he had to get in a boat and stand in the water just to avoid being crushed by the crowds. But what made the Sea of Galilee so important? And why is it important to us? Seeing The Sea of Galilee-- Several years ago I got to go on a pilgrimage to Israel. And it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my life. For 10 intense days we traversed the land of Israel from early morning until night. And though we traversed many many places and got to see many incredible things (even the temple mount in Jerusalem), my favorite place that we visited (and we spent several days there) was Galilee. Seeing where Jesus taught along those peaceful shores amidst those quiet fishing villages was one of the most exciting and moving moments of my life. And I remember that The Sea of Galilee was full of life. You could see fisherman still (over 2,000 years later) still netting and pulling in multitudes of fish. There were many beautiful trees and luscious green plant life growing around that beautiful sea. But moving on from there, we went to another body of water to the south, at the other end of the Jordan River. And that body of water was of course the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea— Now the Dead Sea, though connected to the Sea of Galilee by the same river, was anything but like The Sea of Galilee. While the Sea of Galilee was full of life, the Dead Sea was not. As its name implies, it is dead. Why? Because it is filled with salt. In fact, it is one of the saltiest bodies of water on this planet, being about ten times saltier than the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In fact, it is so salty that the water gives you buoyancy, meaning you can't sink in it. We laid down in the water and the sensation was that of something lifting you up as you try to push down. It felt kind of like laying down on a liquid couch. But the salt content is so high that no life can exist either in or around it. No trees are around the Sea. No plant life whatsoever. Though it is much much larger than the Sea of Galilee, not a single fish lives inside it's waters. It is so salty, only minuscule amounts of bacteria can even survive in the water. And though it is known by different names, The Dead Sea is no doubt the best title for it because there is no life whatsoever in or around it. It is a place void of life. It is a truly dead, lifeless, fruitless place. Which Sea Are You?-- Now if you wanted your life to be like one of these places, you would no doubt say, "I want my life to be like the Sea of Galilee!" I want to be filled with life and want to be a source of life to others. But if you were to be honest in giving an evaluation of your life, which Sea would you say you are most like right now? Do you have true life inside of you or do you feel Dead inside? Do others walk away from interactions with you more dead or alive? That's a tough evaluation to make. And that may be something you want to ask those around you this week. And most of all maybe we need to ask Christ Jesus Himself to give us His evaluation of our lives. If He describes Himself as being "Living Water" (water that brings life; and our lives are to model His), how much do we really reflect Him by bringing life to those around us? The Difference-- There is something you should know about the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, and that is what makes one of them alive and the other one Dead. While both seas have fresh water pouring into them, the Sea of Galilee has an outlet but the Dead Sea does not. With the Sea of Galilee, fresh water pours into it and then it pours out. But the Dead Sea only has water pouring into it. And because it has no outlet (because it is too far below sea level) you have all this water pouring into it that just sits and then evaporates, leaving behind its minerals. [It is estimated that over a million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day, leaving it salty, full of minerals and unfit for any … life”.] And one of the ladies on our trip really highlighted this, saying that this is what makes all the difference in the Christian life. If everything is inflow with you and you never have any outflow you will become in your heart and to those around you a place of death. But if you receive from the Lord and also invest what He has given into the lives of others, you will be a source of life for many. I have never forgotten that imagery. And that is why people flocked to Jesus; and why people eventually came to flock to the apostles; because people found them to be sources of life. It’s A Wonderful Life— Not long ago my wife and I again watched the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. And many of you have probably seen it many times. But I think that that movie really shows just how much the few good actions of a righteous man can have on a community and the lives of others. James Stuart saves his brothers life as a young kid and, after they grow up, his brother goes to war and ends up shooting down some planes before they slam into the ship and kill many of his comrades. James Stuart also manages to keep his local family bank afloat. But, you know the story. His clerk misplaces a large sum of money and he is on the verge of being thrown into prison and he goes to the local bridge and gets ready to kill himself. But an angel appears to him and he tells the angel that it would have been better if he had never been born. And the angel (Clarence) begins to show him what the town and community would have been like if he had never been born. And the difference is tremendous. Those things that he thought were the most insignificant turned out to change the course of the whole town. Small Acts of Faithfulness— And similarly, I don’t think we will ever know the impact that our “small acts of faithfulness” might have on another persons life or even (for that matter) in our relationship with the Lord. And I think we often times get thrown off track when we think that all God wants us to be some kind of spiritual super-heroes. But that is not what God wants. Never in scripture does He call someone who is a superhero or would even think of themselves as spiritual giants. He chose men like Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Noah and what made them super was the fact that they were obedient in the small things; not just the big things. Dwight L. Moody once said: “There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.” “Why The Halfling?”-- Not long ago I watched the movie the Hobbit. And there is this very powerful scene in which the Lady Galadriel is talking with Gandalf the Wizard and this very subject comes up when talking about Bilbo Baggins, a small (seemingly insignificant) Hobbit. Galadriel: Mithrandir... Why the halfling? Gandalf: Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? I don't know. Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage. From Trickles to Streams— Everything you and I are called to do as Christians is important. Those little investments we make in the lives of other people may seem like a trickle now, but who knows what rivers they will turn into later down the road. And I think that is important for us to remember. It’s not great deeds of powerful righteousness that God is looking for. It’s the small, everyday obedience in doing those things He has called us to do in the here and now. Abraham was a nobody. He knew the surrounding world was in a spiritual hell. He saw what separation from God had caused on the earth. God didn’t say, “Hey, go change the world.” He called him to follow Him. And from him came Isaac; from Isaac came Jacob (called Israel) and from him came the people Israel. From Israel came the Messiah; from the Messiah came the redemption of the world. That trickle of obedience shaped the course of human history and influenced the spiritual change of the entire world. Joseph was sent to Egypt. He remained faithful to God in the little things; showing integrity and responsibility in the workplace and not fooling around with another man’s wife. And it was Joseph, because of those little acts of obedience, that God chose to place over all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. And he ended up saving not only Egypt, but many nations from starvation and hunger. Hidden Springs-- Now there is one more thing that I would like to tell you about the Sea of Galilee. If you look at a map, you will notice that all of the fishing villages during the time of Christ were located on the north-western side of the Sea of Galilee. Now the reason for this was because the Sea of Galilee is naturally saltwater; not as salty as the Dead Sea; but salty enough to make it hard for tilapia and sardines (the fish living in the Sea of Galilee during that time) difficult to live in. But interestingly, the northwestern side of the Sea of Galilee was fed fresh water by hidden underground springs. Now what this says to us is that if we want to be life-giving people, we in a similar way need to have a life-giving stream flowing into us. And that stream is nothing less than He who called Himself the Living water. You have to maintain fellowship with Him. You have to abide with Him. Because it’s not your spirituality that changes people; it is Christ changing people through you because you have allowed yourself to become a channel of grace rather than a Dead Sea of grace. And that is my challenge to you today. Draw near to Him and (in Him) be a Channel of Grace in somebody else’s life this week. Bring the life-giving water of Jesus to somebody who needs to hear about Jesus Christ. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show today! It’s good to have you with us on this Father’s Day as we talk (at least a little) about this thing we call Fatherhood!
Picture of God— And I’d like to open up out time together with a story. [An elementary school teacher was giving a drawing class to a group of six-year-old children. At the back of the classroom sat a little girl who normally didn't pay much attention in school. In the drawing class she did. For more than twenty minutes, the girl sat with her arms curled around her paper, totally absorbed in what she was doing. The teacher found this fascinating. Eventually, she asked the girl what she was drawing. Without looking up, the girl said, “I'm drawing a picture of God.” Surprised, the teacher said, “But nobody knows what God looks like. The girl said, “They will in a minute.”] If you were to draw a picture of God this today, what would He look like? Would He be transcendent and unreachable? Would He be close and personal. Would He be angry or patient? You know, it is interesting the different ways we view God; particularly God the Father. And how we view Him can affect how we choose to relate to Him in our day to day lives. And in our passage today (Luke 15) we find a series of parables Jesus gives in a particular social gathering (probably in a house); parables that are meant to give His listeners a picture of who the Father is and how He wants to relate to us. Luke’s Unique Section— Now in Luke chapter 15, which is part of Luke’s unique section (not found in any of the other Gospels), Jesus is hitting his Jewish audience with perhaps the most unsettling (if not outright offensive) sermon series He could have ever preached in that culture, trying to reveal to them not only what kind of relationship that they are to have with the Father, but what lengths the Father is willing to go to make that relationship possible. And the first of these is of a shepherd and a lost sheep…. A Strange Shepherd— A shepherd is tending to your sheep one day. And at the end of the day he leads his sheep back to their sheep pen. And he starts counting them. But as he does, he realizes that (out of the hundred sheep) only 99 made it in. The other one is still out there. And at this point he does something Jesus’ audience would have thought ridiculous. He leaves the 99 sheep in their pen and go and look for that lost sheep; not a pleasant experience, especially if you had to do it in the heat of summer, which was absolutely scorching in Israel. So imagine being in the middle of nowhere chasing after a stinking sheep that has run off. If you're like me you would be thinking, "Just wait until I get my hands on that sheep. I'm gonna smack that sheep silly." But what is interesting is that the shepherd in Jesus' story never has that attitude. He is eager to find the sheep; and when He does, He has a spirit of love and rejoicing. Shepherds’ Status— Now when it comes to this first parable about the lost sheep, we always look at this as being a nice, pretty, Psalm 23 kind of picture. But in ancient Middle Eastern culture, being a shepherd was not some beautiful, honorable thing. Shepherds were not only not impressive; they were not the kind of people you would ever want to associate with. In fact many of them were ex-cons. It was just about the lowest, worst job you could have in society; the most depleted life you could have was the life of a shepherd. So this comparison Jesus makes, picturing God the Father (the Creator of the universe) as a poor, dirty shepherd in the middle of nowhere that nobody cares about chasing after stinking ignorant sheep is not at all the picture Jesus' Jewish audience wanted to have of their God. Even while Jesus is sharing this parable, people in the audience are probably getting uncomfortable. That the God of the universe would be likened to an erratic, irrational, shepherd leaving his entire flock to chase after one single sheep; a sheep he could easily make up the loss for in a month or two? Jesus is giving His most important revelation to us by saying, “Your Father in heaven is so in love with you that He is willing to degrade Himself that much; to make Himself that low; to chase after you.” Woman and Coin— And the next parable steps on even more toes. He says that our Father in heaven is like a woman who, having lost a wedding coin, is searching for it. Remember that Jewish girls, when they were proposed to, they were either given a ring or a special coin. Well that is probably what this coin was. Jewish women would wear it on their head. But sometimes it would fall out. And that is exactly what happened here. Now for us, finding something on our hardwood floors is pretty easy. And you would think she would find that coin pretty easily because houses were so small in those days. But when I went to Israel I got to go into some of these houses. And the first thing you notice is all these stones within the house. And there are all kinds of nooks and crannies that a coin could fall into. And I remember looking at the floor of the kind of house she would have lived in and I thought to myself, "My goodness, you could look for hours in this place and not find that coin. And that seems to be what this woman did. And when she finds it, she (like the shepherd) celebrates. Not Equals— Now nobody in Jesus' audience would have liked this story. In our culture women are treated as equals. Now that doesn’t always happen, but that is the ideal. But in the Middle East you didn’t have that kind of philosophy at all. In fact it is appalling how most cultures in the ancient world treated women. Now God made immense provisions for women in Jewish culture that protected them, but they were never treated like equals. In fact, a woman’s testimony would not even be considered reliable (if considered at all) in court, which is is why Jesus’ choosing women to be the first witnesses to His resurrection is so powerful. But Jesus says here that Yahweh, the Lord of the heavens and the earth; the Blessed Eternal One who spoke the universe into existence; is compared to the like of a frantic woman, scurrying around a dingy house looking for a lost wedding coin? Even some of the women in Jesus’ audience are probably getting uncomfortable with Jesus’ imagery. Why are you trying to bring God down; and make Him low? And I think Jesus is saying, “If this imagery doesn’t sit well with you, then you have no idea who the Father is.” There is no depth He’s not willing to stoop to; no barrier He won’t cross’ (every pun intended) there’s no amount of dignity He’s not willing to give up if only to find you. This is how desperate the God of the Universe is to have a relationship with you and me. The Prodigal Son— And then comes perhaps Jesus’ most offensive parable yet; the parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus begins telling the story. It says... Luke 15:11-12 (ESV)— 11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. What the boy was asking for— Now that word for property is more than just wealth or money. It is the Greek word “ousia” which means “essence” or "life". So the boy is asking for the essence (or the very life) of the Father. This boy wants his father’s life. “I’m not willing to wait for my inheritance until you die. I want it now.” And what he’s really saying to his Father is, “You’re worth more to me dead than alive.” No tolerance for this— Now just remember the context this parable was written in. If a young man were to do in that culture what this young man did, he would have literally been killed (by stoning) immediately. There was no tolerance whatsoever in Jewish culture for this kind of rebellion. And throughout Jesus’ sharing of this parable, fathers in the group would be shaking their fingers at their sons, saying, “Don’t you dare try anything like this. It will cost you your life.” What this did to the Father— And what this would do to the father was scandalous. Not only would the boy be dishonoring his father, but would also be dishonoring the town. Not only that, but the father would suffer financial loss, not only in the loss of much of his estate, but the fruit that that half of his estate would have produced over the years had he kept it. And in that time you had no life insurance policy; you had no nursing homes. Your kids were it. They were your insurance. They were the ones who would take care of you. If they leave you, then your life could be placed in jeopardy. Yet that is exactly what this son does. And what is amazing is that the father never utters one hint of argument or rebuke. He pretty much just says, “Ok. If that’s what you want, here you go.” And every person in the room listening to Jesus’ parable is growing angry. “What are you saying, Jesus? Are you saying God the Father; the Almighty Sovereign of the Universe; is like a dishonored man willing to have his child spit into His face again and again; take His life and the wealth and the richness of His blessings and still turn his heart in rebellion towards Him?” And Jesus probably said, “That’s exactly what I’m saying. The Father doesn’t give you the punishment you deserve because He craves a personal relationship with you.” And there is no other God like that in any other religion. Pakistani Woman’s Conversion— Some time ago I read about the conversion experience of a woman from the Muslim nation of Pakistan. And [For many years, her husband had been a major figure in the Pakistani government. She told about reading the New Testament and how impossible it was for her to believe that people could begin a prayer with the words “Our Father.” One thing she knew about Allah was that he was not like humans. He was greater than human beings and infinitely different; human categories could never be used to describe him, certainly not one as personal and direct as “father.” She said that when she came to faith in Jesus Christ, her first response was to lift her heart and say, “Father,” and the moment she uttered the word, she fell on the floor in absolute terror of being killed for her impertinence. But instead, the heavenly Father came to her in all his love and compassion, and she heard one word: “Daughter.” She recalled, “I wept uncontrollably at the reality that God in his sovereignty and greatness could belong to me in that kind of relationship.”] Knowing The Father— In leu of Father’s Day today, I just think it is amazing that the primary picture the first person of the Trinity wants to be addressed is “Father”; not king; not Lord; not master; but Father. A Father who loves us intimately; a Father who is willing to suffer abuse and disobedience and rebellion from us if by any means He can restore us back into His family. And Jesus came to make that restoration possible. He wants to take us home to His Father’s house so that we can be a part of the family of God. Do you know Christ today? If not, ask Him into your life today, and He will make you a part of His family. It’s as simple as saying, “Jesus, come into my life. I receive you today. Forgive my sins; I receive you as my Lord and Savior.” If you’ve never prayed that prayer, do so today. And His family will become yours. Receive Him today. Amen. We will be continuing today our study of Psalm 16. In it the Psalmist calls to the Lord…
Psalm 16 (ESV) A Miktam of David— 1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. You know, I have been to many bookstores in my lifetime. My section is usually the smallest that they have: Christianity and Theology. Those sections are often dwarfed by another section: the self-help section. And every one of the books in that section is meant to help you achieve excellence in some area of your life. Now I am sure that there are a lot of good books there; some of which are needed. But here in Psalm 16 the excellent ones are those who have done two things. First, they have dis-attached themselves from all other gods and sources of fulfillment and have attached themselves to worship of Yahweh. And that is something we are called to do as well, as we empty our hands of other things in order to embrace Jesus, Yeshua. Jesus’ name (Yeshua) literally means “Yahweh Saves”. And so Jesus is the embodiment of God’s salvation for us. And it is only when we attach ourselves to Him that we have life. But in order to do that we must forsake all other so-called gods, which can be anything that separates us from Him. Paul writes in… 1 Corinthians 10:14-16 (ESV)-- 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Those Who Handle The Sacred-- I love what Terry Laughlin says on this passage. He says that [In 1 Corinthians 10:16 the apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian believers about the truths of being under the blood of Christ. He wanted to relay an authoritative message that said if man has eaten the bread in remembrance of the Body of Christ and drunk the wine in remembrance of His Blood, he cannot then fill his heart and life of wickedness. There was a splendid statue that was done of Jesus Christ by Thorwaldsen. After he had carved it, he was offered a great deal of money to fashion a statue of Venus. His answer was this, "The hand that carved the form of Christ can never carve the form of a heathen goddess." {And Terry Laughlin points out that} What was true in Corinth at the time of the Apostle Paul's ministry is also true for today. The Christian who has handled the sacred things of Christ cannot soil his soul with things that God calls wickedness. He cannot use the talents, spiritual gifts or possessions that the Lord has given him for personal gain, nor for this world's system of operating, nor surrender them to Satan's control and expect blessings. The child of God who knows that He is in Christ walks a life exemplifying that the work of redemption in his life was for the glory of God. God's plan and the Lord's willingness to redeem fallen mankind now enables the sinner who was once bound by sin the freedom to choose a new life that is God- and Christ-centered. Christians have "Jesus Christ, who gave Himself... to redeem [them] from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:14) The King James Bible says Jesus is "purifying unto Himself a peculiar people..." of whom He has a special interest, literally "His treasured people.”] A Fading Away-- If you truly experience the Lordship of Christ in your life, there will be a fading away of the earthly pattern of doing life. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” In your embracing Christ, have you let go of the old idols you used to place your hope in and forsook them, letting them fade away from your life? If you haven’t done that, you need to if you ever truly want to experience God’s life and His salvation. Evil: The Wrong Place or The Wrong Time-- And guess what; we are not just to let go of evil things, but even some good things. The Psalmist has just said to God, “Besides You, no good.” And in saying that, he is revealing to us that (as one scholar I read put it): [it is possible there are some good things in this world that Yahweh created that are not good. That is, they are not good for me. Why is this so? Because it is possible to use something out of God’s will. {And} What the text is implying is that evil is simply good misused. So the psalmist says, “I have come to the place where I will let You decide what is good for me.” Evil is simply good in the wrong place or at the wrong time. It is not an eternal entity independent of the good gods as it is in most of the religions of the Ancient New East. {He says} even the snake of Genesis 3, which many interpreters equate with Satan, the accuser, in Job is nothing more than a creature of God. Yahweh created everything that exists, so if you find something or someone acting contrary to God’s will, it is not because there is an independent evil force over against the creator God and in eternal conflict with Him. {Rather, he says} In the Old Testament, if something exists, no matter whether it is good or evil, God made it. But the reality is that evil is something that was originally good. {And this scholar says} You can apply this truth in many ways. It is an old adage in the study of anthropology that two people doing the same thing may not be doing the same thing. One may be carrying out the most sacred expression of love, while the other may be performing a brutal rape. So the psalmist is here saying, “I have learned that even if it is good in itself, if it is not part of Your will for me, then it isn’t good for me. It was good when it came from Your hand, but if it is not a part of Your will for me, then it is not good for me. And I will let You make a decision on that.”] Will He Decide?-- You know, ever single one of us has had to make tough decisions, sometimes choosing between two or more things that may have all been good; what career path to pursue, what job to take, which person to marry, what church to become a part of. And sometimes God allows us some leeway in those choices. But the heart of what it means to live a Christian life and to abide in this thing we call sanctification is this: Will I allow Yahweh to be Lord, and will I allow Him to decide what is good for me? Verse 3 describes the people who submit to the Lordship of Yahweh. It says… Psalm 16:3-4 (ESV)-- 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. {But then there is a second group of people. Verse 4 says…} 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. The qedoshim-- Now here the Psalmist differentiates between two groups. And the first group is the qedoshim, the holy ones. And we will talk more about them next week. But they are the ones who are set apart to God. Now the second group are those who “hasten after another,” ’aher. Now one scholar I read pointed out something very interesting here. He said: [All of our translations say, “The sorrows will increase of those who run after other gods,” but the term “gods” is not found in the Hebrew. The Hebrew simply says, “run after another.” To be sure, the next part of the verse makes it very clear that the writer is ultimately addressing the question of idolatry. But {he says} I am grateful the text here does not specify other “gods.” Your sorrows will increase if you run after anything that is out of the will of God.…Sorrows will increase for those who run after anything other than the will of Yahweh and His sovereign purposes and His sovereign control. He {(the Psalmist)} says, “I will not be a part of those that make their sacrifices to anything other than to Yahweh, that pour out their lives [their blood] for anything other than Yahweh, or that take up their names.” {And then this scholar said something very interesting. He said:} As you know, a person’s language reveals a great deal about that person. If you let me listen to you long enough, I can tell what is in your heart. So, the psalmist says, the very nouns I use, or don’t use, will tell you what my commitments are. My language will reflect the fact that I have set Yahweh always before my face. He is the one whom I seek, and He is the one whom I want to serve.] [COMMITMENT VS. SURRENDER-- …there is an account of a conversation between the late Adrian Rogers and Rev Josef Tson, the Romanian pastor, author, and president of the Romanian Missionary Society who survived years of persecution and exile under cruel Communist rule. Rogers asked Dr Tson for his perception of American Christianity. Josef said the key word in American Christianity is commitment. This is not good. "As a matter of fact, the word commitment did not come into great usage in the English language until about the 1960s. In Romania we do not even have a word to translate the English word commitment. If you were to use commitment in your message tonight, I would not have a proper word to translate it with. When a new word comes into usage, it generally pushes an old word out. I began to study and found the old word that commitment replaced - the word surrender.” What is the difference between commitment and surrender? “When you make a commitment, you are still in control, no matter how noble the thing you commit to. One can commit to pray, to study the Bible, to give his money, or to commit to automobile payments, or to lose weight. Whatever he chooses to do, he commits to. But surrender is different. If someone holds a gun and asks you to lift your hands in the air as a token of surrender, you don’t tell that person what you are committed to. You simply surrender and do as you are told… Americans love commitment because they are still in control. But the key word is surrender. We are to be slaves to the Lord Jesus Christ.”] “To Will One Thing”-- And you know, that is often where we as Christians falls short. We want God’s will, but we also want our own. But this pattern of living is in keeping with the second group of people; [the second group of people in the world {(the Psalmist describes)} are those whose motivation is divided, whose motivation is not single. Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher-theologian, said that purity of heart is to will one thing. That describes the psalmist’s heart when he says at the opening of this psalm, “I said to the Lord [Yahweh], ‘You are my Lord.’”] Have you surrendered to Christ as your Lord and Savior; truly surrendered with ALL of your heart? Today, give Him your whole heart. Let the Lord have His way in you. And you will have life, and have it to full; and you will dwell in peace and security in He who is the source of all goodness. Give your all to Him today. Amen. Our Passage today is Psalm 16. In it the Psalmist cries out…
Psalm 16 (ESV) A Miktam of David— 1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. FFL— In our FOUNDATIONS FOR LIFE SERIES, we are have taken a look at a number of Psalms, which have revealed to us some amazing things about the nature of God. Psalm 146 revealed to us that behind all these titles that we have for God, there is a personal God who longs to be in an intimate relationship with you and with me. And when we attach ourselves to Him, our lives will be forever changed. We also looked at Psalm 121, which revealed to us the difference between the Biblical way of viewing the world as opposed to the way that Israel’s neighbors (and many throughout history; even today) saw (and see) the world. There are similarities among these religious views simply because they are religions, to be sure. But not all religions the same. One worldview will tell you to love your neighbor; another will tell you to eat your neighbor. They cannot both be equally true or equally moral. And few places can you see a stronger contrast between some of the horrors of pagan religion and the Biblical worldview than right here in the Old Testament. And the Psalms in particular give us a picture of a God who is radically different than any other deity in the ancient world. And it begins with His being the Creator and Lord of all things. He is not a created being, nor is He part of creation and therefore subject to the same things we are. He truly is Lord of all. And that gives Him a unique say over the world (an ultimate authority) and it also means that there is nothing outside His control, which is the foundation of the Christian concept of peace. Other religions may talk about the words peace and assurance, but it is the Biblical worldview alone that can provide an anchoring for that kind of peace in a God who is in control of every circumstance that you and I face. And we find that kind of language recurrent in the Psalms. Psalm 16 in particular gives us a powerful and clear picture of what a relationship with God ought to look like. An Opening Conclusion-- Now in our writings and speeches we often end with our conclusion, but often times in the Psalms the writers will begin with their conclusion and then spend the rest of the Psalm explaining how they arrived at their conclusion. And so it is when we come to Psalm 16, which ends with what really is the final word that the Psalmist has to say. He says… Psalm 16:1 (ESV)— 1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. Where’s Your Refuge?-- Let me ask you, in your house, where do you go when a really bad storm hits? When I was growing up in South Bend, Indiana storms (even tornadoes) were pretty common. And during a storm, it was always downstairs to the basement family room. And we’d watch the storm through the ground-level windows. And then of course sometimes the power would go out. And that just made things more scary (but for us as kids, even more exciting). But where you go for security is important; because without a refuge, we can get blown away at any moment. And the Psalmist recognizes that God is our ultimate refuge. My Shield and Portion-- It’s like we sing in Amazing Grace: “The Lord has promised good to me. His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures.” We have solid ground that we can anchor into. Jesus and His Word is that foundation. And in that foundation we find both preservation and transformation of our lives and our purpose. One scholar I read on this said that in this Psalm the Psalmist […is speaking to God, and he says, “I need you to keep me, for if you do not, I will not be what I am supposed to be. I will not be what you want me to be. I will not be what I know deep within my own spirit I ought to be, so keep me. My relationship to you is one of refuge; I hide in You.”] Now at this point the Psalmist makes a very powerful statement. He says in… Psalm 16:2a (ESV)-- 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; And what the Psalmist is saying is [“I am making a separation. I have decided that You (and not someone else) are to be my Lord.”] And similarly there has to come a point when we choose to trust the Lord over and against everything else. Now we are pretty good at trust. Trust is No Problem-- A couple weeks ago one of my former seminary professors overheard someone in one of his church’s discipleship groups say, "I trust. I am really good at trust. I have trusted in alcohol, in porn, in myself. Trust is no problem. It is where I am placing my trust - that's my problem.” You see, it is where you place you trust that makes all the difference. Receiving as Lord-- And what the Psalmist is saying is that he has come to a point of faith and trust in Yahweh and has rejected any other so-called “lords” that people choose, but that have no power to preserve, sustain, or fulfill. And the same is true for us. We use the term “Lord” all too casually when talking about God; we don’t always really mean it. But what the Gospel teaches us is that our salvation and hope is anchored first upon our actually receiving Christ as the Lord of our lives. This is why we are told in… Romans 10:9 (NIV)-- 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Salvation Through Submission-- Salvation (apparently) is found not just in believing in Jesus as the Son of God, but also in receiving Him as the Lord of your life. You cannot know true salvation and true freedom until you submit to the Lordship of Christ. My Dissatisfaction-- And I can bear testimony to this from my own personal experience. Anytime I have sought fulfillment of any type outside of the will and plan and purpose of God for my life, I have always ended up more empty than when I began. Every single time. And Satan often comes at me in a predictable way. First, he comes at me through dissatisfaction; dissatisfaction with who I am or about some particular thing about my life. I was struck this week by a line from a Veggie Tales movie my children were watching. They were talking about Psalm 23 and particularly the opening line: “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.” And they explained something I knew well, but for some reason am so prone to forgetting; and that is that when we have Jesus, we lack nothing; and therefore ought to crave nothing. And that is exactly one of my problems; when we have Jesus, we shouldn’t want or crave or desire with dissatisfaction because (in Jesus) we have everything. Amen? Satan tempted Adam and Eve by first making them distrust God and then by making them dissatisfied with their lives; and think about it, THEIR LIVES WERE PERFECT!!!! Yet even in perfection Satan can make us dissatisfied with who we are and tempt us into a life of unhealthy craving. And if we allow those cravings to lead us outside of a full submission to the Lordship of Jesus, then we will be broken and empty. Only by abiding in Christ and in His pattern for you will your life make any sense and will you have lasting fulfillment. Now the Psalmist then proceeds in the second half of verse 2 to say… Psalm 16:2b (ESV)-- I have no good apart from you.” “Besides You, no good.”— And one scholar I read said that what the Psalmist literally [is saying is “Besides You, no good.” {And this scholar writes, saying that} That is a very significant theological statement in the Old Testament. He is saying, “Apart from You, O Yahweh, nothing is good.” Fundamental to this statement is the understanding that Yahweh made everything that is made, and if it is there, he made it. Furthermore, everything he made is good. This point is emphasized in Genesis 1; when Yahweh had finished the creation of all things, He looked at all that He had made and said, “It is good, very good,” (tob me’od). So if there should be anything apart from Yahweh and His purposes, it is not good.] The Jesus Storybook Bible: God’s Declaration of Goodness-- Recently I was reading to my kids from The Jesus Storybook Bible, which I have found to be the most profound children’s Bible I have ever come across. There are many children’s bibles our there that tell the basic Bible stories in easy language; but this Bible communicates some amazingly deep theological concepts in language very reachable for children. And when I was reading the story of creation to my kids this week, I found the phrasing a little odd in the creation account. When God declares what He has created as good, the way The Jesus Storybook Bible conveys it is that the creation was not good until God declared it to be so. And what it was trying to convey was that goodness itself is intimately wrapped up with the personhood of our Creator. Receive Christ as Lord-- And that is why if you want to experience goodness; if you want fulfillment; if you want joy; if you want to know the meaning and purpose for your life; for your relationships; for your future, then you must give yourself to Christ as the LORD of your life; forsaking all others. Only then can you have what is truly good. Give your all to Him today. Amen. #LechemPanim #CameronUry #RentonParkChapel Our Passage today is Psalm 121. In it the Psalmist writes…
Psalm 121 (ESV)-- 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Context— One of the things that I have learned during my years of training in Biblical studies is that before you can understand (at least fully) what a passage of scripture means, you have to understand the context. And context is absolutely critical to our passage today (Psalm 121); especially when it comes to this word “hills”, which we will talk about today. Now some of your Bibles (particularly those of you who are using the King James), may have as your verse 1: “I will lift up mine eyes unto there hills, from whence comes my help.” And that does seem like a beautiful picture. I've remarked numerous times how much I have enjoyed looking up at the hills and the mountains of this area and just being in awe over them. There is something in your heart that moves every time you see them. But that is not what this psalm is about. In fact, it is just the opposite of what the Psalmist is trying to say here. The correct phrasing is: 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? No Help On The Hills-- This verse is not a declaration of praise for how great the hills are or how help can be found on them, but is rather [a recognition that the hills do not really provide any help and a question as to where real help can be found.] That question is really the key to the entire psalm. From where does my help come? Our innate desire for a helper – Have any of you ever been in a position where are you have cried out to God for help? A couple weeks ago at my house, I suddenly heard my son cry out for me. And when I got to the bedroom, I found that he had gotten his leg stuck in between the wall and the bed and couldn’t get out. And so he asked if I could help get him out. And so I took hold of him and lifted him up. I think everyone of us has been (perhaps in a larger more significant way) stuck in problem. There are many difficulties that you and I face every day. And no matter what your belief system is, there is an innate desire in each and every one of us to try to reach beyond ourselves during times of trouble to seek the strength of one who might have some ability to change our circumstances. That is why there are so many various religions in the world, each of which represent man's desire to find an answer to that question “From where does my help come?” Now while the question is not unusual, the answer that the Psalmist gives us is highly unusual when you consider the world in which he lived and worshipped in: 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Beyond the hills-- He’s essentially saying, "My inspiration and hope does not come from the hills or the mountains, but from the one who created the hills and the mountains.” And the reason this passage is so remarkable is that against the backdrop of the ancient world this concept of an all-powerful God who created all the world and Who had absolute authority over it was altogether new. Nobody in the ancient world believed in a god who wasn’t a part of (and subject to) nature. That is why you cannot say that there are supernatural beings in any mythological religion; because that is a contradiction in terms. All of the pagan mythological gods were bound by nature. And they reflected whatever regional particularities of nature existed in the land in which they were imagined. And the ancients had gods for many forces of nature. [You have Uranus, the heavens. You have Kronos, time. You have Gaia, the earth, Arabis, evening, Humeri, day, Eros, passion. Then you have Zeus, who is the sky, the atmosphere, the wind, the cloud, the rain, the thunder, the lightning, the Greek Baal.] But none of them were supernatural because none of them were thought to be transcendent over nature. They merely were the sources of the various natural forces. And people would worship (on the hilltops) all these various supposed gods of these natural forces. The Hills-- Now when God was about to lead to His people into the promised land, He warned them not to worship like their neighbors did. They were to worship differently than their surrounding neighbors. However, we know that when king David was succeeded by his son Solomon, Solomon ended up bringing pagan hilltop worship of foreign gods into Israel. And that began with his breaking God's command not to intermarry with the women of the surrounding nations (1 Kings 11:1-8). And so Solomon led Israel astray in a huge way. And the kings who followed him also engaged in pagan worship, until eventually a man came to the throne by the name of king Ahab. He engaged in and led Israel in worship of Baal. But then you have this guy come along by the name of Elijah, who pretty much just shows up out of nowhere. We don't know much of his background or anything, save that he was from Tishbe and that he came with a word from Yahweh Himself. Because of a Ahab’s wickedness in leading Israel astray, Elijah pronounces that there will be a drought for a few years. And there was. And when Ahab eventually finds Elijah, Elijah tells him to summon people from all over Israel to gather on Mount caramel. And he tells him to bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah. And so Ahab does so; and they all gather at the top of Mount Carmel. And Elijah goes before the people and says, "How long will you waiver between two opinions? If the Lord [Yahweh] is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:16-21). Now notice that Elijah, in the way he forms the question, forces them to make a choice. They can either continue to worship Baal or they can return in worship to Yahweh. However, they cannot do both. The prophets of Baal had no problem with the Israelites having a little bit of worship of Yahweh. What they did have a problem with was the idea that Yahweh and Yahweh alone is God. And the same is true in our day and age. People don't have a problem with Christianity being one of many viable options on the buffet table of world-views. But begin saying that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is the way of salvation, and people began to get upset. And they will hate you and may even try to kill you because of it. But Yahweh makes it clear that he wants to be worshiped exclusively. And that is clear in the way that Elijah frames the choice. Elijah’s Instructions-- Now Elijah gives some very specific instructions. He tells them to bring two bulls. He allows the prophets of Baal to choose the bull they want and tells them to cut it up into pieces and put it on their altar, but not to set fire to it. And he says he will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. And he tells them to call on the name of Baal and he will call on the name of Yahweh. And the God who answers with fire—he is God. Now everyone thought that this was a good idea because [Baal was supposed to be the god of the thunderstorm. So he was the lightning god, the one who controlled the lightning. So Elijah was saying, "Let's play it on your court. We will do it according to your god's strength. The one that answers by fire–let him be God.”] And so they set up the altars and (as you know) Elijah even has the one to Yahweh soaked with water (3 times). And the fire doesn’t fall on the altar to Baal, but comes down upon the altar of Yahweh and consumes the sacrifice and the altar itself. And when all the people see it, they fall on their faces and say, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” What our Psalmist had in mind-- One author I read this week suggested that the author of this psalm may have been a witness to what God did on Mount Carmel that day. But regardless of whether he was or not, he obviously had the story of Elijah in mind, as he makes a distinction between Yahweh and all of the other gods of the ancient world. The pagan gods were mirror projections of you and me. They sleep because we sleep. They are limited because we are limited. Without the revelation that God gives us of himself, there is nowhere to turn for a picture of the divine but to nature. We end up being compelled to make the divine world look like our world. And so all of paganism was the worship of the forces of nature. Apart from the revelation of God, it could be nothing else. But here the Psalmist is saying "My neighbor goes to the top of the hill for his answer, but I am going to go elsewhere. I am going to the very Maker of heaven and earth.” And because Yahweh is transcendent over creation because it is just that (HIS CREATION), we don’t have to worry. The Psalmist writes: Psalm 121:3-8 (ESV)-- 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber {(unlike Baal, who you will remember does sleep, as Elijah mockingly pointed out)}. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand {(the word here is actually shelter. You have at your side at all times the One who is your Shelter.)}. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. {(Why? Because Yahweh made them as he made you; and so you don’t have to be afraid of them)} 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Our only hope-- Regarding this passage, one author I read recently said this: [Modern people have tried every earthly source to solve their problems: government, education, economics, social sciences, psychology, and psychoanalysis. We have expected somewhere within us or within our world to find the key, the solution that we seek. Thousands of years ago there was a man, wiser than we, who saw the sterility of our vain efforts. He decided that help for humans comes only from Yahweh, who created and rules over all the factors and all the processes in which we place our hopes. Our only true hope and our only sure help is in the God who made heaven and earth.] Today I want to encourage you with the fact that (because Yahweh is the Maker of heaven and earth) there is nothing that you are going through right now that is outside of the realm of His control. You and I do not worship a God who is weak like we are, but a God who is the very source and the definition of all strength and who wants to give you His strength today in and through his abiding presence. And you can have that strength today, if you merely call out to Him as Elijah did. And the fire of His presence will come down and anoint your life. And it will be a source of nourishment and strength no matter where you go or what you do. Ask Him for that strength today. Amen. In our FOUNDATIONS FOR LIFE series, we have come to the book of Psalms, which connects for us in a remarkable way what we know about God with actually personally encountering Him in first-person worship. And last week we began taking a look at Psalm 146, which we will continue today. In it the Psalmist writes…
Psalm 146:3-6a (NIV)-- 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. 6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- Biblical Trust-- Now we see that the reason that we can give praise to God is because, unlike those the world puts their faith in (rulers and other fallible human beings), our God is not like them. They pass away and their plans (if they aren’t rooted in God and His plan) end in the grave. That is why they are not worthy of our praise. And if you base your life on them, you are going to be beyond disappointed. The psalmist points us to the reality that the true cause that we have for praise is the trustworthiness of God. In fact, aside from the personal name of God, the most important word next to this is probably the word "trust". In Hebrew there are five different words in the Old Testament that can be translated "trust." We will only talk about two of them. The first is frequently translated "believe". When it says in Genesis 15:6 that Abram "believed the Lord [Yahweh], and he credited it to him as righteousness" the verb is from the Hebrew word ’-m-n, which means "to be sure, to be certain." In fact, it is the source of the Hebrew word Amen, meaning "certainly, surely,”. And it means to accept the word of someone. Abraham was choosing to live in the certainty that what God was saying to him was true. And for this reason, that belief was credited to him as righteousness. And someone said in regards to this, "the only right thing a human can do is to put absolute confidence in the trustworthiness of God. Without that, everything else we do is filthy rags.” batah-- Now [there is a second word in Hebrew: batah, which means “to trust.” {And one scholar I read said that} Of the two words, this is the more common one in the Psalms. ’amen is found in the psalms, but not a great many times. It is a bit like an obligato line in music, while batah is the main motif that the psalmist never gets through playing. It just keeps coming back, and coming back, and coming back. Of the two, batah is more graphic. It is “to lean upon.”] The Mega-Swing-- Recently I saw video footage of a young woman sitting in a chair on the edge of a cliff that was attached to long ropes. And after much fear on her part, her friends pushed that chair off the edge and she fell straight down; and after free falling that line suddenly went taught and her chair immediately became a swing; and she is swung this huge distance between these two cliffs. Now I am telling you. There is nobody in this world who could convince me to take that leap of faith. I’m sorry. I don’t care how strong you tell me that rope is, I am never going to put my life on THAT LINE, if you know what I mean. But this word for trust carries with it this idea of putting your weight down; accepting and trusting in God so implicitly, that you are willing to put your life in His hands. [You are leaning against something or someone, and if he or it falls down, you’re in trouble. So the psalmist is saying, “In whom shall I trust?”] And you know that is one of the central questions that every human being must face at some point in their life. What am I going to trust in? What do I put my hope in? What is my anchor? Atheists & Trust-- Some time ago I got to have a number of dialogs with members of an atheistic group. But they were not very much interested in having friendly dialogue as much as they were interested in mocking Christianity (and Christians) for their faith. In this group I have tried to engage their questions with solid evidence for the truth of Christianity, but I got the impression that it didn’t really matter how much evidence I could give; they were not going to change because lack of evidence wasn’t their central problem; their central problem was that if a God really existed to whom they are morally accountable, they couldn’t be the masters of their own lives. They didn’t want to be accountable to anyone. Now past all their mockery and delusions of being “free from God” lies a horrible truth. If atheism is true, then there is no hope for any kind of future that matters. It has nothing to offer you for eternity. There's nothing that you can cast your roots into in this world that will give you a sure foundation. In a Biblical (theistic) worldview there is hope; but not in man. That is why the Psalmist tells us not to trust in the world’s heroes; not to trust in creation; and certainly not to trust in ourselves. Because the temporal will pass away. However, God will never pass away; and those who place their faith in Him in and through Jesus Christ will have eternal life. As he writes in… Psalm 146:6 (NIV)-- 6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever. A Future Different From The Past--Now this view of the world stands in contrast to every other religious view during that time. No other culture believed in one universal creator. The Hebrew religion stands alone in this. And it made the Hebrews’ view of the universe remarkably simple: if you see it, God made it. Period. And with that understanding (that God created the world and the world had a beginning) came also the idea that history might have an end. You see pagan religions during that time believed in a cyclical view of time. Everything just repeats itself over and over again and tomorrow cannot be any different than today anymore than today can be any different from yesterday. And the pagans were bound by this cyclical view of time. And yet what the Hebrew religion introduced was this idea that because God is the Creator and there was a beginning, then there also could be an end; a climax toward which everything else was building. It was a linear view of time. And what this meant was that for the first time, mankind was able to conceive of a future that was better than the present. And what this did was it laid the groundwork for invention and innovation because there was hope for a better future. This was a one of the most important discoveries of all time. And it is a truth that was made manifest not in some grand theological tome, but right here in this psalm; this hymnbook of Israel. Yahweh is the Lord of Creation; and He’s the Lord of time; and because of that we can have hope for a better future. I don’t know how many of you feel stuck in an endless cycle. Maybe you do. But I want to tell you that with God comes the hope that your future can be better than the present; and will be if you place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Now from here the Psalmist moves on and begins talking about those that are uncared for and oppressed. He says… Psalm 146:7-10 (NIV)— 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, 8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord. No Legal Rights-- Now the reason the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow are all linked together is because none of them have any legal rights. None of them had anybody to stand up for them in court. There was no father; no husband; and if you are a foreigner, you had absolutely no rights. But what is amazing is that God steps in and chooses to be that father; to be that husband; to be that one who puts His arm around the foreigner; and gives them rights and defends their cause. And when you and I come to faith in that same God, we also will have concern for those people as well. Because one of the things that God does in the human heart when we place our faith in Jesus Christ is He turns us out of ourselves. Suddenly life is not just about me, it is about a world that is broken and my coming alongside God to help bring about healing to those who are in need of His saving touch. And all social concern has to begin here; with our allowing God to so fill us with His presence and with His love, that His very nature reflected through us will be the Light that extinguishes the darkness in our world. William Wilberforce’s Conversion-- Some time ago I became acquainted with the story of [William Wilberforce. When he was twenty-one he was elected to Parliament. He came from a well-to-do family in England and so, at twenty-one he had a seat in Parliament. He was sort of an odd young man, and so his family felt that Parliament would be a place where he could make his mark and become something. He was a member of the Anglican Church but was far from a Christian—he did not even believe in God. He was not even sure if he believed in much of anything When he was twenty-five years old his mother said, “I want to take a vacation. I want to go to the Riviera.” In Those days there were no airplanes, so she had to go by coach. How would you like to ride in a stagecoach from here to New Orleans…with your mother. And you are a member of the House of Commons. But he was a dutiful son so he said, “let’s take two carriages”—and he looked for a friend to go with him. Finding such a friend, he said, “We ought to take something to read; it’s going to be a long ride.” So they checked the best-seller list At that time, a book by Philip Doddridge, titled The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, was popular. Now, being a good politician, he was interested in what folks were reading, so when that was suggested he agreed. So, to the Mediterranean and back, they read Philip Doddridge’s The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. By the time they got back to England, Wilberforce believed there must be a God. The next year his mother wanted to go back. So, William Wilberforce went to find his friend. This time they decided to read the Greek New Testament. There are very few seminary graduates today who can read a Greek New Testament. But one hundred fifty years ago a twenty-six-year-old member of Parliament in Britain could. So, they read the Greek New Testament all the way to the mediterranean and back. When William Wilberforce got back to London, he believed in Christ. In the next session of Parliament he introduced the bill to free the slaves in the British Empire. For thirty-seven years he reintroduced the bill every year. And thirty-seven years later, on a Friday, they passed the bill to free the slaves. On the following Monday night, about 2 o’clock in the morning, William Wilberforce died….You see, William Wilberforce met the same person the psalmist met.] And his heart was turned out onto the world. A Praise Eruption— The fact is, that when you and I approach the living God personally and truly encounter Him, our lives will erupt with praise, with joy, with a renewed sense of purpose, an entire change in our worldview, and a burning compassion for those who are in desperate need of the healing touch of Jesus Christ. And we will be willing to go anywhere and die anywhere if it means that we can bring at least part of the world a little closer to Him. Make it your goal to (every day) encounter God in a real and personal way. In that encounter will be life not just for you; but for the whole world. Seek that encounter this week. Amen. In our FOUNDATIONS FOR LIFE series, we come to the book of Psalms. And the reason that we begin here is because (Although there are different ways to approach any given study about God) there is a tendency to separate that study of God from worship. And that is OK, if we are content merely to know ABOUT God. But if we want to know God Himself, we need to connect our study of God with worship. Our study of God must be punctuated with adoration and praise and prayer. An author I have been reading on this subject said something about this that has stuck with me. He said: [I suspect I can find out more of what you really believe if I can listen to you pray awhile than in any other way. When I hear you witness, I hear you saying something you think the people around you expect you to say, but when you are alone with God and express yourself freely, then you begin to reveal what you really believe and who you really are....The Psalms portray Israel at prayer. And it is when we pray that we find out what we really believe, what our theology actually is. Furthermore, true theology ought to end in prayer. If theology is the study of God, the knowledge of God, and if God is God, then the end of the study ought to be worship. If it is not, if it has been only a study about a subject and our thoughts on that subject, that is idolatry; I have made God a thing. It does not matter how accurate my thought is; if it does not bring me to Him as a living Person, I have only found a substitute for Him, a knowledge of something other than God. When one comes to know the true God, the only response is, in the language of the Old Testament, fearful worship.”]
Now the reason that I want to highlight this for you is because (as the title of our message today indicates) we want to encounter God. And that happens through worship. It is within the context of worship that we come to a true "knowing" relationship with the Lord of heaven and earth. Go ahead and look with me at the Psalm 146. Psalm 146 (NIV) 1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. 2 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. 6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- he remains faithful forever. 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, 8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord. No Praise Allowed!-- [A woman who “enjoyed her religion” visited a very staid and formal church. “Amen” she said, as the preacher brought out a point with which she agreed. “Madam,” said the usher standing nearby, “Please try and restrain yourself. We don’t allow that in this church.” In a few moments she was so carried away by the sermon that she shouted, “Amen, praise the Lord, hallelujah!” The usher rushed to her side: “Madam! You must quiet down immediately or leave!” “I didn’t mean to disturb ... but I am just so happy since I found the Lord,” she explained. “You may have found the Lord,” retorted the usher severely, “but I am quite sure you didn’t find him here!”] Having Praise In Your Heart— I read a story the other day of a man who [attended the services of one of the great churches of the past and had never witnessed a place that was so dead. Do you know what the problem was? People were not coming to church with praise in their hearts. They did not come to the service with thankfulness in their hearts to God. They did not enter His gates with thanksgiving.] When we find the Lord, it’s hard to keep quiet. Anybody who has truly been touched by God; who has truly encountered Him, their life will ALWAYS erupt in praise. Well, this is what happened to the Psalmist in our passage today, which is why he writes in… Psalm 146:1-2 (NIV)— 1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. 2 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. “The Great Hallel”-- Now (just to give you a little context for our passage this morning) this psalm is [the first of the last five in the book of Psalms. In Jewish tradition these five psalms are grouped together. They are called “The Great Hallel.”] And what does that word “hallel” mean? (WAIT) Yes, [the Hebrew word hallel means praise.] And [So we find it in English in “hallelujah,” meaning “Praise the Lord.” These five psalms all begin with that injunction, “Praise the Lord.” Furthermore, all five end with it as well. The hallelu is a plural imperative, commanding a group of people, “Give praise!” … {And so} This group of psalms is called a “hallel” because they begin and end with that call to praise.] Leaving God With Gratitude— Now one scholar points our that [“…the reason we have the Great Hallel at the end of the Psalms is because it was a Hebrew conviction that when you come to God, no matter why you come, you ought to leave Him with gratitude, with thanksgiving, with praise, with adoration in your heart. No matter what it is you bring when you come, when you are in His presence, His greatness ought to be such that when you finish your time with Him your problems have been reduced in size in relation to Him and you can walk out, no matter what you face, with praise.”] And so, as one commentator observes: [It is not that the psalmist said to himself, “I ought to sit down and write a prayer,” but that he met God and could not do anything else. So the poetic expression that you find here is not something that was written in praise of God in order to get to God. Rather, it is something that was written because the writer had met God. And when we really meet Him, unless it is an encounter of complete judgment, if we meet Him in grace, always the end of that meeting with the gracious God will be an experience of joy and of praise.] WHEN HELLEN KELLER DISCOVERED WORDS— Some of you know (at least a little bit) about the story of Helen Keller. It is a truly remarkable story of transformation and grace, simply because a woman named Anne Sullivan poured into Helen Keller’s life and helped her (though blind and deaf) to learn to communicate and read; and thereby lifting her out of her silent darkness. [The 21-year-old Anne Sullivan came to Tuscumbia, Alabama on March 3, 1887. From the moment she arrived she began to sign words into Helen's hand, trying to help her understand the idea that everything has a name.] And this was extraordinary difficult at first. But Anne writes of a breakthrough moment she had with Helen. She writes: [We went out to the pump-house, and I made Helen hold her mug under the spout while I pumped. As the cold water gushed forth, filling the mug, I spelled "w-a-t-e-r" in Helen's free hand. The word coming so close upon the sensation of cold water rushing over her hand seemed to startle her. She dropped the mug and stood as one transfixed. A new light came into her face. She spelled "water" several times. Then she dropped on the ground and asked for its name and pointed to the pump and the trellis, and suddenly turning round she asked for my name. I spelled "Teacher." Just then the nurse brought Helen's little sister into the pump-house, and Helen spelled "baby" and pointed to the nurse. All the way back to the house she was highly excited, and learned the name of every object she touched, so that in a few hours she had added thirty new words to her vocabulary. Here are some of them: Door, open, shut, give, go, come, and a great many more. P.S.--I didn't finish my letter in time to get it posted last night; so I shall add a line. Helen got up this morning like a radiant fairy. She has flitted from object to object, asking the name of everything and kissing me for very gladness. Last night when I got in bed, she stole into my arms of her own accord and kissed me for the first time, and I thought my heart would burst, so full was it of joy.] Now […after Helen Keller’s teacher, Anne Sullivan, had given her the names of physical objects in sign language, Miss Sullivan attempted to explain God and tapped out the symbols for the name “God.” Much to Miss Sullivan’s surprise, Helen spelled back, “Thank you for telling me God’s name, Teacher, for He has touched me many times before.” {She said that she knew of him already, groping in the dark after him.} Helen Keller knew something of God’s signature from nature, but it was wordless.] YHWH: A Hallelujah Psalm Built on God’s Name-- A name can change a lot in a relationship. And the psalms are important in that they highlight for us the personal nature of our encounter with God. And that is why the most important word in this Psalm (though it is covered up in our English translations by the word LORD in all caps) is “YHWH”. This psalm is built around that personal name for God. Hallelujah (what this Psalm opens and closes with) doesn’t exactly mean “praise the Lord”. Because [yah is the short form for the name “Yahweh” in the Old Testament. This is the name that God gave to Moses at the burning bush when Moses wanted to know with whom he was talking. God gave Moses His personal name, and that name was probably pronounced, as best we know, Yahweh.] This is a personal name, not a title. And so when we realize this, this word “hallelujah” becomes a very close and personal form of praise. Now we usually use the word “God” in our prayers (which is a general title; what He is rather than who He is to you and to me. But did you know that God’s name [“Yahweh occurs in the Old Testament about 6,800 times, while Elohim, “God” only appears about 2,600 times. So, the preponderance of references to the Deity in the Old Testament use the personal name.] And what this should tell you and me is that yes, God knows you by name. But apparently God wants you to know Him by His name too. Because our relationship with God (unlike any other religion) is characterized by a personal encounter. That is why by next week, I would like each of you to purchase a Hebrew Bible and learn Hebrew. Or, if that’s too hard (as I suspect it is) begin marking in your Bible all these places where the name of God is mentioned. Maybe just put a little “N” next to His name and remember (every time you see it) how close of a relationship God wants to have with you. This is why [The Hebrews were the the people of the name. And the Bible, the Old Testament, is the book about the One whose name we know.] They knew God in a way that no other nation did because He was a God who abided with them in intimate relationship. And the same is true for us. In Jesus Christ, you and I know God; His Holy Spirit abides in us. And we can relate with God (in a way) face to face (presence to presence) without a priest; without an additional sacrifice. His presence is open to us. That enough is reason for us to erupt in praise. So today, take advantage of the face that God’s presence is open to you. And give Him thanks for that incredible gift He has given to you and to me. Amen. Today, as we continue our series FOUNDATIONS FOR LIFE”, I’d like to continue our discussion on what it means to know God; particularly His name. What does it mean for us to know the God of the universe; our Creator and our Redeemer not just by majestic titles, but by His very name? And I’d like to start by reading of the first time God’s name is given, which we find in Exodus chapter 3. Moses has been settling down in his old age when God appears to Him in a burning bush and tells him that he is going to be the instrument through which He (God) will deliver His people. And one comic I read recently showed Moses (exasperated) saying, “So much for the golden years.” God still had great things He wanted to do through Moses. And that just goes to show that you are never too old for God to do something fresh in and through you; and use you to do great things. Now Moses doesn’t like the idea. He starts to beat around the burning bush, so to speak. It says in…
Exodus 3:13-20 (ESV)-- 13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”[a] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,[b] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. The Scientific Name-- [A patient told his doctor, “If there’s anything wrong with me, Doctor, just tell me in plain English.” “Well,” replied the doctor hesitatingly, “to be perfectly frank, you’re just plain lazy.” “Thanks, Doctor,” muttered the patient, “Now I would appreciate it if you would give me the scientific name so I can tell my family.”] A First-Name Basis-- It’s funny what truth can be hidden behind a name. And this is never more true when we talk about the name of God. Have you ever thought about how significant it is that God revealed to Moses (and us) His personal name? Why does that matter? Well, to know someone’s name makes the relationship with that person more intimate and personal; there is a closeness that is brought into the relationship. Furthermore, when you give your name to someone, you are actually giving to that other person a certain degree of control over you in that now they have the power to get your attention. Well, God apparently saw fit to give us His name for that very reason; so that we might have that closeness with Him and so that we might (at any time we choose) call on His name and receive His full attention. This was something revolutionary in the world of ancient religions. God wanted to be on a first-name basis with mankind. And God wants to be on a first-name basis with you as well. The Bible says He knows you by name. And He wants you to know Him by name as well. The Loss of The Name-- But in our English Bibles, we don’t find the name of God. Instead we come across the word “Lord”. And sometimes just the first letter is capitalized and other times all the letters are capitalized. Why the variation? Well (as Dr. Dennis Kinlaw explains best) it is because [the first one is an honorific title whereas the second one is standing for God’s personal name. As you read through the Psalms, notice how many times that capitalized Lord appears. Every time it is standing for the personal name of God. Why does the Hebrew bible do this? Why not just spell out his personal name? {Well,} The answer to these questions is found in a Jewish idea called “fencing the Law.” That is, after the Babylonian exile the returned Judeans were very concerned that they never break God’s law again and suffer such a terrible fate. In order not to break the laws they put more laws around them. It is a though, if the speed limit were sixty-five miles per hour, you would put a governor on your car so you could not go over forty-five miles per hour {I remember when we were moving here, driving in that moving truck all the way from Ohio, there was such a governor on that truck. Not a fan of that governor, as it made for very slow going. But…}. That would guarantee you would not break the speed law. So, how can you be sure that you never break the Old Testament law that forbids boiling a kid in its mother’s milk? Well, if you never eat a hamburger and drink milk at the same time, you will not break that law. So to this day an orthodox Jew will not eat meat and milk together. Now, the Jews spread that concept rather extensively so that when they came to the commandment, “Though shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” they said, “You know, if we never pronounce His name, we won’t break that commandment.” Whenever they came to the name of God, they said the word that means “lord” instead. They did this so thoroughly that eventually they, the people of God, lost the pronunciation of the name that was given to Moses at the burning bush. They lost their greatest treasure. {Then Kinlaw says this:} Sometimes I think the the real effect of the work of those of us who are professional religious people has been to put distance between people and God. So the book of Psalms and indeed, the entire Old Testament in our English translations, can only speak of God in one of his roles, “the Lord,” and never in the richness of His person, as conveyed in His name. My wife’s name is Elsie Blake Kinlaw. I knew a preacher once who always referred to his wife in public as, “the wife.” I hear him do it in the pulpit. If I had ever done that to my wife, when I got home my bags would be packed sitting on the front porch. Elsie is not a role, she is a person. When I was president of Asbury College many people would call me “Mr. President.” It was not about me but about my business role. What you do with names determines relationship, doesn’t it? I want you to notice how prominent the personal name of God is in Psalms. In fact, the book of Psalms is about Yahweh*, yet He never appears by name in our translation. {*We know that the consonants of God’s personal name were y-h-w-h, but we do not know what the vowels were. This is so because when the Jewish scholars were adding vowel markings to the text, which had originally contained only consonants, the vowels they inserted in the divine name were the vowels of the word for “lord” -a-o-a. Using evidence from personal names that include parts of the divine name (like “Abijah,” “my father is Yah”) scholars have conjectured that the name was pronounced “Yahweh,” which would mean “He Causes to Be.” Because this is not certain, most English translations continue to use “Lord.”—JNO} {But in Psalms like Psalm 121 and 146}…Notice how many times God’s personal name occurs, how common it is. I think that is one of the reasons for the Incarnation. God was wanting to overcome the distance that had crept in between Him and His people in the loss of His name. There is something about the name “Jesus” that has a closeness that the term “God” does not have.] Look at what Jesus says in… John 17:6 (ESV)-- 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. I want to ask you today: When you think about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (and pray to them), what title(s) do you most often gravitate towards? And how does that title shape the way that you think about God? Or even more importantly, does that title diminish the level of intimacy that scripture reveals is God’s central desire for each of us. And in light of our discussion today, what ought the name of Jesus to mean to you and to me as the One in whom God restores to us His personal name? You know, it can be funny how we often times approach scripture. It is something we can read to feel spiritual; to increase our Biblical learning; or even to prepare sermons or nice Facebook posts, Tweets and Instagram posts (which are all great things). But when we separate the Word of God from God Himself; from using scripture as an actual means of coming into the presence of God, we miss the central reason for scripture, which is to encounter God. But if we do keep encountering God through His Word our central aim, there is no telling what God can do in and through your life. And His Word will become not just a textbook, but one of the chief means God uses to speak to you. And when He truly speaks to you through His Word and reveals Himself to you in greater and greater measure, God will use His Word to transform not just your life, but the lives of those around you. Otto Piper and The Reformation— Once, in an Old Testament class taught by the highly esteemed Dr. Otto Piper, [a student asked him a question: “Dr. Piper, many of us are going to be graduating in a few weeks. We will be going out into the ministry. Is there a list of ‘must’ books for every pastor? Is there a list of books that every pastor should have read?”…And he…said, “I know of only one ‘must’ book.” And then he waited a moment and said, “You know, we make a mistake. Somehow in our Reformed tradition we think that Luther and Calvin produced the Reformation. It wasn’t Luther or Calvin who produced the Reformation. What produced the Reformation was that Luther studied the Word of God. And as he studied, it began to explode inside him. And when it began to explode inside him, he didn’t know any better than to turn it loose on Germany. And it was the Word of God that transformed Germany. Now,” he said, “the same thing was true of Calvin. You knew what Calvin was going to preach on next Sunday. He would start with the verse after the one where he had stopped on the last Sunday, and he preached his way right through the Bible. Now, the tragedy of the Reformation was that when Luther and Calvin died, Melancthon and Beza edited their work. And so all the Lutherans began to read the Bible to find Luther and all the Calvinists began to read the Bible to find Calvin. And,” he said, “the great corruption was on its way.” He said, “Do you know there is enough undiscovered truth in the Scripture to produce a Reformation and an evangelical awakening in every generation if we would simply expose ourselves to it until it explodes within us and then we turn it loose?”] This morning, settle for nothing less than knowing God in a personal relationship. If you’re like me, you can easily fall into the trap of learning about God and not ever truly knowing God. But if you and I will have a relational communion with God AS we study His Word, He can cause that Word to explode inside of US and transform OUR lives and the lives of those around us. But we have to lay hold of Him. And so right here right now, do it. Pray to Him and say, “Lord, I don’t want to just know about You. Lord, I want to know You.” If you open yourself to Him like that, I promise you He will respond. James says in… James 4:8a (NKJV)-- 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Draw near to Him today. Amen. Traction-- This winter we here in the Seattle area had some of the worst snowfall we have had in about 70 years. And therefore I gained a new appreciation for two very important words. The first of these is “traction”. Yes, as I dug the snow out from under the wheels of my car numerous times so that we could get out of our driveway, I gained a new appreciation for this word “traction”; and a stronger dislike of this word “stuck”. And I remember one day in particular that was perhaps the worst; and that was when all the snow and ice on the roads became slush. And you’d think slush would be better because the snow is breaking down. But it is actually the worst because as you car is trying to drive on it, is is moving underneath of it. The car can’t get a footing. And for those of you digging the snow out from under your car; or who had to try to push their car, you know how frustrating getting “stuck” can be.
And you know, you can be “stuck” just about anytime and anywhere. Because there are different ways you can be stuck. You can be stuck in a difficult job where things don’t seem like they’re going to get better; you can feel stuck in your relationships with your spouse or your kids or your extended family; you can be spiritually stuck in your relationship with God. And it just feels like you are snowed in. And you may wonder, “How do I get out of this?” “How can I start getting some traction again?” Well, just as a car needs something more than slush under its tires, so also you need something solid as your foundation as well. By the way, this is why the world has nothing to offer you in this area. If you look at the world right now, it is so mixed up, it hardly knows its left hand from it’s right. And the purely naturalistic view that it seeks to indoctrinate us with (whether its on television, social media, you name it); all of it just leaves us spinning our tires. Some say depend on science. Only problem is that science is always changing its theories; what is fact one century is often discarded the next. They always say, “This time we got it right!” But then new evidence is uncovered and the theories change. One decade they tell you your baby will die if it sleeps on its back. The next they’re telling you the baby will die if it doesn’t sleep on its stomach. One decade they’re telling you you need to brush with you toothbrush up and down; then it’s side to side; now you’re supposed TO DO IT IN CIRCLES!!!!! And really all of the wisdom of the world seems to be doing just that; we’re just running in circles; WE’RE….JUST….SPINNING….OUR TIRES. There is nothing solid you can depend on in this world; no unshakeable truth upon which you can lay a sturdy foundation for your life, knowing that that thing is not going to change;……that is, until we come to the Truth of Christ and His Word. For those who place their faith in Jesus Christ and follow Him, they discover something solid. Maybe this is why Jesus talks about us who spread the truth about Him as being the salt of the earth. Because when we give a world Christ, we are helping to break down the snowy slush and uncover for people something solid that can hold them steady. A wise Christian once wrote: [Our hope is not hung upon such untwisted thread as "I imagine so", or, "it is likely"; but the cable, the strong rope of our fastened anchor is the oath and promise of him who is eternal verity; our salvation is fastened with God's own hand, and Christ's own strength, to the strong stake of God's unchanging nature.] Our Anchor-- It may surprise you to hear this, but: "The {primary} first century symbol {for the early church} wasn’t the cross; it was the anchor. [Epitaphs on believers' tombs dating as far back as the end of the first century frequently displayed anchors alongside messages of hope. Such expressions…speak to the hope Christians felt in their anticipation of heaven. Archaeologists found about 70 examples of these kinds of messages in one cemetery alone.] And person I read helps to make sense of this. He said:} If I'm a first century Christian and I'm hiding in the catacombs and three of my best friends have just been thrown to the lions or burned at the stake, or crucified and set ablaze as torches at one of [Emperor] Nero's garden parties, the symbol that most encourages me in my faith is the anchor. When I see it, I'm reminded that Jesus is my anchor.” Hebrews 6:19 (NIV) says this, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Jesus wants to be our real and present Anchor. And knowledge of Him and His ways can be a solid foundation for your life. And that is what our new sermon series (FOUNDATIONS FOR LIFE) is going to center on. How can you and I know God? What is important for us to know about God? And how can our relationship with Him give us the anchoring we need in today’s world. John chapter 17:1-6 says… John 17:1-6 (ESV)-- 1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. “The Word We Do Not Speak Of”-- Now I have been told by one of my mentors (as I discussed this series with him) not to use a particular word. I will have to use quotes at times in which this word will show up. But I have been warned not to use this word myself (particularly in the title of this series (FOUNDATIONS FOR LIFE) simply because of how boring this word is. In fact, it is so boring that pastors have been unintentionally putting their congregations to sleep for years simply by using it. Pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to know this word because their profits on sleep aids would immediately plummet. No magician could pronounce any incantation more powerful than this word if they wanted to put you to sleep. I will use it in a moment, but before I do, I’d like to kindly ask that you please angle your heads away from any hard objects. The word….are you ready….is “THEOLOGY” (YAWN). From now on the word just spoken will be referenced to as “the word we do not speak of.” Now I jest. But for many there is no word more boring. And that is because when we hear it, we immediately think of it as books and study about a subject that is too deep for anybody to understand. Now I disagree, but that is what we think; that it is too lofty, too deep, and too impersonal and therefore, boring. And sometimes theology (which is often defined as “the study of God”) can be impersonal and boring. But real theology never is. In fact, the first theology book that ever existed wasn’t like that at all. In fact, quite the opposite. The first theology textbook goes back even before the Bible was written. It was a theology textbook given to the first man ever created. God gave this theology textbook to Adam soon after Adam was created. And though God wrote this textbook, He allowed Adam to to give this theology textbook a name. And the title Adam chose for his first theology textbook was “woman”. And that woman’s name was Eve. And Eve was anything but boring. She was amazing. No Hallmark Valentine card sentiment could have captured what happened in Adam’s soul when God first presented her to him. And it was to be in a relationship with her that Adam would discover (in a small part) what God wanted in His relationship with Adam. Eve was God’s living and breathing theology book for Adam. And she was as about as far from impersonal as you could get. She came from his own body (God made her from one of his ribs). Adam describes her as “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”. And it says in Genesis 4:1 that Adam “knew” his wife. And the two became one flesh. Dissecting God-- There were classes I loved in high school; biology wasn’t one of them; they were unpleasant days, as during them my biology teacher (Mrs. Durand) had us dissect a fetal pig. But did she stop there? No. You would think one animal was enough but no. After fetal pig, we did cow heart, then rat, then maybe crawfish, and then (worst of all) we even did shark. Now I’m telling you, the stench from that thing was unbelievable (even worse than fetal pig, which I didn’t think was possible). I kid you not, you could smell those dead sharks from the opposite side of the school. I was so glad to be done with her class. And then of course when I got to Asbury University (as if I needed more practice) my teacher there had us dissect frog (which after shark, wasn’t that bad). But nonetheless disgusting. But in each of these instances I’m sitting there (putrid stench), and I’m trying to peel back the layers so I can see how this dead thing worked when it was alive. Now why do I tell you this. Well, I tell you this because so often times when we define the word “theology” we define it as “the study of God”; it’s a study of God just like a dead animal. He’s laying there on the operating table and we’re trying to figure out how He works. It’s all mental; it’s all cognitive; it’s all systematic. But that is not a Jewish way of understanding theology. Theology; true Christian theology (I don’t care what anybody says; it is NOT) merely “the study of God”. Because studying something is always impersonal. No, theology is not simply “the study of God”; it is “the knowledge of God”. And this is key. WHAT IS THE BIBLICAL CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE?— One scholar makes the observation that [“Knowledge, as a general conception in the Old Testament, is quite unlike that in our…world.… For us, knowledge implies grasping things by reason, seeing things and their connection of cause and effect and the understanding of the component factors of something. The Westerner says that he knows a thing when he has analyzed a thing fully and when he can explain all the factors from which it…arose. That is, when he can give it a place in the whole of his range of ideas. In the Old Testament, knowledge is living in a close relationship with something or somebody, such a relationship as to cause what may be called communion.”] That is what Adam shared with Eve; and that is the kind of knowledge we are to have of God (not just cognitive, but relational; and it is both). To know (in the Jewish mind) is to totally experience the other person. And if you want salvation, you cannot just believe cognitively in God. No early Christian would ever have said that. And neither would Jesus. What does Jesus say? John 17:3 (ESV)-- 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Do you Know?-- And my question to you today is, “Do you know Jesus?” Not about Him; or even that you believe in Him. Do you know Him. Do you relate with Him. I want to tell you today that that level of relationship is open to you. But you have to open yourself to it. You must move from God as idea/concept to God the person. You must know Jesus as your “personal” Savior. And that can happen right here; right now in this moment by simply opening your mouth and inviting Him into you life like that. If you want that, all you have to do is ask. Ask Him today, and He will meet you; and that personal relationship will begin and will give you hope for the present and an eternal hope for the future. Let’s seize that hope today. Amen. Christ is risen! And for that we give glory to God in a special way today. And I would like to read to you the account of Jesus’ resurrection given to us in…
John 20:1-10 (NIV) The Empty Tomb— 1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. Night & Spiritual Darkness— Now our passage this morning begins in darkness. And often when the Bible talks about something happening at night, it does so for a specific purpose. Because often times what accompanies that physical darkness is some sort of spiritual darkness. After Judas dipped his bread in the cup and Jesus said to him, “What you must do, do quickly”, it says that Judas went out and it was night. And that outer darkness reflected an inner darkness, as Judas left to betray Jesus to the Jewish leaders. Now darkness (especially during that time) was a terrifying thing. People did not have outdoor streetlights to illumine their paths. Even in their homes the lights people had were small. In our modern day we can control our environment; we can make our rooms as bright as we want them to be. But not so in the ancient world. In the ancient world, night was a time of darkness; it was a time when wild animals came out to hunt. It was a time of fear. There is a famous song from the musical Annie which says “The sun will come out tomorrow.” Right? But what if it never did? What if there was night that never ended? In a spiritual sense, that is what the world experienced after mankind fell into sin. Like with Judas, there was a spiritual darkness that descended on us as man left the presence of God after sinning in Eden; a darkness that flowed from our betrayal of God. It was a time of night that the world has been in bondage to ever since. And the darkness reached a climax as Jesus hung on the cross. It says in… Matthew 27:45 (ESV)-- 45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. The Hour of Darkness-- Now this was not typical darkness. The sixth hour was noon and the ninth hour was 3pm. So it is the middle of the day. And yet it says there was darkness over all the land. It was a supernatural darkness that reflected the spiritual darkness that 1 Peter 2:24 tells us was descending upon Jesus Christ as the sins of the whole world were placed upon Him. A Day of Burial-- And that day and the following night were perhaps the darkest the disciples of Jesus had ever experienced; and for the women who followed Jesus and who invested in His ministry and who looked forward in hope to seeing the glorification of their Messiah, I cannot imagine a greater pain; a darker night. It was the day the Son/Sun died. And the darkness of the night was matched only by the darkness that their loss of hope brought to their souls. And it is in that darkness that Mary Magdalene has come to the tomb. And Mary is perhaps one of the most profound followers of Jesus in the Gospel story. We learn from Luke 8:1-3 that she had been possessed by seven demons before Jesus drove them out; imagine that! And she was a part of a group of women who supported Jesus in His ministry. And when her brother Lazarus died, Jesus had raised him from the dead. Jesus had touched her on a very personal level; when her brother died, she thought she would have to enter a new season of life without him. But Jesus had raised her brother Lazarus from the dead, and she had washed Jesus’ feet as an expression of gratitude. She poured that pure nard on his head and feet. And that nard was very likely the expensive perfume Jewish girls saved for their wedding night. But she chose to give Him that gift. Why? Because Jesus had freed her from the demonic. And on top of that, He gave her dead brother back to her alive. And so I believe this gift she had given Jesus comes into play in our passage today. A Roller Coaster-- Now the day she came to the tomb was Sunday and the past two weeks or more had been an unbelievable roller coaster of emotions as her brother Lazarus became sick. And she, along with Martha, took on the burden of caring for him, waiting for Jesus, until Lazarus finally died. And they mourned for him; they buried him. But then Jesus calls Lazarus out of the grave, giving him new life. Mary’s grief was turned to joy once again, as Jesus had given her brother back to her. Her Heart is Broken— But then her Lord; her Messiah; goes to Jerusalem, is betrayed, and handed over to be beaten, flogged, and crucified. And she had watched Him carry the cross up to Golgotha. She had watched as they nailed Him to the beams, lifted Him up, and jarred Him into place. She watched Him die and then (after death) be ruthlessly stabbed with a spear. I cannot imagine the sickening grief and horror of watching our Lord; her Lord; die on the cross like that. And then she begins to go through the same process she had gone through before with her brother of perfuming the body; embalming it; and preparing it for burial. And Jesus was placed in the tomb. And now this-- And now this incident has happened. And she, those who were with her, and the disciples don’t know what to make of it. To their knowledge, Jesus’ body may have been stolen. And so the disciples run to the tomb. John stops at the entrance and Peter runs right in. And Jesus’ body had been laid on a bench opposite the entrance. And Peter, after stooping down and entering the tomb, sees the bench on which Jesus’ body had lain and finds nothing but grave clothes. And this is incredibly strange. And Peter comes out and he and John both, bewildered, leave perplexed. But Mary stays. Verse 11 and following says… John 20:11-13 (NIV)— Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” The Ultimate Gardener-- Now considering how much Jesus had talked to them about bearing fruit; about His being the vine and them being the branches; about seeds (through death) being allowed to take root and grow to create abundant life; I find it so appropriate that she thought He was the gardener. He was the ultimate Gardener. But He is also the Good Shepherd. And what does the Good Shepherd do? As John 10 tells us, He calls His sheep by name and His sheep know His voice. John 20:16-18 (NIV)— 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. First To Her-- Now I find it interesting that Jesus doesn’t appear to John first (the one Jesus loved); He doesn’t appear to Peter first (who was the leading disciple). Jesus chooses who He appears to first. He appears to her first; to her; the one who had anointed His head and feet, which He told her was for the day of His burial. She had given Jesus the best thing she had; that perfume she had been saving. And Jesus in the same way reserves this place of honor; being the first to see Him alive; He reserves that for her. Another reason I think she could not leave the tomb was because Jesus had made her life new; and now that it was new, she didn’t want to enter any season of life without Jesus. And Jesus appears to her first and I wonder if He isn’t in essence saying to her, “I don’t want you to enter any season of life without me either.” I will never leave you nor forsake you. During any season of life, the thing you can count on (the only thing you can count on) is that I will be with you; encouraging you, comforting you, strengthening you. It doesn’t matter what’s in your past. I will be there for you. Jesus wants to be with us in every season of life. He doesn’t change like shifting shadows and wants to be that anchoring point for us amidst a sea of change. Morrison’s Hell Elevator-- Dennis Kinlaw wrote how he […once heard a sermon by Henry Clay Morrison in which he took his audience on an elevator ride down to hell and then up to heaven. {He says} When we reached heaven, we saw a creature more beautiful than anything we had ever seen. Because of its grandeur, we assumed it was the archangel Michael or one of the great saints such as Moses or Paul. When we asked, the creature laughed almost gleefully and said, “No, I am Mary Magdalene. I am the woman of sin made clean by the blood of the Cross.”] Then Kinlaw said [The most beautiful people in heaven may be the ones in whom the Holy Spirit has wrought the greatest transformation.] Malachi 4:2 (ESV)— 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. Praise be to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that each and every one of us has found healing in the wings of our risen Lord. Today, as you reflect back on that blessed day when Christ first called you by name; on that day when you first found healing in the shadow of His wings, give thanks to Him. And if you have never received Christ, all you have to do is confess your need of Him and invite Him in. And He will do a work every bit as remarkable as the one He did for Mary. He will completely change your life and will lift you from darkness into His light. If you want that today, all you have to do is ask Him. And Easter will no longer be only about what happened in a grave over two thousand years ago, but will be about the day that Jesus was raised in you. Place your faith in Him. Today. Amen. Today, as you know, is Palm Sunday. And in light of that, I would like for us to take a look at the account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem given to us in…
John 12:12-19 (ESV) The Triumphal Entry-- 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!” 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.” Who do we expect Jesus to be?-- As we move towards Easter, I’d like to share a few brief thoughts with you on this Palm Sunday about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and why this celebratory event in the life of Christ is still so very important to us. It says in verse 12… John 12:12 (ESV)-- 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. The Crowds-- It is hard to overstate the excitement that Jesus was stirring amongst the people as He was moving from place to place. People are coming to celebrate the Passover Feast; and it is an extraordinary amount of people (all the locals who lived in that area plus all the people from far and wide who have come to Jerusalem for Passover). It is estimated that [the regular population of Jerusalem in this period was about 50,000 and that during Passover it grew to perhaps 100,000 to 120,000.] And of course there is not room for that many people in the city. So you had thousands of people staying on the hillsides surrounding the city. Hearing of The Messiah-- But as people are coming, and are merging with the people who are already there, they are hearing news about the latest exploits of this revolutionary new teacher who has arisen out of Galilee and was then staying just outside of Jerusalem. Not only were His teachings unlike anything they had ever heard, but the signs that accompanied His words were unlike anything they had ever heard tell of. And one in particular has caught the attention of the crowds. A man who had contracted an illness and died had been buried for four days. And everybody had through that all hope had been lost; because (after all) who could come back from the dead? But Jesus commanded that his tomb be unsealed and opened. And when they did it, he called to the dead man to come out; AND HE DID!!!! So the stories are circulating. This teacher (Jesus) seems to have no limits. What people perceive to be the ultimate power in the world (the power of death) apparently is not the ultimate power. Apparently all this Jesus has to do is speak a word and death itself works backwards and then retreats. And so the many who hear of this and all that Jesus had done in and throughout the course of His ministry conclude that He is the Messiah; the Christ; the one who would come to bring them liberation. And so they seek to honor him as such. We read in… John 12:13 (ESV)-- 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” Triumphal Entries-- Now [“Triumphal entries” were common in the ancient world. A conquering hero or king would return to his city, bringing the spoils of his battles and stories of conquest. 13 This imagery would not be missed on any Greek-speaking audience on the eastern edge of the Roman empire. When John says that the crowd “went out to meet him,” this is a common expression used for cities meeting their triumphant, returning king. {And}14 In a Jewish context, “Hosanna” was used to greet such incoming kings (2 Sam. 14:4; 2 Kings 6:26). In fact, Jewish culture understood these “royal welcomes” so well that it adopted such forms commonly.] The “Triumphal Entry”— But it is ironic that we call this the triumphal entry because the triumph Jesus was going to bring was very different from the kind of triumph the people expected. They expected Him to bring triumph over Rome, when in fact, Jesus had His eyes set on something bigger; something deeper. Israel had fallen into captivity numerous times before, which was God’s judgment on them for sin. But then they would cry out to God for deliverance and would repent, and God would deliver them. Yet it would be not long after that that they would fall into sin once again. And we see this cycle in our lives as well. We undergo some hardship and find ourselves crying out to God for deliverance. And we promise to live lives more fully devoted to Him; to stop doing the things we know we shouldn’t be doing. And yet afterwards (after He has answered us) we fall back into our old pattern of life. We see this pattern every time natural disaster strikes; I have seen it in the lives of the men I have ministered to in prison, many of whom promise repentance and yet many (soon after their release) are soon back in prison. We see it in the lives of those who battle addiction. In the human condition, there is something deeper than physical bondage. Israel’s bondage to Rome was a symptom of their disease; the result. They wanted Jesus to deliver them as their Messiah as God had done so often in the past. And Jesus does want to do that; and will do that in the end. But first God has to do something in our hearts in order to ensure that we can live a life of victory rather than a life of defeat; a life that is no longer in bondage to the cycle of repeating the same sins and mistakes over and over again. Christ wants to set us free. But the people who here cried hosanna were not looking for that kind of Savior. They wanted a Messiah who would pronounce judgment on others for their sin; not deal with their sin. And that is why, when Jesus humbled Himself before His enemies; when Jesus didn’t fight back; when Jesus allowed Himself to be taken captive, all forsook Him and fled. And many of the same people who had cried Hosanna became the very people who cried out at His trial, “Crucify Him!” And what I want you to think about today is this, “What kind of Messiah do you really want in your life?” A Messiah who will serve you and make your name great or a Messiah who says, “Follow me. Oh and by the way, I am going to the cross.” That is what nobody understood; and even what many people do not understand today. If we we want to understand the real meaning of Easter; what it means to have Christ raised in our hearts, then we have to first understand the cross and what it means for our individual lives. Giving Your Life to Christ-- I read a preacher and author some time ago who shared a story from his own life that encapsulates it so well. He says: [I remember one night during World War II when I spoke to a group of G.I.’s at an evangelistic service. One of the soldiers lingered afterward to talk. Once we were alone, he said, “I would like to become a Christian.” “Why?” I asked. “Well, I don’t want to go to hell,” he replied. “I suppose that is a good reason.” I responded. “I don’t know if it is the noblest reason, but it is a perfectly legitimate one. All right, then, will you give your life to Christ?” The soldier stiffened, “Oh, I could never do that,” he said. “Are you sure a man has to do that to be a Christian?” I turned in my New Testament to read Jesus’ words, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” After a pause, he asked again, “Do I have to give my life to Christ to become a Christian?” “Yes, you do. Why aren’t you willing to do that?” “Why, I have plans for my life!” he exclaimed. “How can I give my life to Christ if I already have my own plans for it?” I wanted to shake that soldier’s hand for his crystal-clear honesty. I had spent most of my life as a pastor dealing with people who felt that there was no contradiction between saying, “I will give my life to Christ,” and saying, “I know what I am going to do with my life.” That man sensed the contradiction. The priests in Jerusalem felt that there was no contradiction between saying, “This is the Lord’s house,” and then running it in such a way that it was unfit for the Lord. Jesus had to walk in and declare, “You have made a terrible mistake. This is my Father’s house. It must be managed his way.” The priests reacted with panic. Most of us panic when Christ comes into our lives like this. The foremost reason is our inordinate fear of what he will do with our lives when we allow him to take control. But is there any good reason to suppose that Jesus would make a mistake with our lives?] Today, as we think about our Messiah, let us give ourselves to Him wholly completely as the true Lord of our lives. Christ was not on His way to a throne; He was on His way to a cross. And therefore every person He calls to come and follow Him is also called to come to that same cross; to die to their own plans for their own lives and to give themselves completely to Him and to His mission. Jesus gave His life so that we might have life. And so we also are to give our lives to Him and pour our lives out so that others might come to know Jesus. Lechem Panim #42 "Giving Love Away" (1 Jn. 3:16-18, Eph. 4:1-3, Phil. 2:1-4) Pastor Cameron Ury4/7/2019 One of the things I find most challenging about preaching is the amount of time I’m given. I remember one Sunday I was set to preach on the love of God, but my time was cut to 15 minutes because of some special programs we had going on, and I remember thinking “How am I going to speak on a topic as deep as the Love of God in only 15 minutes.” The irony is that now I I try to do this every week on air with you. There is always more that can be said.
The Monk, The Candle, & the Crucifix-- But some time ago I read a story of [A certain medieval monk {who} announced he would be preaching {the} next Sunday evening on "The Love of God." As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say.] Today, as we move towards our remembrance of the death of Christ during Passion Week, I would like to talk briefly about the subject of love, which is so central to the Passion narrative leading up to Easter. And I would like to talk about three different aspects of love that (if we understand them) can forever change all our relationship with God and with each other, making them full and rich. POINT 1: LOVE PROTECTED/WITHHELD IS LOVE LOST— And the first of these is revealed in: 1 John 3:16-18 (ESV)— 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. Michael W. Smith: “Love isn’t love until you give it away”— One of my favorite artists (has been for many years) is Michael W. Smith. And one of his oldest yet most powerful songs is a song called “Give It Away”; because it talks about one of the most fundamental aspects of love that can so often be overlooked. Love is not truly love until you give it away. He sings: She asked him for forever And a promise that would last He said, "Babe, you know I love you But I can't commit to that" She said, "Love isn't love Till You give it away" A father lived in silence Saw his son become a man There was a distance felt between them 'Cause he could not understand That love isn't love Till You give it away You gotta give it away We can entertain compassion For a world in need of care But the road of good intentions Doesn't lead to anywhere 'Cause love isn't love Till you give it away You gotta give it away There was a man who walked on water He came to set the people free He was the ultimate example Of what love can truly be 'Cause His love was His life And He gave it away You gotta give it away Proverbs 27:5 (ESV)— 5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. C.S. Lewis: Love Protected is Love Destroyed-- C.S. Lewis says in his book The Four Loves: [To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin or your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable...The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers...of love is Hell.] The primary characteristic about God that we need to understand is that He is the God who gives Himself away; with nothing held back. In Eden He gave us His breath and He gave us His world. In Adam and Eve’s marriage He gives us the foundation for understanding His Holy, hesed love. In Abraham, He promises us His salvation. In Jesus, He gives us His very Son. Through Jesus, He gives us entrance into His family. Through Jesus He gives us His eternal life and His very Kingdom. God is a God who gives Himself away; who in every way imaginable tries to bring us back into relationship with Him so that He can bless us with Himself. That is what the incarnation and Easter is all about. The Twisted Lip of The Master-- Medical doctor Richard Selzer once shared an amazing story. He said: [I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face postoperative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be thus from now on. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had to cut the little nerve. Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily? The young woman speaks. "Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks. "Yes," I say, "it will. It is because the nerve was cut." She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. "I like it," he says, "It is kind of cute." All at once I know who he is. I understand and I lower my gaze. One is not bold in an encounter with a god. Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works.] The miracle of Christ's coming is that He did not conceal or reserve his love, but that He bent Himself to kiss us with His life. And so also we, if we want to truly have the love of Christ, we must be faithful to give our love away just as Christ did. Only then can it be made truly alive. POINT 2: BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER— A second element of love that is important for us to remember is revealed in: Ephesians 4:1-3 (ESV)--1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Works in Progress-- One of the key things to remember about love is that we have to be patient with the person we are loving. Every single one of us is a work in progress; we all have flaws; and we all fall short in many ways. But God is working in each of our lives to form us more and more into His image. But that takes time. And we need to recognize that each of us is a work in process. The Bible teaches us that we must be patient with one another and bear with one another; encouraging on another to become that person God wants them to be. And we have to be patient; though that is not always easy to do. But a vital part of our own transformation is having patience cultivated in our lives. And it is something we have to learn now; because you cannot learn patience in heaven. A.B Simpson: If you are to practice patience, it must be now-- A.B. Simpson, a 19th-century preacher once said: [“Beloved, have you ever thought that someday you will not have anything to try you, or anyone to vex you again? There will be no opportunity in heaven to learn or to show the spirit of patience, forbearance, and longsuffering. If you are to practice these things, it must be now."] We Must Cultivate Patience Now-- You can’t learn patience in heaven because there will no sin-filled people to try your patience. Our life here is the place we cultivate it; among our brothers and sisters in Christ; among our spouses; with our kids. We must, in every way, show our love by bearing with one another. POINT 3: MAINTAINING UNITY WITH ONE ANOTHER— The third important element of love is revealed in: Philippians 2:1-4 (ESV) Christ's Example of Humility— 1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Satan Works By Dividing And Conquering-- Unity is an important thing. Where one is weak, many are strong. Unity in the body of Christ is the key to the power of any Church. Satan usually gains victories by first causing a break in unity. And he does this by getting individuals side-tracked on things that don’t matter; on getting them to value a thing or an idea or an opinion more than the other person. Emptying ourselves-- This is why this passage in Philippians is so important, because it points us to the very root of our disunity; and that is selfishness. People who are all tuned in only on themselves will suffer a greater amount of disunity. Yet Paul points here to the fact that we must empty ourselves just as Christ emptied Himself. We must consider the other person’s needs more than our own. In doing that, we are tuning ourselves in to way of Christ. A.W. Tozer: The Pianos and the Tuning Fork-- A.W. Tower once asked: [Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.] The Key to Unity-- The key to unity in our church; in our marriages; in our relationships with our kids is to all have our eyes fixed on Jesus and on modeling that sacrificial love that He himself lived. If we tune ourselves to Him, we will automatically be tuned to each other. We will truly love each other and draw closer to each other. But it is like a triangle, Christ being at the top and each of us being the lines that flow down. The closer we draw to Jesus and to living like Him, the closer we draw (automatically) with one another. In order to have the love of Christ in our families and in our church is we must give it away; it cannot be withheld. In love we must bear with one another in patience as Christ also bears with us, encouraging and strengthening one another. And we must all seek a unity that can be found only in patterning our individual lives after Jesus. In doing so we become like-minded and unified in His nature. Let’s commit ourselves to apply these elements of love to our lives. Lechem Panim #41 "The Importance of Genesis" Part 6 of 6 (with Dr. Thane Ury) Pastor Cameron Ury3/31/2019 Lechem Panim #40 "The Importance of Genesis" Part 5 of 6 (with Dr. Thane Ury) Pastor Cameron Ury3/24/2019 |
Rev. Cameron Ury graduated from Asbury University in 2007 with a B.A. in Bible and Theology. From there he continued his studies at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. It was there that he met his wife Tanya, who graduated from WBS with her M.A. and M.Div. degrees. Cameron and Tanya got married in 2009. Cameron then graduated with his M.Div. degree with a pastoral concentration in 2011.
After shepherding churches in both Mississippi and Ohio, they joined the ministry team at Renton Park Chapel in January of 2018, where Cameron serves as Senior Pastor and Teacher. Cameron is also the founder and host of Lechem Panim, a weekly radio show that airs on KGNW 820AM "The Word Seattle". The ministry of Lechem Panim is centered around leading people into the life-giving presence of God in and through Bible study, prayer, and active discipleship with the aim of ministering to a world that is in desperate need of the healing touch of Jesus Christ. Archives
February 2020
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