The Life Changing Decision (Luke 9:18-27)

[This sermon was preached on November 18, 2012 at Folsom Community Church by Tim Lewis]

Jesus is the Life-Changing Decision
Luke 9:  18-27

Introduction

Do you remember a life-changing decision? Looking back, small decisions ended up being big ones. I was mid-way through my junior year in college and leading the very small singles group at our church. One night one gal told us that she had decided not to apply as a short-term missionary to Japan. And Debby Huey turned and said, “Tim, maybe you should I apply.” I shrugged my shoulders and said, “OK, I’ll give it a try.” That shrug of my shoulders started me down a life-changing path that led me, not to Japan, but to the Philippines, to my first time living away from home at 19, to ministry and to my wife, Helen and to, well, today.

There was a period where I could have changed my mind. I really didn’t have any idea what I was getting into. I barely knew where the Philippines was, or what life was like there (“Do they have electricity?” I asked one guy), or have any idea what missionaries do. I was leaving college right in the middle of college, after my junior year. I could have gone back. For a while, it was just excitement and paperwork and interviews, but no real commitment. But then I bought my ticket. And I sold my car.  I was all in.

There were times when I was really homesick. I wondered if I’d done the right thing. One of my supporters, Jan Cox, asked me what I missed from home and I reported a deep longing for Oreo cookies. It cost so much to ship Oreos to Tuguegarao in northern Philippines, which she had to ship it by slow mail. 30 days later I received her package of Oreo crumbs. So delicious.

Is This The Right One?

There is a point when a decision crystallizes into something real. It is your name signed on the mortgage document. It is your “I do” at the marriage altar. It is your credit card on the big ticket purchase. They even have a term for that, right? Buyer’s remorse: the terrible feeling in the pit of your stomach as the full emotional weight of your commitment comes home. There is doubt. There is uncertainty.

And for good reason. First, because you might fail. Sometimes it is easy to promise big but deliver small. Ningas kugon. Flash in the pan. There can be a tremendous amount of energy required to maintain our commitments. We grow tired. We get distracted.

And the person or thing to which we have committed might fail us. The house value declines. The spouse forsakes. The washing machine breaks down right after the warranty expires. We fail. They fail.

There is no place where this is truer than in spiritual things. Oh, we pretend that it is not serious, that we’re just checking it out--sort of like spiritual dating. But we never get serious. And I understand that: it is an important decision. Making the wrong choice, or making no choice, can have serious repercussions. Aim wrong here and you could be aiming wrong forever.

So how do you know if Jesus or someone else is the right one? What’s the catch? Is being a Christian going to make me all weird, or stuck up, or Republican?

God Says:

Those are reasonable questions; questions that Jesus gave straight answers to. Let’s take a look. We’ve been working our way, bit by bit through the 3rd of the 4 biographies of Jesus found in the Bible—the one written by Luke, a doctor and early church historian. By chapter 9, Luke records a period when Jesus has been traveling around northern Israel preaching the ‘good news’ and doing some pretty incredible miracles. About half way through the chapter, in verse 18, here’s what it says:

¹⁸ Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”¹⁹ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” <page down> ²⁰ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” ²¹ Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

Most of you probably grew up thinking Christ was Jesus’ last name or else the second part of a swear word. But Christ is a title; a translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. Peter is saying that Jesus is the “anointed one” or “chosen one” of God.

It seems strange that Jesus would “strictly warn” them not to tell anyone? He doesn’t disagree with Peter. He just silences them. Why would he do that?

First, the title “Christ” was a politically charged term. In the minds of many people, it was synonymous the word for “king”. But there was already a king in Israel: Herod. Herod reported to the emperor of Rome: Caesar. So taking the title of “Christ” could be perceived as an open act of rebellion. And the people in Jesus’ audience were ready to rebel. Why? Remember the census that forced Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem? Well, that census was tied to higher Roman taxes. It was so controversial in this part of Israel that a man named Judas raised a rebel army and was crushed (Acts 5:37). Pontius Pilate, the one who later presides at Jesus’ trial? He killed people from this part of Israel and mixed their blood with their sacrifices on the altar in the template (Luke 13:1). One of the other biographies of Jesus, written by his follower, John, records that after the feeding miracle that they called him ‘the Prophet’ and wanted to make Jesus king by force (John 6:15) . So, Jesus did not reject the title ‘Christ’; but he wanted to define his role on his terms, not the crowd’s terms.

Even now, there are a lot of people who want to define Jesus. They want to place Jesus into this category or that category. Some want cast Jesus as the insightful, moral teacher. Or a revolutionary. Or a prophet. Or a huge fake. Or a lunatic. We create categories because we want to define Jesus; we want to control his extent and influence; and ultimately we want to be able to dismiss him.

But Jesus insists on defining his own category. Look at the next part of the 9^th chapter:

²² And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

²³ Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

If you had asked anyone that day the definition of ‘Christ’ or ‘chosen one’ they might have answered: ‘king’ or ‘miracle worker’ or ‘great teacher’ or ‘military leader’. But no one except Jesus used the definition of ‘rejected’ or ‘dead’ or ‘suffering’. Then Jesus goes further: “Guess what, you can grow up and be just like me! Dead.”

Jesus doesn’t pull any punches here. Full disclosure. If I am the “chosen one”, like you claim, I am not just a mobile medical clinic. I am not just a cafeteria. I am not just self-help group therapy. If I am the Messiah, it has consequences for Me and for you.

He asks them: are you all in? Because I am. Now that’s a big ask.

Jesus first met his disciples back in the 4^th chapter. Even back then, they knew there was something different about Jesus. Somehow he, a carpenter/teacher was better at fishing than they were. So they followed him to get a better look. Now, for 1 ½ or 2 years, they have been with him nearly every day listening to him, watching him to see what he is. Is he a good Bible teacher? Sure. A good man? Seems like it? A miracle worker? Amazingly, yes. But is he the Christ?

How they answer that question takes first priority. How we answer that question takes first priority. If Jesus is the chosen one of God, then following him is worth any risk—any effort—any cost. If Jesus is not the chosen one of God, then he is mildly interesting in a Jeopardy sort of way, but ultimately forgettable.

Jesus didn’t ask them to make the commitment blind. Likewise, for you and me, he doesn’t ask us to make a commitment blind. For those who are serious, he invites to tag along to get a closer look; learn more; discover if he is real or a fraud. But he will one day ask the question of all of us: “Who do you say I am?”

²⁶ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷ I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

God’s success isn’t defined by our devotion. But our decision will tell whether we will join him in that success…or not. And our success isn’t defined by our failure.

Strangely enough, Luke actually records later (chapter 22) the name of one man who was embarrassed to know Jesus. Know who it was? That’s right. Peter. The first one to call Jesus, “Christ” pretended he didn’t know Jesus, three times. So, did Jesus write him off? No, he gave Peter another chance, appearing to him first (Luke 24:34).

Our success is defined by our trust in the success of God’s chosen one. That success didn’t come cheap. There was the pain of the cross, the shame of the cross, the death of God’s chosen one, But there was the success of his resurrection from the dead, the success of his return to heaven.

Will You Be Happy With Anyone Else?

Where are you in your spiritual journey?

Maybe you are wondering if Jesus is someone you can trust. I can’t answer that. But I can say that it is the most important decision you will make. You need to take it seriously. You need to investigate. So I invite you to tag along with Jesus, read his words, try asking his help, look for clues to what type of God he is. You can start today with a prayer, “Jesus, I know little about you. But I agree my spiritual decisions are important. Can I learn more about you? If you are out there, will you show me? Amen.”

Maybe you have been around Jesus for a while. You’ve seen some things, learned some things. Maybe now is the day Jesus is asking you: “Who do you say I am?” Are you ready to say, “The chosen one of God.” That same Jesus, who gave it all for you and me, asks for it all from you and me. Name on the dotted line, ring-on-the-finger, jump-into-the-river time. You can take that step today. “Jesus, I know you are the one God sent. You gave your life for me. As best as I know how, I want to give my life to you. I am keeping nothing for myself. Amen.”

Maybe you already made the commitment. But there are distractions. Maybe they are the same type of distractions that kept you away from God in the first place. Maybe they are new ones. Do you want to succeed or follow Jesus? Do you want to feel good or follow Jesus? Do you want to be liked by people or follow Jesus? If we are honest, we probably answered “both” to one or more of those questions. We will have a choice this week: to fail (in some way, small or big) with Jesus or succeed without him. We will have a choice: to do something uncomfortable with Jesus or play it safe without him. We will have a choice: to maybe say a hard truth to someone with Jesus or a convenient lie without Jesus. Pray with me, in advance of the choice: “Jesus, I choose you again, this week. Even if uncomfortable. Even if unsuccessful. Even if unliked. You are still worth my entire life and this week’s choices. Amen.”

Conclusion

[Story of our courtship when, while apart, Helen used "if we get married" instead of "when we get married" The point at which it became real to her was when the money arrived for her to buy her wedding dress]

When will you move from "if" to "when" with God? What will it take? God knew what it would take. Jesus came, removed the barrier between us and God, so that we could make a life-changing decision. And now, Jesus is asking: Who do you say I am?

 

Where God Moves, He Multiplies (Luke 9:10-17)

Where God Moves, He Multiplies
Luke 9:10-17

Introduction

Pastor Andy Stanley, in his book Deep & Wide, tells about a time in the life of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computer and former CEO of Pixar, when he experienced a crisis of faith. At 13 years old, he took the July 12, 1968 edition of Life magazine, with its cover photo of two children from war-torn Nigeria where over one million people died from civil war and famine; he took that magazine cover to the church. There he asked the pastor, “If I raised my finger, will God know which one I’m going to raise even before I do it?” The pastor answered, “Yes, God knows everything.” Jobs then pulled out the Life cover and asked, “Well, does God know about this and what’s going to happen to those children?” According to his biographer, the answer he received was “less than acceptable” and he never went back to church.[1]

Steve Jobs looked at real human need and concluded that if God knew he either didn’t care or was irrelevant. I think God does care. I think that he put me here, and keeps me here, because he does care. But, if I took an honest look at my own life and lifestyle, I might conclude that I either didn’t care or was irrelevant.

How About You?

Do you ever feel that way? We can barely keep up with our own lives—we are tired. There’s just no gas left in the tank at the end of the day. Then the phone rings.

How many of you have a friend where there are tough health issues? How many of you know couples where the marriage is struggling? How many of you know those who have lost jobs or have jobs on shaky ground? Finance issues, kid trouble, and secret destructive habits. What you know in your life, is true multiplied many times over throughout this city.

Is there ever any good news? We are so tired and so much is going wrong. So much is happening in my life and with those close to me, how could I ever be able to deal with their issues? We try avoid thinking about it, we move to El Dorado Hills or to the nice neighborhood, like those high rises in Makati that turn their back on the slums.

Anyway, what can we do? I am just one man. And that is the dilemma. Too much is going wrong. We know we should be doing something, but it is just too much. Any effort we make is like a match in a typhoon wind. Too big. Too broken.

What does God say?

What Does God Say?

When I read the biography of Jesus found in the Bible, in the 9^th chapter of Luke, there is an incident where Jesus’ followers found themselves in the same place. Starting in the 10^th verse, read what happened:

¹⁰When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,

Let’s stop right there for a moment. Back at the beginning of this chapter, Jesus took his twelve closest followers and sent them out to duplicate his ministry of teaching the kingdom of God and healing people in the towns and villages of northern Israel. Now, these ‘sent ones’ (that’s what apostle really means) are coming back to report to Jesus. 

They are excited. So Jesus puts together an impromptu leadership retreat so that they can talk about all of the things that happened. But things didn’t work quite the way they wanted. Let’s keep reading (verse 11)

¹¹but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

Someone leaked the location of Jesus’ safe house, near Bethsaida. Twitter goes wild and there is soon a flash mob outside Jesus’ door. By far the largest crowd of Jesus career, experts estimate over 15,000 people (5,000 men + women and children) are camped on the north-eastern edge of the Sea of Galilee. He could have said: “I need a little me time.” But he doesn’t. He is interruptible. Teaching. Helaing. Good News for this huge group of needy people. And this is a needy crowd. Many of them are sick and need healing. Many of them want the truth. Many of them want to see the circus, because their life is boring and meaningless. And one more thing. Let’s read a little further (verse 12)

¹²Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” <next slide>

¹³He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” ¹⁴(About five thousand men were there.)

Many of them are hungry and they are far from home. The apostles notice it is getting late and they nervously start checking their sun dials. “Ok, Jesus, church is over. Many people didn’t book hotels or make restaurants reservations. Send ‘em home.”

But Jesus was giving his followers a chance to show him what they’ve learned over the past weeks. Pop quiz. Here it is: “You give them something to eat.” And the disciples are thinking, “There goes dinner” because they have only five loaves of bread and two fish. There is a bit of whine in their voice, “But master…” And they may have a degree in mathematics, but they can see that 5 divided by 5,000 is pretty small and 2 divided is even smaller. Great! We’re all going to get an F on this test.

But for Jesus, the crowd is not an obstacle, it is an opportunity. He doesn’t turn them back. These people had hiked out into a “remote place” to listen to Jesus, and his followers wanted to send them away. And for Jesus, it is not five loaves and a few fish, it is a feast. He tells the disciples, don’t hold back.

Here’s what Jesus teaches us: 1) in the face of people’s overwhelming need, it is not an obstacle, it is an opportunity.  2) if we want to see what God has, we must be willing to trust God with what we have. 3) where God moves, he multiples.

 Fear says: there’s nothing left. Faith says: there’s more coming. This is not a limited blessing universe. Stingy people convince themselves that God is like them: stingy.

Fortunately, the disciples give the food to Jesus. Let’s see what happens next, in the 2^nd half of verse 14.

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. ¹⁶Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. <next slide> Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. ¹⁷They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

They gave Jesus the bread and fish. And did they starve? No, they had more than when they started, and 15,000 people were satisfied. And they got the amazing privilege of being the ones who served the food. We can feel the electricity of being the conduits for Jesus’ blessing, or we can watch God work from the sidelines.

Application

Years later, the Bible shows us that Jesus’ friends learned this lesson. One day, as described in the 3^rd chapter of the book Acts, a man born crippled was begging near the gate going into the temple. Peter saw him and said these words, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.” (Acts 3:6)  He said, “what I have” (not what I don’t have) What do you have?  It may not be much, but you have a surplus of blessing in some area of your life.

• Experience - God has brought you to the other side of something and you are still in one piece. That is a blessing! And it is one that you can share with someone else.
• Dollars - You can make a difference between hunger and not hunger, thirst and no thirst, sheltered and not sheltered. If you have any surplus, be generous rather than grudging.
• Wisdom - Maybe you have thought deeply about something. Share it!
• Time - I was at a funeral this past Saturday where over 30 members of a volunteer organization that my friend had worked with showed up. They had time, and showed great support for the widow and family. Use your extra time and give it away, rather than squander it.
• Forgiveness - Do you have a surplus of forgiveness? Has God or someone else forgiven you freely? Then use that surplus of mercy that you have received and spend it one someone else, taking the sting out of hurtful words and deeds by applying the surplus of grace you have received.
• Joy - Sometimes there are just happy people. And there are grumpy people. And God delights in putting them together, sometimes in the same marriage, for sure in the same family, absolutely in the same church. That surplus of joy is not a private joy, it is meant to be shared. Because we need it.

This week, God will give you the chance to aim big and give that blessing away. If you give nothing, it can’t become a miracle. Multiply 0 by anything is still zero. God will give you a chance.

Here are three chances.

1)      The chance to pray. Someone you will know will share bad news. Volunteer to pray for it or go with them to pray with someone else.

2)      The chance to be interrupted. Someone will interrupt you with an urgent need. Drop what you are doing and help them.

3)      The chance to give what you have. Someone will share with you an overwhelming need. Give what you have, trusting God to multiply its impact.

Prepare your heart now. The disciples weren’t prepared. They asked Jesus to send the needy away. He redirected them, giving them the chance to show the very mercy of God with five loaves and two fish.

Conclusion

In July 14, 2005, Kyle Macdonald traded his large red paper clip for a fish-shaped pen. The same day, he traded the pen for a hand-sculpted doorknob.  Over the next year, Kyle traded his doorknob for a Coleman camp stove (with fuel), traded the stove for a Honda 1000-watt generator, then traded that for a beer keg, an IOU for a keg of beer and a neon Budweiser sign. He traded those for a snowmobile, traded the snowmobile for a trip to Yahk, British Columbia, traded the trip for a box truck, traded that for a recording contract, traded that for a year’s rent in Arizona, traded the year’s rent for an afternoon with Alice Cooper (the rocker), traded that for a KISS motorized snow globe, traded that to Hollywood film director for a speaking role in the movie Donna on Demand and traded that for a two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan, where the movie was being filmed.[2] He kept the house.

If Kyle can take a paperclip and end up with a house, how much more can God do with what you will give him? His exchange rate is much better.

When God moves, he multiplies. Will you move with Him?

 

---

[1] Taken from Deep & Wide, Andy Stanley (Zondervan, 2012), p. 139

[2] Derived from Man turns paper clip into house, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5167388.stm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip, retrieved on October 19, 2012

Mirror Jesus (Luke 9:1-9)

Mirroring Jesus

(Luke 9:1-9)

Introduction

Mirrors are strange things. I was sitting in a restaurant recently where the entire circular booth was surrounded by 1’ x 1’ mirrors. I could see three images of myself, but I could also see three of everyone else. And because the mirrors reflected mirrors, I could see Miriam’s reflection behind Brahms’ reflection behind my reflection. Before there was PhotoShop, there were mirrors that would make you look skinnier, or fatter, or taller. I am still looking for the mirror that can show me with a tan.

But real mirrors, true mirrors, reflect an accurate depiction of what is—not what we want it to be. Yes, that pimple is real, no matter how we might wish for a smooth complexion. Yes, those wrinkles are showing more wisdom. That smile is still brilliant. But the darkness, reflected in the mirror, is still darkness.

But the Bible tells us that, in our spiritual journey, there will be a point when we look in the mirror, and the face of Jesus looks back. And mirrors don’t lie! Not the literal 1^st century bearded Jewish face of Jesus, but our same face, transformed by the character and glory of Jesus.

¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. – 1 Corinthians 13:12

The best mirrors are true friends. They tell you not only what is, but what could be. True friends often have insight about flaws and potential that we have not yet glimpsed ourselves. Jesus was a master at this. In the 9^th chapter of the book of Luke, one of the four biographies written about his life, Jesus has reached his limits. His voice can only carry so far, his hands can only touch so many, his feet can only walk so many miles. So now, he needs someone else’s voice to carry the kingdom message, someone else’s hands to reach out in healing and someone else’s feet to go to unreached people.

Jesus looks at his followers, the disciples, and see not only who they are—awkward, poorly educated, and rough around the edges-but who they could be: on-fire, die-hard  mirror images of their Rabbi. But they must learn this themselves, so Jesus sends them out. We are his mirror images, and we must reflect his Mission, his Power, and his Focus, so they can have his Impact.

Reflect Jesus’ Mission (vs. 1-2, 6)

First, we need to reflect his mission. Look at what the Bible says in verses 1-2 of the 8^th chapter of the book of Luke.

¹When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, ² and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. #JesusMission

If you flip back a few pages in Luke, chapter 8, what was Jesus doing? He was finding people who need him (Luke 8:1-3). He was preaching the kingdom of God (Luke 8:4-15). He was healing (Luke 8:40-56). He was casting out demons (Luke 8:26-39).

Now what is he sending his followers to do? Find people who need him, preach the kingdom of God and heal people. What Jesus did, they should do. What Jesus did, we should do.

It’s like the time my parents threw me the keys to their car (not the beater car they normally let me drive). They said it was ok. Their car! They gave me the keys, which would turn on the engine, which would let me cruise. Their car!  Now, Jesus, in effect, threw the keys to the disciples and said, “It’s your turn.” Of course, my parents expected me to remember all  the things they had taught me. So does Jesus.

Jesus expects us to reflect his mission. For a mirror to be effective, it has to be pointed in the right direction. Where did Jesus point his disciples? Where does he point us?

First, he sends us out. So, when we reflect Jesus’ mission, it must be with an outward focus. Did you know that fire stations rarely burn down? But the focus of the fire fighter is away from the station, where the fire is.

Second, he sends us out to tell the truth about God. Jesus said that his mission was “to seek and save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10) Perhaps the biggest lie in America is that God is optional. We need to tell the truth.

Third, he sends us out to tell the truth and bring life. Jesus was asked why he went where he went and he said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Luke 5:31) He may not put healing in our hands, but he does put the generous, giving hearts that comfort those who are hurting and dying and lonely.

Reflect Jesus’ Power (vs. 3-4)

So, first, we reflect Jesus’ mission. Next, we reflect Jesus’ power. Look at verses 3-4:

³ He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. ⁴ Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. #JesusPower

Welcome to our reality show, Road Trip with Jesus. On today’s episode, we’ll be putting our 12 contestants (aka disciples), through a rigorous obstacle course filled with sick people, stubborn people and the demon-possessed. Just to make things interesting, we’re going to introduce a few new rules: disciples may not bring any money, no food, no personal equipment, no hotel reservations and no rent-a-camel. Will the twelve remember Jesus’ power and authority, or will they try to do it on their own?

That was the disciples. How about you? This reality show has a moral: the most important thing you can bring on Jesus’ mission is you. Be available! His power. Not your stuff. His authority. Not your money. His resources. Not your suitcase. His mission. Not yours.

Jesus expects us to reflect his power. For a mirror to be effective, it can’t shine it’s own light. There is a scene in The Phantom of the Opera, where the singer Christine is looking in a mirror, thinking she is talking to an angel. But then the Phantom turns on a light and it turns out that it isn’t a mirror at all, but a piece of glass and she is looking at the Phantom’s face.

Jesus must be the star. We must be reflecting him. If we try to shine, we are no longer working with his power and his authority and therefore we will only have human results. When we reflect Jesus, we open up the possibility of supernatural results.

Reflect Jesus’ Focus (vs. 5)

First, we reflect Jesus’ mission. Second, we reflect his power. Now, third, we reflect his focus.

⁵If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.” #JesusFocus

Jesus gave his followers some instructions about how to narrow down their mission. As they were going out on Jesus’ mission, maybe they would come to a town where, even with Jesus’ power and his authority, no one welcomed them. Jesus said, if that happened, then they should continue to the next town, not even taking that town’s dirt with them. That left-behind dirt would be a sort of evidence that they had a chance.

When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time at the Knapp’s house, which was right next to twenty acres of plum orchards. We played there through the fragrant time of plum flowers, the setting of the green fruit and then the gradual change to a ripe red. Sometimes, we would get impatient and try to harvest and eat the fruit while they were still green. In addition to being incredibly sour, they had an unfortunate side effect on our digestive system.  

We can bring Jesus to people, but they may ignore us or make fun of us. That’s ok, they aren’t ripe for harvest yet. Jesus told his disciples to open their eyes and see where the harvest was ready. That is Jesus’ focus: people who are ready to welcome him.

If we want to reflect Jesus’ focus, we must look where he is already at work.

For our church, we are trying to reflect that focus and we think that families with younger kids are ready to welcome Jesus. Do we know families? Can we try knocking on their door and serving them? Who among your friends and my friends is willing to take one step closer to the kingdom of God?

Reflect Jesus’ Impact (vs. 7-9)

So, first, we reflect Jesus’ mission. Second, we reflect his power. Third, we reflect his focus. Now, fourth, finally, we reflect his impact.

⁷Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, ⁸ others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. ⁹ But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him. #JesusImpact

Notice what it says: Herod heard about all that was going on. What has been going on? Jesus’ disciples are making an impact in Galilee-the part of Israel where Herod the tetrarch (son of Herod the Great) ruled. They are making such a stir, healing people and telling them about Jesus, that Herod is confused and curious.

All Herod wanted was a peaceful life, sleeping with his brother’s wife. John the Baptist said that was a bad idea so Herod cut off his head. End of problem, right? No! When Jesus heard this, it was his signal to start preaching and healing. What is going on? And now, we’ve got twelve Jesus clones plaguing his territory. Cut off one head, suddenly there are thirteen more on the gospel preaching tour.

When we reflect Jesus’ impact, the world sees Jesus multiplied.

¹⁶But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. … ¹⁸ So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. – 2 Corinthians 3:16, 18

Into the image of Jesus, so that when people see us, they see the impact of Jesus. That was what was happening to Jesus’ followers then, and it is what can happen to Jesus’ followers (us) today.

We reflect Jesus’ mission. We reflect his power. We reflect his focus. Finally, we reflect his impact.

Conclusion

In Jesus’ ministry, there were three “sendings” This is the first wave, here in chapter 9. It is the sending out of the 12, where they are first called “apostles” (vs. 10), which means “sent ones”. The second wave of sendings is in chapter 10, where Jesus sends out, not 12, but 72, telling the truth about God and healing hurting people.

The third wave of sending is the one Pastor Tito talked about last week. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus said, “All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” In Acts 1:8 (ESV), Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

It was 31 years ago when Mark Platt, the regional director for church planting in Northern California recruited a new pastor to start a church in the little town of Morgan Hill, here in California. That new pastor, in order to get paid, had to go and knock on doors and introduce himself. One of the doors he knocked on was that of my mother and my step-father. Both of them had church experience, but neither had been in a while. They started attending a small Bible study.

I was away at the time with my grandparents. Growing up, I had struggled as a Christian. But that summer, my walk with God had never been stronger, and I came home to find that my parents had started going to this new group, Morgan Hill Bible Church. These two things, my personal walk and this new church, came together in an amazing way. It changed me.

That is what God is doing right here in Folsom. He is changing lives. We could never have guessed that we would be here on this day. God has sent us here. If we will reflect Jesus, we will have Jesus' impact, and Folsom will be changed.
 

Hope: God's Worst Kept Secret (Luke 8:36-50)

Hope: God’s Worst-Kept Secret

Luke 8:40-56

[This sermon was preached on September 2, 2012 at Folsom Community Church by Tim Lewis]

Introduction

Today we’re going to do something a little unusual: we’re going to start at the end of the story and work our way backwards. We’ve been studying the book of Luke, the third of four Jesus biographies in the Bible, going episode by episode through his life to look carefully of who Jesus was and what it means for us today. And at the end of today’s episode, Jesus gives a strange command. If you have your Bible, you can look at it with me, Luke, chapter 8, verse 56:

⁵⁶“Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.”

They were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone! Now, even if we didn’t know any more, we might be curious as to what they were astonished about and, then, why Jesus put the divine gag order on them. Let’s talk about this for a minute. Why do we (here in 2012) tell someone not to talk about something? (solicit answers).

Maybe we’re embarrassed about the topic? Could be. Verse 51 did say that Jesus “did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James and” the parents. My family has stuff like that, and we talk about it, and then we turn to the kids and say (in the deep sotto voce), “Now, kids, this is a family-only topic.” Off limits. Not-outside-the-house. Then Brahms pipes up and says, “Is it such a big deal that Daddy can burp the star-spangled-banner backwards” And Helen and I give him the glare.

Maybe it’s the publicity? You think Prince Harry got bad press for paparazzi pictures in Las Vegas, wait til you see the rep that Jesus had with the Pharisees for claiming to be the Son of God (John 10:36). Jesus says something controversial, Twitter goes wild and Herodian death threats pour in.

Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened, because he knew the problems of fan boys (and fan girls). Maybe the problem for Jesus wasn’t bad publicity; the problem was what people did with good publicity. [example of how our expectations twist good things to fit preconceived ideas]

The Bible sometimes uses the word “sign” to refer to miracles (Exodus 3:12, John 2:11). They were called signs because they were meant point the way to God.  But what would happen if we took them in the wrong way?

Hope is such a powerful force. There is a proverb, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” The flip side of hope is heart-sickness, disappointment. 

Someone said that 10 years ago, we had Bob Hope, Johnny Cash and Steve Jobs but today we have no Jobs, no Cash and no Hope. – cited John Ortberg in TBD.

We spend a lot of emotional energy trying to avoid being disappointed. My daughter Shannon told me that she wasn’t sure she wanted to see a certain movie that was based on a book, because she was afraid that the movie would be a disappointing adaptation. Sometimes, we don’t ask tough questions because we are afraid of what we might find out, so we live with the lie rather than experience disappointment. There is a big opportunity, and we know that it will help us out big time, but then someone messes it up, and we are disappointed. We buy a house, thinking how happy we will be, but then 20 minutes later we have buyer’s remorse, buyer’s disappointment, because we have signed up for 30 years of slavery. We fall in love with the perfect girl, and then she discovers that we snore. Big disappointment! We cannot live without hope, so we build up big defenses against disappointment.

Your hope is only as good as your hope’s target.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. – Hebrews 10:23

We desperately need hope. But we place our hope in flimsy containers. What or who will not disappoint us? The answer is God. To some of you, God doesn’t always seem like the best bet.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. – Hebrews 11:1

Jesus makes the crazy request of you: Hope in me. Even though you can’t see me. Even though things don’t look good. Even though there is no light on the horizon. Hope in me. Why?

This afternoon, I want to you to grab onto the hope that God offers you for four reasons that we can see in this episode from Jesus’ life.

…Because God Always Has Time For You

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹ Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house ⁴² because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.

Jesus was a busy guy. If you go back just a little bit in chapter 8, you can see he was just getting back from a really crazy trip across the Sea of Galilee which includes a typhoon, a freaked out group of disciples, a man, a few thousand freaky demons, a foreign village and a thousand dead pigs. Does Jesus get a break? No.

He gets off the boat and there is a crowd waiting for him. They have heard about Jesus. They want to catch a glimpse of Jesus. They want to say that they were there when Jesus did such-and-such. Frankly, they didn’t have a lot of entertainment in northern Palestine--no DISH network, no PSPs, no iPods, not even Catan--so practically anyone could draw a small crowd. But Jesus wasn’t just anyone, he was the real deal. So there were crowds.

It is not long before Jairus hears. He is kind of an important person in that area, a leader in the local Jewish community. But tragedy follows important people just like the rest of us. He has a problem. His only child, a little girl of twelve, is sick—very sick. He has probably heard about Jesus, so he abandons all his dignity, runs and pushes his way through the crowd and throws himself at Jesus’ feet and begs and pleads and blubbers for Jesus to come and heal his daughter.

My daughter Miriam just turned twelve. When I imagine myself in this man’s place if she was sick, or any of my three were sick, there is this feeling in the pit of my stomach. If there was anything I could do, I would do it. And if there was the remotest chance that this Jesus could heal my daughter, you’d better not get in my way, because I would kick, and scratch and bite and punch.  Jail later, Jesus now! Why? Because that’s my child!

And when Jesus agrees, there is the smallest flutter of hope. Because Jesus doesn’t hesitate. He seems confident. He goes with Jairus. The crowds hear it and they go wild. What was a ruckus has become nearly a riot. Jesus’ buff disciples are doubling as body guards, clearing the way like the way you seen in those celebrity video shoots.  Everyone wants to see what Jesus is going to do. <pause>

⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.  ⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

But then a strange thing happens. Someone else has been watching Jesus, an older woman, very sick. She has hemorrhaging for twelve years, watching her health slip away, as day after day she must change the cloth which is steeped in her blood. She can’t get close, not through that crowd. But she watches the whole scene unfold, as Jairus approaches and throws himself at Jesus feet, she knows the situation about the little girl, and she sees Jesus’ confidence as he sets off after her. <pause> Then something clicks in her mind: she has to touch Jesus. With a strength born of desperation, she forces herself through the crowd until she can just glimpse Jesus. And, in my mind’s eye, she cries out and reaches out, but her voice is drowned in the noise and she stumbles, her fingers just brushing a departing Jesus, and then he is gone, and the people just walk on and around her fallen form.

And as she is lying there, the sound of the crowd changes to questions and confusion. People aren’t pushing past her any more. Above the voices, she hears one voice ask: “Who touched me? Someone touched me.” Another voice, sort of tired and put out says, “Are you kidding? Look at this crowd. Who is not touching you, Lord?” Then the first voice again, this time closer “I felt the power go out from me.”  And people step out of the way, revealing this poor woman.

Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem, where he was going to face off with the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate and die on the cross. Jesus is on his way to Jairus’ house, to heal his daughter. But he stopped all of this to make time for the one woman of faith that he found among all of those people.  She was healed and he stopped.

We have hope because God always has time for us. His schedule is never too full for you. He is always interested to hear what you have to say.

Just like me. We’re in a crowded, noisy shopping mall, full of people. But parents’ ears are tuned in to the sound of children’s voices. Their cries pierce through any commotion to reach your ears. Just like with God. And you.  

…Because God Ignores Who We Are

At this point in the story, Jesus had not seen her. In fact, at this point he had not seen it was a “her” at all. He knew that he had healed someone, but he did not know who it was. Hope depends on Jesus, not on us.

⁴⁷ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Suddenly, the woman who was on the fringes is suddenly the center of attention. The crowd was staring at her. Jesus was staring at her. So she did what any sensible woman would do, she trembled and fell down at his feet just like Jairus and started trying to explain.  

Jesus did not comment on who she was. Jesus did not mention her background, her age or her social status. These weren’t important to him.[1]

What was important to Jesus was his care for her (he called her “daughter”) and her faith—her confident hope-in him.

Let me tell you, that is scary. It is something that will drive you to your knees before Jesus.<pause>

Now some of you are wondering: “Why, exactly, is this scary that God loves me?” Because there comes a point in every life where we need God—where we need  his miracle, his comfort, his renewal, his intervention—because the situation is out of control. Then, when we take inventory of our lives, we realize that we no bargaining chips with God. We don’t have anything God needs. We can only hope that he doesn’t demand something we cannot give.

This is the good news. God does not look at your resume (your CV); he looks at your faith. He doesn’t look at your church attendance. He looks at your faith.  He doesn’t look at how much money you gave to charity, how many times you helped little old ladies cross the road, how many homeless you fed or whether you used certain 4 letter words. God’s work in your life starts when you trust that He loves you in spite of (not because of) everything you bring to the table.

We have hope because God ignores who we are.

…Because God Overcomes My Fear

Jesus’ last command to this woman is to “Go in peace.” For a Jewish listener, peace was not just a lack of war, it is the restoration of wholeness—of the way things should be. While this whole episode has been unfolding, you can feel Jairus’ tension rising. Though he is sympathetic with this woman’s victory over her illness, his little girl is still sick. Then his worst fear arrives:

⁴⁹ While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.”  ⁵⁰ Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” ⁵¹ When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother.

Friends, there is always a valley. There is always a test of our faith. For the woman, it was the crowd. She was healed after 12 years of disappointment and the test of her faith was the scrutiny of a crowd of friends and stranger. For Jairus, the test was that he enjoyed 12 years of blessing with his daughter and now he must place her body and his joy completely in the hands of Jesus.

There is always a test: to live with what we have or to give up what we have. Hope says: God has something better. But fear doesn’t believe that, calls it a fairy tale or wishful thinking.

Through this test, Jesus was there. He asks the impossible of Jairus: Don’t be afraid. But he did not ask him to walk the road of sadness alone. He did not ask him to enter the house of death alone. We have hope, because whatever test of our faith, Jesus goes with us. We may not always see him, but he is there. We can have hope because God overcomes my fear.

The Bible says:

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:8

…Because God’s Answer Is Better Than Our Answer

By the time that Jairus arrives at the house the mourners have already arrived. Without embalming, death was soon followed by burial.

⁵² Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” ⁵ They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.

During Jesus’ day, there were “professional” mourners. And they were noisy. It always seemed sort of strange—sort of hypocritical—to have people paid to wail. That’s what rock stars are for, right? But these were brought in so that that friends and family could cry, sob, wail and mourn without the embarrassment of being the only one.

Because they were professionals, they knew the drill. The girl was dead. You cried for a while, you buried the girl, collected your small fee and you went home. During the process of grieving, perhaps someone might go into denial, and argue she was still alive. But why would Jesus be in denial? He’s a stranger. They can’t believe what they hear, so they laugh at him, Jairus’ crazy friend.

⁵⁴ But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” ⁵⁵ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

Their best answer to the situation was to bury the girl. But Jesus’ best answer was to resurrect the girl.

There are times in your life and my life when we cannot see an answer to the problems that we face. We play out all of the scenarios in our mind, endlessly trying to figure out the answer. But there is hope because God’s answer is better than our answer. The Bible says:

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, - Ephesians 3:20

The same Jesus who walked with Jairus lives in us. We don’t even know the things to ask. We don’t even know the right dreams to dream or the right ideas to think. God is a completely out-of-the-box thinker, but he’s an out-of-the-box thinker who loves you and who loves me.

Conclusion

And this is why I think Jesus ordered the parents not to tell anyone. They wanted a miracle-working Messiah who would kick the Romans’ butts. But God had something more amazing in mind. Rather than destroy the Romans, he would change their hearts until, within 4 centuries, the official faith of the Romans was the same one they tried to suppress and a thousand years after that we would be talking about the “Holy Roman Empire”. They wanted a renewed temple building to freely worship God. But Jesus did something better, he established the temple inside of me.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; - 1 Corinthians 6:19a

They wanted God to establish their kingdom, a tiny strip of land along the eastern Mediterranean, but he is establishing His kingdom in the hearts and minds of millions and billions of people across the world.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations – Matthew 24:14

How about you? Are you willing to let God’s answer be better than your answer? I will tell you it is not easy. It is not easy to hear God tell you that you need to be 12 years sick so that you are ready to hear the voice of God. It is not easy to hear God tell you that your dearest and closest must be taken away so that you are ready to be astonished. But God’s answer is Jesus. And his answer is better than our answer. Will we trust him?

That’s when hope becomes God’s worst kept secret. He hides it from the proud and the self-assured and the certain, and gives it to the broken-hearted and unsure and desperate. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” – 1 Peter 3:15

I am tired of disappointment. Let’s pray this prayer together. I’m going to pray it out loud, and if you want, you can pray it silently. “Dear God…I am tired of disappointment. I know that you are listening to me right now…no matter what I have done to try and please you…and no matter what I have done that offended you…I have worked so hard to avoid disappointment…and I have tried to control the outcomes but failed…I want hope…and better dreams…and I think Jesus is the right place to look. Will you help me look? Will you help me see…please? Amen”

Maybe you are short on hope. I know where to go.

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[1] Also see the demon-possessed man earlier in chapter 8.

1 Corinthians 12:22-26: We Belong Together/Avengers

We Belong Together
1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Introduction

Near the end of the movie The Avengers, the villain, Loki is facing off against the giant, green monster form of The Hulk. As the Hulk grabs him, Loki yells out, “ENOUGH. You are, all of you, beneath me. I am a god you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by…” at which point The Hulk thwacks him against  the ground thwack…thwack…thwack and mumbles, “Puny god.”

We live in a world which lives in fear to ‘puny gods.” Fear, death, worry and shame stand over us and tell us that we are ‘dull creatures’--and we allow them to control us. But they are impostors. Fear and death and worry and shame are pretenders dressed up in fake divine costume.  As Captain America says, “There is only one God and I don’t think he dresses like that.”

Here is the mystery of the church: it is full of super heroes. We didn’t come out of our mother’s womb as super heroes. Oh, we tried to act like super heroes. But you know and we know that when you pretend to be super heroes, you just get beat up. However, when we were born again, when God gave us his spirit and it transformed us, each of us was given a super power. The Bible calls these super powers karis-ma or gifts. And with those super powers, those karis-ma-ta, we have the very real strength to overcome, to win, to defeat the puny gods.

Why is it that we prefer to live as Clark Kent instead of Superman, as Diana Prince instead of Wonder Woman, as Peter Parker but neglect Spiderman? Is it the costume? Or maybe, we have forgotten who we really are? When the world is at risk, do we honestly long for the cubicle, the classroom, the kitchen and the minivan? Or is there something else.

I have a theory. I suspect that in many cases it’s the other super heroes. We don’t like them. Sometimes Sunday morning just isn’t big enough to hold all of the super egos. So prickly! So sensitive! So bombastic! So self-protecting! Just like with the Avengers. As long as each one held tightly to this high opinion of their strength, their intelligence, their importance, Loki—the enemy--wins.

Just like in the church. When we hold tightly to our opinion of our strength, our gifts, our smarts, our importance, the enemy—the Devil—wins. But when we submit ourselves to the great God and work together, the church is a super power. The world is dying, evil is seducing heart after heart, but we are worried about what so-and-so said to us, whether they listened to what I said, or why they were looking at me strangely.

We are broken and selfish people. We are given super powers. Bringing us together to help save the world seems like a bad idea. What was God thinking? I mean, seriously, look at you…and me.

It is exactly this topic that Paul talks about in a letter he wrote to one of the first churches he started, 1^st Corinthians. In the 11^th and 12^th chapter we find that the people in that church have discovered their super powers after becoming followers of Jesus. But, because they are selfish people, like you and me, they have used their gifts to make themselves look good and important. The gifts have, tragically, become simply sin magnifiers. Same sinful people, bigger explosion.

Now, in the second half of chapter 12, Paul says, in effect, “Children, let’s learn how to play nice with each other.”

We Belong Together Because We Share One Spirit (vs. 12-13)

¹²The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. ¹³For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

First: These super powers—these gifts—are given. They are not natural or innate. No one is born with super powers, but everyone who is born again has a super power. You don’t plop down a few bennies or your credit card or say a few rosaries or sacrifice your right ear or anything like that to get these super powers or to upgrade to a “better” one. We can’t take any credit for our super power.

Second: These super powers are really a person. It says “we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” But this isn’t like some gamma-radiation-mutagenic-viral-spiritual drink. It is not an “it” it is a “who”. The terrifying part of becoming a follower of Jesus is that you invite God (big-G God) to move-in to your soul, with access to the real you, with permission to re-work your spiritual DNA. By opening the door to the Spirit of God, he unlocks something new. The Bible has several lists of these super powers, sort of like an X-man catalog.

Third: These super powers should create a super team, not just a super hero. According to these verses, it doesn’t matter what bubble fill out in the “ethnic group” survey. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks…”  So, it is not whether Filipino or Chinese or Swedish or Tanzanian blood (lahi).  We stand together in the blood-line of Jesus. And it doesn’t matter what your income or socio-economic condition, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether….slave or free.” Wherever we started, when we become a follower of Jesus, we belong together.

Do you think that the Spirit invested all of that power in you just so you could party harder? No! It was so we could party together, and work together, and cry together, and celebrate together while expanding the kingdom of God. 

We Belong Together Because We Play An Essential Part (vs. 14-20)

Of course, there are some people who try what I call the Iron Man strategy. They say, “I don’t need anybody else and they really don’t need me.”  But we are an essential part in the team. Here’s what Paul said:

¹⁴ Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.”

¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

You may never have heard of tall Yelena Isinbayeva. As a young girl of 5 years old in Russia, she started training as a gymnast, setting her sights on one day going to the Olympics. However, at age 15 she was told she would have to leave the program, because at 5ft 8½ inches she was considered too tall for the sport. If you had stopped her life right there, people would have shaken their heads at tall Yelena, the failed gymnast. Why? Because there was a slot on the Olympic team and she didn’t fit.

But someone else looked at tall Yelena Isinbayeva and didn’t see a failed gymnast. Instead they saw a talented pole-vaulter. Within a year, at age 16, she had won her first competition, the World Youth Games with a vault of over 4 meters. Within five years, she had broken the world record and taken the gold in the Olympics.[1]

Every one of us is a Spirit-enabled gold medalist in something. But sometimes we disqualify ourselves or other people from the ministry by insisting that we fit into the pastor-slot or the missionary-slot or the children’s-worker-slot. 

But the Bible says God made a perfect place for you, in the church. Just like the Avengers, if Iron Man or Thor or The Hulk or Nick Fury backs out, the whole team suffers. I first learned this lesson from my favorite super hero: Curious George. This little monkey was always getting into trouble because of his curiosity. One time the Man with the Yellow Hat was putting together a puzzle and he found that there was a piece missing. Soon after that, Curious George developed a stomach ache and had to be taken to the hospital. They took an X-ray and, sure enough, there was the missing piece. Curious George had eaten it.

It happens to us also. We are the missing piece. When we don’t work together in the church, it is glaringly obvious: there is a piece missing. Like Curious George, it also hurts us when we try to hold it inside and not use it the way it was supposed to. But when all the pieces are working together, it creates a beautiful picture.

We Belong Together Because We Need Each Other. (vs. 21-26)

Let me put this a different way: Outside the church you can never be who God made you to be. We need each other! I am not enough to do what God wants me to do, even with my gifts. I need you and you need me. The Bible says:

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” … ²⁴ … But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Alex Rodriguez, or A-Rod is one of the highest paid players in major league baseball: $29 million. Baseball insiders know he’s a big star with a career battering average of .301[2] I may be a newb at this baseball thing, but doesn’t it seem extreme to pay so much money for someone who misses 70% of the times he’s at bat. Even Shaq did free-throws better than that!

But baseball is like life. We don’t always get a hit—do it right. Even the stars get it wrong a lot of the time. By myself, I’d have to hit a home run every at bat. But we play as a team so that, if we string some hits together, back-to-back, we start scoring some runs and we can win the game.

It is like hospital gowns. You know hospital gowns, right? They have nice floral prints on the front, but down the back they are completely open to the air. People in  hospital gowns never like to turn their back on anyone because they are exposed. We all have strengths and weaknesses, like the hospital gown. And we keep trying show only our good side, but our back side is showing somewhere. But here's where the church comes is: when two people in hospital gowns trust each other and stand back-to-back, no one's weak point is exposed.

Conclusion

So, what is it that glues a church full of super-power wielding, but flawed, people? Just in the next chapter (chapter 13), Paul reveals what it is: Love. Let me read you the next few verses:

If I speak in the tongues of Nick Fury and have the aim of Hawkeye, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of secrets like Black Widow and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge like Iron Man and if I have the strength of Hulk or Thor to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I have like Colson or sacrifice myself like Captain America but have not love, I gain nothing.  – 1 Cor 13:1-3 paraphrase.

You know what a super hero without love is? Pathetic. When we don’t love, we remain trapped in the control of the puny gods: selfishness and fear. Love is the proof that we are no longer trapped by sin, that we have truly been freed by God.

Maybe this morning, you realize that you’ve never had the thrill of the Spirit’s power flowing through you. Could it be you’ve never let Jesus in close enough to do the radical work he needs to do in your life.  He died on the cross to make it possible for flawed, weak people to be transformed into good guys and good gals.

Maybe you’ve been stressed out by church because you’ve been forcing yourself or other people to be an “eye” or an “ear”. There is a place for you in the church, maybe not what you or anyone else expected, but tailored for who you are and where you are. Maybe its time to start a program of guided experimentation: serving in different capacities for short periods until you find where your super powers click with the amazing mission of God.

Look around you now: this place is filled with super heroes. Every one here. Treat them with respect. Forgive freely, they’re flawed. Apologize frequently, we’re broken. And Love deeply.

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[1] Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelena_Isinbayeva, retrieved on August 16, 2012

[2] http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/3115/alex-rodriguez, retrieved on August 16, 2012