Your Wandering Is Not In Vain (1 Corinthians 15:58b)

Sometimes Christians believe that if they know the will of God, then everything is crystal clear. Pride can misdirect. But it does not follow that all dead-ends are the result of pride. Indeed, wandering often seems to be fully in the purposes of God for our lives. Because God's goal is not ours.

We see a mountain, and we want to know how we will get over, around or under that mountain or, even whether we will avoid the mountain altogether. We don't think that perhaps that any of those alternatives might be correct, because God is not worried about the mountain, but about us and the kind of people we will be by dealing with the mountain in dependence on God. That is faith doesn't move the mountain, faith trusts that God can move the mountain even if it still remains unmoved right now.

This is certainly true in working with a church. How many times have we seen an opportunity for ministry, prayed for wisdom on how to pursue it, consulted wise friends and jumped in with 100% effort. Then it fails. So we take a deep breath, gear up again and jump in again. Failure. And again. And again. We wonder what is wrong. We double-check our motives, our prayer registry, our commitment level. All ok, but no results.

This is why Paul wrote:

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. - 1 Corinthians 15:58b

There is a tendency to pull back in our efforts, because we think it is not working. But, in fact, it is working...on us. It is not in vain. In fact, this very keeping-on-going helps us fully understand God's love (cf. Romans 5:3-4).

 

This verse reminds me of another similar thought expressed by Paul elsewhere:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:9

The sense is flipped, but the meaning is the same. In the first it is: do A (give yourselves fully) because you won't lose B (results of your labor). In the second it is: don't give up A (doing good) because you will gain B (harvest).

 

The wandering, not the overcoming, is producing what God wants. The very frustration, and how we rely upon God in failure, is the path God uses.

 

How I wish he would skip it sometimes! How I am tired! But faith says the result God has planned is better than the one I envision.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avoiding The Epic Fail (Luke 9:37-50)

Avoiding the Epic Fail
Luke 9:37-50

Introduction

You want to know how to really fail in life? Just read these two verses with me.

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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen - Ephesians 3:20-21

Got that? Now do the opposite:

1.       First, you dream small dreams instead of God’s dreams.

2.       Second, power those dreams by yourself instead of with God’s power.

3.       Third, promote yourself instead of God.

Ok. That's it. You can sleep now, you’ve got the main point.

You know I work in computers. One of the most difficult types of failures to debug is called a “priority inversion” It is will a low-priority program grabs ahold of computer resources and then won’t let them go when a high-priority program needs them. Priority inversion has taken down the Mars Rover, it has taken down Windows, it has taken down banking systems, it has taken down my job performance…and let me tell you—priority inversion can take down your life. We let little dreams sabotage God’s dreams for us. We hold so tightly on to our resources that we are not free to grab ahold of God’s resources. We are so worried about our maintaining priority, that we never let God’s priority be promoted in our lives.

It can happen to us. It happened to Jesus’ best friends in the second half of the 9^th chapter of Luke’s biography of Jesus. Four times in twelve verses, his disciples will fail.  From a Bible point of view that’s not a very good ratio. So what happened?

Well, let’s take a look. Turn to Luke, 9^th chapter, starting in verse 37. Jesus is on his way down from the mountain where he was praying, and when he gets down, there is a huge crowd and lot of noise, because of the first of his disciple’s epic fails.

Fail #1: Want To Appear Competent (vs. 37-40)

Look at the next verse:

³⁷ The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰ I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

Jesus’ disciples could not cast out a particular demon. Failure #1. The story only makes sense if you look back at the very start of chapter 9, where it says: “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.” (Luke 9:1) Notice the word “all”. Something has happened. Jesus is frustrated by this, and says so, and then heals the boy and restores the family.

Before we look further at this first failure, just a side comment about demons. When we read passages like this, we might wonder whether this young man’s problem was something like epilepsy and those in Jesus’ time just thought it was caused by a demon. Certainly Christians have been guilty of assigning demonic causes to ordinary events. But look carefully at verse 42. Luke (the author) is a doctor and he notes that Jesus “rebuked” the demon and then healed him. That is, there were two problems: a spiritual problem and a physical problem and Jesus recognized them both. Sometimes, in America, we are so fond of ‘natural’ causes, that we miss the spiritual side of things that many other cultures are aware of.

Why is Jesus frustrated? What was the root cause of the disciple's epic fail with the demon? He mentions two keys to their failure: first, the disciples were a part of an unbelieving generation. That is, even though they had all of the power and authority they needed to do this job (see verse 1), and they had practice (see verse 2) and they had success (verse 6), they were still not confident that it would still work. Second, they were a part of the perverse generation. This means that their desires—their want-tos—their motives—were off-the-mark. That is, they wanted to appear to be competent. Casting out the demon has become about their competence--their abilities--not God's abilities.

Now before we get too hard the disciples, what about us? Most of us aren’t demon experts. But we want to appear like we're competent and capable. We don't just want someone to be helped, but we want to be appreciated as the type of people who help, or the type of people God uses to help. Let me reassure you: You have exactly enough strength to do everything God wants you to do tomorrow. You have exactly enough time to do everything God wants you to do tomorrow. But we hesitate because we doubt God. We procrastinate because all our energy, checkbook and slots in our calendar are taken by our plans, dreams and desires.  Our want-to is broken.

We fail when we want to appear competent, on our terms. We win when we humble ourselves, throw away our plan, follow God's plan and allow God to be competent:

 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” – 1 Peter 5:5b

Fail #2: Want To Appear Smart (vs. 44-45)

Let’s look at failure #2.

⁴² Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.  ⁴³ While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

Luke tells us that while everyone was excited about the external miracles, Jesus repeats His message to the disciples about His suffering and death, and they still don’t get it. Jesus is trying to prepare them for the time when he is gone, and they must continue the job that he started. Their failure is not so much that they didn’t understand (what’s new?), but that (in verse 45) they were afraid to ask about what they didn’t understand. Afraid of what?

·         Maybe they were afraid to look dumb in front of the others.

·         Maybe they were afraid of Jesus, after he had just chewed them out.

·         Maybe they were afraid to hear the answer, because it might contradict what they wanted. They were afraid of the truth.

There are so many things that I don’t understand. There is such a huge gap between God’s understanding and my understanding. But we can ask.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. – James 1:5

How often I have relied on this verse. God is the creator of good ideas. We just discover them. This is true in my job. It is true in my relationships. It is true in this church. The scariest thought to me is that God would put me through a season of drought of good ideas.

We do not fail for ignorance. We fail for holding on to ignorance and not asking God.

We fail when we want to appear smart. We succeed when realize and rely on God as the smart one.

Fail #3: Want To Appear Important (vs 46-48)

First, we fail when we know what to do but don’t do it.

Second, we fail when we don’t know what to do and don’t ask.

Let’s look at the third failure, found in verses 46-48:

⁴⁶ An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. ⁴⁷ Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.”

The third failure when we want to appear important. The disciples have their spiritual calculators out, punching in the numbers of converts, demons cast out, sick healed and prayers answered, trying to determine who has the highest score. But that misses the point.  We don’t win. God wins. And those points on the scoreboard? They are God’s. He draws people to himself. He rebukes demons. He cures sickness. He answers prayer. It is God’s grace from start to finish.

But then we ask…who got more grace? [sound of Jesus smacking his own forehead]

We even see this in the church.

Francis Chan a pastor from Simi Valley exploded onto the evangelical scene a few years ago when podcasts of sermons he gave at his flourishing, 4,000-member Southern California church went viral. But then in late 2010, he up and quit, saying, "I just want to disappear for a while." One thing that bothered him, he said, was that "even in my own church I heard the words 'Francis Chan' more than I heard the words, 'Holy Spirit.'[1]

Pastors don’t need to hear “What a great sermon!” They need to hear “What a great God!”

It happens to pastors, it happens to us.  We advertise our virtues on the job, so that others notice us. Only the beautiful pictures end up on FaceBook. You spend time with the cool people, so that you’ll at least look cool, too.

Instead of making the mission about me, we need to make the mission about God.  We don’t need to be important, we want God to be important. Here’s what I want to highlight:  lives changed, books written, relationships healed, communities revived, symphonies performed—by God. Does the stories you tell at work or school—or FaceBook--tell a story where you are the hero, or where God is the hero?

We fail when we want to appear important. We succeed when we want God to appear important.

Fail #4: Want To Appear Special (vs. 49-50)

This same attitude of “making the mission about me” led to the fourth failure, in verses 49-50:

⁴⁹ “Master,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” ⁵⁰ “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Here is the irony. The disciples notice a man driving out demons in Jesus’ name—the very same thing they failed to do back in verse 38—but he is succeeding and they want to stop him!

Why? “Because he is not one of us.” They seem to say: “if we fail, so should they!”  Spiritual envy.  “If at first we don’t succeed, neither should anyone else.”

They are embarrassed and outdone, so they won’t give any credit. The Bible says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15) but the Tim Lewis translation says: “Criticize those who rejoice; make fun of those who mourn.” Some of you have read my translation.

This happens to us. Do you thank God for another church’s growth, another believer’s growing life of faith, another marriage’s closeness or another co-workers promotion? Or does their success immediately cause a critical remark or thought in you?

The disciple’s motto was “Anyone who is not with us is against us.” But Jesus’ motto was “Anyone who is not against you is for you.” Jesus just redefined the win. The win is not what FCC does for God. The win is what FCC and Natomas and Lakeside and Ignite and Bayside and Cornerstone do and beyond, for God. The win is not what Tim does, or Max does or AZ does for God. The win is when God appears uniquely as God.

We fail when we want to appear special or unique. We succeed when we may God appear special and unique.

Conclusion

Imagine an app on your phone that decided that the phone exists for its benefit. That inverts your phone’s mission so that instead of serving you, it serves itself. What do we call an app like that? A virus.

The virus of selfishness and pride always tries to hijack our lives away from God and towards ourselves. The results are destructive. We fail because we take the life that God has given and repurpose it for goals for which it was never intended.  The Bible says:

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. – James 3:16

We know this to be true. The worst and ugliest moments of our lives are the results of our pride. But somehow we return again and again to pride’s destructive influence. It was only the perfect selfless act of Jesus, the innocent son of God given on the cross which can combat it and restore our broken soul.

·         We don’t need to appear smart, because God loves me.

·         We don’t need to appear important, because God loves me.

·         We don’t need to appear special, because God loves me.

·         We don’t need to appear competent, because God loves me.

“Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” – Romans 10:11b

Maybe you’ve realized that your 2013 new year’s resolutions were your plan, self-powered and self-promoting.  Maybe for 2013 you can ask God

1.       To follow God’s dreams and plans instead of yours.

2.       To power those dreams with God’s power instead of yours.

3.       To promote God’s reputation instead of yours.

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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen - Ephesians 3:20-21

That is the epic win.

Some material from the sermon “Getting It Wrong” by Steven Simala Grant, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/getting-it-wrong-steven-simala-grant-sermon-on-faults-137584.asp?Page=1 retrieved on January 8, 2013

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[1] The Relentless Passion of Francis Chan, Mark Galli, Christianity Today, posted January 4, 2013. Retrieved on January 12, 2013

As Strong As The Weak Places (1 Corinthians 8)

7 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. ⁸ But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. - 1 Corithians 8:7
 

This chapter of Paul's 1st letter to the Corinthian church is dealing with one of the controversial topics of Paul's day: eating meat that was sacrificed to idols. Strangely enough, I remember thinking about this back when I was a boy, because a friend of our families was a Buddhist. Each year this friend's temple would put on a giant barbeque, with all the proceeds going to support the temple's operations for a year. Growing up, I never really thought about this, and it was really tasty chicken. But one year, it bothered me that I was helping to support a Buddhist temple. So I asked my family not to buy any for me.

Now, I look back on that and wonder whether it was worth all of the angst I felt at the time. I don't think so. It is chicken. No more, no less.

But this verse has helped me to deal with a lot of other issues in my life, whether books or music or movies or even social situations. Because my conscience is weak. Sometimes the thing itself is not bad, but the associations that I have with it are bad. So, I should proceed no further. Maybe, at some time in the future, my conscience will be strong. At that time, it will be different.

I ran into this again last year when I found that one of my favorite Christian artists had gone astray. The songs had always spoken to me deeply. So I used this test: Were my thoughts being drawn towards God or was I being distracted by this artists behavior? In this case, push and prod as I might, God was still the focus. So I still listen.

I've always thought: I am the strong one, able to look on weakness of other brothers and sisters (see Romans 14). But I am not. I am full of weak places, requiring the mercy of God and my family.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. - 2 Corinthians 4:7

What Will Make You Happy? (1 Corinthians 7)

29 What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
 

"If only I _____ I would be happy." Fill in the blank. If only I...

• Was married.
• Had a stable job.
• Had a decent place to live.
• Could eat 3 meals a day.
• Pray 1 hour a day.
• Could be sure of my retirement.

Whatever you place in that blank defines you, your pursuits, your frustrations and your mental state of mind. And anything other than God in that blank will leave you disappointed.

In the 7th chapter of Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul says, essentially, "If you can live without, live without. And if you can't, then go for it. Either way, don't lose your focus on God." Is it more distracting to be married or unmarried? Circumcised or uncircumcised. Free or not free. Or maybe it is the angst of choosing between the two.

Married, single or undecided can all take you away from God. Rich, poor or middle-class can all take you away from God. Stable job, no job, terrible job can all take you away from God. But they are not the issue. God is the issue. Anytime anything else becomes the issue, it has to go.

Today, we are fretting about something. I have guests coming over tomorrow. My front door doesn't lock. People at my job expect me to be a superstar. Each of those has the potential of derailing my life by claiming to be the ______.  Jesus, you are the only one big enough to fill my _____.

If you only knew my secret identity... (Luke 8:28-36)

If You Only Knew My Identity…

Lke 9:28-36

Introduction

Recently, the movies have been full of super heroes. There’s been Bat Man, Spider Man, the Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, X-Men and now there was the trailer for the new movie “Man of Steel” which will reboot the story of Super Man. One of the staples of the super hero genre is the idea of the secret identity. Most of the time, they are Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker but when there is trouble, they are Super Man, Bat Man or Spider Man. The intriguing possibility that, behind any bland exterior there could be a person of extraordinary talent drives much of the drama in these super hero stories.

In fact, maybe I am a super hero. Maybe if I rip open my shirt or duck into a phone booth, my special spandex costume might be revealed. Yeah, I could be like Bat Man: bat mobile, bat copter, bat belt, bat gadgets, really cool bat cave, lovely sidekick Labuyo. Rich, ripped and stocked up on gadgets.

But I don’t think I could pull off Super Man. He’s not even human—he’s from planet Krypton. He has real super powers. He didn’t get them from a radioactive spider or gamma rays or steroids or an industrial accident—they are innate—they are a part of who he is. Bat Man is just an overcompensating spoiled kid with parent issues.

How about Jesus? Was he a man? Smart and gifted? Insane? Special connection with the man upstairs (he sure seemed to want to pray a lot!). Maybe the reincarnated version of some previous super hero, like Moses or Elijah or John the Baptist? Or was he even human? There has been speculation in some quarters that he was some form of divine ghost or meat puppet, controlled by some other being? Or, was he something else entirely? Is there a third option?

We’ve been working our way through the 3^rd of 4 biographies of Jesus found in the Bible, written by Luke, a doctor. Luke went back and talked to many of the eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life who were still alive, including the original band of followers who were with him from the beginning of his public career all the way until his death and beyond.  There were crowds around Jesus, of course. But seventy or so were around him on a semi-regular basis throughout his three year career. Then twelve, called his disciples, were with him pretty much day in and day out. But within that twelve, there was an even smaller group: Peter, James and John. So, if anyone knew what Jesus was really like, even when the crowds were gone and the spotlight was off, it was these three. 

After Jesus’ big tour of Galilee, healing and teaching, Luke records, in the 9^th chapter, that he asked this group: “Who do you say I am?” And Peter spoke up and said, “You are the Christ.” That word “Christ” is actually the word for Messiah or “chosen one of God”. Jesus went on to say, in effect: What do you think a Christ does? They wanted a power Messiah, but he revealed a sacrificing Messiah.

And then, eight days later, Jesus gives his disciples an uncensored look at who he really was, but it was so strange—so weird—so much like a sci-fi movie before sci-fi was even thought of, that they “kept it to themselves” (Luke 9:36b) until much later.

Let’s take a look, in chapter 9 of Luke, starting about half way through where it says “Transfiguration”, at what they saw:

²⁸ About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. ²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

³⁰ Two men, Moses and Elijah, ³¹ appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³² Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

 ³⁴ While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” ³⁶ When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.

Listen: Jesus Has A Unique Identity, So Pray (vs. 28-29)

Prayer was a constant habit for Jesus. He was busy. His life was managed chaos: crowds, needy people, angry people, and the next town on his preaching tour. He was tired (John 4:6). But it was his regular, fixed practice (ugali) to spend time in prayer (Luke 5:16).

When I travel to Taiwan for a week, I arrive at 6am on Monday morning. After I get to my hotel and get cleaned up, I’m off to the office. From then on, it is meeting on this, customer wants this, “Can you fix this” “Why did you do it like that?” “Can you come to dinner?” Get to bed by 9 or 10, try to go to sleep and then because of jet lag, wake up at 3am, can’t go back to sleep. But as soon as I try to open my Bible and try to pray—then I fall asleep. I’m too busy to pray. I am like Peter, James and John. A little further down, it says they were “very sleepy.”

Jesus goes to prayer, and he is transfigured. Peter goes to prayer, and he falls asleep. I am too busy to pray. But Jesus is too busy not to pray. Jesus appears to be somehow nourished and reinvigorated by prayer, but I am drained. Why is that? Is it just because he is Jesus, a super hero, and I’m just an extra?

Here’s what I know: Jesus wanted to pray, I want to sleep. Seven months into our marriage, Helen left to go finish her college degree in England for five months. No e-mail. I couldn’t wait for the time once every week or two weeks when I could afford to call her. I had no trouble being available at the right time. I’m so socially awkward that I created lists of things to talk to her about, so I could tell her all the interesting things that happened while we were apart. Those conversations made my week. Why? Because it was Helen!

Perhaps our prayers would be less like Ambien and more like 5 hour energy, if we didn’t, in our heart of hearts, think God was boring, passive, uninteresting. Look what happened to Peter, James and John: Luke says: “Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory…”

God is not boring. God is not boring. God is fiercely loving, amazingly creative, wild and glorious. But if you are like me, God can seem boring. It happens. It happens to me. It happened to Peter. Usually I’ve pasted a bad mental picture over the God spot in my soul. The boring God. The predictable God. The impossible-to-please God. These are the lesser “gods” We think that we can finish God’s sentences for him. When you talk with someone thinking you already know what they will say, then it is no longer a dialog. It is boring, presumptious and selfish. How much more with prayer? When you pray, do you also go to listen? Because God will surprise you. He will expose the gaps.

Jesus knows we need this. In our life, he knows we are weak and easily distracted. So, for the briefest moment, he allows heaven to shine through, and we see Jesus as Jesus with absolute certainty. Hold on to those moments. Remember them. Tattoo them on your memories. Because they will sustain you.

Remember Jesus’ mother, Mary? Between the fireworks and miracles at Jesus’ birth—at Christmas--and the wedding at Cana (in John’s biography), thirty years. Nothing. What sustained her? In chapter 2, Luke says:

¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Listen: Because Jesus is uniquely God and man.

Listen: Jesus Has A Unique Role, So Hope (vs. 30-33)

So Jesus’ transformation woke up Peter, James and John from their sleep. And they notice that Jesus isn’t alone. They wake up to find Jesus hostinga round-table theological discussion with Moses, greatest religious leader in Jewish history, and Elijah, greatest prophet in Jewish history.  Both dead hundreds of years. Both glowing. What was in those matzo balls, anyway?  Dead people discussing theology. Now we know what killed them.

Peter notices that they are leaving (vs. 33), and he does what Peter does best: he starts to blab. Moses! Elijah! Jesus! Best. Camping. Trip. Ever. Look at the lineup of speakers we’ve got for you this year!

That’s exactly the problem: Moses and Elijah were not Jesus’ peers. They are not his religious colleagues. You ever see someone dancing on a street corner, holding a sign, trying to get you to turn here? That’s Moses and Elijah. They are sign carriers for the coming attraction: Jesus. They are the movie trailer long before the coming attraction: Jesus. 

Notice it says (verse 31) that “they spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” Their whole life was spent pointing to Jesus—the Christ—the Messiah—the chosen on—God on earth—to this very day. They were excited. But they never got to see it. Later, in Peter’s 1^st letter, he wrote:

“¹⁰ …the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, ¹¹ trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” – 1 Peter 1:10

Many times we suffer from Peter’s problem. He was looking for a great man to solve all of his problems. But those men were just sign carriers, advertisements for a great God. We do the same thing. There are no Christian super stars. But American culture and Filipino culture likes super stars. So we  make American Idols. We like great singers, powerful speakers, dynamic leaders. But can’t you see the trap? It’s like the new car smell without the new car!  The trailer without the movie. The ad without the product. But miss Jesus!

Jesus is the hope. There is no lasting life change without Jesus. There is no enduring strength without Jesus. There is no ability to push through hard times unscarred without Jesus. There is no untainted genius without Jesus. Jesus has a unique role: the answer to the ‘hopes and fears of all the years rest in thee tonight’

Don’t settle for second-class hope (was class hope). Jesus is the special, chosen Messiah of God, sent to give us hope.

Listen: Jesus Has Unique Authority, So Listen (vs. 34-38)

Now at this point, someone needs to shut Peter up. You know, like when your spouse or your friend is starting to say something embarrassing and you elbow them, or give them the “look” (kindat). Well, James and John weren’t doing their job, so God decides to do it himself:

While he was speaking, God starts talking. Peter shut up. A cloud comes up around them, and the other two disappear. Moses once wrote about a cloud on a mountain top, just like this one, back in the book Exodus. Every good Jewish boy and girl heard this story, about how Moses went into the cloud and met God and received God’s instructions. So God was speaking to them, in a cloud, on a mountain, so that they would understand the importance and gravity of what he was about to say.

Helen will tell you that, in our house, if there is a period of silence and then I say, “OK” it means I’m about to say what we should be doing.  Same with the cloud and the mountain.  And Luke felt it was so important that he wrote it down for us:

So, what does God want us to hear? “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” First: Jesus is uniquely divine and human: Son of God and Son of Man. Second: Jesus has a unique job: He is chosen. He is Messiah. He is Christ. No one else can claim that role. Third: Jesus has unique authority. He has the full faith and backing of God, so you’d better listen.”

What does this mean for us? Jesus is in a unique position because He is God and because He is God’s chosen hope for the world. He is a Teacher and we lack understanding.  He is a Master and we lack direction.  He is the Savior and we need rescuing. There is a tremendous gap between who we are and who we should be. Jesus bridges that gap.

Conclusion

Let’s wrap it up.

Among the dead from the Newtown, CT shootings was Mary Sherlach, the school counselor. From the Sacramento Bee, “When the shots rang out, Mary Sherlach threw herself into danger. Janet Robinson, the superintendent of Newtown Public Schools said Sherlach and the school’s principal ran toward the shooter. They lost their own lives, rushing toward him.” She was nearing retirement, but, according to her son-in-law, “Mary felt like she was doing God’s work working with children.”[1]

I admire these two. They are the super-heroes. Those who hear the danger, but heed it not because of the value of those placed in their care. These two died.

Jesus died at the end of a path which led relentlessly from the cradle to the cross, heeding not the shame and danger, because of the value of those placed in his care. But now Jesus lives and he is uniquely able to transform ordinary school counselors, and nurses and programmers and students into heroes who, in turn, give themselves away.

That is your identity: in Christ. That’s who I want to grow up to be.

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[1] Grief pours out for tiny victims and school staff, Sacramento Bee, December 16, 2012, page A20.

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?

 

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[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