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30 Nov: 

Troublesome Times are Here!  What Do We Do With Them???

     Last week I shared Scriptures which pointed us toward making a commitment to Christ, second to none. We are to try as best we can to fully fulfill the commandment to love God first and foremost, before all others. With that encouragement I want to remind us that we must be always wary of our adversary:  1 Peter 5:6 “Be sober of spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring line, seeking some to devour.”     Eph 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”    When you go back in the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry you will see even Jesus Himself was approached by the devil and given three temptations. One of the temptations was over Jesus’ suffering hunger and the other was the enjoyment of this world’s pleasures.  It should not, therefore, surprise us when Satan’s works enter into our lives and make things extremely difficult.

Today I want to consider some situations when Jesus Himself went into and through some difficult situations. The first one is found in     John 11:33,35,36-38 “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled…. Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, ‘See how He loved him.’ But some of them said, ‘Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?’ So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb.”  

As you can see here, even Jesus found occasion to suffer grief. There are two possible interpretations of this moment. One is that Jesus was empathizing with the friends and family members gathered and I sort of figure this is probably closer to the truth. But a second possibility which has been suggested is that Jesus’ spirit is troubled because of His disappointment with Lazarus’ family and friends who still do not have an understanding of what He was capable of. He was troubled by their lack of faith. This does seem like a real possibility considering the response of the people around them. But either way, Jesus allowed His emotions to embrace sorrow and pain. But then, what Jesus’ response to this situation?

John 11:41-43 “So they removed the stone.  Then Jesus raised His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.’ When He had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’” Which is what exactly happens. But the point I want us to acknowledge is Jesus’ response to the situation. When Jesus become troubled, He turned to the Father for help and the solution. Granted God’s response was more instantaneous with Jesus than what we might expect – but we should still expect God to hear and respond. Consider this:     Luke 18:1-8 “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up saying in a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and there was also a woman in that city who kept coming to him for justice. For while he was (initially) unwilling, he did eventually concede and give her justice to stop her from coming. ⁶ And the Lord said, “Consider what the unjust judge did. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.”

So, in response to our difficulties and trials we need to remember what our first response ought to be – crying out to the Lord with faith.

Another situation where Jesus is troubled is found in John 13:21,27,30,31 “When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.’ … After (Judas took) the morsal, Satan then entered into him. Therefore, Jesus said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.’ … So, after receiving the morsal he went out immediately; and it was night. Therefore, when he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him”.   Once again, there are two options with which this sorrow of Christ could be considered. One, the option might be Jesus is troubled because one of His disciples is going to betray Him and thus His concern for Judas causes His sorrow. This isn't unreasonable because I remember another time when Christ was concerned about one of His apostles:      Luke 22:31,32 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”     And again, in Jesus’ priestly prayer:   John 17:14-16 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world, I do not ask You to take them our of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” What is Jesus’ response to His concern about Has followers – to go the Father on their behalf.

The second option to Jesus’ sorrow is that He might be troubled because His suffering is rapidly approaching. In the Garden we certainly see His concern being evident. But what is Jesus’ response to His sorrow? He turns the moment into a  moment with His heavenly Father:                  John 13:21,27,30,31 “When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.’ … After (Judas took) the morsal, Satan then entered into him. Therefore, Jesus said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.’ … So, after receiving the morsal he went out immediately; and it was night. Therefore, when he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him”.   

While Jesus is certainly disturbed by the coming events, He also sees the grand purpose behind them – the glorification of His Father in Heaven. If you remember, there was a situation earlier in which Jesus also declared that something had happened and the reason for this was also to bring glory to God:        John 9:1, 3 “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.  . . . . . Jesus answered, ‘It was neither that this man sinned or his parents – but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”           And in John 17 we also see a clarification for Christ’s purpose in His death, aside from redeeming mankind of their sins: John 17:1,4,5 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You . . . . I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

 

A final occasion, which we have alluded to, is Jesus in the Garden and the grief over which He is struggling:    Mark 14:32ff “They came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, ‘Sit here until I have prayed.’ And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.’ And He went a little beyond them and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. (And two more times He withdrew to pray to the Father).  In this passage I am reminded of Paul’s words in Heb 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.”    This is to say that Jesus, even though He was the Messiah and the Son of God, He also had to struggle with normal human events that happen to all of us. His successfully surviving  these events is to give us encouragement and an example as to how they ought to be handled.

And how did He handle them? By going to His heavenly Father.  Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Prov 3:5,6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

1 Peter 5:7 “⁷ Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Philistines 4:6 “ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Rom 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

     I pray that you are willing and able to obey the words of Joshua:

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

 

 

23 Nov:    Which Type of Follower Are You?

“And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory…”—2 Corinthians 3:18

Last week we looked at the lineage of Jesus and determined that the recording of Christ’s ancestry showed the faithfulness of God regarding His promises and the willingness of God to show compassion and forgiveness thus allowing God to use each and every one of us in His kingdom. This validates the message Paul gives to us in 2 Cor 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God was making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”     This passage tells us that if we have, like the Prodigal Son, came to our senses, repented and returned to God we can be the messengers/ambassadors of God’s message of hope, truth and salvation.

For today’s lesson I want follow up on the idea of being God’s ambassadors. What do ambassadors do? They go out into the foreign lands and represent God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. And Jesus spoke quite clearly this role that we have in Luke 9.

Luke 9:57-62 “⁵⁷As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰And Jesus1 said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶²Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Before I jump into this passage, I want to bring a different one forward: Luke 6:46ff “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, and do not do what I say. Everyone who come to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock which survived the coming flood. The one who has heard and not acted accordingly I like a man who builds his house on the sand which collapses when the flood comes.”   The summary of this passage is that those who hear and act properly will be saved and those who hear but disregard and go their own way will suffer condemnation. James’ declaration that faith without works is dead also substantiates this. So as we examine out chosen passage today we need to ask ourselves how this applies to me and what should I do with it.

Luke 9:  “⁵⁷As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”     What is the point in these verses?  The obvious statement is that Jesus does not have anyplace that He can call ‘home’. But the question that follows is to ask why is this? Why does Jesus not have a permanent place to lay His head. The answer is because His calling or the mission His Father gave Him does not allow for this ‘blessing’ to be His. And what does that have to do with you and I? 

Luke 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”    If you and I want to be like OUR teacher, then we must be willing to also respond to God’s calling in our lives. We also must be willing to forgo certain creature comforts at times. Is it not possible that this is what Christ is referring to when He tells us that we must be willing to pick up our cross and follow Him?

Now I don’t know of any ‘burning bush’ experience that you may have had but I   DO   KNOW   that according to the first passage we looked at in 2 Cor that we have been called to be ambassador’s in our family, with our friends, in our jobs, and in all our social interactions during the course of our living our lives. Peter reinforces this:  1 Peter 2:20, 21 “…. But if when you do what is right and suffer for it - you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”      So the bedrock teaching here is that if we are going to be a follower of Christ – we must be willing to accept some suffering and/or deprivation for the sake of sharing the Gospel of Salvation.

Luke 9: ⁵⁹To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰And Jesus1 said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”    Now I don’t seriously think that Jesus is referring to some zombie type situation. One commentator suggested that in a literal sense Jesus might have been saying that those spiritually dead individuals who are all wrapped up in things of this world – they will always prefer to put this world’s responsibilities first before submitting to God’s will.

Do you remember the passage in Matthew where Jesus is telling His apostles about the coming days where He will be arrested, tried, convicted, flogged, crucified and dies and what does Peter do? He calls Jesus aside and tells Him that he will never let this happen?  And what is Jesus’ response. He to Peter, ‘Get behind Me Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interest but mans.” (Mtt 16:21,22)   Do you know why I think Jesus gets so upset at Peter?  Remember the scripture in Hebrews which says that Jesus was tempted in all manner like us. You know why Jesus may have had so much difficulty in Gethsemane? I think Jesus knew His power, His capability, and – not WANTING to die in the fashion that has been planned, had the temptation within Him to avoid God’s plan and go to plan B. Whatever that might have been. So when Peter steps up and declares that he would faithfully follow Jesus anywhere, even die for him. Then maybe for a moment, maybe just the briefest of moments Jesus like the idea better regarding resisting the Jewish leaders plan of the crucifixion.

So, what is the bedrock teaching here? We must make sure that we are putting our responsibilities to God, being His ambassador, first in our lives. We need to make sure that we are not allowing our perceived responsibilities in this world to take precedence over our opportunities in God’s kingdom.

Luke 9:  ⁶¹Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶²Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”     This reminds me of one of the many times when the Israelites would grumble and complain about the wilderness they were in – even though this was God’s path for them out of Egypt, bondage and slavery:  Ex 16:2,3 “The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses Aaron in the wilderness. The sons of Israel said to the, ‘Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we say by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full . . . . “    We need to realize that God may at times call us down a path that separates us from our families, friends, jobs and other worldly pleasures. There may be times when we are going to be called to travel in a wilderness and if we, like the Israelites see a better place and are tempted to leave God’s leadership, then like them we too will lose the blessings of a land flowing with milk and honey, the abundant life Christ promises us. The bedrock teaching here is that not even family should get in the way of our being the ambassador that God wants us to be. What is the First Great Commandment: Mtt 37 “And Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind (your will). This is the great and foremost commandment.”

The parable of the Sower reinforces these very ideas:  Sower explained: Mtt 13:18ff “….²⁰ The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³ But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”

So the bedrock question is – who are you? Which of these situations give you the most difficulty?                 Luke 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”  

 

Are you fully trained? Are you attempting to make it so?  Is your life being lived as closely as you can so that you daily are taking up your cross and following Him, without reservation or exception?