The Manifest Presence of God

Fifty2 Sunday’s ~ Listening for God

         The sermon on Sunday was about how God shows up-how he manifests himself in our world and in our lives. The texts of Matthew 8 & 9 were used to demonstrate this in each of the situations below.

• ·   Matthew 8:1-3: A man with leprosy is healed. God heals. Even the ‘untouchable’ is touchable by God.
• ·       Matthew 8:5-13: The Centurion’s servant is healed of his paralyzing condition. God honors faith-even the smallest amount (mustard seed). There are no exceptions.
• ·       Matthew 8:14-17: The mother of Peter is healed. God loves the marginalized, the ignored and neglected of the world.
• ·       Matthew 8:23-27: God’s creation obeys him! What are we to fear when he can calm the seas with his commands?
• ·       Matthew 8:28-34: The demon's surrender to him. For they know their time is short.
• ·       Matthew 9:1-8: The paralyzed man is forgiven and set free of his condition. Jesus tells him to get up and take his mat and go home-should be not find comfort in this too?
• ·       Matthew 9:9: Matthew the tax collector is called by Jesus. When Jesus calls-go! Do not let present circumstance’s hinder following him.
• ·       Matthew 9:18-26: Jesus raises from the dead the daughter of synagogue ruler. The presence of God swallows up death and brings hope.
• ·       Matthew 9:27-30: Jesus heals two blind men – but first he asks them if they believe he can heal them. And according to their faith (our faith) it is done.
• ·       Matthew 9:32-33: The mute was healed and enabled to speak. God hears the one with no voice and he wants to free them.
• ·        Matthew 9:35-38: Jesus “saw the crowds and had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, life sheep without a shepherd”. Are we willing to show the same compassion to the lost and hurting?

         In closing the pastor quoted from the Great Commission that states “All authority in heaven and on earth” was given to Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). By faith and on his authority - we are called to continue this work (Matthew 10:1-8). We can anticipate God to show up and make known His presence when we do.

         This sermon challenged my faith - I don’t mean the tenants of the Christian faith (i.e. Jesus as the son of God, that he arose from the dead or that his death on the cross paid our sin debt). Rather, I am speaking about kind of faith spoken of in Hebrews (11:1) where one is confident of what one hopes for and convinced of what one does not see.  This is the kind of faith that God rewards (Hebrews 11:6) as he did with Abraham (Romans 4:3). I want to have the sort of faith that anticipates the presence of God to be made manifest and waits expectantly for him to act. Lord, help my (our) faith to grow that I (we) may fulfill your purpose here on earth as is your will in heaven.

What Are We Doing Here?

Fifty-2 Sunday’s ~ Listening for God

         I doubt I am the only one who has ever wondered what am I doing here. What is God’s will for my life and am I living it? These sorts of questions have weighed heavy on me in the past and while I have more peace about it now – still I wonder if I am spending my life-time appropriately.  I am encouraged by people I read about in scripture who appear to have been regular folk living a life that might be considered ordinary but then - God stepped in to ask something of them - something beyond their everyday.

The sermon Sunday was about such a person- Abraham, We looked at key points in his life - moving from Genesis 15 through chapter 21 in the scriptures. Abraham fulfilled God’s purpose for his life by being faithful and was used by God in great ways. The minister said Abraham's story tells God's story (one of creation - fall- redemption and recreation) summarized in four points:

1.   God fulfills his promises. 
Abraham was promised a son and that he would be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:5). Abraham received the son God promised. This was a foreshadowing of the promised redeemer (Jesus).

2.   God’s saves people by faith and makes them righteous. 
Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness (Romans 4:18-22) - today it is faith in Jesus that saves and makes us righteous in God’s eyes (Romans 4:23-25).

3.   God’s eternal mission continues.
Now through the church-we are called to be a blessing to others.

4.   God promises to be with us (leading, guiding and providing) until the end of time.

It was the third point that the Holy Spirit used to address the question I posed in the paragraph above. In the words of the minister he said “Our purpose is to be a blessing--to bless others in order that they get a little taste and vision of God”. This touched me. It somehow lifted an assumed responsibility (one not necessarily recognized) - to fulfill some mission or special purpose about which I have been unclear. Instead my purpose is to bless someone(s). It sounds so simple because it is simple. Like when Jesus suggested that ‘a cup of water offered in his name…’ can be suffice (Mark 9:41) and comes with a promise - that the person offering the cup ‘will not lose his reward’. 

There is magic and power in this along with joy and a sense of freedom, because blessings come in many forms-there is no ‘one’ or ‘right’ way to bless another person. This fulfills the charge to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). In blessing others we are blessed. I'd say this answers the question about what we are doing here-wouldn't you?

 (P.S. I will be on vacation for the next couple weeks...I will not necessarily have internet connectivity--so I will resume this when I return.)

Fulfilling the Great Commission

Fifty2 Sunday’s ~ Listening for God

The sermon was titled “God’s Assignment for Your Life” and the minister asked those present if had we personalized the Great Commission and were living out God’s mission for our lives.  The scripture text for this sermon was Matthew 28:16 -20:

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The three main points from the sermon were:

• ·       God gives us the power to complete his mission. God enables and fulfills in accordance with his will. Believe in his power & honor him with worship.
• ·       The plan – God gives us the plan to execute (see verses 19 & 20) - we are told to “Go and make disciples” and follow him where he is at work.
• ·       Teach people to observe and obey-as the gospel is taken to the ends of the earth. And know that He is with us until the end of the ages.

This sermon took me back to my early years of being a Christian when, under the inspiration of the Great Commission, I went to graduate school to get a degree in community health nursing hoping that in combination with an undergraduate degree in nursing and experience working as an RN – I would be well qualified to work in the mission field overseas. But that was not what followed next. In fact other than a short term medical mission trip to Guatemala twenty years ago - I have never been on a mission trip.  

Recently I met two young women who are getting ready for missions abroad. One leaves this week to go to Cambodia and the other one is raising money to go on the World Race—leaving in January to travel to 13 or 16 countries over the course of a year. These are passionate individuals who want to serve God and other people in an effort to make Jesus known unto the ends of the earth. I applaud them for their faith, commitment and courage.

One thing that really spoke to me in the sermon Sunday was the explanation the minister provided regarding the “go” part of the Great Commission. He said “go” translates to an “as you are going”. This means in our everyday lives we are to make the most of the opportunities God provides with people that cross our path. As simple as “the person who is in front of you today” is what the minister said. There is no shortage of humanity to whom we can “go” to who has yet to hear the gospel or come to faith. After all, Jesus said the “fields are ripe unto harvest” (John 4:35).

Unrelated to the sermon but seemingly relevant to the subject of the Great Commission are the two scripture verses;

Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Romans 11:25: “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”

Is it possible that Christ's return is connected to the fulfillment of these two verses? Is it pointless to pray "Lord come quickly if we are not busy about sharing the good news and making disciples? 

(See for additional information: Roman's 11 - Barnes Commentary)

Breath of Life in Three Acts

Fifty2 Sunday’s ~ Listening for God

The bible text for the sermon last Sunday was John 20:19-22. While it was being read out loud, the Holy Spirit directed my attention to the word “breathed” in verse 22. Breath and breathing is essential for physical life. The average number of breaths a person takes each day is 23,040. Like the beating of our hearts, we breathe without thinking about it unless of course we have asthma or other respiratory condition. 

The scripture reveals a significant correlation between breath, breathing and our spirit-being.  Consider the following:

         I.  When God created humankind and he brought them to ‘life’ with his breath. Genesis 2:7: “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” To breathe is to be alive. We can live a period of time without food, a briefer time without water, but we cannot live but minutes without air.

II. Breath is as connected with spirit life as much as it is with physical life. We see this in Jesus' death. Luke 23:46: “Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.” As our breathing ceases - so departs our spirit (soul) from the body.

III. Following his resurrection Jesus delivered what his heavenly father had promised – the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49); “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace is with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:21-22). Today as Christians we too receive the Holy Spirit - not in the same manner as the disciples did, but to the same end - which among other things serves as a deposit, a guarantee of our belonging to God (Acts 2:38, Ephesians 1:14).

There is no disputing the relevance of breath to our human existence. It may sound overly simple—but giving thanks for each breath (and heart beat) that keep us alive maybe be the simplest prayer of gratitude one can offer up. One way to do that is with “breath prayers”- a way of connecting prayer with breath. See this website for more information about these sorts of prayers (Breath Prayers).

In closing-perhaps Job said it best: “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4)

Amen

Planks and Specks in the Rearview Mirror

Fifty2 Sunday’s ~ Listening for God

    In one week I have listened to two lessons from Luke 6:37-42. Each of the presenters camped out on verse 37: “Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” There is much wisdom contained in this verse and with next verse (Luke 6:38) that reminds us that by the measure we use it will be used toward us. This second verse as found in Matthew 7:2 tells us that it is the measure by which I judge another that I will be judged.  This verse serves as a great reminder that I need to be very cautious when I pass judgement on another.

However Luke 6:41 & 42 calls at me too; “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

This passage highlights how it is possible to be oblivious to one’s own shortcomings and yet confident in our assessment of another person’s. How challenging this is - it goes a step beyond judging and treads into the territory of ‘I know what's wrong and how to fix it - we just need to get that speck out of your eye’. Because hindsight is said to be “20/20” - if given the chance I am sure we would each do something different if we could go back in time and do so. I definitely would - especially those things I know I have said or done that hurt another person. 

We will be accountable for every thoughtless word spoken (Matthew 12:36) and in James (1:26) we are warned to keep a “tight rein” on our tongues. Fortunately, each day takes us further down the road from the errs of our past – it’s like watching scenery in the rearview mirror as it grows smaller and more distant. If wisdom comes with age  - then we can be glad to be getting older with every passing day and hopefully our vision is improving too so we can recognize when a plank is in our own eye before we ever notice the speck in someone else's.

Suddenly Surprised

Fifty2 Sundays ~ Listening for God

    Matthew 28:1-10 was the scripture for the resurrection story presented in Sunday’s sermon. Perhaps my favorite verse in that text is verse 28:9 “Suddenly Jesus met them.” This verse encapsulates what most anyone might say the first time they encounter the risen Christ. At least it was so for me.

     I had a belief that there was a God – but Jesus was not part of my belief. I had heard about Jesus of course—but I held him out to be a phony and certainly not relevant to me or my life. And I probably secretly resented those who told me that I needed “to be saved” and “only Jesus could save me” and that there was no other way to God except through Jesus. That all changed when somehow ‘suddenly’ I came to faith. Little did I realize that God had been reeling me in (think fishing reel) over quite a period of time-and so when I moved from unbelief in a risen savior-to faith-it was sudden and I do not pretend to know or understand how it happened except to say it did.

     Jesus spent thirty three years on earth and the last three were his years of ministry. His crucifixion and what led up to it (his arrest, trial, etc.) began on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Mt 26:17) when he instituted the Lord’s Supper. That night Jesus was betrayed (Mt 26:21), then arrested (Mt 26:47-55) and overnight tried before the teachers and elders of the law (Mt 26:517-66). The next morning Jesus stands before Pilate who asks him if he is “King of the Jews” and finding no basis upon which to charge Jesus (Luke 23:4) he sends him to Herod (Lk 23:7). Herod initially takes pleasure in seeing him but because Jesus did not respond to his questioning-he and his soldiers mocked him and sent him back to Pilate (Lk 2311-12). Pilate tried to appease the angry mob by offering to release either Barabbas or Jesus. The crowd chose Barabbas (Lk 23:25). Jesus was then flogged, his clothes divided up and he was crucified all before sunset on a Friday sometime between the 6^th and the 9^th hour (Lk 23:44-46). He is buried in a tomb (Mt 27:60) and a stone rolled across the opening to the tomb and a guard posted to keep it secure (Mt 27:63-66). Saturday was the Sabbath. Sunday morning Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” went to the tomb (Mt 28:1) and they encounter the angel who rolled back the rock and showed them that the tomb was empty (Mt 28:5-7). The angel tells them to go tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee. The next thing that happens is the women suddenly encounter Jesus.

     All of us know life can change in a second. What is of greatest value or matters the most can become crystal clear in a brief moment-when facing a tragedy – we suddenly get grounded in the critical. Jesus had tried to prepare his disciples for the tragedy of his death upon the cross—they did not get it until they got it-and his resurrection was a surprise. I believe—this is the way God works. We cannot know when or what he will do until he does it and then it will happen suddenly. I imagine we will be surprised when Jesus returns to earth, it is certainly something to look forward to—along with our own resurrection-which will no doubt happen suddenly-as in the "twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:52).

Missing the Obvious

Fifty2 Sunday’s ~ Listening for God

          The text for Sunday’s sermon was Mark 9:30-32, a parallel text can be found a chapter earlier in Mark 8:31. The focus of the sermon was the last verse 32: “But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it” (NIV).

‘They’ are the twelve disciples who weren’t prepared to hear that Jesus was going to be betrayed, killed and three days later rise (from the dead). After nearly three years with Jesus; listening to him, watching him, praying with him and being sent out by him to do good works (Matthew 10:1-15) they still didn’t get what he was talking about. It was not the way it was supposed to go. Perhaps Peter’s challenging words to Jesus (Matthew 16:22) embodied their belief that glory was just around the corner? Jesus doused any such thoughts when he rebuked Peter telling him he did not have "… in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Mark 8:33).

I don’t fault the disciples—I think I might have responded much the same- in disbelief and fear. I think this is a common reaction –whether it is intentional or subliminal – there are times when we do not want the reality of a situation to rise to the level of our consciousness. Once it gets there we more or less have to respond to it. Each of us has blind spots-areas where we are not aware or tuned in and can miss something due to any number of legitimate reasons, and sometimes the obvious is not so apparent. As a health care provider I have observed on numerous occasions how some benign health issue causes a person to see their health care provider and in the process a more serious concern is discovered. 

It is not God’s will that we be confused or fearful; in fact the work of the Holy Spirit is to enable us to understand spiritual matters (I Corinthians 2:6-16). Matthew 7:7 reminds us to “ask, seek and knock” in order to find the truth and the answers we seek and if we do so in faith we can have confidence that God will grant wisdom  (James 5:1).