In the Word, not of the World

Friends,

Steve Shepherd shares this -- The most interesting thing about Tifton, GA is an abandoned Victorian house filled with thousands of bats.  Tift County declared the once-elegant house in the town’s historic district off limits after a bat specialist said that maybe 20,000 bats had moved in, apparently for good. Now, teenagers call it the bat house. People talk about the smell, which is a mix of urine and decaying wood. I have no intention to visit that bat house. Vacant houses get infiltrated with all kinds of creatures and probably not just bats. And many of these creatures make a mess, create a big stink, and eventually ruin that dwelling. But it doesn’t just happen with vacant houses, it also happens with vacant lives! If a person doesn’t fill their life with good stuff, the bad stuff and sometimes, the evil stuff, will move in and take over. God wants us to stay clean in this world and this will only happen when we let Him move in, that is, when we fill our lives with worship, prayer and service. (From a sermon, Our Walk in This World, 4/4/2011) I believe that this is the encouragement that Jesus is sharing with his disciples in this next portion of His high priestly prayer in John 17 (vv.13-19). If we do not immerse ourselves in the presence of God, then the world is going to have a much easier time infesting our lives and making us miserable. Jesus knows that if His disciples are going to survive and thrive in taking His message to a lost world, that message must be inside of them first…helping them, guiding them, and empowering them to be in the world, and yet not have the world be in them.

The Word of God is God’s gift to us.  It tells His story, the story of His Son, and it is empowered by the Holy Spirit to change lives.  In the world that we live in today, it is easy to take the Word of God for granted.  D.L. Moody wrote in the front of His Bible – “This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.” We live in a world where there is little joy.  A lot of people, including some Christians, look and act as if they have been feasting on some sour grapes…and it is not a pretty sight.  This is because sin or sinful attitudes regularly control their lives. Those who regularly spend time in the Word know that it is necessary to do so in order to be an overcomer.  And how does the Word of God help us to overcome the world?  One way is that it brings us joy (v.13), and this inward joy…the fruit of the Spirit…provides us strength to overcome. John has already shared that joy comes as the result of answered prayer (16:23-24).  It also comes from struggling and overcoming as our Lord was able to do. Jesus experienced many struggles as He ministered among fallen men, but He also had a deep and abiding joy.  Jesus’ joy was not affected by the fleeting mess of the sinful world, but the abiding enjoyment of relationship with His Father, the Holy Spirit and the Word. He did not depend upon, nor was He controlled by outward circumstances, but on inward spiritual resources.  It is this kind of joy that Jesus want us, His followers, to experience.

The Word also assures us of God’s love.  The world hates us…this becomes more evident with each passing day.  The world hates us because we do not belong to its system…and often times, we take the world’s bait, and try to fight the world on its terms.  This is never going to turn out well for Christians. But, we are able to confront this hatred with the love of God…a love, once again, that is imparted by the Holy Spirit through the Word. We must overcome the temptation to be as ugly as the world is in returning vile for vile…and allow the Holy Spirit to help us to be above the fray – we must love those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us, as Jesus shares in His Sermon on the Mount.

The Word not only brings us joy and love, but it also imparts God’s power for holy living (vv.15-17).  Jesus prays for security for believers in this prayer, but He also asks for sanctity – holiness. We are indeed in the world, but not of this world…and we must not live like the world. Some people would like to be “outside of the world”…and some people really are “out of this world” J…but such spiritual isolation would not keep evil from us or us from evil. True sanctification takes place on the inside, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.  As we grow in faith, the more we experience this “cleansing”, and the less that we are willing to partake of the world’s offerings. This is spiritual growth!  You and I love sin less and we love God more.  You want to serve Him and be a blessing to others, rather than serve yourself, sin and the world. All of these matters help the truth of God to be worked out in our lives.  Once again, if we seek to be holy and right as the Lord is holy, truth is present – it is as much something that we live as what we know.  In fact, if we truly know the truth, then we will live the truth. And being made holy, sanctified, is not for the purpose of selfish enjoyment or boasting, it is so that we might represent Christ in the world and be an example to others of what it is to be Christ-like.

To consider these thoughts further, Mark Brunner shares this -- when we purchased Beech Springs years ago, we arrived in a valley that was filled by trees, trees and more trees. There was little lawn because the trees shaded it out. We would not need much in the way of landscaping, which was to my liking. There would be little need for a rototiller, a spade and a wheelbarrow here. I could focus on making wood and the necessary improvements that were needed on the inside of the house. Puttering with flower beds and the like was so tedious and, as opposed to making wood and other tasks like it, were slow in demonstrating any visible progress. That is, of course, until the elms in the immediate area began to succumb to disease. Suddenly spaces were opened…spaces that beckoned my wife to say, “Plant a sunflower here or nestle a poppy there!” It wasn’t long before a tiller and a wheelbarrow appeared on my gift list.  I have often thought how much like those flower beds you and I are as we daily walk in grace. It takes work to get us ready for growth in grace. Sometimes, the results aren’t so immediately visible. But, over time, the work and effort pay off. The flowers bloom and fade and come back again the next year that much more brilliant and bountiful. Phillips Brooks was a very busy minister, yet he always seemed relaxed and unburdened, willing to take time for anyone in need. Shortly before he died, someone asked him the secret of his strength and serenity. In a heartfelt response, Brooks credited his still-growing relationship with Christ. He responded, “The more I have thought it over, the more certain it has seemed to me that these last years have had a peace and fullness which there did not used to be. It is a deeper knowledge and truer love of Christ.  I cannot tell you how personal this grows to me. He is here. He knows me and I know Him. It is the most real thing in the world. And every day makes it more real. And one wonders with delight what it will grow to as the years go on.” (Our Daily Bread, October 14, 1994) God promises to “sanctify” us “by the truth” (John 17:17) in our daily walk with Him. That is, He will make us holy, set apart and cleansed through Christ Jesus. He doesn’t tell us that it is a work completed overnight, however. It is something that is ongoing like my wife tending those flower beds. As the faithful gardener He digs, weeds, tills and transplants in the gardens of our hearts. Then, when day is done, we are known to Him perfectly as we continue to grow in our knowledge of Him. It won’t happen overnight nor should it. Some of the best flower beds are those which are never completed.

We live in a very impatient world.  We often expect spiritual education and growth to happen instantly…overnight…but, this typically is not going to be the case.  It is much more like a marathon than it is a sprint. We must be patient concerning what the Lord is seeking to do with us.  He isn’t done with you or me just yet. As Jesus reveals in the Revelation, "if we are able to be faithful until death, He will give us a crown of life." (2:10) In this, we are not talking about “mediocre” faith, or faith “until things are falling apart around me" -- it is genuine faith, like that of the Centurion or the Syro-Phoenician woman.  When we are focused on what the Spirit of God is seeking to do with us though the Word, the world is not going be able to wreck us, but we will continue to grow to be more like Jesus, and being more like Him, day by day, is to be our goal.

Blessings, Don

Lessons in Soccer and Life

Friends,

Many moons ago I had the opportunity to play some college soccer for four years at a small Christian college in Portland, OR. We had a few unremarkable seasons until my senior year when we won the whole ball of wax, but that is a story for another time. I believe it was during my second season, we had an unfortunate set of circumstances with illnesses and ineligibilities that left us with eight eligible, available players for one game. Our coach made a pre-game agreement with the opposing coach to play the game 8 on 8…we would forfeit, so it wouldn’t matter. Well, as it turned out, the opposing team came out with 11 players against us. Our coach encouraged us to give it our best, and we played most of the game on our half of the field. At the end of the half, we were only down 3-0, and we felt like we were actually winning…and they were feeling defeated – perspective is an interesting thing. They wore us down in the second half, and we ended up losing 10-0. We believed that we played fairly well, and that it could have been much worse. It was only a game, but it is a game I still remember, because I believe we handled ourselves as good Christian citizens, even if the other team may not have done so.

Let’s fast forward about 15 years, and I am coaching a high school girls JV soccer team in SE Washington. We had a number of good players that were talented, and I believe our record was about .500 when we came up against a perennial power in our conference. Due to certain circumstances beyond our control, we had a number of players succumb to illness and two who were declared academically ineligible. Stop me if you have heard this before, but we had eight players who were able to suit up. I contacted the JV head coach from the other team and we had an agreement to play them, 8 on 8. We would forfeit to them and play the game anyway. When we showed up to the field, the Varsity head coach from that team was there and he directed his JV coach to…you guessed it…put 11 players on the field. I could tell that the JV coach felt bad about breaking the agreement, but the head coach was kind of smug about it…they were going to take us to the woodshed and give us a beating. I told the girls that I had been down this road before, and so we lined up much like our college team did, with a 3-3-1 line up, as opposed to the usual 4-3-3. I was exceedingly proud of my girls, as they played hard and defended well, and at the end of the half the score was? Yes – 3-0. The feelings were much the same as our college team…we felt like we had actually won the half, while the opponents looked defeated. We had a good half-time session and our girls came out with some good energy. I was just hoping to keep it within about 10-0, like our college team. Well…a funny thing happened. My center midfielder was able to thread a pass to our forward who was able to get a fast break. She beat the defenders and the goalie and scored! We couldn’t believe it – we scored and it was 3-1. Now, I would like to believe that I am a faithful person, but I had not seen too many miracles in my life…but, there was a small part of me that said – could the improbable happen? Could we actually make some sort of a comeback down three? Or girls were pumped, and the other team’s players were on their heels. Our girls exhibited the best control of the ball that I had ever seen them exhibit that half and we were able to run the play to our forward again, and she was able split the defense for a another goal, making it 3-2. Finally, we were able to put together a really good cross, redirect play down the field and score our third goal to make it 3-3 – true story! I couldn’t believe what I was watching. The coaches on the other sideline were screaming, but I was feeling mighty good…in a Christian sort of way.  With about five minutes left in the half, one of my midfielders was able to get a break and she had a really makeable shot on goal, but put it just wide to the right, so we just missed on the go-ahead goal. Nonetheless, we held them the last few minutes to end the game in a 3-3 tie. Let me tell you…we had a victory celebration! And they looked entirely defeated. They were good sports, as we all shook hands at the end of the game, and the JV coach was congratulatory of our efforts. The disgusted head coach of the other team wouldn’t come out on the field to show any sportsmanship…and I had all I could not to yell – How do you like them apples?! But, I didn’t…I was good sport…and just smiled (grinned) and walked back to our sideline. I thanked the Lord for a fulfilling result from the game…and even a positive fulfillment for the memory from 15 years before…as well as a story I can now share more than a decade later.

Why do I share these stories? I want you to know, as you have probably heard, that preparation, perseverance and faithfulness can bring about good results. Do not ever give up! It is easy to do, I know. I have been on the winning and losing side of many games as a player and a coach in a number of sports. But, it was almost like the Lord afforded us a reward for hard work, good attitudes, good play and we were very grateful. Do I believe God plays team favorites? No, but I do believe that he rewards the faithfulness of individuals…and that can affect an entire team. For our team, it was a real bonding time. We finished the season a little over .500 for the season, but we all had a memory that would last a lifetime from that one game.

In Matthew 17:14ff, Jesus and three of his disciples (Peter, James and John) come down from “the mount of transfiguration” to “the valley of need,” where they meet up with a distraught father of a sick child. There is a lot going on in this situation. The father has appealed to the nine remaining disciples to help heal his son…which they were not able to do. Not helping were opponents, the scribes and Pharisees, who are always looking to try to catch, trap Jesus or the disciples to seek to cause them to stumble. (There are occasionally opponents in life…some good, some bad). The scribes are accusing them…and while the disciples are defending themselves, nothing is going well. The father in the situation sees Jesus and rushes to Him. The Lord’s first response is one of sorrow, as He sees the embarrassed disciples, the arguing Scribes, as well as the needy father and son -- what a circus! Jesus expresses some frustration with their unbelief. He heals the boy and gives him to his father…all while the crowds marvel and give glory to God. Somehow, during the Lord’s absence, the nine disciples had become lazy, selfish, distracted – they lost their focus! Their faith weakened when the crisis came, because they were unprepared. From this experience, we see the importance of staying spiritually faithful and healthy. Jesus concludes the experience by talking with them about “faith the size of a mustard seed,” which suggests not only size (a small seed that can turn into a large plant), but also life and growth (that God will honor even a little faith -- there are great possibilities!) “Faith like a mustard seed” is a “living faith” that is nurtured and caused to grow…and this makes moving mountains possible.

Faithfulness can and will lead to great things! But, it must be cultivated in order to do even greater things for God…and the kingdom of God. It doesn’t take much faith to move mountains…only a mustard seed sized faith. Jesus is calling His disciples, calling us to something far beyond this. The Lord may admonish us, as he did the disciples, if we continue to make the same mistakes and are not striving for genuine spiritual growth. The Lord does expect us to learn, grow and depend upon Him for our spiritual strength and sustenance.

Blessings, Don

Power in the Name

Friends,

Luanne Oleas shares this story -- When the 1960s ended, San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular sequence. But they didn't name their children Melissa or Brett. People in the mountains around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing Frisbee with little Time Warp or Spring Fever. And eventually Moonbeam, Earth, Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school. That's when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand. Every fall, according to tradition, parents bravely apply name tags to their children, kiss them good-bye and send them off to school on the bus. So it was for Fruit Stand. The teachers thought the boy's name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it. "Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?" they offered. And later, "Fruit Stand, how about a snack?" He accepted hesitantly. By the end of the day, his name didn't seem much more unique than Heather's or Sun Ray's. At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses. "Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?" He didn't answer. That wasn't strange. He hadn't answered them all day. A lot of children are shy on the first day of school. It didn't matter. The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children's bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags. The teacher simply turned over the tag. There, neatly printed, was the word "Anthony." Aaah, oh well. The lessons we learn, right? Names are important, as they more closely identify us than anything else we own.

So, it is with this in mind that we further come to understand the unique relationship between the Father and the Son here in John 17:6-12…and how the Son carries the name of the Father. The Old Testament Jew knew God has Jehovah, the Great I AM (Exodus 3:11-14). Jesus takes the sacred name I AM and makes it not only personal, but meaningful for His disciples. “I AM the Bread of Life” (John 6:35), “I AM the Light of the World” (John 8:12), “I AM the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11) all reveal that Jesus is everything that they need. But, the Father’s name includes much more than this, for Jesus also teaches His disciples that God, the Great I AM, is their Heavenly Father. “The Father” is used 53 times in John 13-17, and 122 times in John’s gospel. We get the picture as to who is in the picture here. Jesus makes it clear, repeatedly, that it is the Father who sent Him, that He is equal to the Father, and that His words and works come from the Father. He makes a clear claim to the fact that He is deity, but they refuse to believe. By saying that He has “manifested the name of the Father”, He reveals the very nature of God. One of the ministries of the Son is to declare the Father (John 1:18, 14:7ff). It is through His living the life of service, that He gradually…by His words and deeds…reveals the nature of His Father in a way that they are able to more readily grasp it.

It is because we believe in the name of God and the power of salvation that comes in His Son, that we understand that we, as believers, have safety. Peter and John believed in this, as they proclaimed the power of the name of Jesus is Acts 3-4. God took care of them. God takes care of His own people. The Father purchased us through His Son, and He is not going to allow us to have to fend for ourselves. As we discussed in chapter sixteen, God gives to us His Holy Spirit to guide and protect us in our walk with Him. Furthermore, God’s people are the Father’s gift to His Son. Would the Father present His Son with a gift that would not last? Whenever you feel down or as if the Lord has somehow forgotten you, read Romans 8:28-39. The Father is near…He is present…He cares for us and what is going on in our lives. The Spirit helps us to understand better the presence of the Father for us and through us.

We come back to the theme of glory once again. With all of their faults and failures, the disciples still receive this word of commendation – that Jesus is glorified in them. As I mentioned last week, we need a Savior, because we are going to blow it, we make mistakes, we sin. But, the Lord God knows this. This is why He would send his Son to rescue us from ourselves. And no one can take this away from us. Once we have received salvation in Christ, the only way that we cannot have it is to walk away from it. We must be faithful to Him who called us out of the darkness and into His glorious light.

Finally, we have fellowship and unity (v.11)…a theme that He is going to come back to shortly. Wherever we find saints, we find fellowship. We have the most important thing, and in this case, the most important person in the world in common – Jesus Christ. The Father knew that we would need one another. After washing their feet and up until the time of His crucifixion, Jesus knows that they are going to face trying times and that they are going to need one another. We are able to be overcomers in this life, because we share in the life of the One who has overcome sin, flesh and even death itself. So, even though one day we are going to die, it will be as if passing through a gate from one form of spiritual/eternal existence to another. Jesus is going to be waiting for us, by the power and authority of the name of His Father. What a marvelous thing!

Bruce Larson, in Believe and Belong, tells how he helped people struggling to surrender their lives to Christ: "For many years I worked in New York City and counseled at my office any number of people who were wrestling with this yes-or-no decision. Often I would suggest they walk with me from my office down to the RCA Building on Fifth Avenue. In the entrance of that building is a gigantic statue of Atlas, a beautifully proportioned man who, with all his muscles straining, is holding the world upon his shoulders. There he is, the most powerfully built man in the world, and he can barely stand up under this burden. 'Now that's one way to live,' I would point out to my companion, 'trying to carry the world on your shoulders. But now come across the street with me.' "On the other side of Fifth Avenue is Saint Patrick's Cathedral, and there behind the high altar is a little shrine of the boy Jesus, perhaps eight or nine years old, and with no effort he is holding the world in one hand. My point was illustrated graphically. "We have a choice. We can carry the world on our shoulders, or we can say, 'I give up, Lord; here's my life. I give you my world, the whole world.'"

In a sense, this is the message that Jesus is sharing with His disciples…then and now. You and I can try to take on the world, put it all on our shoulders and see how long we are able to bear up…or, we can let it go. We can trust in the power of the name of God, and the authority of the name of Jesus to take care of us. It is in the strength and power found in Jesus that we are going to find victory and overcome this world, religious trappings, and other matters that seek to weigh us down. There is a song that came out recently that really captures this wonderful thought, and I fell in love with it quickly, because it helps us to gain some perspective on life. It is called “Just Say Jesus.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWbYo6H0WiI

Blessings, Don

A Final Message

Friends,

The final message that Jesus shares with His disciples before His death, burial and resurrection focuses on prayer and overcoming (John 16:23-33).  The Lord mentions prayer many times in His ministry, and He sets the example for prayer in His own life.  He has spoken to them in parables, and has used other metaphors to make necessary points to them concerning matters of spirituality.  Now, He speaks plainly concerning the fact that there will be a new situation because of His resurrection and ascension…and because of the coming Holy Spirit.  He is speaking to them plainly in order to reveal the Father to them (John 14:6ff).  Jesus will return to the Father in heaven, and there minister as our High Priest, making intercession for us (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25).  Jesus’ ministry in heaven makes possible our ministry of witnessing on the earth, through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the promise that they desperately need to believe.  He knows that the disciples want to ask Him a question.  He does tell them that a day is coming when they will not be able to ask Him questions (following His ascension).  Instead, they will pray to the Father and He will meet their needs, and provide direction through the Holy Spirit.  When we read the book of Acts, we do see that the early church was dependent upon prayer.  They believed the promises of God and asked God for what they needed.

In v.29, the light appears to go on for the disciples, as they make a significant affirmation of faith.  They apparently had been unable to grasp the meaning of the promised resurrection…which is entirely understandable.   Now, they not only affirm their understanding, but affirm their faith and assurance.  Jesus seems to accept it, as well…even as He understands their weaknesses.  He reports concerning the spiritual condition of the disciples to His Father in the High Priestly prayer in the next chapter (17:6-8).  Jesus goes on to explain that it is possible to have faith, understanding and assurance, and still fail the Lord.  Jesus has already warned Peter concerning His forthcoming denials, but now He warns that nearly all of them are going to forsake Him.

16:33 is the summary and powerful climax of the Upper Room message.  Why does he share it?  It is in order that they…and disciples of all generations…might understand that they can have peace in a world of tribulation.  This is a great message of hope.  In Christ, there is peace…in the world, there is trouble.  The position we need to claim is – we are in Christ…and therefore, we can overcome the world and all of its hatred.  Every believer is either overcome or is an overcomer.  As Paul tells the Romans, the world wants us to conform, but Jesus wants us to be transformed, changed to new spiritual beings (Romans 12:1-2).  Finally, He announces, “Be of Good Cheer.”  Jesus has victory over the world – that is Good News (not bad news), in fact, it is the best news of all-time.  There is joy in our lives when God answers prayer…and when we permit God to transform us and to transform our sorrows into joy.

Tim Raines wasn’t prepared for the deafening cheers from the usually quiet crowd when he stepped to the plate in his first game back with the old Montreal Expos.  For Raines, it was like being in the World Series and batting with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the winning run on base.  ``It was that type of ovation,’’ said Raines, who spent his first 12 seasons with the Expos before returning at age 41.  Raines had been in the World Series, winning it twice with the New York Yankees. But his comeback from lupus might have been an even more impressive feat for one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball history. Raines’ career appeared to have ended on July 19, 1999, when the Oakland Athletics placed him on the disabled list with kidney inflammation. He was subsequently diagnosed with lupus. ``Lupus took me away from the game, and I wasn’t ready to give it up,’’ Raines said. ``That drove me back.’’ Nobody, other than Raines, understood the odds against him better than his wife.  ``He didn’t have any muscle and he was up to about 225 pounds from the lupus,’’ Virginia Raines said. ``With all the medication he was taking, his body was so weak that he couldn’t do much.’’  Gradually, Raines was able to reduce his medication to the point where he was just taking three pills a day, along with vitamin supplements. And so there was a thunderous reception in Montreal that week. It might have been the most gratifying moment for the man known as “The Rock” and “Purple”.  ``I had tears in my eyes,’’ said his wife, Virginia. ``I knew I was going to get goose-bumps, I had those, but then I started crying. It was unbelievable. It was fantastic.’’ The cheers continued throughout Raines’ first at-bat. This was just one human being playing baseball, coming back as if from the dead. 

As tremendous as Tim Raines’ comeback story is, there are many others that are just as wonderful.   Of course, the greatest comeback…the greatest overcomer of all time…is Jesus.  We can always be of good cheer, because we are connected to the greatest story in history…told about God who became a man in order to bring salvation to His people.  As Phil Robertson says, ”I haven’t heard of a story to beat that one yet.”

Blessings, Don