American Idol

A couple of weeks ago we began the year with a message titled . "No Leaven in 2007”. We saw that God wants us to keep from unbelief. He does not want us to disregard the obvious in favor of God showing us a "sign from heaven". We said that God did not want us to be preoccupied with bread but to pursue integrity between our beliefs and our actions.

Today I want to talk more about something that tempts us to be distracted and that is the topic of idols.

When we think of idols, we tend to think of statues, like in the story of Moses and the golden calf. yet the dictionary also defines idols as anything that is adored with blind or excessive affection.

If we use this definition, we see that an idol, whether metal, religious or otherwise, is forbidden by God and will steal away our affection for Him. Today I want to explore the topic as found in
1 Cor 10.

1 Cor 10:1-6
10:1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.


Paul writes this to the Corinthians. Corinth was a very cosmopolitan place. It was known for its diversity of religions. A large part of this church was Gentile. Many of them had come out of an idolatrous background which was common in the ancient world.

Paul starts out by saying “I would not want you to be ignorant” of these facts. It is probable that many of the Corinthians, being Gentile, did not know the Bible that well, so Paul had to instruct them.

He uses the Israelites as an example. He says that they were favored of God. God had bestowed incredible blessings and privileges on them. They had been "under the cloud", meaning the shikinah glory that led the Israelites out of Egypt. This showed itself as a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night , that would lead the Israelites forward. Israel also lived through the incredible miracle of passing through the Red Sea and seeing it come crashing down on the Egyptians.

Paul says Israel ate the same spiritual food and drink. Obviously referring to the Manna that God provided them to eat in the desert when there was no food. Spiritual drink is an allusion to the water that Moses brought forth from the rock when they were in the desert. Paul incredibly says that the rock was even Christ. Yes even those under the old covenant received the grace of God through Jesus, though they didn’t even know it. By these, Paul is showing them the miraculous and loving care of God of the Israelites. In spite of all this favor, Paul concludes by saying that God was not pleased with many of them and their bodies were strewn in the desert. If anyone cares to investigate the story of the Israelites, you will remember that many died of diseases, wars and other things without making it into the promised land because of their sin against God.

Paul finishes this section by saying that these things happened as examples to us that we would take warning--so we would not fall into the same condition.

Can we fall?
The modern gospel declares that once we are in Christ that we never have to worry about being saved-Once saved always saved--but Paul is saying quite the opposite. He says that you too (the church) have had great privileges. You have been saved out of your idolatry, baptized with the Holy Spirit. You have been made the sons and daughters of God, yet you could still throw it all away, if you are not careful to avoid setting your hearts on evil things.

A. Types of Idolatry

1 Cor 10:7-10 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did-and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did-and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did-and were killed by the destroying angel.

Here Paul enumerates some of the idolatry of the Isralites that incurred the wrath of God. The first one he describes were the Isralites at Mt. Sinai.. With regard to Sexual immorality he alludes to the time in Numbers 25 where the Isralites were taking Midianite wives and being led to worship Baal. Then he talks about the serpents in Numbers 21 , then the murmuring of Numbers 14 when the Israelites were told they would not enter into the promised land.

Some of these idols are alive and well today. Sexual immorality can become an idol. We also can complain and grumble in our hearts to God. We don’t realize what a sin that is!

What are other idols in our lives? There are idols of career, of relationship, of money, of possessions. We can make anything into an idol.

B. Overcoming Temptation
1 Cor 10: 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
NIV

Paul goes on to relate these things to us. He says, "Don’t be proud to think that you too could not fall into these things." But as soon as he puts this healthy fear into them, he encourages them, that these are just common temptations, and that with the temptation he will also provide a way out. So we can take heart that none of these temptations can ever overwhelm us beyond our ability to escape.


Will you recognize the fact that anything might be able to lead us astray from God, and bring us to ruin? Do you have a sober minded view of your own vulnerability to set your hearts on evil things?

Overcoming the Fear of Man

We have been looking at the deadly effects of the fear of man. The good news is that we can overcome. How? Primarily through ...

The Fear of God

Ps 25:12-13
12 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
13 He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.

The antidote to the fear of man is the fear of God. We don’t hear a lot of teaching this day on the fear of God precisely because of fear of man.

Prov 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom"

The Bible says the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. So what is exactly the fear of the Lord? Some people say it just means reverence, but there are plenty of other words that could be used to mean reverence. The fear of the Lord is more than reverence. It means that you have a healthy fear of pleasing God because you know that he is the judge of the universe. Fearing him means giving God the place of glory, honor and respect that He deserves.

Many people say that God was only to be feared in the Old Testament, but Jesus also spoke of fearing God.

Luke 12:5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Jesus commanded us not to fear the one who could kill the body, but the one who could judge the soul, after killing the body. Jesus was communicating that the fear of the Lord will trump the fear of man.

The Fear of God is a choice!
Another thing we must realize is that we have a choice in whom to fear. Will we fear God or man? A great illustration is David.

1 Sam 30:1-5
30:1 David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way. 3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David's two wives had been captured-Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel

Can you believe the immensity of the pain that they were going through? Here, David was on the run from Saul, like a man without a country. Now they come back and find everything that was important to them, gone. Their families were kidnapped and their possessions raided and burned. Now look what happened:

v6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters..

Now even his own men were ready to stone him because of their bitterness about their families being kidnapped. That is a heavy situation. Imagine the opportunity to be intimidated at that point: Your families are kidnapped; your own men are hating you and talking about killing you. What would you do? What did David do?

But David found strength in the LORD his God 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?"
"Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."

Isn’t that unbelievable? First of all, we see that David encouraged himself in the Lord. This was David’s trademark. He always was encouraging himself in the Lord. He knew His God. But even more impressively, David asks God if he should rescue them or not! I don’t know about you, but to me that would not have been a matter for prayer. Yet, this shows you how committed to God David was. He didn’t think the answer to that question was a slam dunk or a certainty. He feared God enough to get an answer about that. David feared God more than he feared his men. I don’t know about you, but that really convicts me to the core.


We need to realize that in any situation where we are tempted to fear man, we can choose the fear of God.

Psalm 1: 27 When calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. 28 "Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. 29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways

According to the scripture, we are to choose the fear of the Lord. Those who had rejected the fear of the Lord, or wisdom, had rejected God's words of instruction, correction, reproof, and chastisement. To obtain the fear of the Lord, ask God to instruct you about sin, destruction, and his help in delivering you. Ask God to correct you whenever you take a thought, say a word, or commit an act which is displeasing to him.

Will you trump the fear of man by choosing the fear of the Lord? Don’t let the opinions of men lead you to compromise your values----or keep you from the inheritance that God has for you.

The Fear of Man Robs You

We've been looking at the topic of the fear of man. Let’s look at the story of the 12 spies.

Num 13:1-2 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.

Now notice that when God told Moses to send the 12 spies, God told them that he was giving them the land. This mission was not to assess whether or not they were going to get the land. God already told them he was giving it to them. But let’s see what happened.

Num 13:26-27 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.

"28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there"
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.

All 12 spies saw the same things: the goodness of the lands, the powerful men living there, etc. Only Joshua and Caleb were ready to go in right away and possess what had ALREADY been promised to them, but the rest were intimidated by the fear of man. Even though they had the promise, they were intimidated to go and posses it. The Bible says that they spread a bad report.

And the bad report infected the hearts of many.

A. The fear of man stops you from possessing what God has promised.
Israel got stuck in their tracks because of the fear of man, because they were fearing for themselves. Here is the question that will always get us into trouble:

They were asking: "What is going to provide for my highest safety, good etc. ?
Instead they should have asking: What is going to be most pleasing to God?

This is exactly what is going on right now in the realms of politics. People are not asking what is most going to please God. No-- they are asking what will be the cheapest and least hazardous course for us?

THEY WERE ASKING "WHAT IS BEST FOR US?, NOT WHAT DOES GOD SAY IS BEST?"

The root of fear of man is love of self.

You can talk yourself out of anything. You can sound so reasonable doing it. You may have all the best reasons in the world. You may have all the scholars on your side. You may have all the so called wise men on your side. But the bottom line is, what is God’s will? The problem is we ask too much, "what seems reasonable?". And don’t ask enough, "what does God think?"

Will you die to self by really seeking the answer to the question, What Does God Say is Best?

B.The fear of man leads to the quenching of gifts

2 Tim 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Paul wrote this to Timothy because he was a young leader in the church. Because he was young, he was tempted to be timid, or to be intimidated by the church. He is basically saying that a spirit of timidity can quench the gift in you if you let it. But if we remember that we have the Holy Spirit of power, love and a sound mind then we can fan the gift into flame.

Will you realize that you and the promise of God is a majority? Will you refuse to be robbed of what God has promised you because of the fear of man?

Are your gifts rusty, or lying dormant because of the intimidation of men?

Fear of Man Leads to Compromise

At the beginning of the year, we talked about No leaven in 2007. If you recall, a large part of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, which Jesus called their leaven or yeast, was because of their fear of man. They were afraid of what others thought about them. We have seen over and over again that legalistic religion always leads to fear of what others think about you.

This is one of the biggest dangers to the Christian. Especially this year, we will have to deal with the issue of fear of man.

Let’s look at this issue today in the light of a few biblical examples.

I. THE FEAR OF MAN LEADS TO COMPROMISE
Prov 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.
NKJV

First of all, what is the fear of man? The fear of man is to cower, or stand in alarm at mere mortal men. When we are in this fear, we continually are fleeing confrontation, and avoiding rejection.

Fleeing rejection and confrontation are two of the biggest elements of fear of man.
When we fear man we either are afraid of them rejecting us, or we are afraid of confronting them. When we fear men more than God we can be easily persuaded by them. Let’s look at an illustration.

Ex 32:1-8: When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."

2 Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

7 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'


Moses went up the mountain and , once he was gone, the people started to get impatient. He was gone for a month and the people began to cast off restraint. One of the lessons of this is that ….

Good leadership is key to overcoming the fear of man.

If you are under leadership that is always politically correct, you will be someone whose focus is on being politically correct. You are much more likely to fall victim to the fear of man, if your leadership falls to the fear of man. You will much more compromise on your values when your leadership is compromised. Be careful whom you follow.

God is looking for those who fear him whether he is sensed or not.

Remember God had been demonstrating his presence to Israel in awesome ways e.g. the parting of the Red Sea, the plagues, etc. At the moment there wasn't any great manifestations and how quickly the people were ready to compromise. There may be times in our lives when God seems more present than others. God tests our faithfulness in these “dry” times.

Aaron was in charge. If we look at the previous chapter, God told Moses to appoint Aaron as the first high priest. Aaron would be the one making atonement for the people. He had been Moses' spokesman. He had been witness to every great miracle during the Exodus, but now he feared the people and gave them what they wanted. He gave in the impatience of the people.

Ex 32:21-23
21 He said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?" 22 "Do not be angry, my lord," Aaron answered. "You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, 'Make us gods who will go before us.
NIV

Aaron did not take responsibility for his sin. He blamed the people for forcing the situation. The people of course were wrong, but because he feared them, he was not strong enough to break the intimidation of the crowd. People who fear man will give the people what they want and not what they need.


We may not make literal golden calves in the church today, but yet there are many churches who water down Jesus’ calls to discipleship in order to not be offensive to anyone. There are many that want to be liked and respected by the community more than being a prophetic voice to the community.

Will you be aware of the temptation to compromise?-- by the church, by the culture, and make a decision to not be concerned with what man thinks but with what God thinks?

Loving Jesus Means Accepting His Will

Let's Finish with the story of Peter's restoration.

John 21: 18 The truth is, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you and take you where you don't want to go." 19 Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, "Follow me."20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them – the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, "Lord, who among us will betray you?"21 Peter asked Jesus, "What about him, Lord?"22 Jesus replied, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You follow me." 23 So the rumor spread among the community of believers that that disciple wouldn't die. But that isn't what Jesus said at all. He only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"24 This is that disciple who saw these events and recorded them here. And we all know that his account of these things is accurate.
25 And I suppose that if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain the books.

A. Prophetic Words are not always Fun.

Here Jesus does something very unusual: He prophesies over Peter and tells him what kind of a death he would die. Again, according to our “bless me” Christianity of these days, we would have a hard time dealing with this. We only want to hear positive things. But here we have this serious prophetic word:

When you are old you will be ordered to stretch out your hands and you are going to be carried or driven or led to a place that you do not want to go.

Though we have no scripture, early church tradition has it that Peter was crucified by Nero in 67 AD when Peter was about 75 years old. Tradition has it that he was crucified upside down at his request, not considering himself worthy to die in the same way as Jesus.

After telling Peter that this is going to be the way that he dies, he tells Peter “Follow me.” Meaning not just to follow him at the moment, but probably to follow him in taking up his cross. It must not have been easy after hearing that prophetic word. Yet Peter does it.

B. Doing God’s will means glorifying God even in death
It is also interesting to note that Peter was to glorify God in his death. It is not often that we talk about glorifying God in death. We usually hear more about that from the world of Islam. But the church needs to hear more of it. Remember martyrdom was all too common in Roman times, and the manner in which people died also was a testimony to the glory of Christ. It is one thing to live well for Christ. It is also something to die for Christ well. Read Foxes Book of Martyrs for some incredible stories of Christians dying and gloryifying God through it.

Whether or not any of us are called to martyrdom. We are all called to take up our cross.

C. Don’t compare yourself with others
Apparently Peter was not all that encouraged by hearing of his impending martyrdom. He immediately fastens upon the other disciples. Specifically looking to John, he asks, "What about him?"

Here we see a lapse in Peter that is endearing, because Peter is so real. He shows that even in his restoration he has not yet been made perfect. He asks Jesus about the others. This implies that Peter was not totally satisfied with what Jesus has said so far. Maybe he feels singled out for the "special" honor of martyrdom.

Yet his curiosity invites, not the help of Jesus, but a rebuke. Jesus tells Peter to mind his own business. Jesus wanted Peter to understand that he was to serve him and not compare himself with anyone else. Isn’t this a difficult test? For each one of us is given a specific lot in life. How easy it is to compare ourselves with one another, to get envious of others, instead of paying attention to our own faithfulness to Christ.

Are you willing to accept the will of God for your life and glorify him, even if it means martyrdom, or will you compare your lot with others?

God Humbles You Before He Can Use You

We have been looking at the restoration of Peter in John 21. Now we get to the exchange between Peter and Jesus. Remember Jesus had been the most cocky of all the disciples. Before he denied Christ, he made himself big at everybody else’s expense.

Matt 26:33 But Peter answered and said to Him, "Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away."

Peter made everybody else look bad, but we know what happened. We know that, in fact, Peter did deny Jesus three times, even to a servant girl. Yet, Peter was repentant; later, Peter wept bitterly over his sin.


John 21:15 After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love you." "Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.16 Jesus repeated the question: "Simon son of John, do you love me?” Yes, Lord," Peter said, "you know I love you." "Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.17 Once more he asked him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, "Lord, you know everything. You know I love you." Jesus said, "Then feed my sheep

A. God has to humble you before he can really use you.
Jesus asks Peter, do you love me more than these? Some have supposed that Jesus is speaking about the fish and his fishing career, but he uses the masculine pronoun which indicates that he meant the other disciples. Remember he had favorably compared himself with the other disciples before thrice denying him. Now Peter is not so bold as to make the assertion.

Do you really love me more than the other disciples? Peter doesn’t compare himself to the other disciples. Some of that brashness and cockiness has been rubbed from Peter. Now he only humbly replies. "Lord you know I love you."


It is really interesting to realize that the Lord uses the word "agape", which is a selfless, perfect love, and yet Peter only answers that he "phileo" or has a brotherly kind of love for Jesus. "Phileo" means a brotherly love, but not a perfect love like "agape".

It’s as if Jesus had said, "Peter, do you love me zealously and supremely?" To which Peter answers, "Lord, I feel an affection for you-I do esteem you-but at the present time, I dare not say more"

That seems to me another evidence of the humbling of Peter- that he wont even go the whole way and say that he "agapes" Jesus.

Similarly, many times we are cocky and self reliant, and God has to let us fall so that we can see the weakness of the flesh and let it die, that we might be usable.

B. True love leads to true service.
To this Jesus responds “feed my lambs." He uses the word boskoo which means to lead out to graze. In other words, to lead them to the bread of life. Jesus is the word. He is the food. He is the one who now feeds Peter and so he asks Peter to feed his sheep with the Living Word.

Realize the cause and the effect here: Ministry or shepherding is a result of loving Jesus. If there is no real love for Jesus there can be no real feeding of the sheep. Jesus is looking to be served out of a heart of real love, not out of a heart for riches, or fame, or success or to be looked at by other people.

Now Jesus asks him a second time. Except this time he says to Peter, Poimen my sheep, which doesn’t just mean to graze, but it means to shepherd. It has to do with the full guidance ministry of a pastor. But the point is that our love for Jesus should lead to a love for other people. Our love of other people should lead to serving them in some way. We need to put feet to our love for Jesus. In a way Jesus is asking Peter to prove his love to him.

How is your love for Jesus reflected in your service to His people?

Now Jesus asks him one more time. It says the Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him a third time. Here it must have also hurt Peter because he was forced to recall that he did indeed deny Jesus three times. This third asking must have brought that painful memory to the front of Peter's mind. Jesus probes the wound only to finally heal it. In giving this commission, Jesus seems to be saying that his denial is really forgiven and will never be brought up again.

Interestingly though, this time Jesus says . Do you "phileo" me? Which is what Peter had been saying the previous two times. Why would Jesus do that?

He seems to be saying, “Peter, you are not saying you agape me. Do you even really phileo me as you have been saying?” This had to be very hurtful to Peter. It must have felt like Jesus was really rubbing it in. Yet he had to probe him to the bottom.

Often part of the restoration process means really looking at the issue from top to bottom. A surgeon cannot heal until he cuts the cancer out. God does this with us in order to bring true healing. Gone was the cocky and brash Peter. Now there was the humble Peter who can be corrected. The humble Peter who would later suffer a public rebuke from the apostle Paul and keep his mouth shut. Jesus was restoring Peter. Jesus was saying, "your fall, has helped to prove you . Now go and do what I have commissioned you to do."

It is remarkable that Jesus' charge was proven effective. For Peter really lived up to his name of Rocky, and was a faithful apostle from this point on. Even to the end of his life which we will talk about in a minute.

No matter how far you have fallen, no matter what sin you may have committed, the Lord is able to forgive you--to restore you and use you. Will you let him probe you to the bottom of your heart, that he may bring the healing and the commission that he wants to give?

It Ain't Over Till God Says So!

John 21:1 Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened.2 Several of the disciples were there – Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin , Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.3 Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.4 At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn't see who he was.
5 He called out, "Friends, have you caught any fish?” No," they replied.
6 Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of fish!” So they did, and they couldn't draw in the net because there were so many fish in it.7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only out about three hundred feet. 9 When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread. 10 "Bring some of the fish you've just caught,” Jesus said.11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't torn. 12 "Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. And no one dared ask him if he really was the Lord because they were sure of it.13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.


This is a great story. It is a story of restoration. It happens in the last chapter of the gospel of John. You may be someone, or know somebody who thinks that its over. You may think that you have blown it and can’t be used of God again. But here we have this encouraging story.

At the time of this story, Jesus has resurrected and had twice appeared to the gathered disciples. This scripture says that this was the third time that he appeared to the gathered disciples. The first time was when Thomas was absent. The second time was when our friend, Thomas, was present. At that time, they had been instructed to go to Galilee by Jesus .

Assuming that they no longer had the means of support in the ministry, they decide to go back to their fishing vocation. Many people often interpret this as the disciples bailing out on the mission altogether by going fishing, but I don’t think that was the case. First of all, they go to the sea of Galilee, and Jesus told them to meet him in Galilee. Secondly, they needed to support themselves. They had previously done this through fishing and so they went back to that while they waited upon Jesus to meet them. Some observations:

A. Work is good.

Working a secular job is never a problem for a believer. Paul had done it when necessary and here the disciples were doing it and they are not rebuked for it. There is no problem with secular work for a religious worker when it is necessary.

When Jesus appears on the scene. He blesses their efforts.

B. Miracles reveal Christ
Here Jesus asks them to cast their nets again after a long night of fishing. Again Jesus tells them to drop the net and they receive a miraculous catch. It is interesting to contrast this experience with the first time that Jesus performed this miracle (Luke 5:6). In the first instance, if you remember, their nets began to break, but here the net does not break. In the first instance, Jesus said that they would be fishers of men from now on. Here, he doesn’t repeat that, yet it is hard to see how they would not be thinking about that.

But both times, it is this miracle that leads to the recognition of Jesus. The first time, Peter says "go away from me Lord I am a sinful man." The second time, John recognizes him. But this similarly is a revelation of who it was they were speaking to . They were speaking to the Lord of the universe. Miracles reveal Jesus.

C. Labor plus Patience is ultimately rewarded in the natural and in the spiritual
Another thing we see is that our labors are sometimes futile. Sometimes we work and work and we don’t see the fruit. That was the case the first time Jesus went out on the fishing boat, and that was the case here. Yet, God blesses their ultimate efforts. It is also a spiritual parallel to see that we cannot catch a large group of men, except with the Lord’s help and guidance. Jesus appears at the end of a frustrating night. They were weary and tired from a night of fishing that appears to be fruitless. Many times are labors appear to be fruitless. We say, "why have we toiled?" But God can bless our efforts at any time. And he does, in HIS time.

Notice also that they immediately listen to the stranger's instructions to cast the net. The first time at first, Peter protested that they were out there all night. It seems some humility and brokenness had formed in them over the years with Christ. Because of their humble perseverance, they are rewarded.

D. All have different gifts but we all get to Jesus
John is the first to recognize Jesus for who he is. Remember that he was the one closest to the cross and closest to Jesus. Because of this he receives special discernment. He is the first to recognize Jesus.

Peter on the other hand, has great zeal. Look at how Peter is unchanged in his enthusiasm to see the Lord. He throws himself into the water to see Jesus when he learns that its him. Yet, all of the disciples eventually make it over to Jesus. Each of us have different callings and giftings, yet we all get to Jesus. We all have access to Him.

E. Jesus shepherds us, but also labors with us.
Not only does Jesus offer them food-- He already had fish on the fire, but he tells them to bring their fish. Jesus is the great disciple maker. Sometimes we bring the fruit (disciples) that we directly labored for, and then we are given fruit (disciples) that we had nothing to do with!

Are you at then end of your rope? Are you exhausted from your labor? Remember that Jesus is concerned about your needs and will bless you in due season if you persevere and walk in humility. It's not over till God says its over. Forget about what circumstances or the devil says. It's not over until you win! Don't be discouraged but recognize that the stranger calling out to direct you from the shore is your Great Shepherd. He is working in you and through you to bring forth his kingdom! Don't give up !

Faith is Believing, Declaring and Acting on the WORD

Rom 10:8-9 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:

The Word must gain ascendancy over your thoughts, over your mind and over your actions. Only then can we really walk in the promise of the Lord as we saw with Abraham. The problem is that a lot of us are waiting for our feelings to catch up before we will believe. Now realize this: this is a process. It is a lifestyle.

The word starts in someone’s mouth ---it goes into his mind. ----he believes it----then it goes into his mouth------then he begins to speak it ---then it begins to affect his actions.

It’s as we speak the word that we mobilize our faith. You see we don’t need to pray for faith. We need to act in faith on the promises that we already have.

But didn’t the man say "Help me in my unbelief?" Listen, our unbelief doesn’t need any help, it does a fine job on its own. Our unbelief needs to be repented of.

James 1:22-23 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

So many people want the results of the Word without doing the word.

Unless we become a doer, the whole thing comes apart. There is no faith without doing. James says if we do not do, we are merely kidding ourselves, deceiving ourselves. You may have a doctorate in theology, or be an expert in what the bible says, or even the original languages; you may be an expert in doctrine, but if you do not put the word into practice , it will not do you any good. No action--no faith. James says even the demons believe and tremble.

As we saw in our example of Abraham. It wasn’t "faith" until he acted. We have the idea that just believing is faith. No here is my definition of faith:
Believing,Declaring and Acting on the Word of God.

Heb 10:32-36
32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
NIV

Notice it says that they should not throw away their confidence or boldness because the reward iscoming. You will receive the rich reward. But we need to keep believing , declaring and acting on the Word of God. That means we have to treasure the Word over and above our circumstances, over and above our feelings. You can’t wait till you feel like believing. You need to believe now.


Begin to grab a hold of the Word in your life. Over and above circumstances, over and above feelings. Begin to declare it in the midst of your trials. Begin to act on it in the midst of your pain and you will begin to see breakthrough.

The Word is the Holy Spirit's Tool

John 16:7-11 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

The Counselor is the Holy Spirit. How does he bring this conviction? He uses the Word of God.

A. Faith comes through the Word
Rom 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

Faith can only come when the Word of God is preached. You can’t believe if you don’t know, and you can’t know if you don’t hear. This is the main way that the church grew in the book of Acts.

Nowadays 9 out of 10 evangelism classes will tell you be the friend of the person. Don’t “beat them on the head with the Bible.” Using rhetoric like that has scared believers from sharing the truth.

But let’s look at Acts. Think about how the early church thrived.

The Word “logos” is used 326 times in the New Testament. The word “rhema” is used 73 times. So combined there are 400 mentions of the Word. Why such an emphasis on the Word?

Acts 19:20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

They did not have the Bible that we have today, yet they were able to thrive, and yet the word grew in power. It was mostly the SPOKEN WORD!

The word power here means, "prevailed". It had force. It was accomplishing things.

Acts 6:7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

The New Testament Church did not have the New Testament. And not very many had copies of the old. So what word were they talking about? They were talking about the Gospel that was being preached.

Acts 12:24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread.

Did they have a problem with “beating people over the head with the Bible?” No, they knew that it was the power of the preaching that was having the effect on the minds of the people.

2 Tim 4:2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction

B. The Word brings the New Birth.
James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

1 Peter 1: 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Rom 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Do we believe that it is in the power of the Word, that we see people get saved?

What brought Cornelius to faith? Wasn't it the preached word of Peter? What brought me to faith? Wasn't it reading the Bible? Yes it was.

C. We Mature Through the Word.

Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

We have to train ourselves. It’s not just the preachers job. We each have to take responsibility by applying the word. We need to grow up.

It’s like rasing a child. We need to train children, and now you might need to teach the child how to go to the bathroom, but when they get it, we celebrate. Why? Because now they can help themselves. But they only learn through constant use and training.

As you grow in Christ, there is no room for babies. Mature people get things done. Mature people don’t gossip. Mature people don’t backbite.

Acts 20:32 "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Rom 12:1-2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.


D. Healing Comes By The Word

Ps 107:20 He sent forth his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.

Acts 14: 8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

The man lame from birth listened to Paul as he was speaking. The Word created the faith in his heart. he was healed by putting faith in what he heard.

But pastor I don’t have time for the Word. Listen, you don’t have time for not having the Word in your life. It is a question of priorities. If you really believed in the power of the word to create faith, to save, to mature you and heal and deliver you, you would esteem it more than food.

Do you appreciate that your salvation, your healing, your maturity and your faith all come from the Word?

Esteeming The Word

Luke 2:40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Jesus grew in wisdom in favor with God and with man. We are always looking for favor with God and man. How did he grow in wisdom and favor with God and with man? Well, we get a clue by looking into his life as a 12 year old kid. He had great understanding of the Word. What about us? Do we have great understanding? Is this one of our goals in life? It’s time for us as a church to take maturity and faith seriously. The only way we are going to get there is through the Word of God, so first of all, we have to have a new appreciation for the Word.


Col 3:16-17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Now notice that this verse is not referring to just reading the Word, and not just memorizing the word, as valuable as those things are, but letting it become an integral part of our lives. Folks, there is power in the Word of God. I have said this before, but we need to say it again, the Bible is not a self help book, or just a history book. It is the very power of God!

A. The Word is God Speaking To Us Now!
Heb 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

God is on the move. He presently is seeking to help us, but we need to realize something: The primary way God works is through his Word.

In Genesis 1 we see that God said “let there be light.”

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
….v 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

It says the Word always existed. The Bible says Jesus was the Word. The Word became flesh.

We need to see what a large role the Word plays in the Christian life. Let God be true and every man a liar. Some of us are too busy listening to liars and not busy enough listening to the Word.

The Word is the food that faith is built on. Let’s look at Thomas vs. Abraham. We all know about doubting Thomas. He said he would not believe that Jesus was risen from the grave unless he could literally touch Jesus' wounds. When Jesus appeared, Thomas did touch Jesus and said “My Lord and My God”. He needed the physical senses to believe, but Jesus said, "You believe because you have seen, but blessed are those that believe without seeing."

Some may say, "I believe in healing because so and so got healed." But that is merely mental agreement. That is believing because of the senses.That is not biblical faith. Biblical faith is believing because the Bible says so, regardless of the senses. Abraham is an example.

Rom 4:17-22 As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed-the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God,but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."


Look at this man Abraham . Abraham did not believe, like Thomas, because of what he could see. No, he faced the fact that His body was as good as dead, but he meditated on something else. What was it? He meditated on the word that was spoken to Him. He dared to trust God and to confess the promise of God. He was fully persuaded. As he did so, it was credited to him as righteousness. He was made right with God by his faith.

Are you esteeming the Word above all things in your life? Over and above your feelings and your circumstances? Do you cling to it? Chew on it? Believe it? Act on it?

No Leaven in 2007: Hypocrisy

We continue with, what I believe is God's area of special concern for us in 2007 as a church. Jesus was concerned about the Pharisees' attitude getting into his disciples. We all need warning and need to be careful lest we fall into temptation. Leaven is yeast. You put a little yeast in a bit of dough and it affects the whole thing. It makes all of it rise. The leaven would have an effect.

What was the reason for the warning? The danger was that the example and teaching of the Pharisees was not obvious, but a subtle teaching that was dangerous.

On the outside, the Pharisees seemed to be dedicated religious people. They were serious minded. They were respected by Israel. They had prestige and learning. They were people of influence. So Jesus was saying, "be careful lest by their teaching they would lead you astray."

So Christ warns them. The Pharisees are so appealing, and educated, that you have to watch out. There is error in all that eloquence. But it only takes a little bit of leaven to mess up the whole batch!

What was this leaven that Jesus was warning the disciples about? Well in another place he says this:

Luke 12:1-3
He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
NKJV

What is hypocrisy? It is acting contrary to one’s beliefs, or pretending to have values that you really do not hold.

Hypocrisy = Beliefs- Action

Jesus claims that the Pharisees were pretenders.
Why would Jesus call the Pharisees hypocrites?

Religion of popularity

Luke 11:43 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
NIV

One type of hypocrisy that Jesus warns about is the love of public acceptance. Many love being accepted and greeted by the "important" people.

The Pharisees were influenced to be hypocrites by what the “important” people thought. Peer pressure is not just something that happens in high school. Peer pressure also happens in churches. It is why Peter pulled away from the Gentiles in Galatians. Peter was afraid of what the “important” people thought, so he played the hypocrite.

Religion of appearances

Luke 11:39 Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
NIV

Jesus called the Pharisees, whitewashed tombs. The Jews used to whitewash the tombs so that they could be seen and not be touched, for according to the Jewish religion, they were not to touch dead things and become unclean.

Matt 23:27-28
27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
NIV

The Pharisees had this appearance of righteousness, but their real hearts betrayed their outward reputations of piety.

But Jesus exposed them.

Jesus was concerned that his disciples would not fall into the same trap, so he warns them not to let the leaven of the Pharisees get into them-not to be like them--not to become hypocrites that say one thing and do another. Don't be people that only have a religion of appearance .

In 2007, will you be attentive to your heart and make sure what you do is not in order to please the “important” but to please God. Will you make sure that you are not just doing things to look good but that your actions match your beliefs.

No Leaven in 2007: Remember God's Faithfulness

We have been looking at Jesus admonisiton to beware of th leaven of the Pharisees. When Jesus spoke this to them in the boat, the disciples thougt he was talking about literal bread. They were concerned with provision. Jesus had to remind them to

REMEMBER THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD !

Thsi is something that we also need to remember in 2007 and beyond.

Jesus was concerned that after seeing the miracles of multiplying the loaves and the fishes, that they would still concerned for the meeting of their needs. They were preoccupied with making a living and not as preoccupied with living for God. That is something that can so easily happen to us. We can so easily get sidetracked from God. Here Jesus is saying not to fall for the teaching of the Pharisess and the disciples think that they are being rebuked because they forgot to bring enough bread.

When Jesus sees them concerned about bread, he rebukes them. Jesus is saying, in essence, "Can’t you understand . I am not talking about bread. I am talking about something deeper. It’s amazing that you would be so concerned about bread now. Didn’t I provide plenty out of little? Didn’t I take care of you in the past?"

This shows how easy it is for all of us to forget the faithfulness of God to us in the past. It is so easy to do that.

It is so easy to get caught up with making a living, with our careers, with making ends meet, that we are constantly fixated on bread. The Lord is trying to tell us something, and we don’t know what he is saying because we are just so fixated on “bread”! Your life is not what you do for a living. Your life is not how much you make. Your life is one that is walked with God. Your life is in Christ. Your life is as a child of the King! Your life is as a temple of the Holy Spirit! Your life is as an heir to the Kingdom! Your life is of one who reigns with Christ! Your life is one seated with Christ in the heavenly places! Stop being "bread " minded. Start getting "Jesus" minded. Listen to the deep things that God wants to teach you. God is faithful. He has and will take care of you.

In 2007 will you say no to the leaven of getting so fixated on “bread” that we forget God, and that He is the one that has provided for all of our needs in the past and will do so in the future.

No Leaven In 2007

At the beginning of 2006, I preached a message called “Staying Fixed in 2006." I think this message was deeper than I had expected as so many things vied for our attention this year, but praise God we pulled through.

This year, I believe the church will be in season where discernment will be of special necessity. We must be discerning truth from error that we may not be sidetracked. Let's look at some who lacked discernment.

Matt 16:1-12 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; 3 and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.

5 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." 8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
NKJV

I want to spend some time looking at this story today and see what it means for us for this year. The first thing I want to talk about is the search for a sign.

NO DEMANDING A SIGN

Immediately before Jesus gets into the discussion of the leaven of the Pharisees, Jesus has this encounter with them. One of the things that Jesus berated the Pharisees for was this searching for a sign. What exactly was going on here? Well, first of all it says that the Pharisees came to "try" him. In other words, they did not really want a straight answer. They wanted to trap him.

Remember the Pharisees and Sadducees were sects of Judaism. Were they coming to embrace Jesus. No, they came under pretense. They were looking for a miracle that would prove who Jesus said he was, but they were dishonest. They were looking for some way to accuse him, embarrass him in front of the multitudes. Their intention was not to believe.

They ask for a sign from heaven. In other words, they wanted to have him go beyond that which he had already done and wanted some sign in the sky. Like Moses calling down fire, or like the suns standing still in the sky. Why did they ask this of him?

Well, first of all, we know the Jesus had been performing miracles from the beginning of his ministry, but remember, they already saw the healing of people and other miracles. There was a dishonesty in their questioning. Imagine asking Jesus for a sign. Here Jesus was the one that turned the water into wine; he healed the sick; he raised the dead; he multiplied the loaves and the fishes.

So what were the Pharisees doing? They were demonstrating their unwillingness to believe the obvious.

How does Jesus respond.? He goes on to talk about how people discern things. There are some very obvious things with the weather that they can pick up, but there are other, more obvious things, that they don't even realize

That phrase, "discerning the signs of the times" did not have to do with the end times. It had to do with the fact that Jesus was there right now. It had to do with "kairos" time not "chronos" times. He was saying that they couldn’t distinguish what was happening right now right in front of them.

Jesus is saying that they didn't understand their season. They can’t see what is happening right in front of them. He is asking them, "Can’t you see what is happening right now?"

Why couldn’t they discern it? Because they didn’t want to.

Jesus never did miracles for show or to please men. The Pharisees did not want to exercise faith. They wanted Jesus to conform to their ideas of what Messiah should be. Jesus only did what he saw his father doing. At this point there were ample signs given, yet he was not a performer for these Pharisees. Jesus was obviously not against doing miracles and even referring to them.

Remember that John the Baptist sent people to ask Jesus if he was the one. Even John the Baptist struggled. Jesus referred to his miracles. Yet it was not about the signs. It was the motive behind the asking. The Pharisess didn’t want to believe that he was the Messiah. Jesus did not pat the Pharisees on the back, or ask there opinions. They were offended at him. They taught by rote, but Jesus taught with authority. So would the Pharisees have believed if a miracle was done right before them?

Luke 16:29-31
29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30 "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

See, the Pharisees were just playing a game. They were pretending to be interested. Yet they had no intention of believing.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks for sign but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. He raises a flag, and was talking about the Resurrection. If you don't want to belive not even the Resurrection will convince you.

We can say, "well those were the Pharisees who were not wanting to believe, but I am different." But we can all fall into the same error as the Pharisees. That is why Jesus warns us:

"Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees!"

What characterizes an evil and adulterous generation? When they have no intention of beleiving, when they are looking for a loophole.

For instance, a man is on his way to commit adultery, on his way, he says, "Lord if you really care about me, you will stop me before I get there." This is not as atypical as you may think.
Somebody like that is not really interested in believing, but looking for a loophole.

"Lord I know you said, __________. But in my case, _________, so show me a sign that you are real in my life. Prove to me that you care. Otherwise I am going to go forward."

People who say this are probably not going to receive anything, except the opportunity to prove what is in their hearts.

In 2007, will you be willing to obey the obvious, without asking for a sign from God to prove that He is real, that He loves you, that He is aware of your need, etc. etc?

Mary's Incredible Perseverance

Let's finish our take on Mary by looking at her incredible perseverance.

Luke 2:34-35 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

Here we have the story of a prophet named Simeon. God had promised him that he would not die until he had seen the promised Messiah with his own eyes. The Holy Spirit led him into the Temple one day where the Baby Jesus was being brought to be circumcised and to go thorough the Jewish Laws of dedication. The Holy Spirit reveals to Simeon that this is indeed the promised Messiah, and he takes Jesus in his arms and prophesies to Mary about the hardships that she was to go through. He says a sword will pierce her heart as well.

Again, it seems so easy when you read the biblical account, but imagine what Mary might have thought:

“I've already been through this harrowing pregnancy, having had the baby born in a stable, and now I have to get this prophetic word that says that Jesus is going to break my heart. Oh terrific. This is just the kind of prophetic word I want to get right now.”

But here is the impressive thing. In spite of this fearful prophetic word, we see Mary trusting the Lord. Nothing is worse for a parent to deal with than seeing their child go through hardship. Any parent would much rather suffer personally than see their children suffer, yet Jesus was going to have to be sacrificed for her sins as well. One could only imagine what Mary felt knowing trouble was coming. Not only that, she goes through the ultimate parental horror...

Mary watched Jesus Die

John 19:25-27 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Again, I want you to try to put yourself in Mary’s shoes. You are standing near the cross, watching your firstborn child die in an absolutely, horrendously, bloody way. One can only imagine the pain she was feeling. Now, on top of that, you are told you are going to move in with the apostle John.

I don't mean to be funny, but one of the most difficult things is to have your life uprooted and have to change your whole living arrangement--especially when you get older. Here she had to not only see her child crucified, but then have her whole life uprooted.

Again in the flesh, one could understand the complete despair that she could cave in to. Even her other children, didn't believe in Jesus.

In spite of all these hardships, Mary perseveres and she does not question God. She submits to the will of God and even the will of Jesus, and moves in with the apostle John. Mary was an incredible woman of faith.

Mary receives the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

After all this, one might think that Mary has gone through enough. She should retire to the suburbs and play mah jong with the other elder ladies and try to forget all this excitement. But yet in the scriptures, she is still in the midst of the action.

Acts 1:12-14 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Not only did Mary not go to the suburbs and retire, she continued on the ministry of Christ, to the point where she was one of those people in the upper Room on the day of Pentecost that was waiting on the power from on high. Do you know what the power from on high was for? Jesus told them to wait so that they could receive POWER to serve in the Great Commission. Mary received power to further serve the purposes of God in her generation.

Mary persevered because her intention always was serving her God. We know that this was a part of her character from early on when we examine her speech in Elizabeth's presence.

Luke 1:46-47 My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

Mary rejoiced in her God because she knew He was worthy of rejoicing in.

Will you persevere in the midst of your trials and hardships and submit to the will of Christ for the sake of His purposes being achieved?

Mary had an incredible faith. She took the angel at his word, beyond her own ability to understand. She dealt with unexpected disappointments in order to do God’s will, and finally she persevered to the point of witnessing the crucifixion and being a part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Will you imitate the faith of Mary and trust in God no matter what?

Mary Adjusted To The Unexpected

We've been looking at the faith of Mary. Yesterday we saw that Mary was willing to believe beyond her senses. Today, let's see how she dealt with the unexpected.

Luke 2:4-7 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Christmas cards always make it look so easy. The animals are standing still. The straw of the manger looks soft. Mary in many paintings is depicted with a soft halo around her head, as if everything went so smoothly.

Have you ever been in a barn? First of all, the animals don’t stand still. Secondly, sometimes it doesn’t always smell so great, to say the least. I saw flies the size of Buicks in my uncle’s stable back when I was a kid, not to mention the mosquitoes and the other elements of exposure. It’s not exactly the cleanest and most comfortable place.

I think of some of the notorious young women in the world today. I try to imagine Paris Hilton, with a miserable face as she is riding on the donkey saying,
“Hey Joe couldn’t you get a better ride than this?" Imagine her finding out that there is no room at the inn, and just crying and wailing, because the way she had it set up in her head was falling apart.

But consider Mary. Notice how she seems to be able to flex when things don’t exactly go according to her plan. Wow, this is so convicting. Man has his plans, but God determines his steps. How many times have things not gone according to our plans and we have fallen apart?

“God must not love me. I am mad at God. Why did God let this happen? I had faith. I believed . I confessed the promises. What gives?”

But here is the thought that I had when reading the story again: All this stuff was so unexpected to Mary and she dealt with it all so well! She could’ve thought in the midst of the smelly stable, "Okay, God knows I had better plans; any minute someone will run in here and tell me that there has been a cancellation at the Inn. Surely, God would not want His king born in this mess! Cmon God!"

But Mary was submissive to God’s plans and decisions even though she didn’t understand them.

How willing would you be to adjust your whole life for something that God springs upon you? It surely could not have been easy. Yet she knew that she was being given a special privilege that would never come to anyone ever again, and she does it resigned to the will of God.

Are you willing to adjust to God when life throws you a curve ball and seems to mess up your plans? Will you trust God with it without falling apart?

The Faith of Mary

Today I want to spend some time talking about Mary. Mary is one of those Bible characters who have much controversy surrounding them. We know the Catholics venerate her and go beyond the scripture by calling her sinless, yet she surely was an amazing person and we can learn much from her example as we spend some time in the Christmas story together.

As we look at the character of Mary, we really see an incredible person. First of all, she was an ordinary person. One of the things that God says to us in the Mary story is that God uses the humble and lowly things of the earth to shame the proud, but Mary was no ordinary person when it came to faith.

I. MARY BELIEVED PAST HER SENSES
Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." 34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God." 38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

I love the story of Mary. Most scholars agree that Mary was most probably a teenager at the time of this visitation. Just imagine your typical 15 year old girl; she has her whole life ahead of her. Mary had been pledged to marry a local carpenter, and was probably very excited about her future. She probably acted the way most engaged women act. She was getting ready for the wedding and a life with her husband. She probably had all sorts of plans, when all of a sudden, an angel comes and throws what must have been a serious monkey wrench into her well laid plans.

How does Mary react to the news? She says, “let it be done as you have said.” Imagine--she was going to have to explain an unexplainable pregnancy to the people closest to her.

“Oh hey honey I have news for you. I know we have never been together, and I haven’t been with another man, but guess what, I’m pregnant with the Messiah. Isn’t it wonderful? You don't seem pleased"

What a surprise!

I like to try and picture what it must have been like for Mary to receive this visitation. Imagine that a friend of yours came to you and told you that she was pregnant, yet she had never been with a man. You would be certain she was lying, or imagine a friend of yours said that she was told by an angel that she was going to give birth to the Messiah. You say "That's a nice message, a nice goal, but well, first of all, you need to find a good husband." And she says, "No I don’t. God is going to Father this child."

Yeah right! You would be calling the loony bin! Surely you would think she was delusional. People probably thought the same of Mary. She probably did not confide in many people about her visitation for fear of what they would have thought, but here is the kicker: She believed!--even though according to the senses it was impossible; it didn’t make any sense to the rational mind.

Most people would have said, “ Well, let me think about it. I mean you are asking an awful lot. Let me get together with my mom and figure it out, and set up a committee to analyze the pros and cons.”

I tell you, if she would have done that, she would not have responded positively, but because she was willing to trust God with the details, she was blessed.

Look at how other people have reacted to incredible news from God: Sarah laughed when she was told whe would have a child in her old age; Zechariah questioned God when told about the birth of John the Baptist and was struck mute for unbelief. They wanted God to fit into their plans, but Mary was willing to fit herself into God’s plans.

We see in Mary a good example of the carnal man vs. the spiritual man. This is what Paul was talking about when he said:

1 Cor 2:14-15 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

You cannot receive spiritual and supernatural revelation with the natural mind. This is the same for all of us according to Paul. We all might not get revelation from an angel, but we have a whole book of revelation, and the promises of God cannot be understood with the natural mind. We have to accept the Word by the eyes of the spirit. That does not mean we act foolish and make impractical, foolish decisions; it means that we have to choose God’s way even if it seems impractical and crazy sometimes. We need to trust that God knows what he is doing. Many people call this blind faith, but it is only blind if we don’t trust the person at the wheel.

If I took a night-time car trip with my wife, and I slept in the back, and my friend says to me ,"You just let her drive without being up all night next to her?"
I reply, "I trust her driving".
Well it’s the same thing with faith in God. We can trust God because of who He is. We just need to, like Mary, be able to say. "Let it be done as you have said." We should say that to every revelation of God; we should say that to every promise of God. As we say it, we are demonstrating more and more faith in God.

Are you able to believe God beyond your senses and just because God says so?

Galatians 6: Motives are All Important

Paul concludes his letter to the Galatians with a discussion of motives.

MOTIVES OF THE CIRCUMCIZERS
Gal 6:12-14
12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.


Paul in winding up his letter, goes back to dealing with the hypocritical teaching of the Judaizers. He gives them a good parting shot. First of all, he says that that their motive was to make a good impression outwardly. What does that mean? Well, literally the words mean a "good display of your flesh." In other words, the Judaizers were concerned with the flesh not of the spirit. They are the ones that therefore compelled the Galatians to be circumcised. But now Paul reveals their real motivation for this: -that they would avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

Again we have to realize that the cross of Christ is a stumbling block and a problem for both the religious and the irreligious mindset. The religious hate the message of the cross of Christ because, to them, salvation should be the result of human effort.
I am a “good catholic” a good Jew” "a good Muslim." The cross says you aren’t as good as you think you are. If you were, there would be no need of Christ dying on the cross for you.

The irreligious hate the message of the cross because it says that they need something that they altogether don’t feel that they need. It judges their lifestyle.

So the message of the cross is despised by both these types of people. At that time, as we have seen, the apostle Paul had been viciously persecuted by the Jews for the preaching of the cross and he was physically attacked many times. He accuses the Judaizers of trying to appease the Jews around them by making Christianity more palatable to the average Jew.

Appeasement undercuts the validity of Christianity.

MOTIVES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Gal 6:14-15 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Now Paul talks about his motive--the motives of the true Christian. He says that his boast should never be in anything of the flesh-- like circumcision or outward observances. No , the only thing Paul boasts about is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The cross is the central issue of Christianity.

Paul says the world has been crucified to him. He means here the things that the world values/ Prestige, fame, riches, sensuality, etc., etc. have lost their appeal. They are no longer his motivation. On the other hand, the motivation of the Judaizers was to look good to the world, the religious world that is. Paul had no desire to do so. He would simply focus on the cross.
He is crucified to the world.

There are two crucifixions. The crucifixion of Christ cannot be changed. It happened as the central event of the universe. But the other crucifixion is when each Christian picks up the cross and dies to himself. This is what Paul was speaking about. He said that now he was a new person. He was dead to the world and its ways and alive only to the Lord.

Is your boast only in the Cross of Christ, or is it somehow in your religious attainment? Are you willing to offend others by your stance for the truth?

FINAL PRAYER
Gal 6:16-18
16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
17 Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

Finally Paul says let peace be on all who follow this rule. What rule is he talking about? He is talking about the rule of trusting in the cross of Christ as the only means of justification and not in any religious ritual.

He calls those that follwo this rule "the Israel of God." Again this must be a real slap in the face to the Judaizers. He is saying that the true Israel of God are not the ones who were born in that country or to that group.The true Israel are not the ones who have been circumcised, they are the ones who trust Christ!

Finally, he says let no one cause me trouble. In other words--"Now that I have set this course aright. Get to It! Stop putting me down amongst the people. I have already been through enough that should prove to you that I am a true apostle. I have taken a lot worse from people. So don’t mess with me. I have the scars to prove it."

I trust you have been blessed by our excursion into the book of Galatians. May we be humbled enough to trust in Christ alone! May our boast only be in Him!