We are Lovebound
We are lovebound because we are bound FOR love.
It is what we were created for. It is purpose for which we were made.
Sin and selfishness has got us off track with the idea that loving ourselves and living for ourselves is the road to maximum pleasure and fulfillment in this life.
There is this deception that if I live out of love for me, then there is freedom to enjoy life.
But godly love begs to differ.
What if I were to come up here and start tying you with this rope?
And you’re thinking, “what are you doing?!” And I answered, “Giving you your freedom.”
How is it, you ask, that by tying me up and binding me with rope, you think you’re giving me freedom?
You’re right, from a worldly perspective. According to the world there is no freedom in that. There is no freedom in being bound.
In the same way, the world sees that being a Christian is binding, that there’s no freedom in it because all of sudden I’m bound and restricting myself from enjoying the good things in life.
But as a Christ-followers, being bound by Love means all the freedom I can possibly experience.
See, when we realize that we were created for this, for love, and we live within the bounds of that purpose, we’ll find that we experience maximum freedom as we start to live in the image and the purpose in which we were created.
God our Creator created us with the purpose to Love Him and worship Him with all that we have, with our entire being, offering everything, and then to love others with a selfless love.
And when we live for this love intended by God, I’m telling you, there is Freedom.
EX: Buddy and Pal. When I was young, my dad took me to the lake and we caught some crawdad. I took them home and put them in an aquarium with rocks and water.
I got sad one day when I came home to find Buddy had escaped from the tank! And I was about to give up when I could not find him anywhere.
All of a sudden, from behind the bookshelf, comes buddy crawling back. And I watch to see where he goes and guess where he goes?
He goes straight to the aquarium. And he starts crawling at the tank. Why?
Because that’s what he was created for! For the water… it’s the air he breathes. He’s desperate for it! Without it HE WILL DIE.
But for a time he felt that the environment I put him in was “restricting”. He felt that if he could just get outside those bounds, he would experience ultimate freedom, only to be found desperate for what he was created for.
Friends, we may have this idea that being bound is restricting. That being bound by a commitment to spend our whole lives not for myself, but in a way where I’m Loving the Lord with all that we got, giving him my dreams and my hopes out of “Love for him”, is too binding.
And not just that, then I gotta love others with the same kind of intensity?
But I’m telling you, it is what we were created for, and there is an exhilarating freedom in it that the world has yet to experience.
We were created to live within those bounds, and as Christians, it’s the goal we’re bound for.
To be loved by God, and to Love him back. To love others.
The world tries to break from it’s creator, refusing to be lovebound, and thinks it is free.
But this is what we were created for. This is life.
And though sin had us disoriented from our goal, living outside our purpose, through Christ we are back on track and we are bound FOR love, just as the Creator intended.
We are lovebound.
we are lovebound
Not only are we bound FOR love, but we are also bound BY love.
Actually, speaking of love, I just got married a few months ago.
Some of you guys who were at the New Life praise rally got a chance to meet her? She’s great.
In fact, she’s here with us tonight. Can I introduce you to her?
You’re thinking “Greg, that’s a dummy”. Don’t call her that!
I love her, and she loves me. We’re perfect for each other!
Well, you’re not gonna buy it, cuz as much as I claim to love her, you know there’s no relationship there. Because you understand that a relationship has to be a two-way thing, or it doesn’t work.
God has loved us with an incredible, intense, unfailing love. While we were sinners, God loved us.
And yet in this relationship, there is an expectation of us.
He asks us to Love back. To love Him back with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
How many of us here have heard the pastor preach… or perhaps you’ve found yourself proclaiming the same things… when we want to bring a person to Christ, we assure them that Christianity is not about rules and regulations, not about do’s and don’ts, but it’s a relationship with Jesus!
I’m sorry, but I feel like I need to take a stand for the truth, because I feel that if we are not careful, we will deceive people into Christianity.
Yes, IT IS A RELATIONSHIP. We got that part correct.
But as much as this might turn the world off or turn the world away, the truth is that there are rules and there are regulations in the Christian life.
Just as we are bound FOR a life of love, the Bible goes so far as to say that we are bound by Love. We are bound by the commitment to LOVE.
We MUST love. It is not just ideal, it is commanded of us.
It’s not an option in the life of one who is committed to follow after Christ.
Jesus taught that the greatest commandment given to us by God is to love the HIm with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. And the second greatest is an outflow of the first: Love your neighbors as yourself. Love them with a selfless love.
God first gave this command to the Israelites in the thousands of years before Christ was born.
And he tells them that this rule should never leave them. They were to tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on their foreheads.
And so the Jews would literally Bind them on their hands and Bind them on their foreheads to remind themselves daily that we are BOUND by the commitment to LOVE.
It is not an option.
Church, do you realize that we are the credibility that Jesus has on this earth, to the fact that GOD is Love.
Christ is no longer physically here to demonstrate a godly love, the kind of love this world yearns for and is desperate for.
But his love must go on, and he is still able to make his personal love known, and it’s THROUGH HIS BODY. His disciples.
Christ told his followers in John 13 that he’s not going to be with them much longer, for he’s going to die and be raised to the Father, but he says “Here, a new command I give you. Love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
If we are the body, and we are not bound by the commitment to LOVE the Lord and to love each other as ourselves, the world has absolutely no reason to love Christ, or want a relationship where they can experience the fullness of His love for them.
If we are not bound by the commitment to love, then how will the world know of the one who is LOVE, if not by his body and not by his disciples?
We are lovebound.
We are bound FOR love. We are bound BY love.
Brothers and sisters, will you love? With everything? Will you love the Lord your God? With everything? Will you love your brothers and sisters? With everything? Will you love the lost and the hopeless? With everything?
Friday, April 30, 2010
For His Sake and Ours - John 6:1-15
INTRO
This month is missions’ month here at SBECC.
As you know, Kairo has the opportunity of doing ministry both in the inner city, as well as short-term missions overseas.
Once a month we go to the homeless shelter in Long Beach. We also work occasionally with Powerhouse Church in Watts.
Once a year we also travel to teach the Gospel in Taiwan.
But today, I want to share with you something I’ve learned that is more important than the missions and ministry itself.
It is a principle that applies to every kind of ministry we do, whether at home, or abroad; in the city or on the hill.
INTRO-LBRM
Back in college, I used to have this prayer that I would always pray.
“God, I want to reach many, many people for your kingdom. Give me opportunities.”
I didn’t have in mind what that was going to look like. I just knew that I wanted God to use me as an instrument to bring people into the kingdom. I just wanted opportunities to share the gospel.
There’s a weird thing that happens when you pray.
At the time, my dad used to preach monthly at the LBRM. I think it was actually PCC’s ministry at first.
He always asked me to go with him, but uh-uh. Wasn’t for me.
At the LBRM, you have a whole bunch of scary looking guys, many of them are homeless. Every night they come to eat and find shelter.
Before they are fed with food, they are fed with the word.
So around 100 men or so will come pouring into the sanctuary to receive the word.
In 2003, my dad was called to go to SF to pastor a church, and so he asked me to go speak for the LBRM.
At once I began to weep. These weren’t tears of joy. I ain’t that holy.
I was terrified. I’m this 23 year old kid straight out of college. I’m just a little boy to some of these guys.
Who am I to tell men 2-3x older than me how to live and what they need in their life? What do I have to offer? What do I have to give?
But I realized that this is exactly what I had been praying for... an opportunity to reach the multitude.
This morning, we’re looking at a passage where Jesus uses a little boy to reach multitudes.
How? Well, by taking what the boy had to offer.
John 6:1-14
God wants to Use You for His Name Sake
God is jealous for His own Name. For his own glory. This is his Mission. To make his name known.
I was asked by a church recently to preach about the boy in the Bible who had 2 fish and 5 loaves, and to prepare a biographical sermon about him.
As I began to study, I started to worry because there’s only one verse in the whole Bible about this boy!
The feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle recorded by all four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
This miracle in Jesus’ ministry is extremely significant.
But the boy is only mentioned in one of the gospel accounts- John’s- and in only one verse of this one account!
Here it is: in V. 9 Andrew says “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish…”
And as I began to read over the passage, I began to wonder “So how in the world do I preach a sermon about a boy who we know so little about?”
Well, as I prayed and read through this passage, it became clear to me how to preach this story.
Something the boy probably came to realize.
Whether or not the boy became a believer, the boy probably now realizes that his offering of his 2fish/5loaves was NOT about him.
It was for a greater purpose, even greater than just providing food for thousands of people…
It was for His NAME sake. For the sake of Jesus’ name. For the sake of His glory.
This story really isn’t about the boy at all, nor is it about the people. It’s about Jesus! The name of Jesus.
V. 14 calls this a feeding of 5000 a “miracle”.
In the Greek the word for miracle is “semeion”, literally, a “sign”.
What is a sign? A sign labels something and marks it as distinct from everything else. It points out something significant about whatever it is assigned to.
EX: Do we have any visitors today? How did he know that this structure made of concrete walls is SBECC? By the sign that marked this place. It distinguished it as not a Jewish Temple, not a Mormon church, but SBECC. South Bay Evangelical Christian Church.
The miracles of Jesus were signs, as John called them, to mark him as, Christ, is the divine Son of God.
They point to him as the one sent by the Father. He’s the Lamb of God.
In the same way, when God uses us in missions or in ministry, we realize that we are to be sign posts pointing not to us, but to the Savior of the world.
That’s JESUS! Call on his name!
God wants to use us for HIS NAME SAKE. For the glory of his name.
But it’s hard isn’t it. We love to have our own name glorified, don’t we?
“Oh, so and so is such a great bible study leader. He is so wise and has so much insight.”
“Oh, so and so’s testimonies are always so powerful and touching.”
“So and so is such a wonderful singer, her voice is so angelic!”
EX: Retreat I was at a retreat this past year, and during free time we had 3 hours to spend.
I was so touched that one of the youth spent most of his free time with me.
People don’t usually go out of their way to spend time with the speaker, and it can get lonely.
At the end of free time, he said “So do you think maybe you can mention my name in one of your sermons?”
?!!! That’s why you hung out with me?!
If the boy in John 6 was anything like us, he must have felt pretty proud of himself, pretty special to have his little lunch be “the” lunch that was able to provide a filling for well over 5000 people.
“It was my lunch that saved the day. It was my sacrifice.”
But I can imagine that as the boy grew up, and as he read some of the reports written by people like Matthew, Mark, or Luke…
It must have been crushing to find out that his name didn’t make the headlines.
Crushed by news that… he didn’t make the news. ☹
There were no stories circulating titled “Boy feeds 5000”.
Why? Because the boy didn’t feed 5000. Jesus did.
History does not remember the name of this boy. Matthew, Mark, and Luke didn’t find it significant enough to even mention him.
History remembers this incredible miracle as the time when “Jesus fed the 5000”.
It was a sign that pointed to Jesus as the almighty one.
It is his name that is glorified.
Do we realize that what we have to offer and sacrifice is not to bring glory to ourselves?
That we are not to touch the glory?
Whether it’s short term missions, or long term missions, or serving at home in church… It’s not to advance my name?
We know that this story isn’t about the boy at all, it’s about Jesus! We know that.
But why is it when it comes to our story and our role in all of this, we still hope that our name gets remembered! That our name gets mentioned? Our name gets glorified?
I wonder why it’s so hard for me to get.
EX: John 1, John the Baptist Jack preached a couple weeks ago about John the Baptist.
And he showed how John understood who he was, and he understood who Jesus was. HE GOT IT.
When people were drawn to him and the Chief priests started inquiring about him:
“Are you the Christ?” The anointed One sent by God? “No.”
“Are you Elijah? The man of God who is to return?” “No.”
“Are you The Prophet? With a capital P, that Moses prophesied to come?” “No.”
It’s exhilirating when people think you’re really something, even if you’re not, doesn’t it? And we’re not often very quick to deflect the glory to God.
EX: I sometimes get to speak at Korean churches. I’ve noticed that they hold the speaker in high regard. Even though I am not ordained as a pastor, or even finished with seminary, they always address me as “Pastor”. I ask them to just call me Greg, they say “Ok Pastor Greg.”
I have to be honest, the sin in me loves to hear that title attached to my name.
Recently, I received a phone call, and the person asked if they can speak with the “Reverend” Greg Mah.
And I have to tell you the truth, it felt good. And there was a struggle within my soul.
I was flattered, and tempted to let the person continue thinking that I was worthy of the title “Reverend”.
Finally, I had to come forth and struggled to say to her, “Please just call me Greg.”
It felt good while it lasted.
I want to highlight v. 21. John the Baptist did not hesitate to point these guys in the RIGHT direction.
He says, “NO! not me!”
“There is one who comes of whose thongs of his sandals I am not worthy of untying!”
I’m not even worthy enough to touch those dirty feet that he walks on!
I’m reminded of others who have encountered God, and have come to experience and understand the holiness of God’s Glory.
EX: Paul as deity
IN Acts 14, Paul healed a crippled man, and at once, the whole crowd was in uproar. They thought that Paul and Barnabas were deity, so they all brought wreaths and bulls and sacrifices to offer to these deities.
What does Paul do? He tears his clothes, which means great distress, and he says “Men, why are you doing this?! Don’t do this! I am a man, just like you!” And he tries desperately to turn them to the Living God.
EX: Angel and John
In Rev 19 and 22, two separate occasions.
An Angel of the Lord is showing John the glorious things of God in Heaven, and John is overwhelmed and he immediately as a natural reaction fell down at the feet of the angel and started worshipping.
And the Angel, who understood the holiness of God, said “DON’T DO IT! I am a servant, just like you. Worship God!”
Paul and the angel both experienced the awesomeness of God’s glory, and at any moment when someone was tempted to give them glory, in holy fear they immediately cried out to their worshippers, DON’T DO it!!!
It wasn’t like, “oh no, Praise God, you’re too kind”. It was DON’T DO IT. I’m just like you. Lift up JESUS!”
EX: Herod
Then there’s that story in Acts 12. King Herod gives a speech and he wins over the hearts of the people.
And they shout out, “Here is the voice of a god!” 21On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. And Herod didn’t do much to redirect any praise. He just soaked it in. And “Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.”
Do NOT touch his glory.
He will use us, on missions and in ministry, but for HIS name sake!
He is exalted, The king is exalted.
God may send us on missions, but his ultimate mission is that his name is exalted.
How can we be sign posts pointing people to God, to exalt his name?
In Jn 6, We don’t know who this boy who offered his lunch is.
And I don’t know if the boy humbly stepped out of the scene to leave Christ in the spotlight, or if that’s just the way history wrote it.
But for us, that’s how it will go down.
God wants to use you on his mission, but for His name sake. Our story is about Jesus.
At the end of this age, when Christ comes in all his glory, the Bible says that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that “Jesus Christ” is Lord.
At that time, our short-term trips to Taiwan, or our serving at Long Beach Rescue Mission, will not be on people’s minds. They will be too overwhelmed with His Majesty and glory.
But we pray that with the opportunities that God has given us to go, we will have been faithful to point people to Jesus Christ, the name above all names.
And we pray that those bowing down and confessing Christ as Lord with us, will be some of those we were able to point to Christ.
God wants to use you for Your sake.
Here’s the graciousness of God in glorifying His own name:
He will use us and bless us in the process.
Not for the glory of our name, but for the deepening of our faith. For our Faith sake.
I hate to break it to you...God can glorify himself without us, no problem. He doesn’t NEED us.
EX: Feeding with Manna. The feeding of the 5000 is one of the most famous miracles. But what about the feeding of the 600,000 men who Moses led out of Egypt?
(That was just the number of men. People estimate the Exodus to be 2-3 million Israelites. )
God brought bread called manna from out of nothing to feed the Israelites, not just for one meal, but for 40 years!! That’s 14,600 days of food God provided. Assuming they ate 3x/day, that’s 43,800 meals!
And all this out of nothing to start with!
No offence to the little boy, but Jesus didn’t need his fish and bread to perform a miracle.
GOD DOESN’T NEED US to do miraculous wonders that Glorify Himself.
He doesn’t need us to feed the needy, in LA or LB.
He doesn’t need us to go overseas to save the nations, Taiwan or Japan.
But God graciously CHOOSES to use us. He chose to use the boy’s fish and bread.
I think a secondary reason was for the sake of the boy.
To take him, and the disciples, deeper into their faith in who Jesus is.
God’s primary mission in all the earth is to make his name known, but sometimes He chooses to use you when doing things for His name sake.
So that our knowledge of who he is would grow. So that your faith in His power would grow. So that ultimately our love for him will grow.
There’s something powerful about watching a man multiply 2fish/5loaves…
But it’s significantly more powerful for you to watch…when it’s YOUR fish and bread that’s he multiplying!
I’m certain that the thousands of people there, and the disciples, were changed by the experience when they saw Jesus multiply the food.
But I suspect that the boy’s faith was impacted more so than the rest of the 5000 who were fed.
Why? Cuz it was his offering that Jesus took and multiplied!
There are many opportunities to witness the power of God at work, it’s all around us.
But it seems most powerful you when God chooses to take you and uses what you have to offer.
Ex: Taiwan Team
Last year during this time, I showed a video to you of something that happened on our Taiwan trip.
It was the video where Mona and Foster accepted Christ, and we were all jumping and celebrating.
I showed that video last year to the Chinese congregation.
Some people told me afterward they were so touched that they were crying.
I showed it to the English ministry. Same thing
As moved and as joyful as Christians may be when they see and hear of this… I don’t know if anyone is as impacted as the 9 of us who were able to be used by God.
Watching this video probably doesn’t cause you to go and invest your life into overseas missions.
But the 9 of us short term missionaries watched God take what we had to offer: our time, energy, investment, gifts and testimonies, and use it to speak truth into Mona and Foster’s life.
And when we saw God use it to bring others into the Kingdom, God’s name was glorified, but man were we deeply and personally impacted by it. We were blessed by it.
Clam go to share this morning to the CM how the trips personally impacted her, in a way no one else who simply heard about our trip were impacted.
God was using us in Taiwan for His Name sake,
but chose to use us also for our sake, for the strengthening of our faith.
Closing
When my dad asked me to do LBRM, I ran to my room and like a DQ fell to my knees as I wept. My dad came after me and we prayed together.
We prayed that God would use me and empower me to preach the gospel.
I went to LBRM. I was so terrified that I had 20 friends come with me. Not to watch me, but to sit and pray for me.
Then came the part I dreaded: Altar call.
25-30 hands go up.
Another 25 hands or so go up, and one by one people start coming forward.
We didn’t even have enough man power to pray for everyone who needed prayer!
God took the little that I had offer, and he used me that night.
But he used me to Glorify Himself. He used me for his name sake.
But He used the little I felt that I had to offer, and man was my faith in the power of God deepened.
I often feel scared, nervous, and inadequate in particular opportunities to serve.
I can’t tell you how often I return to that night at LBRM to be reminded of the power of God and his Sufficiency in our insufficiencies.
We don’t know much about this little boy in John 6.
All we know is this…that he gave what he had to offer at the moment.
Offer all that you have to the Lord, whether great or small. It all belongs to him anyways.
Whether it’s your finances or possessions, your gifts and abilities, maybe it’s your time and your energy.
The most selfish thing you can do is to completely surrender all that you have to God.
He will bless you in doing so. Your faith will be made strong. He will use you for your sake.
1 Tim 3:13 “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”
But most imortantly, God WILL be glorified, He WILL be exalted among the nations.
This month is missions’ month here at SBECC.
As you know, Kairo has the opportunity of doing ministry both in the inner city, as well as short-term missions overseas.
Once a month we go to the homeless shelter in Long Beach. We also work occasionally with Powerhouse Church in Watts.
Once a year we also travel to teach the Gospel in Taiwan.
But today, I want to share with you something I’ve learned that is more important than the missions and ministry itself.
It is a principle that applies to every kind of ministry we do, whether at home, or abroad; in the city or on the hill.
INTRO-LBRM
Back in college, I used to have this prayer that I would always pray.
“God, I want to reach many, many people for your kingdom. Give me opportunities.”
I didn’t have in mind what that was going to look like. I just knew that I wanted God to use me as an instrument to bring people into the kingdom. I just wanted opportunities to share the gospel.
There’s a weird thing that happens when you pray.
At the time, my dad used to preach monthly at the LBRM. I think it was actually PCC’s ministry at first.
He always asked me to go with him, but uh-uh. Wasn’t for me.
At the LBRM, you have a whole bunch of scary looking guys, many of them are homeless. Every night they come to eat and find shelter.
Before they are fed with food, they are fed with the word.
So around 100 men or so will come pouring into the sanctuary to receive the word.
In 2003, my dad was called to go to SF to pastor a church, and so he asked me to go speak for the LBRM.
At once I began to weep. These weren’t tears of joy. I ain’t that holy.
I was terrified. I’m this 23 year old kid straight out of college. I’m just a little boy to some of these guys.
Who am I to tell men 2-3x older than me how to live and what they need in their life? What do I have to offer? What do I have to give?
But I realized that this is exactly what I had been praying for... an opportunity to reach the multitude.
This morning, we’re looking at a passage where Jesus uses a little boy to reach multitudes.
How? Well, by taking what the boy had to offer.
John 6:1-14
God wants to Use You for His Name Sake
God is jealous for His own Name. For his own glory. This is his Mission. To make his name known.
I was asked by a church recently to preach about the boy in the Bible who had 2 fish and 5 loaves, and to prepare a biographical sermon about him.
As I began to study, I started to worry because there’s only one verse in the whole Bible about this boy!
The feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle recorded by all four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
This miracle in Jesus’ ministry is extremely significant.
But the boy is only mentioned in one of the gospel accounts- John’s- and in only one verse of this one account!
Here it is: in V. 9 Andrew says “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish…”
And as I began to read over the passage, I began to wonder “So how in the world do I preach a sermon about a boy who we know so little about?”
Well, as I prayed and read through this passage, it became clear to me how to preach this story.
Something the boy probably came to realize.
Whether or not the boy became a believer, the boy probably now realizes that his offering of his 2fish/5loaves was NOT about him.
It was for a greater purpose, even greater than just providing food for thousands of people…
It was for His NAME sake. For the sake of Jesus’ name. For the sake of His glory.
This story really isn’t about the boy at all, nor is it about the people. It’s about Jesus! The name of Jesus.
V. 14 calls this a feeding of 5000 a “miracle”.
In the Greek the word for miracle is “semeion”, literally, a “sign”.
What is a sign? A sign labels something and marks it as distinct from everything else. It points out something significant about whatever it is assigned to.
EX: Do we have any visitors today? How did he know that this structure made of concrete walls is SBECC? By the sign that marked this place. It distinguished it as not a Jewish Temple, not a Mormon church, but SBECC. South Bay Evangelical Christian Church.
The miracles of Jesus were signs, as John called them, to mark him as, Christ, is the divine Son of God.
They point to him as the one sent by the Father. He’s the Lamb of God.
In the same way, when God uses us in missions or in ministry, we realize that we are to be sign posts pointing not to us, but to the Savior of the world.
That’s JESUS! Call on his name!
God wants to use us for HIS NAME SAKE. For the glory of his name.
But it’s hard isn’t it. We love to have our own name glorified, don’t we?
“Oh, so and so is such a great bible study leader. He is so wise and has so much insight.”
“Oh, so and so’s testimonies are always so powerful and touching.”
“So and so is such a wonderful singer, her voice is so angelic!”
EX: Retreat I was at a retreat this past year, and during free time we had 3 hours to spend.
I was so touched that one of the youth spent most of his free time with me.
People don’t usually go out of their way to spend time with the speaker, and it can get lonely.
At the end of free time, he said “So do you think maybe you can mention my name in one of your sermons?”
?!!! That’s why you hung out with me?!
If the boy in John 6 was anything like us, he must have felt pretty proud of himself, pretty special to have his little lunch be “the” lunch that was able to provide a filling for well over 5000 people.
“It was my lunch that saved the day. It was my sacrifice.”
But I can imagine that as the boy grew up, and as he read some of the reports written by people like Matthew, Mark, or Luke…
It must have been crushing to find out that his name didn’t make the headlines.
Crushed by news that… he didn’t make the news. ☹
There were no stories circulating titled “Boy feeds 5000”.
Why? Because the boy didn’t feed 5000. Jesus did.
History does not remember the name of this boy. Matthew, Mark, and Luke didn’t find it significant enough to even mention him.
History remembers this incredible miracle as the time when “Jesus fed the 5000”.
It was a sign that pointed to Jesus as the almighty one.
It is his name that is glorified.
Do we realize that what we have to offer and sacrifice is not to bring glory to ourselves?
That we are not to touch the glory?
Whether it’s short term missions, or long term missions, or serving at home in church… It’s not to advance my name?
We know that this story isn’t about the boy at all, it’s about Jesus! We know that.
But why is it when it comes to our story and our role in all of this, we still hope that our name gets remembered! That our name gets mentioned? Our name gets glorified?
I wonder why it’s so hard for me to get.
EX: John 1, John the Baptist Jack preached a couple weeks ago about John the Baptist.
And he showed how John understood who he was, and he understood who Jesus was. HE GOT IT.
When people were drawn to him and the Chief priests started inquiring about him:
“Are you the Christ?” The anointed One sent by God? “No.”
“Are you Elijah? The man of God who is to return?” “No.”
“Are you The Prophet? With a capital P, that Moses prophesied to come?” “No.”
It’s exhilirating when people think you’re really something, even if you’re not, doesn’t it? And we’re not often very quick to deflect the glory to God.
EX: I sometimes get to speak at Korean churches. I’ve noticed that they hold the speaker in high regard. Even though I am not ordained as a pastor, or even finished with seminary, they always address me as “Pastor”. I ask them to just call me Greg, they say “Ok Pastor Greg.”
I have to be honest, the sin in me loves to hear that title attached to my name.
Recently, I received a phone call, and the person asked if they can speak with the “Reverend” Greg Mah.
And I have to tell you the truth, it felt good. And there was a struggle within my soul.
I was flattered, and tempted to let the person continue thinking that I was worthy of the title “Reverend”.
Finally, I had to come forth and struggled to say to her, “Please just call me Greg.”
It felt good while it lasted.
I want to highlight v. 21. John the Baptist did not hesitate to point these guys in the RIGHT direction.
He says, “NO! not me!”
“There is one who comes of whose thongs of his sandals I am not worthy of untying!”
I’m not even worthy enough to touch those dirty feet that he walks on!
I’m reminded of others who have encountered God, and have come to experience and understand the holiness of God’s Glory.
EX: Paul as deity
IN Acts 14, Paul healed a crippled man, and at once, the whole crowd was in uproar. They thought that Paul and Barnabas were deity, so they all brought wreaths and bulls and sacrifices to offer to these deities.
What does Paul do? He tears his clothes, which means great distress, and he says “Men, why are you doing this?! Don’t do this! I am a man, just like you!” And he tries desperately to turn them to the Living God.
EX: Angel and John
In Rev 19 and 22, two separate occasions.
An Angel of the Lord is showing John the glorious things of God in Heaven, and John is overwhelmed and he immediately as a natural reaction fell down at the feet of the angel and started worshipping.
And the Angel, who understood the holiness of God, said “DON’T DO IT! I am a servant, just like you. Worship God!”
Paul and the angel both experienced the awesomeness of God’s glory, and at any moment when someone was tempted to give them glory, in holy fear they immediately cried out to their worshippers, DON’T DO it!!!
It wasn’t like, “oh no, Praise God, you’re too kind”. It was DON’T DO IT. I’m just like you. Lift up JESUS!”
EX: Herod
Then there’s that story in Acts 12. King Herod gives a speech and he wins over the hearts of the people.
And they shout out, “Here is the voice of a god!” 21On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. And Herod didn’t do much to redirect any praise. He just soaked it in. And “Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.”
Do NOT touch his glory.
He will use us, on missions and in ministry, but for HIS name sake!
He is exalted, The king is exalted.
God may send us on missions, but his ultimate mission is that his name is exalted.
How can we be sign posts pointing people to God, to exalt his name?
In Jn 6, We don’t know who this boy who offered his lunch is.
And I don’t know if the boy humbly stepped out of the scene to leave Christ in the spotlight, or if that’s just the way history wrote it.
But for us, that’s how it will go down.
God wants to use you on his mission, but for His name sake. Our story is about Jesus.
At the end of this age, when Christ comes in all his glory, the Bible says that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that “Jesus Christ” is Lord.
At that time, our short-term trips to Taiwan, or our serving at Long Beach Rescue Mission, will not be on people’s minds. They will be too overwhelmed with His Majesty and glory.
But we pray that with the opportunities that God has given us to go, we will have been faithful to point people to Jesus Christ, the name above all names.
And we pray that those bowing down and confessing Christ as Lord with us, will be some of those we were able to point to Christ.
God wants to use you for Your sake.
Here’s the graciousness of God in glorifying His own name:
He will use us and bless us in the process.
Not for the glory of our name, but for the deepening of our faith. For our Faith sake.
I hate to break it to you...God can glorify himself without us, no problem. He doesn’t NEED us.
EX: Feeding with Manna. The feeding of the 5000 is one of the most famous miracles. But what about the feeding of the 600,000 men who Moses led out of Egypt?
(That was just the number of men. People estimate the Exodus to be 2-3 million Israelites. )
God brought bread called manna from out of nothing to feed the Israelites, not just for one meal, but for 40 years!! That’s 14,600 days of food God provided. Assuming they ate 3x/day, that’s 43,800 meals!
And all this out of nothing to start with!
No offence to the little boy, but Jesus didn’t need his fish and bread to perform a miracle.
GOD DOESN’T NEED US to do miraculous wonders that Glorify Himself.
He doesn’t need us to feed the needy, in LA or LB.
He doesn’t need us to go overseas to save the nations, Taiwan or Japan.
But God graciously CHOOSES to use us. He chose to use the boy’s fish and bread.
I think a secondary reason was for the sake of the boy.
To take him, and the disciples, deeper into their faith in who Jesus is.
God’s primary mission in all the earth is to make his name known, but sometimes He chooses to use you when doing things for His name sake.
So that our knowledge of who he is would grow. So that your faith in His power would grow. So that ultimately our love for him will grow.
There’s something powerful about watching a man multiply 2fish/5loaves…
But it’s significantly more powerful for you to watch…when it’s YOUR fish and bread that’s he multiplying!
I’m certain that the thousands of people there, and the disciples, were changed by the experience when they saw Jesus multiply the food.
But I suspect that the boy’s faith was impacted more so than the rest of the 5000 who were fed.
Why? Cuz it was his offering that Jesus took and multiplied!
There are many opportunities to witness the power of God at work, it’s all around us.
But it seems most powerful you when God chooses to take you and uses what you have to offer.
Ex: Taiwan Team
Last year during this time, I showed a video to you of something that happened on our Taiwan trip.
It was the video where Mona and Foster accepted Christ, and we were all jumping and celebrating.
I showed that video last year to the Chinese congregation.
Some people told me afterward they were so touched that they were crying.
I showed it to the English ministry. Same thing
As moved and as joyful as Christians may be when they see and hear of this… I don’t know if anyone is as impacted as the 9 of us who were able to be used by God.
Watching this video probably doesn’t cause you to go and invest your life into overseas missions.
But the 9 of us short term missionaries watched God take what we had to offer: our time, energy, investment, gifts and testimonies, and use it to speak truth into Mona and Foster’s life.
And when we saw God use it to bring others into the Kingdom, God’s name was glorified, but man were we deeply and personally impacted by it. We were blessed by it.
Clam go to share this morning to the CM how the trips personally impacted her, in a way no one else who simply heard about our trip were impacted.
God was using us in Taiwan for His Name sake,
but chose to use us also for our sake, for the strengthening of our faith.
Closing
When my dad asked me to do LBRM, I ran to my room and like a DQ fell to my knees as I wept. My dad came after me and we prayed together.
We prayed that God would use me and empower me to preach the gospel.
I went to LBRM. I was so terrified that I had 20 friends come with me. Not to watch me, but to sit and pray for me.
Then came the part I dreaded: Altar call.
25-30 hands go up.
Another 25 hands or so go up, and one by one people start coming forward.
We didn’t even have enough man power to pray for everyone who needed prayer!
God took the little that I had offer, and he used me that night.
But he used me to Glorify Himself. He used me for his name sake.
But He used the little I felt that I had to offer, and man was my faith in the power of God deepened.
I often feel scared, nervous, and inadequate in particular opportunities to serve.
I can’t tell you how often I return to that night at LBRM to be reminded of the power of God and his Sufficiency in our insufficiencies.
We don’t know much about this little boy in John 6.
All we know is this…that he gave what he had to offer at the moment.
Offer all that you have to the Lord, whether great or small. It all belongs to him anyways.
Whether it’s your finances or possessions, your gifts and abilities, maybe it’s your time and your energy.
The most selfish thing you can do is to completely surrender all that you have to God.
He will bless you in doing so. Your faith will be made strong. He will use you for your sake.
1 Tim 3:13 “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”
But most imortantly, God WILL be glorified, He WILL be exalted among the nations.
There’s Something About Mary- An Easter Message
Have you ever watched the movie, "There’s something about Mary?"
Well, I'm telling you, there's something about that Mary.
There’s so many great people of old.
Noah, Moses, David
Yet there’s just something about Mary, that’s so worthy of our attention.
Now Mary’s one of those names that seemed to be SUPER played out during the lifetime of Jesus.
The Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas, Mary the mother of James and Joses.
But there was something about Mary of Bethany that I think we ought to take notice.
Because we see her journey to know and experience Jesus in a real and powerful way.
Many of us are from different walks of life, We are in different places in our belief in Jesus.
But like Mary, I hope we can come to a place where Mary ended up.
Mary and Martha’s House
So who is this Mary of Bethany?
Well, the first we learn of her comes in Luke 10:38-41.
So there’s 3 siblings that live together in the town of Bethany, very close to Jerusalem.
Here’s this story where they open up there house for Jesus to stay as he’s traveling, and Martha’s going around the house, taking care of all this stuff… cleaning the house, preparing the meal.
Mary just sits there, at the feet of Jesus.
Martha sees this and she’s furious! “Tell her to help me!”
But Jesus replies, “Mary has chosen to do what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Mary was there just seeking to hear from Jesus
But all we know is that she sat and listened to the things Jesus taught.
But then we go on to a later event where she grows in her understanding of Jesus.
Mary’s about to learn about some real, ultimate Power.
Turn with me to John 11.
Pray
Here in John 11, Mary and Martha are in some desperate need of help. Lazarus is sick an about to die.
By this time, since it’s near the end of Jesus’ life, they’ve probably come to know Jesus quite well.
And if there’s anyone who can help their dying brother, well, in their mind, it’s gotta be Jesus.
So they send a message over to Jesus, about a day’s journey away.
EX: James flying up to SF.
So what does Jesus do? Jump on his donkey and rides off into the sunset right?
Wrong. V. 5 says “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”
Who’s good at math? 4 Days!
Why? To make sure he’s dead.
Jesus could have boned out and made it there in the nick of time to keep Lazarus from dying.
But he was about to show Mary and Martha the POWER embodied in this man Jesus.
(v 17) “ON his arrival Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.”
(v 21) And as he’s walking toward where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived, Martha comes to Jesus saying “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Jesus says to her, “Your brother will rise again.” In other words, “Your brother will resurrect.”
(v. 24) Martha, being familiar with Jesus’ teaching, says “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
See, based on Jesus’ teaching, as well as other Jewish teaching, the righteous people who die will one day be raised from the dead. Resurrected to Life again. And Martha says, Yeah, I know that one day he’ll rise again, but I wanted him alive now.
I want you to jot down something in your sermon notes. It’s the one of the most important things you’ll hear today:
Jesus’ Resurrection gives us Hope for Life.
Jesus said to her in v 25. “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
What in the world was that about? Let me break it down for you real simple.
Jesus first says I am the Resurrection and the Life.
Doesn’t that sound weird? How can some BE the resurrection and BE the Life.
He is the very source that resurrects someone. He is the very power that gives a person Life.
Resurrection = physical raising up of life.
Life = spiritual Life.
Jesus is saying, I am the source of BOTH physical and spiritual life.
So when Martha says “yeah, I know my bro will Resurrect one day in the future,”
Jesus is saying, “Hey listen. Who do you think resurrects Him? If I can raise him then, I can now!”
Then he goes on:
He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and
whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
That’s Super confusing. But let me break it down for you.
He who believes in me will live (Spiritually), even though he dies (Physically)
whoever lives (physically) and believes in me will never die (Spiritually).
Bottom line: If we believe in Jesus, we will have eternal, spiritual life.
The Bible teaches that there is no one good, not one.
Because no one is good, no one deserves an everlasting relationship with a Good God.
I know a lot of you are good people. How many of you have made a sacrifice to help another?
You can be like the Dahli Lama or Mother Teresa. You can help people, feed the homeless…
But you only have the capacity to be good horizontally.
We do not have the capacity to be good vertically.
Because of sin, there is not one of us who is perfectly good in the eyes of a perfectly Good God.
You have already been disqualified from having everlasting relationship with a perfect God.
So the result: You will die physically, and you will die spiritually.
And by spiritual death, we’re not talking about your spirit ceasing to exist, but Eternal suffering.
But Jesus here is saying, “Hey look. I am the power behind a physical resurrection, yeah, but I am also the power behind spiritual Life. BELIEVE IN ME, and you will LIVE.”
You will be taken from being spiritually dead, and made spiritually alive and be with God.
This is the Hope of Life we have when we believe.
Ex: San Diego evangelism. Christians are joyful when people die.
I thought, that’s true. When Christians die, we ultimately are able to say, “Praise the Lord!”
But guys, can I remind you, death is not a good thing.
Death is a result of sin. Introduced by the temptation of Satan. Death is the power of the evil one (Heb 2:14-15). DEATH is NOT good.
It’s the resurrection that’s good, cause in it death is conquered. Death is overcome. Death is no more.
It’s because of resurrection both, spiritual and physical, that Christians are able to rejoice and be glad.
Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
He has the power to raise a person who is spiritually dead and make him spiritually alive.
But do you know validates this? The fact that Christ Himself died, and was himself resurrected.
Did you know there are more sources and clearer evidence for Jesus’ resurrection than Ceasar?
1 Cor 15:14 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”
A lot of different want to offer spiritual hope.
EX: True story. There was a Muslim guy who converted to Christianity.
Muhammad is dead. Buddha’s dead. Confucius is dead. Joseph Smith is dead. Jesus is alive.
Because He is alive, we know he is who he said he was, and that he will do what he says he will do.
Here in John 11 Jesus says believe in me, and you will be given everlasting Life.
That’s our Hope of life.
Jesus’ asks the question in v 26, “Do you believe this?” Do you?
Jesus then gives them a little something to prove that he is the source of life.
In v 33, it says he sees Mary just weeping. She too was thinking “Jesus if you had just been here.”
So Jesus walks to the tomb and says “Take away the stone” (v. 39).
Jesus, gives thanks to God the Father, then in a loud voice, calls out “Lazarus, come out!”
“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.” (43-44)
Mary and Martha not only heard that Jesus teach them that he is able to resurrect, now they saw it.
This is the hope of life that we have.
We can experience the power of Christ in our lives now, if we would believe That Christ is that power!
I don’t know where you come from as you sit here today.
Maybe you’re overcome by a trial or suffering: Insecurity, An addiction to pornography, Depression, Hurt or pain.
But we can experience the power of Christ’s resurrection now, as Mary did.
Eph 1 Paul says “I pray that you would know the hope in you and19…his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, (Eph 1:18-20)
The power of the resurrection is not just something we’ll experience at a future event. We have hope now, because that same power that raise Jesus from the dead is made available to us right NOW.
Do you believe that with whatever struggle, that Christ has the power to raise you up out of it?
He raise a man from the dead! He raised HIMSELF from the dead!
Guys, in you believe that Christ for you, and has accomplished the physically impossible by resurrection, do you realize you have already don the difficult stuff! To believe in the resurrection takes a tremendous amount of faith, a faith that is assisted by Divine Grace. It is from God.
But if you can believe in the resurrection, do you believe that God can raise you out of what you are going through right now, or will go through in the future?
We don’t only have an eternal spiritual hope available to us, we have hope also now in the present.
The Resurrection gives us present hope.
Jesus’ Resurrection gives us Present Hope.
Jn 12, a dinner in Bethany is held in Jesus’ honor.
Of course Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are there.
Martha’s serving them, again. And guess where Mary is, again? At Jesus’ feet.
But this time, she’s not there to learn from him. She’s done that already. She’s already seen it.
(v. 3) “Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume, and poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
EX: CK. I checked it out, it’s $40.00-50.00.
Judas says it was worth a years wages!
Why? She was worshipping Jesus. It was a sacrifice, an act of worship, because now she knows.
V. 7, Jesus says “Leave her alone…it was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.”
Did you get that? That perfume was reserved for his burial. It was the perfume that was used to anoint dead bodies with.
But Mary of Bethany takes it and pours it on him now. Why? He’s not dead.
It seems to me that Mary got it. Jesus’ death on the cross isn’t the end of the story. There’s hope! He is the resurrection!
Why does she need to save it for his dead body, when his dead body ain’t gonna be there?
CROSS: When Jesus was hanging on the cross, it says that the Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Mary wife of Clopas was there.
TOMB: Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of James was there.
But where was Mary of Bethany? She wasn’t at the cross, nor the tomb.
The perfume was already used up. She knew that she wouldn’t need it.
She used it to worship him, because now she understood that He is indeed all that He says He is.
He is The Resurrection and the Life.
Her hope is found now, in the present, and her worship is given NOW to a Jesus that’s alive.
Here’s the thing about Mary. Mary’s life was changed by the Power of Christ.
But it was a journey for her to come to know it.
She took the time to learn from Jesus.
She experienced the power of Jesus at work.
And finally when she believed, she responded in worship.
Her hope was found.
Today, that Hope is made available to anyone who believes, rich, poor, young, old, intelligent, or simple.
Closing Story: Phillip.
For me, it’s empty. For Phillip, it’s empty. Completely empty. Christ is risen! That’s Hope!
Even though at that moment his body lay dead, He was alive in Christ. He has the hope of the Resurrection.
Well, I'm telling you, there's something about that Mary.
There’s so many great people of old.
Noah, Moses, David
Yet there’s just something about Mary, that’s so worthy of our attention.
Now Mary’s one of those names that seemed to be SUPER played out during the lifetime of Jesus.
The Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas, Mary the mother of James and Joses.
But there was something about Mary of Bethany that I think we ought to take notice.
Because we see her journey to know and experience Jesus in a real and powerful way.
Many of us are from different walks of life, We are in different places in our belief in Jesus.
But like Mary, I hope we can come to a place where Mary ended up.
Mary and Martha’s House
So who is this Mary of Bethany?
Well, the first we learn of her comes in Luke 10:38-41.
So there’s 3 siblings that live together in the town of Bethany, very close to Jerusalem.
Here’s this story where they open up there house for Jesus to stay as he’s traveling, and Martha’s going around the house, taking care of all this stuff… cleaning the house, preparing the meal.
Mary just sits there, at the feet of Jesus.
Martha sees this and she’s furious! “Tell her to help me!”
But Jesus replies, “Mary has chosen to do what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Mary was there just seeking to hear from Jesus
But all we know is that she sat and listened to the things Jesus taught.
But then we go on to a later event where she grows in her understanding of Jesus.
Mary’s about to learn about some real, ultimate Power.
Turn with me to John 11.
Pray
Here in John 11, Mary and Martha are in some desperate need of help. Lazarus is sick an about to die.
By this time, since it’s near the end of Jesus’ life, they’ve probably come to know Jesus quite well.
And if there’s anyone who can help their dying brother, well, in their mind, it’s gotta be Jesus.
So they send a message over to Jesus, about a day’s journey away.
EX: James flying up to SF.
So what does Jesus do? Jump on his donkey and rides off into the sunset right?
Wrong. V. 5 says “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”
Who’s good at math? 4 Days!
Why? To make sure he’s dead.
Jesus could have boned out and made it there in the nick of time to keep Lazarus from dying.
But he was about to show Mary and Martha the POWER embodied in this man Jesus.
(v 17) “ON his arrival Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.”
(v 21) And as he’s walking toward where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived, Martha comes to Jesus saying “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Jesus says to her, “Your brother will rise again.” In other words, “Your brother will resurrect.”
(v. 24) Martha, being familiar with Jesus’ teaching, says “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
See, based on Jesus’ teaching, as well as other Jewish teaching, the righteous people who die will one day be raised from the dead. Resurrected to Life again. And Martha says, Yeah, I know that one day he’ll rise again, but I wanted him alive now.
I want you to jot down something in your sermon notes. It’s the one of the most important things you’ll hear today:
Jesus’ Resurrection gives us Hope for Life.
Jesus said to her in v 25. “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
What in the world was that about? Let me break it down for you real simple.
Jesus first says I am the Resurrection and the Life.
Doesn’t that sound weird? How can some BE the resurrection and BE the Life.
He is the very source that resurrects someone. He is the very power that gives a person Life.
Resurrection = physical raising up of life.
Life = spiritual Life.
Jesus is saying, I am the source of BOTH physical and spiritual life.
So when Martha says “yeah, I know my bro will Resurrect one day in the future,”
Jesus is saying, “Hey listen. Who do you think resurrects Him? If I can raise him then, I can now!”
Then he goes on:
He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and
whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
That’s Super confusing. But let me break it down for you.
He who believes in me will live (Spiritually), even though he dies (Physically)
whoever lives (physically) and believes in me will never die (Spiritually).
Bottom line: If we believe in Jesus, we will have eternal, spiritual life.
The Bible teaches that there is no one good, not one.
Because no one is good, no one deserves an everlasting relationship with a Good God.
I know a lot of you are good people. How many of you have made a sacrifice to help another?
You can be like the Dahli Lama or Mother Teresa. You can help people, feed the homeless…
But you only have the capacity to be good horizontally.
We do not have the capacity to be good vertically.
Because of sin, there is not one of us who is perfectly good in the eyes of a perfectly Good God.
You have already been disqualified from having everlasting relationship with a perfect God.
So the result: You will die physically, and you will die spiritually.
And by spiritual death, we’re not talking about your spirit ceasing to exist, but Eternal suffering.
But Jesus here is saying, “Hey look. I am the power behind a physical resurrection, yeah, but I am also the power behind spiritual Life. BELIEVE IN ME, and you will LIVE.”
You will be taken from being spiritually dead, and made spiritually alive and be with God.
This is the Hope of Life we have when we believe.
Ex: San Diego evangelism. Christians are joyful when people die.
I thought, that’s true. When Christians die, we ultimately are able to say, “Praise the Lord!”
But guys, can I remind you, death is not a good thing.
Death is a result of sin. Introduced by the temptation of Satan. Death is the power of the evil one (Heb 2:14-15). DEATH is NOT good.
It’s the resurrection that’s good, cause in it death is conquered. Death is overcome. Death is no more.
It’s because of resurrection both, spiritual and physical, that Christians are able to rejoice and be glad.
Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
He has the power to raise a person who is spiritually dead and make him spiritually alive.
But do you know validates this? The fact that Christ Himself died, and was himself resurrected.
Did you know there are more sources and clearer evidence for Jesus’ resurrection than Ceasar?
1 Cor 15:14 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”
A lot of different want to offer spiritual hope.
EX: True story. There was a Muslim guy who converted to Christianity.
Muhammad is dead. Buddha’s dead. Confucius is dead. Joseph Smith is dead. Jesus is alive.
Because He is alive, we know he is who he said he was, and that he will do what he says he will do.
Here in John 11 Jesus says believe in me, and you will be given everlasting Life.
That’s our Hope of life.
Jesus’ asks the question in v 26, “Do you believe this?” Do you?
Jesus then gives them a little something to prove that he is the source of life.
In v 33, it says he sees Mary just weeping. She too was thinking “Jesus if you had just been here.”
So Jesus walks to the tomb and says “Take away the stone” (v. 39).
Jesus, gives thanks to God the Father, then in a loud voice, calls out “Lazarus, come out!”
“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.” (43-44)
Mary and Martha not only heard that Jesus teach them that he is able to resurrect, now they saw it.
This is the hope of life that we have.
We can experience the power of Christ in our lives now, if we would believe That Christ is that power!
I don’t know where you come from as you sit here today.
Maybe you’re overcome by a trial or suffering: Insecurity, An addiction to pornography, Depression, Hurt or pain.
But we can experience the power of Christ’s resurrection now, as Mary did.
Eph 1 Paul says “I pray that you would know the hope in you and19…his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, (Eph 1:18-20)
The power of the resurrection is not just something we’ll experience at a future event. We have hope now, because that same power that raise Jesus from the dead is made available to us right NOW.
Do you believe that with whatever struggle, that Christ has the power to raise you up out of it?
He raise a man from the dead! He raised HIMSELF from the dead!
Guys, in you believe that Christ for you, and has accomplished the physically impossible by resurrection, do you realize you have already don the difficult stuff! To believe in the resurrection takes a tremendous amount of faith, a faith that is assisted by Divine Grace. It is from God.
But if you can believe in the resurrection, do you believe that God can raise you out of what you are going through right now, or will go through in the future?
We don’t only have an eternal spiritual hope available to us, we have hope also now in the present.
The Resurrection gives us present hope.
Jesus’ Resurrection gives us Present Hope.
Jn 12, a dinner in Bethany is held in Jesus’ honor.
Of course Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are there.
Martha’s serving them, again. And guess where Mary is, again? At Jesus’ feet.
But this time, she’s not there to learn from him. She’s done that already. She’s already seen it.
(v. 3) “Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume, and poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
EX: CK. I checked it out, it’s $40.00-50.00.
Judas says it was worth a years wages!
Why? She was worshipping Jesus. It was a sacrifice, an act of worship, because now she knows.
V. 7, Jesus says “Leave her alone…it was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.”
Did you get that? That perfume was reserved for his burial. It was the perfume that was used to anoint dead bodies with.
But Mary of Bethany takes it and pours it on him now. Why? He’s not dead.
It seems to me that Mary got it. Jesus’ death on the cross isn’t the end of the story. There’s hope! He is the resurrection!
Why does she need to save it for his dead body, when his dead body ain’t gonna be there?
CROSS: When Jesus was hanging on the cross, it says that the Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Mary wife of Clopas was there.
TOMB: Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of James was there.
But where was Mary of Bethany? She wasn’t at the cross, nor the tomb.
The perfume was already used up. She knew that she wouldn’t need it.
She used it to worship him, because now she understood that He is indeed all that He says He is.
He is The Resurrection and the Life.
Her hope is found now, in the present, and her worship is given NOW to a Jesus that’s alive.
Here’s the thing about Mary. Mary’s life was changed by the Power of Christ.
But it was a journey for her to come to know it.
She took the time to learn from Jesus.
She experienced the power of Jesus at work.
And finally when she believed, she responded in worship.
Her hope was found.
Today, that Hope is made available to anyone who believes, rich, poor, young, old, intelligent, or simple.
Closing Story: Phillip.
For me, it’s empty. For Phillip, it’s empty. Completely empty. Christ is risen! That’s Hope!
Even though at that moment his body lay dead, He was alive in Christ. He has the hope of the Resurrection.
…To Fall in Love with Jesus
Kairo Easter Sunday, 2010
Intro- Loving the Wrong Thing
I was talking to a friend recently, and he was telling me about this girl that he dated a few years back, and he was madly in love with her.
He said he hasn’t dated since her, and this was years ago, because it’s had such an impact on him.
He loved her so much, that he told me of a time when a guy offended her, and so he waited for the guy to get out of the school he went to. He brought him to an alley and beat him down.
I was like, “Wow.” I wondered what it was about her that he loved so much.
The only thing he told me about her was that she was SOOOOO pretty.
And I’m like, “really?”
This girl had such a deep impact on you, and you were in love… because she was pretty?
What about her? The fact that she was pretty wasn’t a bad thing. But what about her?
Today is Easter, and we’re gonna talk about the Hope of the Resurrection.
My prayer is that we don’t miss it. That with all the good things that the Resurrection gives us, that we don’t miss the real hope of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Hope of Justification: I can Forget about the Past
Justification: It’s a legal term that means to be called out by the judge as innocent. Meaning you are guilt free.
Paul says in Romans 4:25, that Jesus “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification”.
This just blows my mind when you think about it.
EX: Imagine you’re on trial before a judge.
It might strike closer to home if you’ve ever gotten a speeding ticket, and you’re kicking yourself because you now have to pay hundreds of dollars just because you decided to go 10 mph faster than you should have, or you rolled 2 seconds through that stop sign instead of just waiting 3 seconds.
I remember we were at San Onofre, and a cop pulled me over for not one, but 2 violations. For going 35 in a 25, and for not signaling! Close to $400. I wanted to kick him!
I was so upset…and I remembered as I was trying to fight the tickets and appeal to the judge. I knew in my heart, that I had broken the law. But I thought, perhaps, maybe by chance, the judge will be merciful.
The judge, looked at my case, and he declared me guilty! I deserved it!
BUT, if the judge had for some reason declared me innocent, even though I know I broke the law, it goes down legally and on record that I’m innocent.
There is no record against me forever. Once the judge makes the call, it’ll never be held against me again. I’m free to go.
That’s the picture of Justification.
My sinfulness is declared “not-guilty”, and it will never be held against me in the future.
But the scope is so much greater with Christ. God doesn’t just declare you innocent for one particular sin, justification means that he declares you completely righteous.
When he sees you, he’s sees His Son Christ. Blameless.
Ps 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Some of us are living in the guilt of a sin, or a mistake, or a regret from the past.
But according Rom. 4:25, the hope of the Resurrection is that we have been justified!
We can FORGET about the PAST. There is no record against you.
EX: A man from England bought a Rolls Royce, and he shipped it across the continent to drive throughout different parts of Europe. While driving, his engine has problems, and Rolls-Royce don’t have mechanics for their special cars all over the place. So the guy calls RR, they fly a mechanic to where he is, he repairs it, and then flies back. When he returns home, he contacts them and asks, how much is the bill going to cost me? RR Told him, “Sir, there is no record anywhere that anything was wrong with a Rolls Royce.”
That is a picture of Justification. You can forget the past!
God has gladly let you go, and there is no record of it against you.
You are cleared by the blood of Christ.
And this all on the basis that Christ rose from the dead for you. He was raised for our justification.
I think it’s quite common for people to emphasize that Jesus died for us, but just dying for us doesn’t do it.
It’s true that it required the death and the blood of a perfectly righteous man to sufficiently pay for the penalty of my sin.
But if Jesus just died, and remains in the grave, then the work is not finished. All we have is a man who claimed to die for my sin, but all I know is….I’m STILL going to die.
Where is my guarantee that I will have life in Heaven for eternity with God?
But the resurrection of Jesus testifies to the power of God to overcome the grip of death.
If God can create life out of nothing and give life to the dead, then he also has the power to make the dead alive.
Jesus’ resurrection gives us proof that when we place our faith in Christ, we are indeed covered by his death, and also that we will be raised back to life just like Christ was.
EX: Have you noticed that when they advertise exercise programs, or commercials, or ads, they also have the sexiest, most ripped, models as the instructors or salesperson? Why, otherwise you wouldn’t believe in it! Could you imagine if Billy Blanks was obese? Would you do Tae Bo?
NO, there’s no credibility!
If Christ did not resurrect, then we have no reason to believe that we will too! Not spiritually, not physically.
To believe in God is to believe in the resurrection.
And when we believe in that, we are justified by our faith.
Our sins are removed, the record is cleared, we have new life, and we can forget about the past.
The Hope of Sanctification: I can Face the Present
Sanctification: it means to be made holy. The process of being made more like Christ.
Rom. 6:4 “…Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”
We were united with Christ in his death… meaning that when he died for our sins, a part of us died with him. By our faith, our old self has died along with Christ. It’s done away with.
But just has Christ rose up to new life, we also are united with him in this resurrection and this new life!
And this passage isn’t talking about some future event.. the emphasis is now. It’s immediate.
Basically, no longer do we need to be slaves to sin. Sin no longer has mastery over us.
Question: What do you struggle with right now? What is the hardest thing for you to overcome?
And as difficult as it seems, the resurrection of Christ means that we have a new life, and it doesn’t belong to sin.
Have you experienced the resurrection power in the present?
I have hope, because I think I know what that looks like.
EX: Me and Monica’s struggle with temptation.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Eph 1:19-20 “I pray that you would know… his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Because Christ rose, we can face today.
That power that God exerted to raise Christ from the dead, is at work in us today!
I love that! We have supernatural power at work in us. The Resurrection power of God.
And he can work in us to make us holy and more and more like our savior.
But so often we get discouraged, and we think, “I can’t do it. It’s hopeless.”
Guys, do you believe that God’s power works through us and can raise us up to new life? That there is nothing too powerful at work in you that can overcome the Resurrection power of God?
You who believe, have already done the difficult part of believing!!
You believe that a man died for you, was put into a grave, for three days, the time to start rotting and stinking.
And then, by the power of God, you believe that God raised him up from the dead and seated him at the right hand of God.
Do you think there’s anything now too small for him to do? Is there anything in our life that the power of God is to weak to handle?
EX: That’s silly. Jeff just ran the marathon a couple weeks ago. 26.2 miles! Can you imagine, if this past week, I say, “Jeff, can you run to the kitchen and get me a cookie?” And Jeff says, “I can’t, it’s much too difficult!”
What? You can’t run to the kitchen? BRO, you just ran a 26.2 marathon. You can’t run to the kitchen?
It would make no sense! It’s silly.
And yet we put our faith in the fact that God raised Christ from the dead to save men from their sin, yesterday, today forever, and dealt with it for eternity,
And yet “this is too difficult. This one’s too hard.”
Guys, I think God is able, to raise us up, not just in the future, but now in the present.
And I think that if we would intentionally praise and remember the resurrection, we will be reminded that we can call on God to work that same power in our life and in our struggle for holiness.
I’ve experienced some victories in my life, and I don’t’ want to say too much, but I’ve been experiencing one as I speak.
The Resurrection power of Christ, gives us the hope of sanctification. The hope to face the Present.
The Hope of Glorification: I can look Forward to the Future
Glorification: It means to be perfected. This process of sanctification will come to an end.
Not just are you justified, and your sins are dealt with. Not just are you sanctified, and made holy.
1 Cor 15:20 “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, first fruits of those who have fallen asleep”
This chapter is dedicated to describing what our resurrection is going to look like.
Christ’s resurrected body shows us what our resurrected bodies will be like, according to Paul’s analogy of the firstfruit.
In agriculture, it was the first of the crop that was picked up and offered. But the rest was to follow.
If Christ was the firstfruit, and he was raised from the dead to a new beautified and glorified body, we know that we too will be raised up on the last day.
Not just a soul that’ll rise up into heaven, but a new, glorified body like Christ’s.
We can look forward to eternity, our home in heaven.
EX: Paul, 2 Cor 11, Paul talks about his suffering. In Ch. 12, he talks about what he’s seen.
Paul says I don’t care what they do to me, because I’ve seen it, and I’m not letting it go!
Paradise, the Bible explains it to be. Not some far off, abstract place, way out there.
But a very real place, where creation will be made new and glorified, the way God intended it. And we will be there in the fullness of ourselves, in a way we cannot imagine.
No hurt, no tears, no pain. No sin, no guilt, no shame.
In the garden of Eden, there were two trees. The tree of life, and the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve had a choice, to live or to die. They choice death.
But in the Paradise of God, John describes that there will be two trees. The tree of life, and the tree of life. There is not option for sin or death!
This will be the future we can look forward to, the glorification of all believers, living in a glorified creation. The one where God created, and says, It is Good!
The Hope of Jesus’ resurrection is that we will be Justified, and we can forget about the past
We will be sanctified, and we can face the present.
We will be glorified, and we can look forward to a future of eternal bliss.
All across the world today, preachers are preaching about this hope: That we get to enjoy heaven, and we get to live in eternity, in happiness, and bliss, and on and on.
But I don’t want us to miss the point. I don’t want to misplace our hope and our love and affection.
EX: My friend I told you about fell in love with a girl, but it seems liked everything, but the person.
In my opinion, the greatest thing about the hope that we have is that when we are in glorified in a glorified paradise, JESUS IS THERE, and we will see him face to face, and we will be with him.
And Jesus is there because he is risen.
The greatest hope of the Resurrection is that we can have Jesus, because of the very fact that he is Risen.
He’s not dead. And because he lives, I know he’ll be there.
Is my life strictly about me, and what’s in it for me? Is my salvation all about what’s in it for me?
It is in my best interest, and it is good for me. But the heart of it is Jesus, and knowing Jesus!
EX: John Piper asked a question that really sobers me up and puts me in check.
What if you died, and you went to heaven. And you could have the most spectacular sunsets you’ve ever seen. All the toys you can want, All the ice cream you could possible eat, all the best friends in the world, no tears of sadness, but perhaps tears of extreme joy and happiness and tears of sheer exhilaration
Would you want to be there, if Jesus weren’t there?
And the scary thing is that, quite honestly, if we are totally honest with ourselves, many of us would actually say “Yeah, I think I’d be just fine. I’ll take it.”
Have we made the gospel all about ourselves and what I can get out of it and what it can do for me?
And have we made Easter and the hope of the resurrection just about me?
Guys, the Gospel is so much more than just believing that Jesus died and rose again.
The Gospel is JESUS. Jesus is the Gospel. Or as Piper states it. God is the Gospel
That fact that we can have God, we can have Jesus.
It’s fully embraicing Jesus, the person. And if we have the ability to want God, to want Jesus, then we believe everything he says and we’ll do anything he asks in order to be with him.
And he says, believe that I will rise in three days. I will die and resurrect, so that you can have God.
The GOSPEL IS JESUS. JESUS IS THE GOSPEL.
Church, do we want Jesus more than anything in this world?
Do you want the person?
EX: Monica asks me quite a bit in our relationship, that question that girls want to know: “What do you like about me? Why do you love me? Why did you choose me?”
And I know she’s asking because she wants to be affirmed, but I always give her an answer that has never satisfies her. I know that she’s looking for something like “You’re the most beautiful girl in the world”, or “You’re intelligent and I love your character”.
But my answer is always, “You.” I like you because of YOU.
I wish I could give her an answer she wants to hear, but it’s the most sincere answer I can give.
It’s not about your looks, or your wit, or your kindness, nor is it really about your godliness.
I love you because of You. Cuz all these things are things that I like and make me feel good, and all these things might not even be there… but what I’ve come to love is You. The person of You.
EX: Paul – Paul had the SAME KIND OF AFFETION in regards to his religion.
In Phil 3, Paul is at the top of his game. Religiously, he’s achieved all there was to achieve.
In BBall, Think about Lebron James, at the top of his Game.
In making Money. Bill Gates, top of his game.
In Figure Skating. Kim Yu Na. top of her game
In Paul’s day, in religion, Paul was at the top of his game.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:
circumcised on the eighth day,
of the people of Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews;
in regard to the law, a Pharisee;
as for zeal, persecuting the church;
as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
But check out what he says, regarding all these religious things.
He says, “I consider them CRAP.” Excuse my language, but I’m being true to the text.
(8) … I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
All that I have achieved religiously, I consider it crap so that I can know the Savior.
Is that Good News to you? That we can have him, that we can have God, is that Good News to you?
EX: I started a blog two years ago, this time. It’s called “To fall in love with Jesus.” In fact, it was while I was preparing for the Easter sermon in 2008 that I began the blog. My very first entry talks about how I was struggling because I didn’t know how to preach the Easter message: what approach to take? who to target it towards? Should I preach the Gospel? Should I prove the Resurrection?
But as I prayed over the sermon, I wrote about how God convicted me how to preach that morning.
… TO HELP PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS.
Isn’t that what it’s all about? Falling in love with the Person who died for our sins, and who conquered death for us because he rose again, SO THAT I can be Justified/Sanctified/Glorified.
It’s falling in love with JESUS.
As great as all this is: The relief of my guilt, being made a better person, getting to enjoy perfect paradise, in sinless perfection.
The greatest part of all of this is that we Get to know the Savior. We get to be with Jesus. We get God.
Let us not miss this: The Hope of the Resurrection is He is Risen.
And Because He is Risen, He will be there.
And Because He is Risen, I will be there. And you who believe will be there.
And we will be with him, and we will enjoy him and enjoy him, forever and ever. Amen.
Intro- Loving the Wrong Thing
I was talking to a friend recently, and he was telling me about this girl that he dated a few years back, and he was madly in love with her.
He said he hasn’t dated since her, and this was years ago, because it’s had such an impact on him.
He loved her so much, that he told me of a time when a guy offended her, and so he waited for the guy to get out of the school he went to. He brought him to an alley and beat him down.
I was like, “Wow.” I wondered what it was about her that he loved so much.
The only thing he told me about her was that she was SOOOOO pretty.
And I’m like, “really?”
This girl had such a deep impact on you, and you were in love… because she was pretty?
What about her? The fact that she was pretty wasn’t a bad thing. But what about her?
Today is Easter, and we’re gonna talk about the Hope of the Resurrection.
My prayer is that we don’t miss it. That with all the good things that the Resurrection gives us, that we don’t miss the real hope of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Hope of Justification: I can Forget about the Past
Justification: It’s a legal term that means to be called out by the judge as innocent. Meaning you are guilt free.
Paul says in Romans 4:25, that Jesus “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification”.
This just blows my mind when you think about it.
EX: Imagine you’re on trial before a judge.
It might strike closer to home if you’ve ever gotten a speeding ticket, and you’re kicking yourself because you now have to pay hundreds of dollars just because you decided to go 10 mph faster than you should have, or you rolled 2 seconds through that stop sign instead of just waiting 3 seconds.
I remember we were at San Onofre, and a cop pulled me over for not one, but 2 violations. For going 35 in a 25, and for not signaling! Close to $400. I wanted to kick him!
I was so upset…and I remembered as I was trying to fight the tickets and appeal to the judge. I knew in my heart, that I had broken the law. But I thought, perhaps, maybe by chance, the judge will be merciful.
The judge, looked at my case, and he declared me guilty! I deserved it!
BUT, if the judge had for some reason declared me innocent, even though I know I broke the law, it goes down legally and on record that I’m innocent.
There is no record against me forever. Once the judge makes the call, it’ll never be held against me again. I’m free to go.
That’s the picture of Justification.
My sinfulness is declared “not-guilty”, and it will never be held against me in the future.
But the scope is so much greater with Christ. God doesn’t just declare you innocent for one particular sin, justification means that he declares you completely righteous.
When he sees you, he’s sees His Son Christ. Blameless.
Ps 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Some of us are living in the guilt of a sin, or a mistake, or a regret from the past.
But according Rom. 4:25, the hope of the Resurrection is that we have been justified!
We can FORGET about the PAST. There is no record against you.
EX: A man from England bought a Rolls Royce, and he shipped it across the continent to drive throughout different parts of Europe. While driving, his engine has problems, and Rolls-Royce don’t have mechanics for their special cars all over the place. So the guy calls RR, they fly a mechanic to where he is, he repairs it, and then flies back. When he returns home, he contacts them and asks, how much is the bill going to cost me? RR Told him, “Sir, there is no record anywhere that anything was wrong with a Rolls Royce.”
That is a picture of Justification. You can forget the past!
God has gladly let you go, and there is no record of it against you.
You are cleared by the blood of Christ.
And this all on the basis that Christ rose from the dead for you. He was raised for our justification.
I think it’s quite common for people to emphasize that Jesus died for us, but just dying for us doesn’t do it.
It’s true that it required the death and the blood of a perfectly righteous man to sufficiently pay for the penalty of my sin.
But if Jesus just died, and remains in the grave, then the work is not finished. All we have is a man who claimed to die for my sin, but all I know is….I’m STILL going to die.
Where is my guarantee that I will have life in Heaven for eternity with God?
But the resurrection of Jesus testifies to the power of God to overcome the grip of death.
If God can create life out of nothing and give life to the dead, then he also has the power to make the dead alive.
Jesus’ resurrection gives us proof that when we place our faith in Christ, we are indeed covered by his death, and also that we will be raised back to life just like Christ was.
EX: Have you noticed that when they advertise exercise programs, or commercials, or ads, they also have the sexiest, most ripped, models as the instructors or salesperson? Why, otherwise you wouldn’t believe in it! Could you imagine if Billy Blanks was obese? Would you do Tae Bo?
NO, there’s no credibility!
If Christ did not resurrect, then we have no reason to believe that we will too! Not spiritually, not physically.
To believe in God is to believe in the resurrection.
And when we believe in that, we are justified by our faith.
Our sins are removed, the record is cleared, we have new life, and we can forget about the past.
The Hope of Sanctification: I can Face the Present
Sanctification: it means to be made holy. The process of being made more like Christ.
Rom. 6:4 “…Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”
We were united with Christ in his death… meaning that when he died for our sins, a part of us died with him. By our faith, our old self has died along with Christ. It’s done away with.
But just has Christ rose up to new life, we also are united with him in this resurrection and this new life!
And this passage isn’t talking about some future event.. the emphasis is now. It’s immediate.
Basically, no longer do we need to be slaves to sin. Sin no longer has mastery over us.
Question: What do you struggle with right now? What is the hardest thing for you to overcome?
And as difficult as it seems, the resurrection of Christ means that we have a new life, and it doesn’t belong to sin.
Have you experienced the resurrection power in the present?
I have hope, because I think I know what that looks like.
EX: Me and Monica’s struggle with temptation.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Eph 1:19-20 “I pray that you would know… his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Because Christ rose, we can face today.
That power that God exerted to raise Christ from the dead, is at work in us today!
I love that! We have supernatural power at work in us. The Resurrection power of God.
And he can work in us to make us holy and more and more like our savior.
But so often we get discouraged, and we think, “I can’t do it. It’s hopeless.”
Guys, do you believe that God’s power works through us and can raise us up to new life? That there is nothing too powerful at work in you that can overcome the Resurrection power of God?
You who believe, have already done the difficult part of believing!!
You believe that a man died for you, was put into a grave, for three days, the time to start rotting and stinking.
And then, by the power of God, you believe that God raised him up from the dead and seated him at the right hand of God.
Do you think there’s anything now too small for him to do? Is there anything in our life that the power of God is to weak to handle?
EX: That’s silly. Jeff just ran the marathon a couple weeks ago. 26.2 miles! Can you imagine, if this past week, I say, “Jeff, can you run to the kitchen and get me a cookie?” And Jeff says, “I can’t, it’s much too difficult!”
What? You can’t run to the kitchen? BRO, you just ran a 26.2 marathon. You can’t run to the kitchen?
It would make no sense! It’s silly.
And yet we put our faith in the fact that God raised Christ from the dead to save men from their sin, yesterday, today forever, and dealt with it for eternity,
And yet “this is too difficult. This one’s too hard.”
Guys, I think God is able, to raise us up, not just in the future, but now in the present.
And I think that if we would intentionally praise and remember the resurrection, we will be reminded that we can call on God to work that same power in our life and in our struggle for holiness.
I’ve experienced some victories in my life, and I don’t’ want to say too much, but I’ve been experiencing one as I speak.
The Resurrection power of Christ, gives us the hope of sanctification. The hope to face the Present.
The Hope of Glorification: I can look Forward to the Future
Glorification: It means to be perfected. This process of sanctification will come to an end.
Not just are you justified, and your sins are dealt with. Not just are you sanctified, and made holy.
1 Cor 15:20 “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, first fruits of those who have fallen asleep”
This chapter is dedicated to describing what our resurrection is going to look like.
Christ’s resurrected body shows us what our resurrected bodies will be like, according to Paul’s analogy of the firstfruit.
In agriculture, it was the first of the crop that was picked up and offered. But the rest was to follow.
If Christ was the firstfruit, and he was raised from the dead to a new beautified and glorified body, we know that we too will be raised up on the last day.
Not just a soul that’ll rise up into heaven, but a new, glorified body like Christ’s.
We can look forward to eternity, our home in heaven.
EX: Paul, 2 Cor 11, Paul talks about his suffering. In Ch. 12, he talks about what he’s seen.
Paul says I don’t care what they do to me, because I’ve seen it, and I’m not letting it go!
Paradise, the Bible explains it to be. Not some far off, abstract place, way out there.
But a very real place, where creation will be made new and glorified, the way God intended it. And we will be there in the fullness of ourselves, in a way we cannot imagine.
No hurt, no tears, no pain. No sin, no guilt, no shame.
In the garden of Eden, there were two trees. The tree of life, and the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve had a choice, to live or to die. They choice death.
But in the Paradise of God, John describes that there will be two trees. The tree of life, and the tree of life. There is not option for sin or death!
This will be the future we can look forward to, the glorification of all believers, living in a glorified creation. The one where God created, and says, It is Good!
The Hope of Jesus’ resurrection is that we will be Justified, and we can forget about the past
We will be sanctified, and we can face the present.
We will be glorified, and we can look forward to a future of eternal bliss.
All across the world today, preachers are preaching about this hope: That we get to enjoy heaven, and we get to live in eternity, in happiness, and bliss, and on and on.
But I don’t want us to miss the point. I don’t want to misplace our hope and our love and affection.
EX: My friend I told you about fell in love with a girl, but it seems liked everything, but the person.
In my opinion, the greatest thing about the hope that we have is that when we are in glorified in a glorified paradise, JESUS IS THERE, and we will see him face to face, and we will be with him.
And Jesus is there because he is risen.
The greatest hope of the Resurrection is that we can have Jesus, because of the very fact that he is Risen.
He’s not dead. And because he lives, I know he’ll be there.
Is my life strictly about me, and what’s in it for me? Is my salvation all about what’s in it for me?
It is in my best interest, and it is good for me. But the heart of it is Jesus, and knowing Jesus!
EX: John Piper asked a question that really sobers me up and puts me in check.
What if you died, and you went to heaven. And you could have the most spectacular sunsets you’ve ever seen. All the toys you can want, All the ice cream you could possible eat, all the best friends in the world, no tears of sadness, but perhaps tears of extreme joy and happiness and tears of sheer exhilaration
Would you want to be there, if Jesus weren’t there?
And the scary thing is that, quite honestly, if we are totally honest with ourselves, many of us would actually say “Yeah, I think I’d be just fine. I’ll take it.”
Have we made the gospel all about ourselves and what I can get out of it and what it can do for me?
And have we made Easter and the hope of the resurrection just about me?
Guys, the Gospel is so much more than just believing that Jesus died and rose again.
The Gospel is JESUS. Jesus is the Gospel. Or as Piper states it. God is the Gospel
That fact that we can have God, we can have Jesus.
It’s fully embraicing Jesus, the person. And if we have the ability to want God, to want Jesus, then we believe everything he says and we’ll do anything he asks in order to be with him.
And he says, believe that I will rise in three days. I will die and resurrect, so that you can have God.
The GOSPEL IS JESUS. JESUS IS THE GOSPEL.
Church, do we want Jesus more than anything in this world?
Do you want the person?
EX: Monica asks me quite a bit in our relationship, that question that girls want to know: “What do you like about me? Why do you love me? Why did you choose me?”
And I know she’s asking because she wants to be affirmed, but I always give her an answer that has never satisfies her. I know that she’s looking for something like “You’re the most beautiful girl in the world”, or “You’re intelligent and I love your character”.
But my answer is always, “You.” I like you because of YOU.
I wish I could give her an answer she wants to hear, but it’s the most sincere answer I can give.
It’s not about your looks, or your wit, or your kindness, nor is it really about your godliness.
I love you because of You. Cuz all these things are things that I like and make me feel good, and all these things might not even be there… but what I’ve come to love is You. The person of You.
EX: Paul – Paul had the SAME KIND OF AFFETION in regards to his religion.
In Phil 3, Paul is at the top of his game. Religiously, he’s achieved all there was to achieve.
In BBall, Think about Lebron James, at the top of his Game.
In making Money. Bill Gates, top of his game.
In Figure Skating. Kim Yu Na. top of her game
In Paul’s day, in religion, Paul was at the top of his game.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:
circumcised on the eighth day,
of the people of Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews;
in regard to the law, a Pharisee;
as for zeal, persecuting the church;
as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
But check out what he says, regarding all these religious things.
He says, “I consider them CRAP.” Excuse my language, but I’m being true to the text.
(8) … I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
All that I have achieved religiously, I consider it crap so that I can know the Savior.
Is that Good News to you? That we can have him, that we can have God, is that Good News to you?
EX: I started a blog two years ago, this time. It’s called “To fall in love with Jesus.” In fact, it was while I was preparing for the Easter sermon in 2008 that I began the blog. My very first entry talks about how I was struggling because I didn’t know how to preach the Easter message: what approach to take? who to target it towards? Should I preach the Gospel? Should I prove the Resurrection?
But as I prayed over the sermon, I wrote about how God convicted me how to preach that morning.
… TO HELP PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS.
Isn’t that what it’s all about? Falling in love with the Person who died for our sins, and who conquered death for us because he rose again, SO THAT I can be Justified/Sanctified/Glorified.
It’s falling in love with JESUS.
As great as all this is: The relief of my guilt, being made a better person, getting to enjoy perfect paradise, in sinless perfection.
The greatest part of all of this is that we Get to know the Savior. We get to be with Jesus. We get God.
Let us not miss this: The Hope of the Resurrection is He is Risen.
And Because He is Risen, He will be there.
And Because He is Risen, I will be there. And you who believe will be there.
And we will be with him, and we will enjoy him and enjoy him, forever and ever. Amen.
For His Sake and Ours- John 6:1-15
INTRO
When I was in college, I used to have this prayer that I would always pray.
“God, I want to reach many, many people for your kingdom. Give me opportunities.”
I didn’t know what that looked like, I just knew that I wanted God to use me greatly to bring people into the kingdom. I just wanted opportunities to share the gospel.
At the time, my dad used to preach monthly at a homeless shelter called the Long Beach Rescue Mission (LBRM)
He always asked me to go with him, but it wasn’t for me.
At the shelter, you have many dirty, smell, scary looking men, who come to eat.
In 2003, my dad was called to go to SF to pastor a church, and so he asked me to go speak for the LBRM.
At once I began to weep.
I am not that Holy! These weren’t tears of happiness.
I was terrified. I’m this 23 year old kid straight out of college. I’m just a little boy to some of these guys.
Who am I to tell men 2 to 3 times older than me how to live and what they need in their life?
What do I have to offer? What do I have to give?
But I realized that this is exactly what I had been asking God for.. Opportunity to reach the multitude.
This morning, we’re looking at a passage where Jesus uses a little boy to reach multitudes by taking what the boy had to offer.
John 6:1-15
God wants to Use You for His Name Sake
God is jealous for His own Name, For his own glory. This is his Mission. To make his name known.
I was asked by a church recently to preach about the boy in the Bible who had 2 fish and 5 loaves, and to prepare a biographical sermon about him.
As I began to study, I started to worry because there’s only one verse in the whole Bible about this boy!
The feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle recorded by all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
This miracle in Jesus’ ministry is extremely significant.
But the boy is only mentioned in one of the gospel accounts- John’s- and in only one verse of this one account!
Here it is: in V. 9 Andrew says “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish…”
And as I began to read over the passage, I began to wonder “So how in the world do I preach a sermon about a boy who we know so little about?”
Well, as I prayed and read through this passage, it became clear to me how to preach this story.
I think it became clear to the little boy as well.
The little boy probably came to realize that his offering of his 2fish/5loaves was NOT about him.
It purpose wasn’t even just about providing food for thousands of people…
It was for a greater purpose. It was for His NAME sake. For the sake of Jesus’ name. For the sake of His glory.
This story really isn’t about the boy at all, nor is it about the people. It’s about Jesus! The name of Jesus.
V. 14 calls this a feeding of 5000 a “miracle”.
In the Greek the word for miracle is “semeion”, literally, a “sign”.
What is a sign? A sign labels something and marks it as distinct from everything else. It points out something significant about whatever it is assigned to.
EX: Signs. When you first visited this church last year, how did you know that this concrete structure was the place that you were supposed to be?
The sign outside was pointing me to this building as being the place where this church meets!
There is a sign outside that says this is Torrance Church of the Nazarene.
The sign made this church distinct from the other buildings and stores and shops on this street.
The miracles of Jesus were signs, as John called them, to mark him as, Christ, the divine Son of God.
They point to him as the one sent by the Father. He’s the Lamb of God.
In the same way, when God uses us in life and in ministry, do we realize that we are to be sign posts pointing not to us, but to the Savior of the world?
That’s JESUS! Call on his name!
God wants to use us for HIS NAME SAKE. For the glory of his name.
But it’s hard isn’t it. We love to have our own name glorified, don’t we?
“Oh, so and so is such a great bible study leader. He is so wise and has so much insight.”
“Oh, so and so’s testimonies are always so powerful and so touching.”
“So and so is such a wonderful singer, her voice is so angelic!”
EX: Retreat I was speaking at a retreat last year, and during free time we had 3 hours to spend.
I was so touched that one of the youth spent most of his free time with me.
People don’t usually go out of their way to spend time with the speaker, and it can get lonely.
At the end of free time, he said “So do you think maybe you can mention me in your sermon tonight?”
I thought to myself, “What? That’s why you hung out with me?! To get your name mentioned?”
If the boy in John 6 was anything like us, he must have felt pretty proud of himself, pretty special to have his little lunch be “the” lunch that was able to provide a filling for well over 5000 people.
“It was my lunch that saved the day. It was my sacrifice.”
But I can imagine that as the boy grew up, and as he read some of the reports written by people like Matthew, Mark, or Luke…
It must have been crushing to find out that his name didn’t make the headlines.
Crushed by news that… he didn’t make the news. ☹
There were no stories circulating titled “Boy feeds 5000”.
Why? Because the boy didn’t feed 5000. Jesus did.
History does not remember the name of this boy.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke didn’t find it significant enough to even mention him.
History remembers this incredible miracle as the time when “Jesus fed the 5000”.
It was a sign that pointed to Jesus as the almighty one.
It is his name that remains glorified.
Do we realize that what we have to offer and sacrifice is not to bring glory to ourselves?
That we are not to touch the glory?
Whether it’s serving at church, leading worship or bible studies, or making sacrifices for others… It’s not to advance my name?
Deep down inside, I don’t think we get it.
EX: John 1, John the Baptist impresses me by his understanding of this. He got it.
People from all over are coming to him, and learning from him, and getting baptized by him.
He was gaining so much attention that the Jews and the priests and the leaders wanted to find out more about who this popular guy was.
“Are you the Christ?” The anointed One sent by God?.......... “No.”
“Are you Elijah? The man of God who is to return?”………… “No.”
“Are you The Prophet? The one that Moses prophesied to come?” ……….“No.”
Can you imagine how good it feels when people think you’re really something, even if you’re not?
EX: I sometimes get to speak at Korean churches. I’ve noticed that they hold the speaker in high regard. Even though I am not ordained as a pastor, or even finished with seminary, they always address me as “Pastor”. I don’t think I deserve it, so I ask them to just call me Greg, they say “Ok, Pastor Greg!”
I have to be honest, my flesh loves to hear that title attached to my name.
Recently, I received a phone call, and the person asked if they can speak with the “Reverend” Greg Mah.
And I have to tell you the truth, it felt good.
“Pastor” and “Reverend” are the same things, but “Reverend” carries that meaning of “one worthy of respect, or reverence”.
I was flattered, and tempted to let the person continue thinking that I was worthy of the title “Reverend”.
Finally, I had to come forth and struggled to say to her, “Please, just call me Greg.”
It felt good while it lasted.
But John the Baptist did not hesitate to point these guys in the RIGHT direction.
He says, “NO! not me!”
“There is one who comes of whose thongs of his sandals I am not worthy of untying!”
I’m not even worthy enough to touch those dirty feet that he walks on!
He tries to convince the people that he himself is not the Christ, but Jesus is.
Then in John 3:30, he says the most incredible thing:
“He must become greater; I must become less.” And goes on pointing people to Jesus the Son of God.
He is exalted, The king is exalted.
What is our cry when God uses us in mighty ways, when he uses our gifts, and when we serve?
When you receive praise from man, is the cry of our heart “He must become greater; I must become less.”
Or is it “He must become greater; and so must I.”
EX: Concert. I went to a Christian concert a few years back
This band is very famous, and they are well known for their music and songs.
I’ve been to concerts before, but it was different because they started to play actual worship songs.
We started singing a simple chorus, “He is exalted, the King is exalted on High, I will Praise Him”
It was clear that the presence of God was in that place, and you knew that everyone was lifting their arms to heaven in sincere worship.
But when the music stopped, we opened our eyes and looked down…the stage was completely empty.
The band had pointed everyone toward Heaven, exalting the King, the Name above all names,
and they slowly, and secretly exited the stage in a way as to not draw any attention, refusing any kind of standing ovation for themselves.
How can we be sign posts pointing people to God, to exalt his name, and then quietly exit the stage so that the glory belongs to God alone?
In Jn 6, We don’t know who this boy who offered his lunch is.
And I don’t know if the boy humbly stepped out of the scene, or if that’s just the way history wrote it.
But for us, that’s how it will be written.
God wants to use you, but for His name sake. Our story is about Jesus.
God wants to use you for Your sake.
Here’s the graciousness of God in glorifying His own name:
He will use us and bless us in the process.
Not for the glory of our name, but for the deepening of our faith. For faith-sake
I hate to break it to you...God can glorify himself without us, no problem. He doesn’t NEED us.
EX: Feeding with Manna. We all remember the feeding of the 5000, but what about the feeding of the 600,000?
Remember the 600,000 men, who Moses led out of Egypt?
(That was just the number of men. People estimate the Exodus to be 2-3 million Israelites. )
God brought bread called from Heaven called Manna, not just for one meal, but for 40 years!!
No offence to the little boy, but Jesus didn’t need his fish and bread to perform a miracle!
GOD DOESN’T NEED US to in order to do miraculous wonders that Glorify Himself.
He doesn’t need us to win souls, or to preach his message, or to feed the needy.
But God graciously CHOOSES to use us. Just like He chose to use the boy’s fish and bread.
It was to glorify Himself, but I think a secondary reason was for the sake of the boy.
To take him, and the disciples, deeper into their faith in who Jesus is.
God’s primary mission in all the earth is to make his name known,
and sometimes He chooses to use you when doing things for His name sake.
Why? For your sake.
So that our knowledge of who he is would grow. So that your faith in His power would grow. So that our love for him will grow.
There’s something powerful about watching a man multiply 2fish/5loaves…
But it’s significantly more powerful for you…when it’s YOUR fish and bread that’s he multiplying!
I’m certain that the thousands of people there, and the disciples, were changed by the experience when they saw Jesus multiply the food.
But I suspect that the boy’s faith was impacted more so than the rest of the 5000 who were fed.
Why? Cuz it was his offering that was used by Jesus and multiplied!
There are many opportunities to witness the power of God at work, it’s all around us.
But it seems most powerful you when he chooses to takes you and uses what you have to offer.
Ex: Taiwan Team
I led a team to Taiwan the past 3 summers, and God was doing amazing things through our past trips.
I want to show you a video clip of what God was doing.
One of our Taiwanese friends named Mona had been helping us for a couple years, but she wasn’t a Christian. We had been praying for her all year to know Christ. There was a lot of pain in her life. She had come home to find her mom had committed suicide.
Another friend we had just met was Foster. He came into the church the Sunday before we were leaving for US. We began to talk, and share the gospel with him.
That night, there was a typhoon, so people came over to our apt. Mona came, and Foster came.
Foster kept asking us to share our “stories” with him. He needed evidence that God was real.
After we talked and prayed, he was crying, saying that this was such a wonderful day.
Later in the hallway, another conversation with Mona started up. Mona finally opened her heart to Jesus Christ.
Show Video
I showed this video last year to the Chinese congregation.
Some people told me they were so touched that they were crying.
I showed it to the English ministry. People were so touched they started crying.
We rejoice together at the power of God to save sinners.
As moved and as joyful as Christians may be when they see and hear of this… I don’t know if anyone is as impacted as the 9 of us who were able to be used by God.
Watching this video probably doesn’t may not change your life.
But we watched God take the investment we made, our time, energy, gifts and testimonies to speak truth into Mona and Foster’s life.
And when we saw God use it to reach others, God’s name was glorified.
And the 9 of us were deeply and personally impacted by it. We were blessed by it, in a way nobody else is.
God was using us in Taiwan for His Name sake,
but chose to use us also for our sake, for the strengthening of our faith.
Closing
When my dad asked me to preach at Long Beach Rescue Mission, and I was at the table in tears, I ran to my room and wept. My dad came after me and we prayed together.
We prayed that God would use us and empower us to preach the gospel.
I went to preach at Long Beach.
But I was so terrified that I had 20 friends come with me. Not to watch me, but to sit and pray for me.
Then came the part I dreaded: the call for commitment.
“Does anyone want to trust in Christ as Lord and Savior? 25-30 hands go up!
“Does anyone want to recommit their life to Christ?”
Another 25 hands or so go up, and one by one people start coming forward for prayer.
God took the little that I had offer, and he used me that night.
He used me, and He was glorified. He used me, primarily for his name sake.
And man, was my faith in the power of God deepened.
He used me, not only for His name sake, but he also chose to use me for my sake.
Closing
We don’t know much about this little boy in John 6.
All we know is this: he gave what he had to offer at the moment.
Offer all that you have to the Lord, whether great or small. It all belongs to him anyways.
Whether it’s your finances or possessions, your gifts and abilities, maybe it’s your time and your energy.
The most selfish thing you can do is to completely surrender all that you have to God.
It is in your best interest. You will be blessed.
1 Tim 3:13 “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”
But in being used, you will be blessed. Your faith will be made strong.
And in doing so, God WILL be glorified, He WILL be exalted among the nations.
When I was in college, I used to have this prayer that I would always pray.
“God, I want to reach many, many people for your kingdom. Give me opportunities.”
I didn’t know what that looked like, I just knew that I wanted God to use me greatly to bring people into the kingdom. I just wanted opportunities to share the gospel.
At the time, my dad used to preach monthly at a homeless shelter called the Long Beach Rescue Mission (LBRM)
He always asked me to go with him, but it wasn’t for me.
At the shelter, you have many dirty, smell, scary looking men, who come to eat.
In 2003, my dad was called to go to SF to pastor a church, and so he asked me to go speak for the LBRM.
At once I began to weep.
I am not that Holy! These weren’t tears of happiness.
I was terrified. I’m this 23 year old kid straight out of college. I’m just a little boy to some of these guys.
Who am I to tell men 2 to 3 times older than me how to live and what they need in their life?
What do I have to offer? What do I have to give?
But I realized that this is exactly what I had been asking God for.. Opportunity to reach the multitude.
This morning, we’re looking at a passage where Jesus uses a little boy to reach multitudes by taking what the boy had to offer.
John 6:1-15
God wants to Use You for His Name Sake
God is jealous for His own Name, For his own glory. This is his Mission. To make his name known.
I was asked by a church recently to preach about the boy in the Bible who had 2 fish and 5 loaves, and to prepare a biographical sermon about him.
As I began to study, I started to worry because there’s only one verse in the whole Bible about this boy!
The feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle recorded by all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
This miracle in Jesus’ ministry is extremely significant.
But the boy is only mentioned in one of the gospel accounts- John’s- and in only one verse of this one account!
Here it is: in V. 9 Andrew says “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish…”
And as I began to read over the passage, I began to wonder “So how in the world do I preach a sermon about a boy who we know so little about?”
Well, as I prayed and read through this passage, it became clear to me how to preach this story.
I think it became clear to the little boy as well.
The little boy probably came to realize that his offering of his 2fish/5loaves was NOT about him.
It purpose wasn’t even just about providing food for thousands of people…
It was for a greater purpose. It was for His NAME sake. For the sake of Jesus’ name. For the sake of His glory.
This story really isn’t about the boy at all, nor is it about the people. It’s about Jesus! The name of Jesus.
V. 14 calls this a feeding of 5000 a “miracle”.
In the Greek the word for miracle is “semeion”, literally, a “sign”.
What is a sign? A sign labels something and marks it as distinct from everything else. It points out something significant about whatever it is assigned to.
EX: Signs. When you first visited this church last year, how did you know that this concrete structure was the place that you were supposed to be?
The sign outside was pointing me to this building as being the place where this church meets!
There is a sign outside that says this is Torrance Church of the Nazarene.
The sign made this church distinct from the other buildings and stores and shops on this street.
The miracles of Jesus were signs, as John called them, to mark him as, Christ, the divine Son of God.
They point to him as the one sent by the Father. He’s the Lamb of God.
In the same way, when God uses us in life and in ministry, do we realize that we are to be sign posts pointing not to us, but to the Savior of the world?
That’s JESUS! Call on his name!
God wants to use us for HIS NAME SAKE. For the glory of his name.
But it’s hard isn’t it. We love to have our own name glorified, don’t we?
“Oh, so and so is such a great bible study leader. He is so wise and has so much insight.”
“Oh, so and so’s testimonies are always so powerful and so touching.”
“So and so is such a wonderful singer, her voice is so angelic!”
EX: Retreat I was speaking at a retreat last year, and during free time we had 3 hours to spend.
I was so touched that one of the youth spent most of his free time with me.
People don’t usually go out of their way to spend time with the speaker, and it can get lonely.
At the end of free time, he said “So do you think maybe you can mention me in your sermon tonight?”
I thought to myself, “What? That’s why you hung out with me?! To get your name mentioned?”
If the boy in John 6 was anything like us, he must have felt pretty proud of himself, pretty special to have his little lunch be “the” lunch that was able to provide a filling for well over 5000 people.
“It was my lunch that saved the day. It was my sacrifice.”
But I can imagine that as the boy grew up, and as he read some of the reports written by people like Matthew, Mark, or Luke…
It must have been crushing to find out that his name didn’t make the headlines.
Crushed by news that… he didn’t make the news. ☹
There were no stories circulating titled “Boy feeds 5000”.
Why? Because the boy didn’t feed 5000. Jesus did.
History does not remember the name of this boy.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke didn’t find it significant enough to even mention him.
History remembers this incredible miracle as the time when “Jesus fed the 5000”.
It was a sign that pointed to Jesus as the almighty one.
It is his name that remains glorified.
Do we realize that what we have to offer and sacrifice is not to bring glory to ourselves?
That we are not to touch the glory?
Whether it’s serving at church, leading worship or bible studies, or making sacrifices for others… It’s not to advance my name?
Deep down inside, I don’t think we get it.
EX: John 1, John the Baptist impresses me by his understanding of this. He got it.
People from all over are coming to him, and learning from him, and getting baptized by him.
He was gaining so much attention that the Jews and the priests and the leaders wanted to find out more about who this popular guy was.
“Are you the Christ?” The anointed One sent by God?.......... “No.”
“Are you Elijah? The man of God who is to return?”………… “No.”
“Are you The Prophet? The one that Moses prophesied to come?” ……….“No.”
Can you imagine how good it feels when people think you’re really something, even if you’re not?
EX: I sometimes get to speak at Korean churches. I’ve noticed that they hold the speaker in high regard. Even though I am not ordained as a pastor, or even finished with seminary, they always address me as “Pastor”. I don’t think I deserve it, so I ask them to just call me Greg, they say “Ok, Pastor Greg!”
I have to be honest, my flesh loves to hear that title attached to my name.
Recently, I received a phone call, and the person asked if they can speak with the “Reverend” Greg Mah.
And I have to tell you the truth, it felt good.
“Pastor” and “Reverend” are the same things, but “Reverend” carries that meaning of “one worthy of respect, or reverence”.
I was flattered, and tempted to let the person continue thinking that I was worthy of the title “Reverend”.
Finally, I had to come forth and struggled to say to her, “Please, just call me Greg.”
It felt good while it lasted.
But John the Baptist did not hesitate to point these guys in the RIGHT direction.
He says, “NO! not me!”
“There is one who comes of whose thongs of his sandals I am not worthy of untying!”
I’m not even worthy enough to touch those dirty feet that he walks on!
He tries to convince the people that he himself is not the Christ, but Jesus is.
Then in John 3:30, he says the most incredible thing:
“He must become greater; I must become less.” And goes on pointing people to Jesus the Son of God.
He is exalted, The king is exalted.
What is our cry when God uses us in mighty ways, when he uses our gifts, and when we serve?
When you receive praise from man, is the cry of our heart “He must become greater; I must become less.”
Or is it “He must become greater; and so must I.”
EX: Concert. I went to a Christian concert a few years back
This band is very famous, and they are well known for their music and songs.
I’ve been to concerts before, but it was different because they started to play actual worship songs.
We started singing a simple chorus, “He is exalted, the King is exalted on High, I will Praise Him”
It was clear that the presence of God was in that place, and you knew that everyone was lifting their arms to heaven in sincere worship.
But when the music stopped, we opened our eyes and looked down…the stage was completely empty.
The band had pointed everyone toward Heaven, exalting the King, the Name above all names,
and they slowly, and secretly exited the stage in a way as to not draw any attention, refusing any kind of standing ovation for themselves.
How can we be sign posts pointing people to God, to exalt his name, and then quietly exit the stage so that the glory belongs to God alone?
In Jn 6, We don’t know who this boy who offered his lunch is.
And I don’t know if the boy humbly stepped out of the scene, or if that’s just the way history wrote it.
But for us, that’s how it will be written.
God wants to use you, but for His name sake. Our story is about Jesus.
God wants to use you for Your sake.
Here’s the graciousness of God in glorifying His own name:
He will use us and bless us in the process.
Not for the glory of our name, but for the deepening of our faith. For faith-sake
I hate to break it to you...God can glorify himself without us, no problem. He doesn’t NEED us.
EX: Feeding with Manna. We all remember the feeding of the 5000, but what about the feeding of the 600,000?
Remember the 600,000 men, who Moses led out of Egypt?
(That was just the number of men. People estimate the Exodus to be 2-3 million Israelites. )
God brought bread called from Heaven called Manna, not just for one meal, but for 40 years!!
No offence to the little boy, but Jesus didn’t need his fish and bread to perform a miracle!
GOD DOESN’T NEED US to in order to do miraculous wonders that Glorify Himself.
He doesn’t need us to win souls, or to preach his message, or to feed the needy.
But God graciously CHOOSES to use us. Just like He chose to use the boy’s fish and bread.
It was to glorify Himself, but I think a secondary reason was for the sake of the boy.
To take him, and the disciples, deeper into their faith in who Jesus is.
God’s primary mission in all the earth is to make his name known,
and sometimes He chooses to use you when doing things for His name sake.
Why? For your sake.
So that our knowledge of who he is would grow. So that your faith in His power would grow. So that our love for him will grow.
There’s something powerful about watching a man multiply 2fish/5loaves…
But it’s significantly more powerful for you…when it’s YOUR fish and bread that’s he multiplying!
I’m certain that the thousands of people there, and the disciples, were changed by the experience when they saw Jesus multiply the food.
But I suspect that the boy’s faith was impacted more so than the rest of the 5000 who were fed.
Why? Cuz it was his offering that was used by Jesus and multiplied!
There are many opportunities to witness the power of God at work, it’s all around us.
But it seems most powerful you when he chooses to takes you and uses what you have to offer.
Ex: Taiwan Team
I led a team to Taiwan the past 3 summers, and God was doing amazing things through our past trips.
I want to show you a video clip of what God was doing.
One of our Taiwanese friends named Mona had been helping us for a couple years, but she wasn’t a Christian. We had been praying for her all year to know Christ. There was a lot of pain in her life. She had come home to find her mom had committed suicide.
Another friend we had just met was Foster. He came into the church the Sunday before we were leaving for US. We began to talk, and share the gospel with him.
That night, there was a typhoon, so people came over to our apt. Mona came, and Foster came.
Foster kept asking us to share our “stories” with him. He needed evidence that God was real.
After we talked and prayed, he was crying, saying that this was such a wonderful day.
Later in the hallway, another conversation with Mona started up. Mona finally opened her heart to Jesus Christ.
Show Video
I showed this video last year to the Chinese congregation.
Some people told me they were so touched that they were crying.
I showed it to the English ministry. People were so touched they started crying.
We rejoice together at the power of God to save sinners.
As moved and as joyful as Christians may be when they see and hear of this… I don’t know if anyone is as impacted as the 9 of us who were able to be used by God.
Watching this video probably doesn’t may not change your life.
But we watched God take the investment we made, our time, energy, gifts and testimonies to speak truth into Mona and Foster’s life.
And when we saw God use it to reach others, God’s name was glorified.
And the 9 of us were deeply and personally impacted by it. We were blessed by it, in a way nobody else is.
God was using us in Taiwan for His Name sake,
but chose to use us also for our sake, for the strengthening of our faith.
Closing
When my dad asked me to preach at Long Beach Rescue Mission, and I was at the table in tears, I ran to my room and wept. My dad came after me and we prayed together.
We prayed that God would use us and empower us to preach the gospel.
I went to preach at Long Beach.
But I was so terrified that I had 20 friends come with me. Not to watch me, but to sit and pray for me.
Then came the part I dreaded: the call for commitment.
“Does anyone want to trust in Christ as Lord and Savior? 25-30 hands go up!
“Does anyone want to recommit their life to Christ?”
Another 25 hands or so go up, and one by one people start coming forward for prayer.
God took the little that I had offer, and he used me that night.
He used me, and He was glorified. He used me, primarily for his name sake.
And man, was my faith in the power of God deepened.
He used me, not only for His name sake, but he also chose to use me for my sake.
Closing
We don’t know much about this little boy in John 6.
All we know is this: he gave what he had to offer at the moment.
Offer all that you have to the Lord, whether great or small. It all belongs to him anyways.
Whether it’s your finances or possessions, your gifts and abilities, maybe it’s your time and your energy.
The most selfish thing you can do is to completely surrender all that you have to God.
It is in your best interest. You will be blessed.
1 Tim 3:13 “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”
But in being used, you will be blessed. Your faith will be made strong.
And in doing so, God WILL be glorified, He WILL be exalted among the nations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)