Forgive Mercifully (Matt 18)
In Matt 18, Jesus starts telling this story where a King was owed 10,000 talents.
I know many of us have heard this story before, but I have a feeling most of us don’t understand the significance of 10,000 talents.
When I first read this story, I was like, wow, 10,000 talents. That seems like a lot of money.
For sure much more than the 100 denarii that the other guy owed.
But what most of us don’t intuitively understand is that 10,000 talents is calculated today to $8.4 billion!
10,000 was the translation of the Greek word myrioi, translated simply as “uncountable”, or “countless”.
Sometimes it’s translated 10,000 as just a general term to mean such a great number it’s uncountable.
Young people say, “10 gajillion people”, which is another way of exaggerating and describing something that’s unfathomable.
The Jews listening got Jesus’ point right away. He was making a very clear point in this story: The debt he owed was unpayable. There was no way that he could pay off what he owed.
And yet in mercy, the king lets him go! He had compassion on him and he let him go!
The Greek word for forgive is the word “aphieimi”, literally “to let go”.
The King forgave him Mercifully, because he let him go of the punishment he deserved. The man deserved to be thrown into jail and to have his possessions sold as a punishment, but the King didn’t give him what he deserved.
He let him go.
Brothers and sisters, do we understand the debt of what we owed? As sinners, we owed our life.
Do we understand what we deserve? We deserve the eternal wrath of God.
We have a King who is a perfect God, morally pure and morally perfect.
The Bible makes clear that our sin deserves death, for the wages of sin is death.
It also makes clear that there is nothing we can do, for who can possibly pay the debt?
It is a debt that is too great for us to ever repay. It is unpayable!
Yet our King, our God, has let you go. When you believe, he canceled your debt and let you go. He has forgiven you.
Not only does he let us go, but he makes the payment for us!
While we were still sinners, he gave us Christ his son, to die for us. He provided the payment that was too great for us to ever repay on our own.
Are you thankful for the cross and the unconditional forgiveness shown to you when you believed?
EX: Jason and Cindy
When we forgive, it ought to bring people back to the cross. Not just the forgiven, but the forgiver as well.
The deepest offenses committed against God, has been let go.
Then the story goes on.
V. 28 says that the servant who was just let go, just forgiven of an incredible amount, goes about and sees a fellow servant who owes him 100 denarii.
100 denarii, as you might think, is not a small amount. Sometimes we think Jesus is saying that 100 denarii is so small, how can we not forgive those who commit small offense against us.
100 denarii is about 3 months wages.
If we calculate that in our terms, considering a minimum wage job, that’s still a few thousand dollars.
For someone working full time, that’s easily 10,000 dollars right there.
I don’t think Jesus necessarily has in mind the small things that we need to forgive, such as when someone cuts us off on the 405, or if someone cuts in front of you at McD’s.
Of course Jesus would want us to “let it go” and forgive them.
But what I think Jesus is teaching in this parable is even the serious, deep offenses against you.
The kind of hurt that really takes a toll on you.
The kind of setback that might really put you back financially.
The kind of wrong that may have damaged your reputation.
The kind of slander that has broken friendships.
I think that Jesus would is saying that EVEN these need forgiveness.
Why?
Because he first forgave us. But what he let us go of is of much greater significance then what we may experience here on earth in our earthly relationships.
When we come back to the cross, and recognize what Jesus has done from us. He has forgiven us of crimes we cannot repay. He has saved us for eternity and has reconciled us to the eternal King.
This is an eternal matter!
And if we allow the Holy Spirit to help us just really soak that up, and let him reveal to us the significance of what Christ has done, the riches of his grace and mercy, then these things that others do unto us will truly pale in comparison.
They will fade dimly in the light of Christ.
They are not small things, they are not painless things
But in response to God’s Eternal forgiveness toward us, how can we not also respond with mercy?
As deep as the offense that a brother or sister has committed against you, will you forgive?
We who believe, who truly grasp the infinite love and mercy of our King, will we be able to demonstrate our understanding and our gratitude of what has been done for us?
In Mercy, Will you let the offender go?
Forgive Graciously (2 Cor. 2:5-11)
Turn to 2 Cor. 2:5-11, there’s a situation where a person in the church is guilty of sin, and the majority of the Church has acted out against him, whether it’s some kind of punishment or agreed discipline that they’re putting him through.
There are different theories, but I don’t want to get caught up in the debate.
The important thing is that the sinner is repentant, In v. 7 Paul says:
“Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.”
So whoever it is and whatever he’s done, Paul begs the Church, “Please, I plead with you, reaffirm your love for him and make sure he knows that you love him.”
There’s something more significant here in what Paul is instructing. There’s something more than just words.
In other words, don’t just tell him you forgive him, but show him!
Make sure you comfort him with action and show him that you indeed do love him.
EX: IF you’ve been keeping up with the news, one of the biggest stories a month or two ago was the disappearance of an 8 yr. old girl named Sandra Cantu.
She was last seen skipping and jumping down the street on a surveillance video.
Later she was found raped, murdered, and stuffed into a suitcase and thrown into a pond.
The news of her murder outraged people across the city, CA, and nation.
Hundreds and hundreds of people came to send flowers and light candles and give gifts in memory of Sandra.
As police were transporting all the flowers and gifts, they came across a letter that read “To My Killer”.
Inside the letter wrote “Dear killer, I forgive you. But God will judge you. Sandra”
And I thought about it, and it doesn’t sound like there’s any forgiveness there at all.
It sounds like “Don’t be afraid of me, but you better be afraid of GOD! God’s gonna git you”
TO me, it sounds like its just words. You say you forgive, but you haven’t really forgiven.
Sometimes, It’s easy to say “I forgive you.” But have you really forgiven?
The Bible calls us to not only say you forgive him and relent on your punishment or discipline toward the offender, but now go and proactively comfort the sinner and love him.
Welcome him into your house. Cook him a meal. Take him out. Write him an encouraging letter. Throw him a party.
Your comforting and loving actions will be fruit of true forgiveness. It will be evidence that you have forgiven.
Application: You want me to go out of my way to comfort and love the one who wronged me?
Many of you in this room have been hurt, have been mistreated, have had trust broken.
The point of Jesus’ parable earlier was to forgive in the sense that we let it go. Aphieimi. We’re not going to hold it against them. We’re setting them free.
But I noticed something interesting here in 2 Cor.
Whenever Paul uses the word forgive in this passage, he uses a different word.
It’s not aphieimi, but its “Charisomai.”
The root word means Grace. Charisomai is to “show favorable grace”.
Meaning, you are giving them and showing something they don’t deserve.
The Bible teaches that the Full picture of forgiveness isn’t just letting a person go in mercy (aphieimi), it teaches to also go and show them act out toward them in grace (charidzomai).
It’s going out of your way to comfort them. Going out and show them love and forgiveness by what you do.
“Yeah, they don’t deserve it!!”
But neither did you when Christ showed you his love and forgiveness and died for you on the cross.
Do you realize that you sin against God, and he didn’t only show forgiveness to you by being merciful in withholding wrath from you, from withholding eternal condemnation and damnation from you.
I suppose God could have just declared from Heaven, “Ah, he believes, let him go.” “Don’t punish him”.
He also showed you forgiveness by being gracious to you. Showing you grace when you don’t deserve it.
There is something about his action toward you that demonstrates amazing grace.
You don’t deserve it, but he gave you his Son to Die for you!
You don’t deserve it, but he gave you his Spirit to live in you.
You don’t deserve it, but he gives you his Power to transform you.
You don’t deserve it but he gives you his joy to strengthen you.
You don’t deserve it, but He gives life and life abundantly.
And in his love and forgiveness, he lavishes you with all this.
And for what? For sinning against him and spitting in his face?
For those of you in here who God is calling to forgive, will you show the repentant offender against you that you really do forgive him or her? Will you not only show mercy, but will you also show them grace?
How can you practically comfort them in their sorrow?
Beware the schemes of Satan
Why is it so important that we learn to forgive brothers and sisters in the Church?
2 Cor 2:11 “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
I was talking to a missionary who had as been in Taiwan for 30 yrs.
They say most Americans don’t understand the reality of Spiritual warfare.
Paul talks about Spiritual warfare against the church quite often.
In Eph 4:26-27. “do not let the sun go down on while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
EX: My sister getting her foot in the door. When we were growing up, me and my sister had a special relationship- We Hated each other. We would physically fight all the time.
But see, she had these things that came out of her fingers called nails. People wouldn’t believe they were real, they thought they were Press On nails.
And so she would chase me around the house, and I came to learn that the first place to run is the bathroom, the door with a lock. And I would run, but sometimes she would get there quick enough to at least get her foot in the door.
I knew, that if I let her keep her foothold, and I didn’t actively fight to get it out, I was doomed. Because once her foot was in, then she would get her thigh in. And once her thigh was in, It’s game over.
Paul says in Eph 4 that when we are angry at each other, the devil gets his foot in the door.
“Foothold” in the Greek literally translates “topos”, which means place or location. When you give him place in your relationship, you’ve given him access to set up shop where he can run his business.
We need to be aware of Satan’s schemes.
One of his schemes is to divide. Satan loves to bring division to the body of Christ.
Satan schemes to cause those in the Kingdom of God to divide against themselves.
Why do you think God speaks so adamantly against greed, selfishness, envy, pride, hatred, anger, murder, stealing, lying, etc?
Because these things DIVIDE. They Break relationships.
It is direct rebellion of “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Satan wants to divide us and cause us to rebel against the Greatest commandments given by God.
Even Jesus taught that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Mt. 12:25).
Satan is creative. He’s clever. He’s witty.
He can figure out ways to destroy the Body of Christ…better yet, the Body of Christ to destroy itself.
What a great way to destroy the Body of Christ by turning it’s members against each other
What a great way to destroy the kingdom of God by turning it’s subjects against each other in unforgiveness.
It’s great because it’s one of those devices where it’s so subtle, that we don’t realize that we’re being divided by unforgiveness.
Anger can’t be hidden. Hatred is obvious. Murder is the talk of the town.
But unforgiveness, no one has to know. It can be this deep-rooted sin that hides itself deep in the heart of the offended one. You can keep it all to yourself.
As long as I just keep my distance
As long as we don’t have to be too close.
We’ll just go to church on Fridays and Sundays and I’ll just make sure I sit on the other side.
Unforgiveness is so easy because it’s so easy to get away with.
And so Satan wittingly will scheme to root us in bitter unforgiveness.
But Paul says WE WILL NOT be outwitted by Satan, but we will expose darkness and be aware of his schemes.
We cannot tolerate unforgiveness, lest we let the DEVIL have his way in us.
EX: FCBC Retreat. I spent a lot of time with a guy named Kevin. He was obviously rejected, and spent time by himself a lot. No one talked to him.
I spent a lot of time with him, because it was easy. I didn’t have to talk much. He had so much to say. SO much anger and bitterness because of all the rejection he’s received.
During the retreat, he kept telling me about this one retreat where he was uncontrollably angry.
On the last night, he wanted to confess something to me, that was so shameful. He said that one time, he was so desperate, that he prayed to Satan to help him.
I was like “WHAT?@!!” That is a NO NO. Anyone who knows anything about Spiritual warfare knows that we are never to invite Satan into our lives.
By doing so, you give him permission to have influence over you, and he takes you up on it and acts like one of those unwanted visitors who make themselves at home and never wants to leave.
Even when you engage in activities like ouiji board, or fortune telling, or séances, you invited Satanic influence in.
But Kevin straight up asked the Devil to help him.
I hope that disturbs you, because that is extremely disturbing.
But Church, please listen. We will not be outwitted by Satan, we will be aware of his schemes.
When we insist and persist in unforgiveness, we are unwittingly giving Satan access to our lives.
We are giving him a place, a topos, a foothold to set up shop, and build his business.
Please be aware of Satan’s schemes. AS crazy as it is for someone to pray to Satan, let us be aware of ways we may give permission for outside influence
We cannot tolerate unforgiveness; but MUST forgive as Christ forgave us. Both in Mercy, and in Grace.
In obedience to our King, and in defiance to our enemy.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Bringing in the Kingdom- Luke 10:1-20- OMF Orientation, Taiwan
Intro:
I believe the Kingdom of God is coming to Taiwan. It has already come and reached many people, mostly in the middle and upper classes. But I believe that even among the working class, which is virtually unreached… I believe the Kingdom of God is near.
The Harvest is SO plentiful, and the workers are few, but growing. Some of the workers have been here for decades, and with short-term teams like us, I believe that God will send more and more workers out into His field, and I believe the Kingdom of God is very near to Taiwan.
This is only my third year here, but already I’ve seen how plentiful the harvest is.
Our first year, our team came and taught English, but we really grew close to three girls who were our helpers for the English camp. Charlene, Mona, and Alice.
Picture: Charlene, Mona, and Alice.
While on this trip, we prayed that we would be a light to them and that God would save them.
Mona had a quite dramatic event in her life that brought her to the JOME Camp. Before, her mom had committed suicide, and she was in the house when it happened.
When we went home to LA, we brought them back with us. Not in person, but in prayer. We shared about the three with our church, and throughout the year we continued to pray for Mona, Charlene, and Alice. We also kept in touch with them.
You can imagine the deep sense of pain and depression that one would go through when such a close loved one passes, especially in the way that Mona’s mom chose to leave.
Last year we came back, and got to see the three of them again. In fact, we got to hang out with them quite a bit.
But we also met other people. Here is a picture of Foster.
Picture: Foster
Foster came into the church for the first time while we were here in Taiwan the last Sunday before we left. Here we’re talking for the first time, and he’s sharing with me about how he wants to move in a couple weeks to Australia.
Australia?! That’s a big move, especially for a Taiwanese guy who knows very little English.
But he told me, in his words, it’s because he wants to get away from his environment. He said “I want to change my personality.
I asked “what do you mean?” He said, “I’m a bad person, I don’t like who I’ve become.”
I was shocked! And I looked at him and said, “Foster, you’re right. You are a bad person.”
And I was able to show him in the word that he indeed is bad, as our whole team is bad, but we have a God who is very good.
The Harvest here in Taiwan is plentiful! There are people who are ready for the Kingdom, and I believe God is bringing us to them.
Who will go and bring them into the Kingdom?
Look at Luke 10:1-3.
V. 1 “Jesus sent people out two by two, to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, ‘The Harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”
Many times I hear that Jesus sent out 72 people out in order to spread the work. Since Jesus was just one person, this was his strategy to spread the work efficiently.
But look again in v. 1. It says he sent them to where he himself was about to go.
Jesus plans to go to these places to bring the kingdom, yet he sends the disciples there to go ahead of him before he does.
Jesus is going to be the one who actually brings The Kingdom of God to them. It sounds as if Jesus is to be the one who will close the deal.
But wait, aren’t the disciples the workers who are supposed to go into the Harvest and reap the harvest? The harvest is plentiful right?
But Jesus never said the reap the harvest, he just said it’s plentiful, and that he’s sending them where the harvest is plentiful.
And it seems to me that Jesus sends the disciples to go and prepare the people for their encounter with Jesus. For Christ’s coming to them.
How are the disciples supposed to prepare the people? By telling them about the Kingdom of God.
V. 8-9, Jesus instructs them to go into the town, and if they are welcomed, they are to proclaim that “The kingdom of God is near you.”
But then in v. 10-11, if they enter the town and are not welcomed, what are they supposed to proclaim? “The kingdom of God is near you.”
That is their task! They are to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is very near. It is not far at all!
Christians, I hope we understand that the kingdom Jesus preached was not a just a physical place, somewhere out there that believers will go to someday.
Is Heaven the Kingdom of God?
It sure is!
But the Kingdom is much nearer than a future place. A kingdom is anywhere that a King reigns.
In Jesus’ preaching, it is the reign of a King, the rule of a Lord, in people’s lives. It is where God assumes the throne and is in the highest place.
According to Jesus, the Kingdom of God will come when Christ the King comes.
When they see Christ, and believe upon him as Lord of their lives, then the kingdom of God has come to them.
Jesus’ command to the disciples at this time wasn’t necessarily to go into the harvest field and reap the harvest; the command was go in the harvest field and prepare them for the kingdom.
The kingdom of God was near to them, for Jesus was about to go to them.
Just as the disciples were sent in pairs ahead of Him, so are we to go out as a team to places where Christ will go.
Our task is to prepare people for the Kingdom, for the reign of Christ in their lives.
Whether it’s kids at an English camp, or youth at a internet café, or prostitutes in a park, or orphans in an orphanage, or workers in their shops, it should be the conscious task at hand:
Prepare them for the Kingdom of God. Specifically, Prepare them for an encounter with the King.
But aren’t we supposed to go and give them the Gospel so that they’d be saved? Aren’t we here to save people?
Sorry to break the news to you guys, but you can’t save people. You will not save people.
Jesus can. And Jesus will.
And I know that sounds so cheesy. And of course we know WE can’t save people.
No, but really, Jesus saves people, and Jesus brings people into his Kingdom.
And I think if we let this understanding that we have in our intellect, that Jesus is the one who actually saves, that Jesus closes the deal, and we let it trickle down into our hearts, then I think we will find great joy in being part of this mission.
So much pressure and such great expectations that we may have will be relieved, when we realize that it’s not really up to us, nor is it in our control, nor is it in our ability, nor is it in our sufficiency to save.
It is in the power of Christ to encounter a person and work in his heart to accept the Lordship of Christ.
Sharing the gospel doesn’t save people. Teaching the Bible doesn’t. Sharing our testimonies don’t. Hold English camps won’t cut it either.
Jesus saves people. Christ the King brings them into the Kingdom. The Lord of the Harvest reaps those who are ripe among his harvest.
All the things that we are going to do on this trip are only means to prepare them for an encounter with the King.
1 Cor 3:6-7, Paul also draws a picture of a harvest field. He tells the Corinthians, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.
We can sow seeds, we can water the plants, but we ourselves cannot save people.
Our message and ministry these next few weeks should be a faithful commitment to help prepare people to experience the love and person of Jesus Christ.
V. 2 is a sober reminder who’s harvest this really belongs to.
He says “Ask the LORD of the harvest, therefore, to send workers into the harvest field.”
Next line, “Go, I’m sending you.”
It’s like he’s telling them, “You’re gonna realize that man, there are so many people who need to be saved and who need to come into the kingdom, you’re gonna be so overwhelmed that you’re gonna be like, “We need more people! We need more workers!”
And Jesus says, “Go ahead, ask the Lord of the Harvest, the one who’s in control of it all, to send people.”
“Oh, that’s me, Go ahead, go. I’m sending you.”
By implication, he says “I AM the Lord of the Harvest! It belongs to me!”
Will we let the Lord be the LORD of His Harvest? Will we trust that he will reap in his time and that he’ll bring the Kingdom of God in his time?
Will we faithfully go out into this field and be faithful to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
And then trust that we are only the workers, whether we are planting seeds, or water seeds that have already been planted?
And then ultimately leave it into the hands of the Lord of the Harvest to reap in his due time, when he chooses to encounter them and bring His Kingship into peoples lives when they are ready?
Closing
That day when Foster walked into the church, was our last Sunday in Taiwan. We were supposed to go down to the south tip of Taiwan to relax a couple days before leaving.
However, by God’s sovereignty, a typhoon came, and we were advised not to go out.
But Praise the Lord, because that meant Foster could come over to our apartment and we could share more with him.
In fact, Mona came too, along with some of the others we had built relationships with along the way.
When we got back to our apt., no joke, listen to this: Foster kept insisting that we share with him “Stories” of how God works in our lives.
And thanks to our wonderful training from OMF, we were ready with our stories!
He kept insisting on needing evidence of how God is real and how he actually cares for us and loves us.
And one by one in a little circle, we shared our “stories”, and we related it with the Gospel.
We prayed, and Foster began to cry.
And Foster kept saying to us “I’m so happy. This is so wonderful.”
He said that this was a “wonderful day”. He kept saying in Chinese that he was so touched.
Soon after, another conversation started in the hallway of our apartment.
Throughout our trip, many of our team members talked and prayed with Mona about her pain.
That night, the youngest member on our team was talking with Mona about the difficulty she was experiencing in her life.
After a long conversation, and much prayer, Mona finally gave her life to Christ as her personal Lord and Savior!
Foster was so touched to see the joy in that apartment over one soul saved!
VIDEO: Foster.
Foster stayed the night with us. And the next morning, there was a powerful typhoon, but something even more powerful than that was going on.
VIDEO: Foster
The Harvest is plentiful in Taiwan, and the workers are few.
The LORD of the Harvest is saying to us, “Go, I’m sending you out as workers into my field.”
Let us be faithful to proclaim the Kingdom of God, and let Christ be the one to bring his Kingship in his Sovereign timing.
I believe the Kingdom of God is coming to Taiwan. It has already come and reached many people, mostly in the middle and upper classes. But I believe that even among the working class, which is virtually unreached… I believe the Kingdom of God is near.
The Harvest is SO plentiful, and the workers are few, but growing. Some of the workers have been here for decades, and with short-term teams like us, I believe that God will send more and more workers out into His field, and I believe the Kingdom of God is very near to Taiwan.
This is only my third year here, but already I’ve seen how plentiful the harvest is.
Our first year, our team came and taught English, but we really grew close to three girls who were our helpers for the English camp. Charlene, Mona, and Alice.
Picture: Charlene, Mona, and Alice.
While on this trip, we prayed that we would be a light to them and that God would save them.
Mona had a quite dramatic event in her life that brought her to the JOME Camp. Before, her mom had committed suicide, and she was in the house when it happened.
When we went home to LA, we brought them back with us. Not in person, but in prayer. We shared about the three with our church, and throughout the year we continued to pray for Mona, Charlene, and Alice. We also kept in touch with them.
You can imagine the deep sense of pain and depression that one would go through when such a close loved one passes, especially in the way that Mona’s mom chose to leave.
Last year we came back, and got to see the three of them again. In fact, we got to hang out with them quite a bit.
But we also met other people. Here is a picture of Foster.
Picture: Foster
Foster came into the church for the first time while we were here in Taiwan the last Sunday before we left. Here we’re talking for the first time, and he’s sharing with me about how he wants to move in a couple weeks to Australia.
Australia?! That’s a big move, especially for a Taiwanese guy who knows very little English.
But he told me, in his words, it’s because he wants to get away from his environment. He said “I want to change my personality.
I asked “what do you mean?” He said, “I’m a bad person, I don’t like who I’ve become.”
I was shocked! And I looked at him and said, “Foster, you’re right. You are a bad person.”
And I was able to show him in the word that he indeed is bad, as our whole team is bad, but we have a God who is very good.
The Harvest here in Taiwan is plentiful! There are people who are ready for the Kingdom, and I believe God is bringing us to them.
Who will go and bring them into the Kingdom?
Look at Luke 10:1-3.
V. 1 “Jesus sent people out two by two, to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, ‘The Harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”
Many times I hear that Jesus sent out 72 people out in order to spread the work. Since Jesus was just one person, this was his strategy to spread the work efficiently.
But look again in v. 1. It says he sent them to where he himself was about to go.
Jesus plans to go to these places to bring the kingdom, yet he sends the disciples there to go ahead of him before he does.
Jesus is going to be the one who actually brings The Kingdom of God to them. It sounds as if Jesus is to be the one who will close the deal.
But wait, aren’t the disciples the workers who are supposed to go into the Harvest and reap the harvest? The harvest is plentiful right?
But Jesus never said the reap the harvest, he just said it’s plentiful, and that he’s sending them where the harvest is plentiful.
And it seems to me that Jesus sends the disciples to go and prepare the people for their encounter with Jesus. For Christ’s coming to them.
How are the disciples supposed to prepare the people? By telling them about the Kingdom of God.
V. 8-9, Jesus instructs them to go into the town, and if they are welcomed, they are to proclaim that “The kingdom of God is near you.”
But then in v. 10-11, if they enter the town and are not welcomed, what are they supposed to proclaim? “The kingdom of God is near you.”
That is their task! They are to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is very near. It is not far at all!
Christians, I hope we understand that the kingdom Jesus preached was not a just a physical place, somewhere out there that believers will go to someday.
Is Heaven the Kingdom of God?
It sure is!
But the Kingdom is much nearer than a future place. A kingdom is anywhere that a King reigns.
In Jesus’ preaching, it is the reign of a King, the rule of a Lord, in people’s lives. It is where God assumes the throne and is in the highest place.
According to Jesus, the Kingdom of God will come when Christ the King comes.
When they see Christ, and believe upon him as Lord of their lives, then the kingdom of God has come to them.
Jesus’ command to the disciples at this time wasn’t necessarily to go into the harvest field and reap the harvest; the command was go in the harvest field and prepare them for the kingdom.
The kingdom of God was near to them, for Jesus was about to go to them.
Just as the disciples were sent in pairs ahead of Him, so are we to go out as a team to places where Christ will go.
Our task is to prepare people for the Kingdom, for the reign of Christ in their lives.
Whether it’s kids at an English camp, or youth at a internet café, or prostitutes in a park, or orphans in an orphanage, or workers in their shops, it should be the conscious task at hand:
Prepare them for the Kingdom of God. Specifically, Prepare them for an encounter with the King.
But aren’t we supposed to go and give them the Gospel so that they’d be saved? Aren’t we here to save people?
Sorry to break the news to you guys, but you can’t save people. You will not save people.
Jesus can. And Jesus will.
And I know that sounds so cheesy. And of course we know WE can’t save people.
No, but really, Jesus saves people, and Jesus brings people into his Kingdom.
And I think if we let this understanding that we have in our intellect, that Jesus is the one who actually saves, that Jesus closes the deal, and we let it trickle down into our hearts, then I think we will find great joy in being part of this mission.
So much pressure and such great expectations that we may have will be relieved, when we realize that it’s not really up to us, nor is it in our control, nor is it in our ability, nor is it in our sufficiency to save.
It is in the power of Christ to encounter a person and work in his heart to accept the Lordship of Christ.
Sharing the gospel doesn’t save people. Teaching the Bible doesn’t. Sharing our testimonies don’t. Hold English camps won’t cut it either.
Jesus saves people. Christ the King brings them into the Kingdom. The Lord of the Harvest reaps those who are ripe among his harvest.
All the things that we are going to do on this trip are only means to prepare them for an encounter with the King.
1 Cor 3:6-7, Paul also draws a picture of a harvest field. He tells the Corinthians, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.
We can sow seeds, we can water the plants, but we ourselves cannot save people.
Our message and ministry these next few weeks should be a faithful commitment to help prepare people to experience the love and person of Jesus Christ.
V. 2 is a sober reminder who’s harvest this really belongs to.
He says “Ask the LORD of the harvest, therefore, to send workers into the harvest field.”
Next line, “Go, I’m sending you.”
It’s like he’s telling them, “You’re gonna realize that man, there are so many people who need to be saved and who need to come into the kingdom, you’re gonna be so overwhelmed that you’re gonna be like, “We need more people! We need more workers!”
And Jesus says, “Go ahead, ask the Lord of the Harvest, the one who’s in control of it all, to send people.”
“Oh, that’s me, Go ahead, go. I’m sending you.”
By implication, he says “I AM the Lord of the Harvest! It belongs to me!”
Will we let the Lord be the LORD of His Harvest? Will we trust that he will reap in his time and that he’ll bring the Kingdom of God in his time?
Will we faithfully go out into this field and be faithful to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
And then trust that we are only the workers, whether we are planting seeds, or water seeds that have already been planted?
And then ultimately leave it into the hands of the Lord of the Harvest to reap in his due time, when he chooses to encounter them and bring His Kingship into peoples lives when they are ready?
Closing
That day when Foster walked into the church, was our last Sunday in Taiwan. We were supposed to go down to the south tip of Taiwan to relax a couple days before leaving.
However, by God’s sovereignty, a typhoon came, and we were advised not to go out.
But Praise the Lord, because that meant Foster could come over to our apartment and we could share more with him.
In fact, Mona came too, along with some of the others we had built relationships with along the way.
When we got back to our apt., no joke, listen to this: Foster kept insisting that we share with him “Stories” of how God works in our lives.
And thanks to our wonderful training from OMF, we were ready with our stories!
He kept insisting on needing evidence of how God is real and how he actually cares for us and loves us.
And one by one in a little circle, we shared our “stories”, and we related it with the Gospel.
We prayed, and Foster began to cry.
And Foster kept saying to us “I’m so happy. This is so wonderful.”
He said that this was a “wonderful day”. He kept saying in Chinese that he was so touched.
Soon after, another conversation started in the hallway of our apartment.
Throughout our trip, many of our team members talked and prayed with Mona about her pain.
That night, the youngest member on our team was talking with Mona about the difficulty she was experiencing in her life.
After a long conversation, and much prayer, Mona finally gave her life to Christ as her personal Lord and Savior!
Foster was so touched to see the joy in that apartment over one soul saved!
VIDEO: Foster.
Foster stayed the night with us. And the next morning, there was a powerful typhoon, but something even more powerful than that was going on.
VIDEO: Foster
The Harvest is plentiful in Taiwan, and the workers are few.
The LORD of the Harvest is saying to us, “Go, I’m sending you out as workers into my field.”
Let us be faithful to proclaim the Kingdom of God, and let Christ be the one to bring his Kingship in his Sovereign timing.
God is Good, Satan is Bad- Chia Cheng Church, Taiwan
The Bible teaches that as believers, we must forgive one another.
I want to show you two reasons why the Bible teaches us to forgive.
Forgive because God is so Good
We must forgive because God is good. We forgive because of what God has done for us when he gave us Jesus.
In Matt 18, Jesus starts telling this story where a King was owed 10,000 talents.
You may have heard this story before, but I have a feeling most of people from different parts of the world don’t understand the significance of Jesus’ story.
When I first read this story, I thought, “Wow, 10,000 talents. That seems like a lot of money!”
But what most of us don’t quite understand is the actual value of the 10,000 talents. It is calculated today to be $8.4 billion USD (227 billion NTD)!
Who can pay off such a debt? No one.
10,000 was the translation of the Greek word myrioi, translated simply as “uncountable”, or “countless”.
Sometimes it’s translated 10,000 as just a general term to mean such a great number it’s uncountable.
Americans people say, “A zillion people”, which is another way of exaggerating and describing something that’s unfathomable.
The Jews listening got Jesus’ point right away. He was making a very obvious point in this story: The debt he owed was unpayable. There was no way that he could pay off what he owed.
And yet in forgiveness, the king lets him go! He had compassion on him and he let him go!
The word forgiveness literally means “to let go”.
The man deserved to be thrown into jail and to have his possessions sold as a punishment, but the King let him go.
He forgave him.
Brothers and sisters, do we understand the debt of what we owed? As sinners, we owed our life.
We deserve the eternal wrath and separation of God.
We have a King who is a perfect God, morally pure and morally perfect.
The Bible makes clear that our sin and disobedience deserves death, for the wages of sin is death.
The Bible also makes clear that there is nothing we can do, for who can possibly pay the debt?
There is not enough good you can do. Not enough money you can pay. Not enough worship you can offer. Not enough sacrifices you can make.
You can try and you can try to earn the forgiveness of the King and make up for your debt, but you will fail.
It is a debt that is too great for us to ever repay.
Just like the Jews understood that it is unpayable, we need to understand that the price for our sin is unpayable.
Yet our God, our King, has let you go. When you believe that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, has died for you, he canceled your debt and let you go. He has forgiven you.
Romans 5:8 “While we were still sinners, Christ Died for us”. He provided the payment that was too great for us to ever repay on our own.
Are you thankful for the cross and the incredible forgiveness shown to you when you believed?
Do we even understand how much we’ve been forgiven?
Many times I hear Christians say that they’re not sure if they really understand what Christ has done for them.
EX: Jason and Cindy
When we forgive, it ought to bring people back to the cross.
Both will understand more and more how much it cost for Christ to die on the cross.
Not just the forgiven, but the forgiver as well.
(BTW, In God’s redeeming plan, they got engage a few weeks ago.)
But the story goes on.
V. 28 says that the servant who was just let go, just forgiven of such an incredible amount, goes about and sees a fellow servant who owes him 100 denarii.
100 denarii, as you might think, is not a small amount. Sometimes we think Jesus is saying that 100 denarii is so small, how can we not forgive those who commit small offense against us.
100 denarii is about 3 months wages.
I’m not sure how much that is for a Taiwanese person, but for an American, that’s easily a 10,000’s of dollars.
I don’t think Jesus is necessarily teaching us that we need to forgive the small things, such as when someone cuts in front of you at 7-11, or if someone takes your parking space at Taisuco.
Of course Jesus would want us to “let it go” and forgive them. Those things shouldn’t be hard to forgive!
But what I think Jesus is teaching in this parable is even the serious offenses against you need to be forgiven.
The kind of hurt that really effects you.
The kind of hurt that might really put you back financially.
The kind of wrong that may have damaged your reputation.
The kind of slander that has broken friendships.
I think that Jesus would is saying that EVEN these need forgiveness.
Why?
Because he first forgave us.
But what he forgave us of is of much greater significance then the things committed against us here on earth.
When we come back to the cross, we realize what Jesus has already done for us. He has forgiven us of crimes we cannot repay.
This is an eternal matter! It goes beyond the consequences here on earth.
And if we allow the Holy Spirit to help us understand the significance of what Christ has done, the riches of his grace and mercy, then these things that others do unto us will begin to fade dimly in the light of Christ.
I know what you suffer aren’t always small things, they are not painless things.
But in response to God’s Eternal forgiveness toward us, how can we receive such great mercy and not also respond to our fellow man with mercy?
As deep as the offense that a brother or sister has committed against you, will you forgive?
Because God is good, and in view of the significance of what he’s done for you, Will you now go forgive your brother or your sister?
Forgive because Satan is Bad
We forgive because God is good, but also because Satan is bad.
We forgive because of what God has done for us 2000 years ago, But we also forgive for what Satan is trying to do to us right now.
In 2 Cor 2, Paul is calling the church to forgive a brother who was living in sin.
The church together had disciplined the sinner, but now Paul commands the church to love him and forgive him.
IN v. 11, he gives the reason why forgiveness is so necessary.
2 Cor 2:11 “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
We can see evidence of spiritual warfare in many different ways.
Sometimes it is very obvious that Satan is attacking, but sometimes it’s much more subtle.
In Eph 4:26-27. “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
EX: My sister getting her foot in the door. When we were growing up, me and my sister had a special relationship- We Hated each other. We would physically fight all the time.
But see, she had these things extremely scary fingernails. Most people wouldn’t believe they were real.
And so she would chase me around the house, and I came to learn that the first place to run is the bathroom, the door with a lock. And I would run, but sometimes she would get there quick enough to at least get her foot in the door.
I knew, that if I let her keep her foothold, and I didn’t actively fight against it, I was doomed. Because once her foot was in, then she would get her thigh in. And once her thigh was in, I was dead.
Paul says in Eph 4 that when we stay angry at each other, the devil gets his foot in the door.
When you give him place in your relationship, you’ve given him a place to run his business and shed his influence.
We MUST be aware of Satan’s schemes.
One of Satan’s schemes is to divide.
Satan schemes to cause those in the Kingdom of God to divide against themselves.
Even Jesus taught that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Mt. 12:25).
Why do you think God speaks so adamantly against, selfishness, envy, hatred, anger, murder, stealing, lying?
Because these things DIVIDE. They Break relationships.
It is direct rebellion against the command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Satan wants to divide us and cause us to rebel against the Greatest commandments given by God.
Satan is creative. He’s clever. He’s witty.
He can figure out ways to destroy the Body of Christ…better yet, the Body of Christ to destroy itself.
What a great way to destroy the kingdom of God by turning it’s subjects against each other in unforgiveness.
It’s so clever because it’s one of those devices where it’s so subtle, that we don’t realize that we’re being divided by unforgiveness.
Anger can’t be hidden. Hatred is obvious. Murder is the talk of the town.
But unforgiveness, no one has to know. It can be this deep-rooted sin that hides itself deep in the heart. You can keep it all to yourself.
“As long as I just keep my distance.” “As long as we don’t have to be too close.”
“We’ll just go to church on Sundays and I’ll just make sure I sit on the other side.”
Unforgiveness is so easy because it’s so easy to get away with.
And so Satan wittingly will scheme to root us in bitter unforgiveness.
But Paul says WE WILL NOT be outwitted by Satan, but we will expose darkness and we will be aware of his schemes.
We cannot tolerate unforgiveness, lest we let the DEVIL have his way in us.
EX: FCBC Retreat. I spent a lot of time with a guy named Kevin. He was obviously rejected, and spent time by himself a lot. No one talked to him.
I spent a lot of time with him, because it was easy. I didn’t have to talk much. He had so much to say. SO much anger and bitterness because of all the rejection he’s received.
During the retreat, he kept telling me about this one retreat where he was uncontrollably angry.
On the last night, he wanted to confess something to me, that was so shameful.
He said that one time, he was so desperate, that he prayed to Satan to help him.
I was like “WHAT?@!! How can you do such a thing?!”
As believers, we know that we are never to invite demonic influence into our lives.
By doing so, you give Satan permission to have influence over you, and he takes you up on it and never wants to leave. He will not leave easily.
Even when you engage in activities like fortune telling, or idol worship, you invite Satanic influence in.
But here Kevin directly asked Satan to help him. The Father of all evil spirits.
And it made sense, no wonder he became so violent and angry.
I hope that shocks you, because that is extremely disturbing.
But Brothers and sisters, please listen.
Let us not be outwitted by Satan. We will be aware of his schemes.
When we insist and persist in unforgiveness, we are unwittingly giving Satan access to our lives.
We are giving him a foothold to set up shop, and run his business.
Please be aware of Satan’s schemes. AS disturbing as it is for someone to pray to Satan, let us be aware of ways we may give Satan permission in our lives.
We forgive because God has been so good to forgive us first.
And we must forgive because Satan has evil schemes to divide us.
We cannot tolerate unforgiveness; but MUST forgive as Christ forgave us.
I want to show you two reasons why the Bible teaches us to forgive.
Forgive because God is so Good
We must forgive because God is good. We forgive because of what God has done for us when he gave us Jesus.
In Matt 18, Jesus starts telling this story where a King was owed 10,000 talents.
You may have heard this story before, but I have a feeling most of people from different parts of the world don’t understand the significance of Jesus’ story.
When I first read this story, I thought, “Wow, 10,000 talents. That seems like a lot of money!”
But what most of us don’t quite understand is the actual value of the 10,000 talents. It is calculated today to be $8.4 billion USD (227 billion NTD)!
Who can pay off such a debt? No one.
10,000 was the translation of the Greek word myrioi, translated simply as “uncountable”, or “countless”.
Sometimes it’s translated 10,000 as just a general term to mean such a great number it’s uncountable.
Americans people say, “A zillion people”, which is another way of exaggerating and describing something that’s unfathomable.
The Jews listening got Jesus’ point right away. He was making a very obvious point in this story: The debt he owed was unpayable. There was no way that he could pay off what he owed.
And yet in forgiveness, the king lets him go! He had compassion on him and he let him go!
The word forgiveness literally means “to let go”.
The man deserved to be thrown into jail and to have his possessions sold as a punishment, but the King let him go.
He forgave him.
Brothers and sisters, do we understand the debt of what we owed? As sinners, we owed our life.
We deserve the eternal wrath and separation of God.
We have a King who is a perfect God, morally pure and morally perfect.
The Bible makes clear that our sin and disobedience deserves death, for the wages of sin is death.
The Bible also makes clear that there is nothing we can do, for who can possibly pay the debt?
There is not enough good you can do. Not enough money you can pay. Not enough worship you can offer. Not enough sacrifices you can make.
You can try and you can try to earn the forgiveness of the King and make up for your debt, but you will fail.
It is a debt that is too great for us to ever repay.
Just like the Jews understood that it is unpayable, we need to understand that the price for our sin is unpayable.
Yet our God, our King, has let you go. When you believe that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, has died for you, he canceled your debt and let you go. He has forgiven you.
Romans 5:8 “While we were still sinners, Christ Died for us”. He provided the payment that was too great for us to ever repay on our own.
Are you thankful for the cross and the incredible forgiveness shown to you when you believed?
Do we even understand how much we’ve been forgiven?
Many times I hear Christians say that they’re not sure if they really understand what Christ has done for them.
EX: Jason and Cindy
When we forgive, it ought to bring people back to the cross.
Both will understand more and more how much it cost for Christ to die on the cross.
Not just the forgiven, but the forgiver as well.
(BTW, In God’s redeeming plan, they got engage a few weeks ago.)
But the story goes on.
V. 28 says that the servant who was just let go, just forgiven of such an incredible amount, goes about and sees a fellow servant who owes him 100 denarii.
100 denarii, as you might think, is not a small amount. Sometimes we think Jesus is saying that 100 denarii is so small, how can we not forgive those who commit small offense against us.
100 denarii is about 3 months wages.
I’m not sure how much that is for a Taiwanese person, but for an American, that’s easily a 10,000’s of dollars.
I don’t think Jesus is necessarily teaching us that we need to forgive the small things, such as when someone cuts in front of you at 7-11, or if someone takes your parking space at Taisuco.
Of course Jesus would want us to “let it go” and forgive them. Those things shouldn’t be hard to forgive!
But what I think Jesus is teaching in this parable is even the serious offenses against you need to be forgiven.
The kind of hurt that really effects you.
The kind of hurt that might really put you back financially.
The kind of wrong that may have damaged your reputation.
The kind of slander that has broken friendships.
I think that Jesus would is saying that EVEN these need forgiveness.
Why?
Because he first forgave us.
But what he forgave us of is of much greater significance then the things committed against us here on earth.
When we come back to the cross, we realize what Jesus has already done for us. He has forgiven us of crimes we cannot repay.
This is an eternal matter! It goes beyond the consequences here on earth.
And if we allow the Holy Spirit to help us understand the significance of what Christ has done, the riches of his grace and mercy, then these things that others do unto us will begin to fade dimly in the light of Christ.
I know what you suffer aren’t always small things, they are not painless things.
But in response to God’s Eternal forgiveness toward us, how can we receive such great mercy and not also respond to our fellow man with mercy?
As deep as the offense that a brother or sister has committed against you, will you forgive?
Because God is good, and in view of the significance of what he’s done for you, Will you now go forgive your brother or your sister?
Forgive because Satan is Bad
We forgive because God is good, but also because Satan is bad.
We forgive because of what God has done for us 2000 years ago, But we also forgive for what Satan is trying to do to us right now.
In 2 Cor 2, Paul is calling the church to forgive a brother who was living in sin.
The church together had disciplined the sinner, but now Paul commands the church to love him and forgive him.
IN v. 11, he gives the reason why forgiveness is so necessary.
2 Cor 2:11 “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
We can see evidence of spiritual warfare in many different ways.
Sometimes it is very obvious that Satan is attacking, but sometimes it’s much more subtle.
In Eph 4:26-27. “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
EX: My sister getting her foot in the door. When we were growing up, me and my sister had a special relationship- We Hated each other. We would physically fight all the time.
But see, she had these things extremely scary fingernails. Most people wouldn’t believe they were real.
And so she would chase me around the house, and I came to learn that the first place to run is the bathroom, the door with a lock. And I would run, but sometimes she would get there quick enough to at least get her foot in the door.
I knew, that if I let her keep her foothold, and I didn’t actively fight against it, I was doomed. Because once her foot was in, then she would get her thigh in. And once her thigh was in, I was dead.
Paul says in Eph 4 that when we stay angry at each other, the devil gets his foot in the door.
When you give him place in your relationship, you’ve given him a place to run his business and shed his influence.
We MUST be aware of Satan’s schemes.
One of Satan’s schemes is to divide.
Satan schemes to cause those in the Kingdom of God to divide against themselves.
Even Jesus taught that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Mt. 12:25).
Why do you think God speaks so adamantly against, selfishness, envy, hatred, anger, murder, stealing, lying?
Because these things DIVIDE. They Break relationships.
It is direct rebellion against the command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Satan wants to divide us and cause us to rebel against the Greatest commandments given by God.
Satan is creative. He’s clever. He’s witty.
He can figure out ways to destroy the Body of Christ…better yet, the Body of Christ to destroy itself.
What a great way to destroy the kingdom of God by turning it’s subjects against each other in unforgiveness.
It’s so clever because it’s one of those devices where it’s so subtle, that we don’t realize that we’re being divided by unforgiveness.
Anger can’t be hidden. Hatred is obvious. Murder is the talk of the town.
But unforgiveness, no one has to know. It can be this deep-rooted sin that hides itself deep in the heart. You can keep it all to yourself.
“As long as I just keep my distance.” “As long as we don’t have to be too close.”
“We’ll just go to church on Sundays and I’ll just make sure I sit on the other side.”
Unforgiveness is so easy because it’s so easy to get away with.
And so Satan wittingly will scheme to root us in bitter unforgiveness.
But Paul says WE WILL NOT be outwitted by Satan, but we will expose darkness and we will be aware of his schemes.
We cannot tolerate unforgiveness, lest we let the DEVIL have his way in us.
EX: FCBC Retreat. I spent a lot of time with a guy named Kevin. He was obviously rejected, and spent time by himself a lot. No one talked to him.
I spent a lot of time with him, because it was easy. I didn’t have to talk much. He had so much to say. SO much anger and bitterness because of all the rejection he’s received.
During the retreat, he kept telling me about this one retreat where he was uncontrollably angry.
On the last night, he wanted to confess something to me, that was so shameful.
He said that one time, he was so desperate, that he prayed to Satan to help him.
I was like “WHAT?@!! How can you do such a thing?!”
As believers, we know that we are never to invite demonic influence into our lives.
By doing so, you give Satan permission to have influence over you, and he takes you up on it and never wants to leave. He will not leave easily.
Even when you engage in activities like fortune telling, or idol worship, you invite Satanic influence in.
But here Kevin directly asked Satan to help him. The Father of all evil spirits.
And it made sense, no wonder he became so violent and angry.
I hope that shocks you, because that is extremely disturbing.
But Brothers and sisters, please listen.
Let us not be outwitted by Satan. We will be aware of his schemes.
When we insist and persist in unforgiveness, we are unwittingly giving Satan access to our lives.
We are giving him a foothold to set up shop, and run his business.
Please be aware of Satan’s schemes. AS disturbing as it is for someone to pray to Satan, let us be aware of ways we may give Satan permission in our lives.
We forgive because God has been so good to forgive us first.
And we must forgive because Satan has evil schemes to divide us.
We cannot tolerate unforgiveness; but MUST forgive as Christ forgave us.
Get Your Hands Up- OMF Debrief
JH: Many of the members on our team actually sacrificed quite a bit to come and serve here in Taiwan. Because they are on missions this summer, they aren’t able to go to our church’s college and young adult retreat.
It’s up at a place in CA called JH Ranch. It’s a place where we can do outdoor activities like white water rafting, hikes, explore lakes, participate in rodeos, rope courses. And all this to learn more about God.
Well, even though they are here in Taiwan, I believe we can still learn a lot from JH Ranch about God.
Tango
The whole time we were being instructed to get our hands up, and when I had no strength to give, it was what lifted the weight off our shoulders.
I’m reminded of Ex 17. The Amalekites are fighting against the Israelites, and Moses sends Joshua to the front lines to fight, while he goes up to the hill and he just raises his hands to Lord. And it says that as long as his hands were raised the Israelites would be winning, but whenever he got tired, they would be losing.
So Aaron and Hur would sit him down and take his hands on each side and hold them up!
What was it about his hands being raised up that caused them to be successful in battle. Is there something magical about hands being raised?
V. 16 Says that hands were lifted to the throne of the LORD. The throne represents authority and power and sovereignty. It wasn’t so much hands being lifted up, but physical posture was an intentional act to acknowledge the power and authority of Yahweh the King.
And it was even a team effort here. When Moses had not much strength left to give, and found it hard to keep his attention fixed on God, the men would come alongside him and intentionally raise his hands back up to the throne of the Lord.
Here in Taiwan, God was shouting out to us from Scripture to “Raise up your hands”, and Hallelujah anyway.
IN all situations, when abundance flows or in dry times, in spiritual battle or times of peace, we were reminded to just praise God anyway.
God Ceremony: One night, when we were just hanging out in our apt after a day of ministry, we see this huge bonfire out in the field right outside our balcony. People were in a large circle, 4 people parading around a god, people chanting. Our there was just silence as we all stood and watched in the darkness of our apt. We started praying over the god ceremony that was taking place.
And even in that situation, we as a team stopped to praise. We said to ourselves, it’s a good time to just praise God. And so we sang praises.
IN all situations, hallelujah.
When you’re tired from ministry, and you have no strength left to give, just hallelujah anyway.
Intentionally fix your attention on the character of God, and acknowledge who he is, specifically as it relates to your situation, and praise him. Get your hands up.
FOSTER: many of you guys asked about Foster, and if we got to see him. Thank you for asking. IT was actually probably the thing I looked forward to the most, even more than seeing the Kids. I had visited him in the winter, and he was walking so strong with the Lord, that I couldn’t wait to meet up with him again.
It was hard for me though, and I’m sure the team, when we learned that he hadn’t been going to the church for that past couple months.
We were supposed to see him, but he never contacted us. When we tried to call him, he wouldn’t pick up.
One of the church members called him, and talked to him, and Foster said that he didn’t want to go to church anymore. That something happened, and he was so effected that he decided he would stop attending.
And there was so much room for me to be discouraged by the news, but I decided in my heart, “Hallelujah anyways!”
But it wasn’t just random praise in my heart. I intentionally directed my praise to a God who is Sovereign and started praising him for the fact that he is Sovereign over Fosters life. I can rest in the fact that Foster’s salvation isn’t up to me. Salvation belongs to our God.
And I found a lot of peace and strength when my hands are lifted to God and I praise him anyway.
I have found a lot of freedom in worshipping with hands lifted to the throne of God. IN fact, there’s times I feel uncomfortable if I’m not able to use the body God gave me to reflect what’s going on in the heart of worship that he gave me.
People, will think things of you, but hallelujah anyway.
And whether you physically raise your hands or not, let’s help each other and intentionally turn our praise, our mind and our hearts, to the throne of God, and praise him anyway.
It’s up at a place in CA called JH Ranch. It’s a place where we can do outdoor activities like white water rafting, hikes, explore lakes, participate in rodeos, rope courses. And all this to learn more about God.
Well, even though they are here in Taiwan, I believe we can still learn a lot from JH Ranch about God.
Tango
The whole time we were being instructed to get our hands up, and when I had no strength to give, it was what lifted the weight off our shoulders.
I’m reminded of Ex 17. The Amalekites are fighting against the Israelites, and Moses sends Joshua to the front lines to fight, while he goes up to the hill and he just raises his hands to Lord. And it says that as long as his hands were raised the Israelites would be winning, but whenever he got tired, they would be losing.
So Aaron and Hur would sit him down and take his hands on each side and hold them up!
What was it about his hands being raised up that caused them to be successful in battle. Is there something magical about hands being raised?
V. 16 Says that hands were lifted to the throne of the LORD. The throne represents authority and power and sovereignty. It wasn’t so much hands being lifted up, but physical posture was an intentional act to acknowledge the power and authority of Yahweh the King.
And it was even a team effort here. When Moses had not much strength left to give, and found it hard to keep his attention fixed on God, the men would come alongside him and intentionally raise his hands back up to the throne of the Lord.
Here in Taiwan, God was shouting out to us from Scripture to “Raise up your hands”, and Hallelujah anyway.
IN all situations, when abundance flows or in dry times, in spiritual battle or times of peace, we were reminded to just praise God anyway.
God Ceremony: One night, when we were just hanging out in our apt after a day of ministry, we see this huge bonfire out in the field right outside our balcony. People were in a large circle, 4 people parading around a god, people chanting. Our there was just silence as we all stood and watched in the darkness of our apt. We started praying over the god ceremony that was taking place.
And even in that situation, we as a team stopped to praise. We said to ourselves, it’s a good time to just praise God. And so we sang praises.
IN all situations, hallelujah.
When you’re tired from ministry, and you have no strength left to give, just hallelujah anyway.
Intentionally fix your attention on the character of God, and acknowledge who he is, specifically as it relates to your situation, and praise him. Get your hands up.
FOSTER: many of you guys asked about Foster, and if we got to see him. Thank you for asking. IT was actually probably the thing I looked forward to the most, even more than seeing the Kids. I had visited him in the winter, and he was walking so strong with the Lord, that I couldn’t wait to meet up with him again.
It was hard for me though, and I’m sure the team, when we learned that he hadn’t been going to the church for that past couple months.
We were supposed to see him, but he never contacted us. When we tried to call him, he wouldn’t pick up.
One of the church members called him, and talked to him, and Foster said that he didn’t want to go to church anymore. That something happened, and he was so effected that he decided he would stop attending.
And there was so much room for me to be discouraged by the news, but I decided in my heart, “Hallelujah anyways!”
But it wasn’t just random praise in my heart. I intentionally directed my praise to a God who is Sovereign and started praising him for the fact that he is Sovereign over Fosters life. I can rest in the fact that Foster’s salvation isn’t up to me. Salvation belongs to our God.
And I found a lot of peace and strength when my hands are lifted to God and I praise him anyway.
I have found a lot of freedom in worshipping with hands lifted to the throne of God. IN fact, there’s times I feel uncomfortable if I’m not able to use the body God gave me to reflect what’s going on in the heart of worship that he gave me.
People, will think things of you, but hallelujah anyway.
And whether you physically raise your hands or not, let’s help each other and intentionally turn our praise, our mind and our hearts, to the throne of God, and praise him anyway.
You Are Being Watched- Orange County Chinese Alliance Church
INTRO: Grandma
My wife and I got married about a month and a half ago.
It was a grand occasion. Friends and family from all over the world came to be a part of the wedding.
All, but one. My Grandma.
My Grandma loves my wife and I. She is so excited every time she hears about us.
She always loves to see pictures of us.
She even spends countless hours knitting together matching sweaters for both of us to wear.
As much as Grandma is overjoyed because of our wedding, she could not make it because she is very old. She is 93.
This past weekend, my family traveled up to SF to have a family dinner with Grandma to celebrate our marriage.
She was so happy. She always told my mom that she wants to introduce us to her neighbors to show us off. She was so excited to have my wife come and see her place.
But when we arrived, she would not let me or Monica come up stairs to her apt.
She wouldn’t even let us walk her to her door.
My grandma is getting old, and has recently become paranoid.
She claims that she sees spies crawl into her apartment at night and steal her money.
She believes that her apartment is wired and every word is being recorded.
Monica and I spent time printing photos and putting together an album for her of our wedding, but she refused to take it.
She was afraid that the spies would come in again and take that too.
She believes that there are spies that are watching her every move.
I know you’re probably not as old as my Grandma, but do you ever feel that way?
Do you ever feel like you’re being watched?
Well I’m here today to assure you…that you are.
You are being watched by Unbelievers.
We are being watched by non-Christians.
Jesus even says so in Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden”
Jesus was talking to the people of Jerusalem. See because Jerusalem was this big city that sat right on top of the Mountain, and many people can see the city.
But not just that, they were the People of God. They were always noticed by those surrounding them…There was no way they could go without being unnoticed.
In the same way, we as Christians, as the people of God, are always being watched. There is no way that we can go without being watched.
Unbelievers are watching, whether they are seeking truth and wanting to observe how we live, or if they’re just looking for reasons to accuse of doing wrong or being hypocrites.
But Jesus continues in Matthew 5:16 to say that since you are the Light of the World, you need to “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven.”
Because we know we are being watched, we ought to do good at all times so that when people see us, they can’t help but to praise God in Heaven.
In Titus 2:7-8, Paul tells a young Christian named Titus, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good…so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
Consider your life: Does your life and actions cause people to shun God?
Let me ask a better question: Doe your life and actions draw people to God. Do unbelievers want to love God because they are drawn to the way you live?
EX: Hudson Taylor…Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light.
They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor's saintly character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior.
Whether we realize it or not, our example leaves an impression on others.
Unbelievers are watching you.
You are being watched by Believers.
You might be surrounded by unbelievers, but you also have to realize that you are also surrounded by Christians. Just look around. Christians everywhere.
Just as we need to be in good behavior, living a righteous life in front of non-believers, we to need to live in good behavior among the Believers, because they too are watching you.
Biggest Complaint: Christians. I think it’s sad that one of the biggest reasons people who used to call themselves Christians, or people who used to go to church, are no longer, is Christians.
They say Christians are all hypocrites. They blame the way Christians say one thing and do another, and say that don’t want to be like that.
Matthew 5:16 “You are the Light of the World, you need to “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven”.
Our actions should cause others to turn their praise to the Father… not turn away from the Father.
Paul understands that Christians to watch each other. He told the Christians in Corinth to “follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.”
Watch me and learn as I follow Christ.
EX: Pelicans…For many years Monterey, a California coast town, was a pelican's paradise.
As the fishermen cleaned their fish, they flung the offal to the pelicans. The birds grew fat, lazy, and contented. Eventually, however the offal was utilized, and there were no longer snacks for the pelicans. When the change came the pelicans made no effort to fish for themselves. They waited around and grew gaunt and thin. Many starved to death. They had forgotten how to fish for themselves
The problem was solved by importing new pelicans from the south, birds accustomed to foraging for themselves. They were placed among their starving cousins, and the newcomers immediately started catching fish. Before long, the hungry pelicans followed suit, and the famine was ended.
Christians are just like Pelicans. We can’t help but watch others around us and naturally follow their example.
1 Tim 4:12 teaches us to set an example for believers in speech, life, love, faith and purity.”
You’re not only being watched by unbelievers, You are being watched by believers. Make sure you are living Holy. Let your light shine bright.
Unbelievers are watching you. Believers are watching you.
But here’s the main point of what I want to emphasize this morning.
You are being watched by God.
This is the most important reason why we should live holy lives at all times… because God sees you.
You know this already. God knows everything we do, all the good things and all the bad things.
The bible tells us so over and over again. Jesus says it all the time.
In Matthew 5, he says it over and over and over.
Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
When you fast in secret, The Father will see you and reward you.
When you pray in secret.
When you give in secret.
God sees all things!
And we know it with our mind. We know it so well. He’s God.
But though we know it with our mind, so often our hands don’t live like it. Our eyes don’t live like it. Our ears don’t live like it.
1 Cor. 4:5 says that God will one day judge us and bring to light all the good and all the bad we have ever done.
For both unbelievers and believers alike. There is no exception.
As I was preparing this, I realized that I can try to invoke fear into you so that we would live Holy
Because God is a Just God. And God is a wrathful God.
And you WILL be judged.
It’s true.
But I think there is a greater motivation for living a holy life, and letting our light shine.
Because God is a Good God, and He’s worth it! God is worth our life and all that we do should be because he deserves it.
QUESTION: How is your heart? In your heart, do you love God? What goes on in here regarding your view of God?
EX: Water in a bottle. What happens when I shake this? Water comes out
In Luke 6:45, Jesus teaches us that whatever is stored up in the heart, that’s what’s going to come out in the way we walk, the way we talk, the way we live.
If you truly love God, and see Him as a Holy and Worthy God, when we are shaken by temptation, what we believe about God will come out in the way we live.
If you see God as a God who sees all things, but also a Holy God, and one who is worthy of our obedience, it will show in the decisions we make. It’ll show in the way we live.
You guys can try as hard as you want to try to live a good life, but if our inside is not changed and transformed, good will not come out.
If we are not holy from within, and we don’t believe God as a Holy God, Holiness will not come out.
POSER: You’ll try for a while to live holy, and you may pull off a few good deeds, but you will burn out. Why, because there isn’t at the root of us a reverence and love for an All-seeing, all-knowing God.
If we see God for who He is, the Holy and Awesome God that he is, we will start living in the light of a Holy and Awesome God.
So our view of God has to change. How do you view God?
Is God the Most important thing to you in your life? Is he your greatest priority?
John Feng: I was deeply impressed by a prayer of one of the brothers from my church.
He was praying one night, “God, help us to prefer you over everything else in life.”
IF it comes down to sin, or God, I prefer God!
If it comes down to money or God, I prefer God!
If it’s between being loved by another person or being loved by God, I prefer God!
If it’s between being jealous of another and God, I prefer God.
EX: FIREPROOF. I was blessed when I watched the movie Fireproof. In the movie, there’s this couple who’s marriage is about to break up.
One of the reasons was because of his addiction to Internet pornography.
In one scene, he’s struggling with temptation, but knowing that that stuff hurts his wife and kills her inside, he rips out his computer, takes it outside, and destroys it with a baseball bat.
But the best part is that when she comes home, she sees on the desk where the computer used to be a vase of Roses, and a note that says “I Love You More”.
So here’s this thing that he loves in his life, something that had taken great priority.
And yet, he made a choice, and said, “NO, I love my Wife more. I prefer my wife.”
Would you be able to place a note in place of the temptations and sin that you face, and say, “God, I love you more.”
I’m willing to give this up, I’m willing to not to gossip/look at pornography/ spend my money foolishly/ love my wife/husband/ forgive my brother/ because I love you more.
I prefer YOU over sin.
Guys, God is SO good, and He’s so Worth it. He deserves the first and greatest place in our lives.
Do you believe it in your heart?
When we are shaken by temptation to sin, what will come out in the way you live?
See, God could force you to love him, and force you to do things that please him, but he chooses to give us the freedom to choose Him.
Instead, He sits back and Watches you. God is watching you.
And he watches to see what you will choose. Sin? Or Him?
EX: When I was young, I used to fear my dad a lot.
He would spank me whenever I acted up, which was quite often.
He would always say “Don’t be so hyper!” And then he’d spank me and make me cry.
Well, one day, I was playing kickball against our house. And I kicked it, and the ball went straight through my sisters window, and I knew my dad was going to kill me.
My dad heard it, and he runs outside, and he stares at the shattered window, he looks at me, and then walks back into his room where he continued reading.
I was like, “Eh?” Then I was like, “Phew! I’m off the hook! He didn’t get mad!”
So that night, after dinner, I got all hyper and I was acting up and being a bad kid, my dad comes to me, and spanks me!
I start crying like a baby. And as I’m crying, he sits me down and says:
“When you broke the window today, I was furious! But I didn’t say anything and I didn’t spank you. I wanted to see if you were sorry for what you did, so I kept my mouth shut and just watched you all night.
If you were truly sorry, your behavior and your actions should have changed, and I would have let you go.
But he says, “Nothing you done tonight shows me that you are truly sorry.” So I spanked you.
What my dad wanted to see was if there was something really going on inside my heart.
And if there was, he knew it would have showed in my actions.
But my dad, who does love me, that day chose to watch to see how I would act.
Our heavenly Father is SOOOOO patient with us.
He could pour his wrath upon us each time we sin. He has every right to.
But 2 Pet 3:9 says “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”.
And so for now, he just watches. He watches you to see what’s going on in your heart. Because what is truly in your heart, will show in the way you live and the things you do.
What will he see when he looks into your heart and your life?
Do you love God? Do you prefer God? Do you see him as holy? Is he your greatest priority?
Let your light shine bright, because unbelievers are watching you.
Let your light shine bright, because believers are watching you.
Let your light shine bright, because God is watching you.
My wife and I got married about a month and a half ago.
It was a grand occasion. Friends and family from all over the world came to be a part of the wedding.
All, but one. My Grandma.
My Grandma loves my wife and I. She is so excited every time she hears about us.
She always loves to see pictures of us.
She even spends countless hours knitting together matching sweaters for both of us to wear.
As much as Grandma is overjoyed because of our wedding, she could not make it because she is very old. She is 93.
This past weekend, my family traveled up to SF to have a family dinner with Grandma to celebrate our marriage.
She was so happy. She always told my mom that she wants to introduce us to her neighbors to show us off. She was so excited to have my wife come and see her place.
But when we arrived, she would not let me or Monica come up stairs to her apt.
She wouldn’t even let us walk her to her door.
My grandma is getting old, and has recently become paranoid.
She claims that she sees spies crawl into her apartment at night and steal her money.
She believes that her apartment is wired and every word is being recorded.
Monica and I spent time printing photos and putting together an album for her of our wedding, but she refused to take it.
She was afraid that the spies would come in again and take that too.
She believes that there are spies that are watching her every move.
I know you’re probably not as old as my Grandma, but do you ever feel that way?
Do you ever feel like you’re being watched?
Well I’m here today to assure you…that you are.
You are being watched by Unbelievers.
We are being watched by non-Christians.
Jesus even says so in Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden”
Jesus was talking to the people of Jerusalem. See because Jerusalem was this big city that sat right on top of the Mountain, and many people can see the city.
But not just that, they were the People of God. They were always noticed by those surrounding them…There was no way they could go without being unnoticed.
In the same way, we as Christians, as the people of God, are always being watched. There is no way that we can go without being watched.
Unbelievers are watching, whether they are seeking truth and wanting to observe how we live, or if they’re just looking for reasons to accuse of doing wrong or being hypocrites.
But Jesus continues in Matthew 5:16 to say that since you are the Light of the World, you need to “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven.”
Because we know we are being watched, we ought to do good at all times so that when people see us, they can’t help but to praise God in Heaven.
In Titus 2:7-8, Paul tells a young Christian named Titus, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good…so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
Consider your life: Does your life and actions cause people to shun God?
Let me ask a better question: Doe your life and actions draw people to God. Do unbelievers want to love God because they are drawn to the way you live?
EX: Hudson Taylor…Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light.
They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor's saintly character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior.
Whether we realize it or not, our example leaves an impression on others.
Unbelievers are watching you.
You are being watched by Believers.
You might be surrounded by unbelievers, but you also have to realize that you are also surrounded by Christians. Just look around. Christians everywhere.
Just as we need to be in good behavior, living a righteous life in front of non-believers, we to need to live in good behavior among the Believers, because they too are watching you.
Biggest Complaint: Christians. I think it’s sad that one of the biggest reasons people who used to call themselves Christians, or people who used to go to church, are no longer, is Christians.
They say Christians are all hypocrites. They blame the way Christians say one thing and do another, and say that don’t want to be like that.
Matthew 5:16 “You are the Light of the World, you need to “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven”.
Our actions should cause others to turn their praise to the Father… not turn away from the Father.
Paul understands that Christians to watch each other. He told the Christians in Corinth to “follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.”
Watch me and learn as I follow Christ.
EX: Pelicans…For many years Monterey, a California coast town, was a pelican's paradise.
As the fishermen cleaned their fish, they flung the offal to the pelicans. The birds grew fat, lazy, and contented. Eventually, however the offal was utilized, and there were no longer snacks for the pelicans. When the change came the pelicans made no effort to fish for themselves. They waited around and grew gaunt and thin. Many starved to death. They had forgotten how to fish for themselves
The problem was solved by importing new pelicans from the south, birds accustomed to foraging for themselves. They were placed among their starving cousins, and the newcomers immediately started catching fish. Before long, the hungry pelicans followed suit, and the famine was ended.
Christians are just like Pelicans. We can’t help but watch others around us and naturally follow their example.
1 Tim 4:12 teaches us to set an example for believers in speech, life, love, faith and purity.”
You’re not only being watched by unbelievers, You are being watched by believers. Make sure you are living Holy. Let your light shine bright.
Unbelievers are watching you. Believers are watching you.
But here’s the main point of what I want to emphasize this morning.
You are being watched by God.
This is the most important reason why we should live holy lives at all times… because God sees you.
You know this already. God knows everything we do, all the good things and all the bad things.
The bible tells us so over and over again. Jesus says it all the time.
In Matthew 5, he says it over and over and over.
Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
When you fast in secret, The Father will see you and reward you.
When you pray in secret.
When you give in secret.
God sees all things!
And we know it with our mind. We know it so well. He’s God.
But though we know it with our mind, so often our hands don’t live like it. Our eyes don’t live like it. Our ears don’t live like it.
1 Cor. 4:5 says that God will one day judge us and bring to light all the good and all the bad we have ever done.
For both unbelievers and believers alike. There is no exception.
As I was preparing this, I realized that I can try to invoke fear into you so that we would live Holy
Because God is a Just God. And God is a wrathful God.
And you WILL be judged.
It’s true.
But I think there is a greater motivation for living a holy life, and letting our light shine.
Because God is a Good God, and He’s worth it! God is worth our life and all that we do should be because he deserves it.
QUESTION: How is your heart? In your heart, do you love God? What goes on in here regarding your view of God?
EX: Water in a bottle. What happens when I shake this? Water comes out
In Luke 6:45, Jesus teaches us that whatever is stored up in the heart, that’s what’s going to come out in the way we walk, the way we talk, the way we live.
If you truly love God, and see Him as a Holy and Worthy God, when we are shaken by temptation, what we believe about God will come out in the way we live.
If you see God as a God who sees all things, but also a Holy God, and one who is worthy of our obedience, it will show in the decisions we make. It’ll show in the way we live.
You guys can try as hard as you want to try to live a good life, but if our inside is not changed and transformed, good will not come out.
If we are not holy from within, and we don’t believe God as a Holy God, Holiness will not come out.
POSER: You’ll try for a while to live holy, and you may pull off a few good deeds, but you will burn out. Why, because there isn’t at the root of us a reverence and love for an All-seeing, all-knowing God.
If we see God for who He is, the Holy and Awesome God that he is, we will start living in the light of a Holy and Awesome God.
So our view of God has to change. How do you view God?
Is God the Most important thing to you in your life? Is he your greatest priority?
John Feng: I was deeply impressed by a prayer of one of the brothers from my church.
He was praying one night, “God, help us to prefer you over everything else in life.”
IF it comes down to sin, or God, I prefer God!
If it comes down to money or God, I prefer God!
If it’s between being loved by another person or being loved by God, I prefer God!
If it’s between being jealous of another and God, I prefer God.
EX: FIREPROOF. I was blessed when I watched the movie Fireproof. In the movie, there’s this couple who’s marriage is about to break up.
One of the reasons was because of his addiction to Internet pornography.
In one scene, he’s struggling with temptation, but knowing that that stuff hurts his wife and kills her inside, he rips out his computer, takes it outside, and destroys it with a baseball bat.
But the best part is that when she comes home, she sees on the desk where the computer used to be a vase of Roses, and a note that says “I Love You More”.
So here’s this thing that he loves in his life, something that had taken great priority.
And yet, he made a choice, and said, “NO, I love my Wife more. I prefer my wife.”
Would you be able to place a note in place of the temptations and sin that you face, and say, “God, I love you more.”
I’m willing to give this up, I’m willing to not to gossip/look at pornography/ spend my money foolishly/ love my wife/husband/ forgive my brother/ because I love you more.
I prefer YOU over sin.
Guys, God is SO good, and He’s so Worth it. He deserves the first and greatest place in our lives.
Do you believe it in your heart?
When we are shaken by temptation to sin, what will come out in the way you live?
See, God could force you to love him, and force you to do things that please him, but he chooses to give us the freedom to choose Him.
Instead, He sits back and Watches you. God is watching you.
And he watches to see what you will choose. Sin? Or Him?
EX: When I was young, I used to fear my dad a lot.
He would spank me whenever I acted up, which was quite often.
He would always say “Don’t be so hyper!” And then he’d spank me and make me cry.
Well, one day, I was playing kickball against our house. And I kicked it, and the ball went straight through my sisters window, and I knew my dad was going to kill me.
My dad heard it, and he runs outside, and he stares at the shattered window, he looks at me, and then walks back into his room where he continued reading.
I was like, “Eh?” Then I was like, “Phew! I’m off the hook! He didn’t get mad!”
So that night, after dinner, I got all hyper and I was acting up and being a bad kid, my dad comes to me, and spanks me!
I start crying like a baby. And as I’m crying, he sits me down and says:
“When you broke the window today, I was furious! But I didn’t say anything and I didn’t spank you. I wanted to see if you were sorry for what you did, so I kept my mouth shut and just watched you all night.
If you were truly sorry, your behavior and your actions should have changed, and I would have let you go.
But he says, “Nothing you done tonight shows me that you are truly sorry.” So I spanked you.
What my dad wanted to see was if there was something really going on inside my heart.
And if there was, he knew it would have showed in my actions.
But my dad, who does love me, that day chose to watch to see how I would act.
Our heavenly Father is SOOOOO patient with us.
He could pour his wrath upon us each time we sin. He has every right to.
But 2 Pet 3:9 says “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”.
And so for now, he just watches. He watches you to see what’s going on in your heart. Because what is truly in your heart, will show in the way you live and the things you do.
What will he see when he looks into your heart and your life?
Do you love God? Do you prefer God? Do you see him as holy? Is he your greatest priority?
Let your light shine bright, because unbelievers are watching you.
Let your light shine bright, because believers are watching you.
Let your light shine bright, because God is watching you.
Don’t Doubt Thomas! - John 20:24-31
Intro
Story: In College, I remember clearly one night when I was distraught over something stupid I said to one of my good friends, and I just could not get over it. I felt that my friend could never forgive me.
James told me something that hit me hard. He said, “Don’t worry, She knows your character.”
What James was saying was that people know us for the character that’s displayed through our lives. And even though sometimes we make mistakes or do and say things that are out of character, it’s our true character that will shine through. Not individual instances.
The Disciple Thomas often gets a bad rap for being a “doubter”. The disciple Thomas is where we get the term “doubting Thomas”, why? Because we read of a story when he was caught in doubt. After Jesus had died, he wouldn’t believe that Christ had risen until he saw it with his own eyes.
Yet, I don’t think it’s fair to characterize him by that. All the disciples found it hard to believe until they saw Jesus face to face in the flesh after he had risen. We don’t call them the Doubting Disciples
But if we look at the character of Thomas throughout his life, I think we see admirable things that we can take after Thomas.
So If I could, I’d like to suggest another possible name for Thomas.
How about instead of Doubting Thomas, how about “Fearless Thomas”?
Fearless Thomas
Let me show you that Thomas was probably more Fearless than he was doubtful. Perhaps one of the most fearless of the Disciples.
The first story we learn about him comes in John 11. Turn there with me.
Jesus has a call to go to Judea where his friend, Lazarus, is lying sick and on the verge of death.
Here, Jesus plans to actually wait for Lazarus to die. Why? So that he could display God’s mighty power by raising a man who had been rotting in a grave for four days.
His purpose was to Glorify the Father, and instead of healing a man who is sick, he’s going to raising a man who is dead. Not just dead, but rotting. This would be the ultimate demonstration of God’s power.
Read John 11:7-16 with me.
So here are these disciples who think Jesus is out of his mind, for they’ve already experienced their lives threatened when the Jews chased after them to stone them because of Jesus.
“You want to go back there? They’ll KILL you!”
But Jesus had a mission to accomplish, and Jesus will accomplish his purposes.
Out of all the disciples who feared for Jesus’ life, probably driven more so by a fear for their own lives, Thomas the lone ranger speaks up.
“Let’s also go, so that we may die with him.” THAT’s Fearless Thomas.
I don’t know why, but all the commentaries I’ve read like to look at Thomas in this story and call him a Pessimist. Why? I guess cuz he’s sees no good that can come out, no hope of coming out alive.
Pessimistic?! What shouts out to me is the fact that Thomas is incredibly fearless.
He says, “Where Christ goes, I will go too. And I’m ready to die with him.”
Maybe he was pessimistic. Maybe Thomas didn’t see any hope in going with Jesus and coming out alive.
But that only highlights to me his fearless devotion to the Lord. I will die with him.
How many of us here are willing to die for Christ? I’m sure most of us would say we would.
Now it’s one thing to talk the talk. But when it comes to walking the walk into the face danger for the sake of Christ, how many of us would you make that walk?
Many of us STILL would probably say Yes, I would, but it’s still only talk until we’re actually making that walk. You just don’t know until you get there.
My prayer is that we would have the fearlessness of Thomas the Apostle.
Would you go to a place for the sake God’s glory and purposes, knowing that you’re probably going to die?
EX: John Piper said in a sermon that he’s sick and tired of people coming to look for a staff position at his church, which is in the inner city of Minneapolis. He’s sick of the ones who always ask, “Will my Children be safe here?”
He thinks to himself, “Would you please make that question your tenth, and not the first?” American Christian priorities have it all twisted. Whoever said that your children will be safe in the call of God?”
Whoever said you’ll be safe in the call of God?
How are we going to go to the ends of the earth for Jesus’ sake, if we aren’t willing to go into our own land?
God does not command us to go where it is safe. Nor does he guarantee each of us that we will be unharmed.
He does promise that those who will be persecuted for his name will be blessed, and that their reward in heaven is great.
Are we willing to accept the reality that God wants us to speak for him, and that suffering is a very likely path that many of us will take?
EX: These past three years, I’ve been able to go to Taiwan with my church to share the gospel. Over the years, I’ve grown to love Taiwan and the task of sharing the Gospel to those in need. This past year, I was ready to go. Had my tickets purchased, plans made. And I get a phone call from Daniel.
“Greg are you ok?! I had a crazy dream last night. I dreamt that you went to Taiwan, and you were murdered for sharing the gospel.”
I was like, “OMG. I’m going to Taiwan in a couple weeks… to share the gospel!”
He had no idea.
I went, and people prayed for me, and I’m back safely.
But I realize, that if that dream is from God, there’s no time limit to when those events might occur.
I’m going back to Taiwan this summer, and this time it’s probably for good. God knows when we’ll return, if we’ll return.
But in light of Daniel’s dream, I want to have a spirit of fearlessness, and say, “Let’s go, even if it means dying with Him.”
Fearless Thomas. He didn’t just talk the talk, we learn from History that when it came down to it, he walked the walk. He really was fearless Thomas.
According to strong historical testimony, Fearless Thomas lived in light of Jesus’ commission to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth.
After Jesus has ascended, Thomas travels to Ancient Babylon, which is present day Iraq, and preaches the Gospel. From there, he continues to the ends of the earth and brings it to Persia, which is present day Iran.
After preaching there, he hops on a ship and sails to the West coast of India, preaches and sets up churches there, converting High Caste Brahmins to the faith among many.
Til this day, there are churches in India that are traced back to the ministry under Thomas’ preaching.
Finally, when Thomas refused to be quiet and stop preaching the gospel, history tell us that he was thrown into a pit and speared to death. Thomas was fearless for the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, Ask the Lord for fearlessness.
For fearless courage to share the gospel, even if it means death, just like our Lord.
Even Paul, while persecuted in Chains, writes in Eph. 6:19, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel… Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
Faithless Thomas
Now I want to take a look at the incident where Thomas was caught in doubt.
There was a time when Fearless Thomas was temporarily Faithless Thomas, or as many call “Doubting”
I emphasize temporarily because the Lord delivered him from his period of faithlessness, but he lived until his death in his fearlessness.
That title doubting Thomas comes from John 20:19-31.
Here in John 20, Jesus had already been taken away by the Romans and crucified on the Cross.
According to v. 19, it says that “the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews.”
(v. 19) “Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”
Once again, these disciples who were afraid to go into Judea with Jesus because of the Jews, all fled when Christ was taken away, and are now huddled together in a secret hiding place
John emphasizes the doors being locked, because of Fear.
They were all there, except one. Who wasn’t huddled with them behind locked doors in fear?
(v. 24) “Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the Disciples when Jesus came.”
But going on in the story, the disciples are overjoyed when they saw Jesus, risen from the dead. HE turned their mourning into dancing!
And they say to Thomas, “We’ve seen the Lord!”
But Thomas wouldn’t believe it. “How can you tell me that a man who was once dead, is now alive?”
He says to them (v.25) “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
He says unless I see the miracle my self, I will not put my faith in what you say.
At this difficult time in Thomas’ life, Thomas was faithless. He did not believe.
Brothers and Sisters, do you ever find yourself questioning the existence or the reality of God, and like Thomas insist, unless I see, unless He shows me something, I WILL NOT Believe?
Whether you are an unbeliever, or whether you’ve been going to Church your whole life.
We often put ourselves in the disciple’s sandals and say, “Man, if I saw Jesus walk on water, or feed the 5000, I’d believe. My faith would be so strong.”
Or if we were like the Israelites, “If I saw the Red Sea part”, then man, my faith would be so strong, how can I not believe?
Well, you might think that this is weird for a Preacher to say… but hey, why don’t you ask God?
Ask God for a sign?
Why not? Is he not able to show his wonder and his power?
It seems so Taboo in the Christian Church to straight out pray and ask God to reveal himself in some supernatural way. “It lacks faith”.
Well, sometimes we’re faithless, like Thomas, and we do lack faith.
There was a time in my life when I first graduated from College. I was working, serving at Church in many ways.
But it came to a point in my life where God just felt so distant. I was desperate to know that he was real, and that he really did exist in my life.
One night, I literally fell on my knees by my bedside and began to pray, asking the Lord to show himself to me.
Sometimes, our faith is lacking. Sometimes, we struggle with doubt. Why not ask God for help?
EX: Throw up Story.
A few years ago, I was working full time in Irvine. And as I was driving early in the morning to work when my stomach felt seriously upset. I started to barf all over the place.
I heard the words “Get up”, three times. I fell on my knees and started Praising God. I had heard his voice in such an undeniable way, there was no way in my mind that God was not speaking to me.
That day was the very next day after I had pleaded with the Lord, on my knees, to make himself known to me.
In a time where my faith was weak, and lacking, I asked the Lord, and he revealed himself to me.
IN the same way, Faithless Thomas here is so distraught, he needs a sign.
“Unless Jesus appears to me and shows me his nail marks and the wound in his side, I will not have faith.”
Does Jesus honor these kind of foolish requests?
Well, I think God knows what we need. He knows how to meet us where were at.
V. 26 says, a week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Thoughtthe doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them.” He goes straight to Thomas and says “Put your finger here, see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.”
Jesus, knows Thomas’ state of faith, knows his need, and appears to meet him where he is. Without even asking Thomas a question, he offers exactly what Thomas needed.
Thomas, seeing what he demanded, the nail marks in Christ’s hands and the wound in his side.
Christ says to Thomas, “Stop doubting, and believe.” Literally translated, “Stop being faithless, and have faith!”
And at this point Faithless Thomas cries out with faith, the most truthful and truth-filled confession from anyone in the Bible: “My Lord and My God.”
At this point, he’s not only convinced that Jesus has died, like he said, he would. That he raised, like he said he would. To Thomas, Jesus is more than just a human Master, he is GOD.
Thomas, who was faithless for a moment in his life, became faith-filled.
God knows our needs. He knows how to meet us where we are.
Is it wrong to seek God and ask him to Reveal himself, or even ask for a sign?
I don’t think so necessarily.
Thomas needed affirmation. Gideon needed affirmation. I’ve even needed affirmation.
But God knows exactly what we need. Perhaps he’ll choose to reveal Himself to you in the way that you ask.
Or maybe he won’t.
But like he told the Israelites, “ If you seek, you will find me when you seek with all your heart.”
But here’s the greatest lesson we can learn from Thomas’ interaction with Jesus.
After Faithless Thomas sees Christ for himself, and becomes faith-filled, look what Jesus says.
(v. 29) Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
If we ask God to reveal himself to you, I really am convinced that that’s a prayer that God is able to answer. It may not be exactly in the way you ask, but He’ll show you the truth of who he is.
But according to Jesus, there seems to be a greater way. A more happy and blessed way.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe, yet put their faith in me.
Sure God can assist our lack of faith. Will he hold it against us if we ask for assistance? Absolutely not.
But there is something about not insisting on “miracles and wonders” that brings a blessedness to our relationship with him..
Hebrews 11:1 says that true faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Many heroes of the faith did it this way, and God blessed them for it.
Why? Well, perhaps those who insist on signs… will always be looking for signs?
I have to tell you the truth, that even though I believe God spoke his distinct still small voice to me that day, I am often tempted to ask for more. Along my journey, I’ve found myself in times of affirmation, and wanting more signs.
Even the Fearless and at times Faithless Thomas was a Forgetful Thomas when it came to receiving signs form Christ.
He needed proof that Jesus was did indeed raise from the dead when he already received a sign that Jesus is able to!
Remember when we first met Thomas? It was when he was with Jesus, raising Lazarus from the dead!
Thomas had already seen with his two eyes, Jesus raising a man from the dead. He already heard with his two ears Jesus say, “I am the Resurrection and the Life”.
And yet, here Thomas was still needing more.
Blessed are those who do not see, and yet believe.
Black and White... and Grey all Over
Examples of Extreme: The Westboro Baptist Church
John the Apostle was an extremist.
Jesus called him and his brother “Sons of Thunder”, because of their zeal and passion.
John the Apostle often taught black and white truths. Of all the NT writers, John is the most black and white in his thinking. It’s either or.
• In his Gospel, he sets apart light and darkness.
• You’re fruitful and alive, or you’re fruitless and dead.
• Kingdom of God against Kingdom of the devil.
• You’re a child of God or a child of Satan.
• Resurrect to life, or resurrect to damnation.
John loves to deal with truth in absolutes and opposites. In black and white.
John was extreme. No messing around.
If you are born of God, you do not and cannot sin (1 John 3:9).
EX: John Macarthur says that when he reads heavy doses of John sometimes he has to turn to Paul’s letter just to find some comfort.
But that’s just the way John was. It was a reflection of his personality. He was extreme. His passion was for the truth.
It was one of his strongest characteristics.
But as with some of the other disciples, like Peter and James, your best characteristics can sometimes be their pitfall. Sometimes these Christian virtues, as in John, can be pushed to sinful extremes.
Sometimes our greatest characteristics and greatest strengths will ironically cause our most prominent failures.
John’s zeal and intolerance often became sins of imbalance.
But something happened to the Apostle John… He was with Jesus. And when a person is with Jesus, this weird thing happens, you begin to change.
But John didn’t compromise his zeal for God. He just learned to find a healthy and righteous balance.
He didn’t blend his stance on areas that are black and white, he just learned to be grey where grey was needed.
Being with Jesus transformed this young, self-centered extremist into a mature disciple of balance.
Let’s take a look at some “grey” areas in John’s life.
Balance of Truth and Love
From early on, John was eager for the truth.
There was this other guy, also by the name of John. Not John the Apostle, but John the Baptist.
This guy was the MAN.
People all over are following him and calling themselves his disciples. They’re calling him Rabbi, teacher, which was an honorable title in that day.
I mean, this guy was the popular guy to follow at the time.
And then came Jesus. No one knew much about him. But John the Baptist singles him out, and says that HE is the true Messiah.
And so what does John the disciple do? He leaves his Rabbi John the Baptist, and he goes, and follows Jesus!
Why? Not because this disciple was interested in who was popular, or who was saying cool things necessarily, or who had the best personality, John the disciple was hungry for the truth.
John the follower said “I want him”. I want the truth.
And then we see John’s zeal for the truth as time goes on.
In Luke 9, we see John wanting to protect the truth, and in so doing he forbids a man who cast out demons in Jesus’ name, just because he wasn’t one of them. He was wary of this guy, because he wasn’t part of Jesus’ clique.
But Jesus rebuked him, and said “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against us is for us.”
The very next passage in Luke 9, John’s zealousness is at it again. As Jesus and the disciples are traveling to Jerusalem, they pass by a Samaritan village. And it says that the people did not welcome Jesus because he was going to Jerusalem.
And so John, and his brother James, these guys that Jesus calls “Sons of Thunder” say, “Jesus, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and destroy them all?
But again Jesus rebukes him. “Calm down John”. And they carry on.
John was so zealous for the purity of God’s truth that he was often intolerant.
He was extreme. And sometimes it was sinful.
But even a man this in love with Jesus and the truth needed rebuking. Even John needed some change.
And Jesus began to rebuke him and teach him the right way whenever his passion for the truth became sinful.
Don’t get me wrong. The Kingdom of God needs more men and women who are courageous,, passionate, bold, zealous for the truth.
People like John the Apostle.
But to reach our full potential, Christ wants us to balance those virtues with love.
As committed as John was to Christ and his truth, it wasn’t enough in itself.
Christ needed him to teach him to balance truth with love.
It wasn’t black and white. It was grey. The two needed to come together.
Truth without love is brutal.
Let me illustrate this for you.
I was trying to find for you guys a good example of truth without love.
God gave me something.
See, the WBC is a church that claims to be a church, that claims to preach the Word, that claims to understand the truth of Scripture.
But here they are, totally devoted to making people’s lives miserable. They are committed to showing up at funerals of dead soldiers, while family and friends are mourning, just to let them know that God hates them, and that he’s judging them for America’s wickedness because of the homosexuals in the land.
They have no sense of compassion for those who mourn, praising God for 911 and the great trajedies like Hiroshima and Hurricane Katrina.
And as I’m preparing this sermon, I’m going through videos upon videos of this church on the internet, and I’m telling you, I’m just boiling up inside.
I’m just so angry at how incredibally wrong they are, and how they can defame the name of Christ the way they do.
I’m thinking to myself, “These people think they are proclaiming the truth, but they are going against everything Jesus lived for. Everything Jesus taught and everything he was”.
They have no love in them as they proclaim their “truth”.
And as I’m watching these videos, I’m just wanting to find one where people just get violent on them. I want people to break down their posters and push them to the ground.
Until I found one. “WBC protesters vs. Angry Bikers”
But as I watching all 3 parts of this video, these big biker guys don’t even touch them!
They just peacefully crowd around them waving the American flag!
And I’m thinking! That’s it! You’re not gonna hurt them?
But then the Lord says something to me.
Greg, you are the perfect example of truth without love.
And all of a sudden this example isn’t focused on the WBC anymore. This truth without love is clearly demonstrated in me.
I claim to Love God and want to embrace the truth, but what’s going on in my heart is exactly what’s going on in theirs.
A lack of love. A lack of compassion. A lack of mercy.
Paul even says that you can have prophecy and all knowledge, and a faith that moves mountains, but if you don’t have love, you are nothing. (1 Cor. 13:2)
Church. What is truth without love? It’s brutal. It profits you nothing.
Love without truth is fatal.
You could be the greatest lover of all, but if you don’t have the truth, you’re dead. Spiritually dead, and you’ll be taking others with you.
EX: My apologetics professor is incredible. He has authored many books and speaks at many places. He can argue the faith and out debate anyone.
One of the members at his church and called him up with an emergency. He said I need you to come over. We’re thinking about leaving the church, the faith even, in order to join the Mormons.
My professor was shocked. He was an expert in refuting Mormonism. He knew everything wrong with them and why you SHOULD NOT join the Mormon Church.
They sat and he refuted the religion over hours. At the end of the talk, he said. “Thank you for all those reasons. I can’t argue against a single one of them. But we’re going to leave the church”
The couple had gone through a miscarriage, the most difficult time in their marriage. And yet the Mormon church showed them incredible love. There were Mormons who knew how to show them incredible love, a love they didn’t experience in the Christian church.
You can show love all you want, and win people over. But if you don’t have the truth, people will die spiritually in your arms of love.
Love without truth is fatal.
But here, Jesus wasn’t afraid to correct or even rebuke the young disciple John.
And Jesus wasn’t afraid to speak to John truth? Why? Because Jesus loved him.
Jesus rebukes John and teaches him him how to seek the truth… in love. How does Jesus do it?
By not being afraid to speak the truth!... in LOVE.
So should we embrace truth? Or Love?
Jesus teaches that this particular issue isn’t really a black and white issue. It’s a grey issue, in that the two need to come together and work together.
It’s not either/or… it’s both/and. Not Truth or Love, but truth and love.
Chruch, I pray that we will long to embrace the truth, and to teach it and speak out of sincere love.
Balance of Ambition and Humility
Not only was the apostle John zealous in his youth, but he was ambitious.
It’s not inherently wrong to be ambitious, or to desire success, or even to want to be great.
But ambition and greatness without humility is sinful.
EX: Last time I spoke here, I shared a story when I used to pray, “God, I want to be used greatly by you. I want to be great in your Kingdom. Let me bring thousands into your kingdom.”
That was a really prayer that I prayed quite consistently. And to be honest, I had pictures in my head of what greatness meant. Greatness to me was to be a renowned preacher. One who would be able to preach to multitudes and see people by the dozens, hundreds, come to Christ. I prayed that God would make me great.”
Last year, I was quite high off of a lot of the opportunities that I was getting to speak all over, at retreats, college campuses, other churches.
And I have to tell you. It felt really good. It was incredible feeling.
But sometime last year (Oct.) I started to experience something that I could not escape.
I would go to sleep at night, or wake up in the morning with the words of Jesus resonating in my soul, pound in my heart.
I would wake up mornings with the same reoccurring words on my lips, “Stay low. Stay low.”
I’d be brushing my teeth and the words of Jesus would be impressed on my heart, teachings of “the first WILL be last, and the last will be first.” And “Those who want to be the greatest in Heaven must be the lowest on earth.”
I didn’t know what to do with. It scared me because it told me that something needed to change in my life.
I had heard this teaching time and time again, but now it was speaking louder than ever. STAY LOW.
You know, some of us learn quicker than others.
But others of us are a little more dense. We’re a little thicker in the head, and have to be taught over and over again.
John the Apostle was one of those.
In Mark 9, we see a glimpse of John’s ambition, along with some of the other disciples.
Some of the disciples were walking together with Jesus and debating amont themselves.
Jesus asks them, “What were you guys arguing about on the road?” Not like Jesus needed to know to gain information. He already knew, and was looking for a confession.
The Scripture (Mk. 9:34) says that no answered because they were arguing who would be greatest. They were ashamed of such a lame argument.
Without needing an explanation, Jesus goes straight into his teaching.
“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mk 9:35)
Jesus says if you want to be GREAT, you gotta be humble. If you want to be high and exalted, well you better get down low and serve people other than yourself.
James and John ask for Seats of honor
But THICK-headed John doesn’t get it. See, cause in the very next chapter, (Mk 10), we read of the infamous story of the apostle John and the other Brother of Thunder, James.
This time we see John’s ambition when they approach Jesus and ask of a rather bold request.
They ask “Lord, let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
They had no idea what they were asking, for Jesus replied to them “You don’t know what you are asking.”
To sit at the right hand of Christ was to request the greatest place and honor any human being in the history of the earth can receive.
To sit at the right hand is to be in a place of highest authority and honor.
The only one higher than you is the one on the throne, in this case, the King of the Universe.
John knew that. In fact, he specifically asked if they could sit there when Christ is sitting in all his glory, his most unrestricted, unveiled state of brilliant glory.
EX: Wedding Crasher?
I heard this lady was asking my mom to be able to come to our Wedding reception.
I said, “She asked?” and my mom emphasized that she was pleading to come.
I have to admit. That’s kind of flattering! Part of me was flattered, but the other part of me thought that it was kind of strange that someone would have the boldness and the ambition to ask for a place in our wedding without having been invited.
But what if she had asked to sit with us at the Sweetheart table? What if she asked for a chair on the stage with us?
I would think… “Who is this lady?” Who does she think she is that she would be so privileged?
Christ replies, “You have no idea what you are asking”. Who are you to insist a seat at the right and left of Christ in his Glory?
John knew what he was asking, but he had no idea what he was asking.
He was quite ambitious.
Yet once again, Jesus has to go back to his teaching.
Once again he taught, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first, must be slave of all.”
For even I, says Jesus, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus says whoever has the ambition in him to be great, let him be ambitious for humility. Whoever is ambitious to be exalted in His Kingdom, let him be ambitious to be a humble servant on earth.
What simple teaching.
Jesus directly, multiple times even, gives us the keys to greatness.
We got books on how to live your best life now. We got seminars on how to be successful.
He gives us the answer. No hidden message.
If we want to be successful, if we are ambitious to achieve greatness, we must put ourselves in last place, letting God and others come before us.
How simple is that.
Yet how thick headed can we be sometimes? Could it be that we are like John?
How often have we heard this teaching, yet when we look at our lives, we find ourselves constantly living for ourselves.
Considering my needs and my gain first, before others.
Sure, maybe we don’t ONLY consider ourselves, but we’re definitely far in first place, aren’t we?
It was a simple truth, but a hard lesson, something that Christ had to continually teach his disciple, over and over and over again.
And once again, not only did Jesus teach it, but he himself was the example of it.
Out of all the gospel writers, the apostle John writes it most vividly in detail, the night that the Master washed their feet and demonstrated true humility when he served them.
No doubt the service of his Master left a deep impression on the dense disciple.
And by the end of his life, this follower of Christ had learned to balance his ambition for greatness with an attitude of humility.
The Master taught him so.
As reflected in his writing, John the Apostle learned to place Christ and others far above himself, giving glory to Jesus whenever he could.
Here is a disciple who wouldn’t even mention his own name in his writings, but only addressed himself as the disciple who Jesus loved. The focus was on Jesus.
So should we seek greatness? Or should we seek humility?
Well, it’s not a black or white issue. It’s not either or.
It’s grey, in that it’s both and.
It’s not greatness or humility. It’s greatness through humility.
Closing
So what do we learn from John the Apostle, this beloved disciple of Christ?
Well we learn that not all things are always so black and white, either/or.
That in the Christian life, some things are actually grey issues, both/and.
We learn that you can’t just pound people with the truth, but we must speak the truth in Love.
We learn that it’s not necessarily wrong to be ambitious for greatness, but that we must seek to be humble servants of God in order to attain greatness.
But these are only a few of many grey areas in the Christian life.
How can we learn more?
I want to point out to one passage that strikes me. Acts 4:13
The apostle John, next to his buddy Peter, were arrested and stood trial before the Rulers and the elders. They were punished for healing a crippled man, and then preaching in the name of Jesus.
But John and Peter stand and testify to their faith in Christ.
But what strikes me is what was made apparent to those around them, even their accusers.
It says “When they saw the courage of Peter and John, and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
They were with JESUS!!!! And it made them who they were. From ordinary to extraordinary.
How did John learn to balance his zeal for truth with Love? By being with Jesus.
How did he learn to be humble as a means to greatness? By being with Jesus.
He heard Jesus teach these things. He was rebuked by Jesus.
But not only did he hear it taught, he watched it being lived out.
Brothers and sisters, when people see your life, what do they see?
Do they see once ordinary people, but now made extraordinary because you have been with Jesus?
IT’s too easy for us to call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ, but showing no evidence of people who actually follow Christ. Of people who have been with Christ.
I want to encourage you, as I’m sure you’ve grown up learning in church. Spend time with Christ. Spend time with Master. Learn from him.
And I’m not saying just do your QT’s. I’m not saying just spend some time in prayer.
I’m also saying, SPEND TIME WITH JESUS. Get to know what he says. Watch what de does. Examine the Master’s life.
John not only listened to Jesus’ teachings, he watched him in action.
Brothers and sisters, how often to listen to the direct words of Jesus. How often do you inspect his life?
We have been left with four gospels that detail the life and ministry of our Lord.
I often encourage our Church to constantly come back to the gospels. Read a gospel, and then switch off with another book. But keep examining the life and teachings of Christ.
And the more we begin to imitate our Lord, the more I’m convinced that people will see something more than ordinary about us.
Like John the Apostle, they’ll see that we Christ followers, have actually been with Jesus.
John the Apostle was an extremist.
Jesus called him and his brother “Sons of Thunder”, because of their zeal and passion.
John the Apostle often taught black and white truths. Of all the NT writers, John is the most black and white in his thinking. It’s either or.
• In his Gospel, he sets apart light and darkness.
• You’re fruitful and alive, or you’re fruitless and dead.
• Kingdom of God against Kingdom of the devil.
• You’re a child of God or a child of Satan.
• Resurrect to life, or resurrect to damnation.
John loves to deal with truth in absolutes and opposites. In black and white.
John was extreme. No messing around.
If you are born of God, you do not and cannot sin (1 John 3:9).
EX: John Macarthur says that when he reads heavy doses of John sometimes he has to turn to Paul’s letter just to find some comfort.
But that’s just the way John was. It was a reflection of his personality. He was extreme. His passion was for the truth.
It was one of his strongest characteristics.
But as with some of the other disciples, like Peter and James, your best characteristics can sometimes be their pitfall. Sometimes these Christian virtues, as in John, can be pushed to sinful extremes.
Sometimes our greatest characteristics and greatest strengths will ironically cause our most prominent failures.
John’s zeal and intolerance often became sins of imbalance.
But something happened to the Apostle John… He was with Jesus. And when a person is with Jesus, this weird thing happens, you begin to change.
But John didn’t compromise his zeal for God. He just learned to find a healthy and righteous balance.
He didn’t blend his stance on areas that are black and white, he just learned to be grey where grey was needed.
Being with Jesus transformed this young, self-centered extremist into a mature disciple of balance.
Let’s take a look at some “grey” areas in John’s life.
Balance of Truth and Love
From early on, John was eager for the truth.
There was this other guy, also by the name of John. Not John the Apostle, but John the Baptist.
This guy was the MAN.
People all over are following him and calling themselves his disciples. They’re calling him Rabbi, teacher, which was an honorable title in that day.
I mean, this guy was the popular guy to follow at the time.
And then came Jesus. No one knew much about him. But John the Baptist singles him out, and says that HE is the true Messiah.
And so what does John the disciple do? He leaves his Rabbi John the Baptist, and he goes, and follows Jesus!
Why? Not because this disciple was interested in who was popular, or who was saying cool things necessarily, or who had the best personality, John the disciple was hungry for the truth.
John the follower said “I want him”. I want the truth.
And then we see John’s zeal for the truth as time goes on.
In Luke 9, we see John wanting to protect the truth, and in so doing he forbids a man who cast out demons in Jesus’ name, just because he wasn’t one of them. He was wary of this guy, because he wasn’t part of Jesus’ clique.
But Jesus rebuked him, and said “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against us is for us.”
The very next passage in Luke 9, John’s zealousness is at it again. As Jesus and the disciples are traveling to Jerusalem, they pass by a Samaritan village. And it says that the people did not welcome Jesus because he was going to Jerusalem.
And so John, and his brother James, these guys that Jesus calls “Sons of Thunder” say, “Jesus, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and destroy them all?
But again Jesus rebukes him. “Calm down John”. And they carry on.
John was so zealous for the purity of God’s truth that he was often intolerant.
He was extreme. And sometimes it was sinful.
But even a man this in love with Jesus and the truth needed rebuking. Even John needed some change.
And Jesus began to rebuke him and teach him the right way whenever his passion for the truth became sinful.
Don’t get me wrong. The Kingdom of God needs more men and women who are courageous,, passionate, bold, zealous for the truth.
People like John the Apostle.
But to reach our full potential, Christ wants us to balance those virtues with love.
As committed as John was to Christ and his truth, it wasn’t enough in itself.
Christ needed him to teach him to balance truth with love.
It wasn’t black and white. It was grey. The two needed to come together.
Truth without love is brutal.
Let me illustrate this for you.
I was trying to find for you guys a good example of truth without love.
God gave me something.
See, the WBC is a church that claims to be a church, that claims to preach the Word, that claims to understand the truth of Scripture.
But here they are, totally devoted to making people’s lives miserable. They are committed to showing up at funerals of dead soldiers, while family and friends are mourning, just to let them know that God hates them, and that he’s judging them for America’s wickedness because of the homosexuals in the land.
They have no sense of compassion for those who mourn, praising God for 911 and the great trajedies like Hiroshima and Hurricane Katrina.
And as I’m preparing this sermon, I’m going through videos upon videos of this church on the internet, and I’m telling you, I’m just boiling up inside.
I’m just so angry at how incredibally wrong they are, and how they can defame the name of Christ the way they do.
I’m thinking to myself, “These people think they are proclaiming the truth, but they are going against everything Jesus lived for. Everything Jesus taught and everything he was”.
They have no love in them as they proclaim their “truth”.
And as I’m watching these videos, I’m just wanting to find one where people just get violent on them. I want people to break down their posters and push them to the ground.
Until I found one. “WBC protesters vs. Angry Bikers”
But as I watching all 3 parts of this video, these big biker guys don’t even touch them!
They just peacefully crowd around them waving the American flag!
And I’m thinking! That’s it! You’re not gonna hurt them?
But then the Lord says something to me.
Greg, you are the perfect example of truth without love.
And all of a sudden this example isn’t focused on the WBC anymore. This truth without love is clearly demonstrated in me.
I claim to Love God and want to embrace the truth, but what’s going on in my heart is exactly what’s going on in theirs.
A lack of love. A lack of compassion. A lack of mercy.
Paul even says that you can have prophecy and all knowledge, and a faith that moves mountains, but if you don’t have love, you are nothing. (1 Cor. 13:2)
Church. What is truth without love? It’s brutal. It profits you nothing.
Love without truth is fatal.
You could be the greatest lover of all, but if you don’t have the truth, you’re dead. Spiritually dead, and you’ll be taking others with you.
EX: My apologetics professor is incredible. He has authored many books and speaks at many places. He can argue the faith and out debate anyone.
One of the members at his church and called him up with an emergency. He said I need you to come over. We’re thinking about leaving the church, the faith even, in order to join the Mormons.
My professor was shocked. He was an expert in refuting Mormonism. He knew everything wrong with them and why you SHOULD NOT join the Mormon Church.
They sat and he refuted the religion over hours. At the end of the talk, he said. “Thank you for all those reasons. I can’t argue against a single one of them. But we’re going to leave the church”
The couple had gone through a miscarriage, the most difficult time in their marriage. And yet the Mormon church showed them incredible love. There were Mormons who knew how to show them incredible love, a love they didn’t experience in the Christian church.
You can show love all you want, and win people over. But if you don’t have the truth, people will die spiritually in your arms of love.
Love without truth is fatal.
But here, Jesus wasn’t afraid to correct or even rebuke the young disciple John.
And Jesus wasn’t afraid to speak to John truth? Why? Because Jesus loved him.
Jesus rebukes John and teaches him him how to seek the truth… in love. How does Jesus do it?
By not being afraid to speak the truth!... in LOVE.
So should we embrace truth? Or Love?
Jesus teaches that this particular issue isn’t really a black and white issue. It’s a grey issue, in that the two need to come together and work together.
It’s not either/or… it’s both/and. Not Truth or Love, but truth and love.
Chruch, I pray that we will long to embrace the truth, and to teach it and speak out of sincere love.
Balance of Ambition and Humility
Not only was the apostle John zealous in his youth, but he was ambitious.
It’s not inherently wrong to be ambitious, or to desire success, or even to want to be great.
But ambition and greatness without humility is sinful.
EX: Last time I spoke here, I shared a story when I used to pray, “God, I want to be used greatly by you. I want to be great in your Kingdom. Let me bring thousands into your kingdom.”
That was a really prayer that I prayed quite consistently. And to be honest, I had pictures in my head of what greatness meant. Greatness to me was to be a renowned preacher. One who would be able to preach to multitudes and see people by the dozens, hundreds, come to Christ. I prayed that God would make me great.”
Last year, I was quite high off of a lot of the opportunities that I was getting to speak all over, at retreats, college campuses, other churches.
And I have to tell you. It felt really good. It was incredible feeling.
But sometime last year (Oct.) I started to experience something that I could not escape.
I would go to sleep at night, or wake up in the morning with the words of Jesus resonating in my soul, pound in my heart.
I would wake up mornings with the same reoccurring words on my lips, “Stay low. Stay low.”
I’d be brushing my teeth and the words of Jesus would be impressed on my heart, teachings of “the first WILL be last, and the last will be first.” And “Those who want to be the greatest in Heaven must be the lowest on earth.”
I didn’t know what to do with. It scared me because it told me that something needed to change in my life.
I had heard this teaching time and time again, but now it was speaking louder than ever. STAY LOW.
You know, some of us learn quicker than others.
But others of us are a little more dense. We’re a little thicker in the head, and have to be taught over and over again.
John the Apostle was one of those.
In Mark 9, we see a glimpse of John’s ambition, along with some of the other disciples.
Some of the disciples were walking together with Jesus and debating amont themselves.
Jesus asks them, “What were you guys arguing about on the road?” Not like Jesus needed to know to gain information. He already knew, and was looking for a confession.
The Scripture (Mk. 9:34) says that no answered because they were arguing who would be greatest. They were ashamed of such a lame argument.
Without needing an explanation, Jesus goes straight into his teaching.
“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mk 9:35)
Jesus says if you want to be GREAT, you gotta be humble. If you want to be high and exalted, well you better get down low and serve people other than yourself.
James and John ask for Seats of honor
But THICK-headed John doesn’t get it. See, cause in the very next chapter, (Mk 10), we read of the infamous story of the apostle John and the other Brother of Thunder, James.
This time we see John’s ambition when they approach Jesus and ask of a rather bold request.
They ask “Lord, let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
They had no idea what they were asking, for Jesus replied to them “You don’t know what you are asking.”
To sit at the right hand of Christ was to request the greatest place and honor any human being in the history of the earth can receive.
To sit at the right hand is to be in a place of highest authority and honor.
The only one higher than you is the one on the throne, in this case, the King of the Universe.
John knew that. In fact, he specifically asked if they could sit there when Christ is sitting in all his glory, his most unrestricted, unveiled state of brilliant glory.
EX: Wedding Crasher?
I heard this lady was asking my mom to be able to come to our Wedding reception.
I said, “She asked?” and my mom emphasized that she was pleading to come.
I have to admit. That’s kind of flattering! Part of me was flattered, but the other part of me thought that it was kind of strange that someone would have the boldness and the ambition to ask for a place in our wedding without having been invited.
But what if she had asked to sit with us at the Sweetheart table? What if she asked for a chair on the stage with us?
I would think… “Who is this lady?” Who does she think she is that she would be so privileged?
Christ replies, “You have no idea what you are asking”. Who are you to insist a seat at the right and left of Christ in his Glory?
John knew what he was asking, but he had no idea what he was asking.
He was quite ambitious.
Yet once again, Jesus has to go back to his teaching.
Once again he taught, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first, must be slave of all.”
For even I, says Jesus, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus says whoever has the ambition in him to be great, let him be ambitious for humility. Whoever is ambitious to be exalted in His Kingdom, let him be ambitious to be a humble servant on earth.
What simple teaching.
Jesus directly, multiple times even, gives us the keys to greatness.
We got books on how to live your best life now. We got seminars on how to be successful.
He gives us the answer. No hidden message.
If we want to be successful, if we are ambitious to achieve greatness, we must put ourselves in last place, letting God and others come before us.
How simple is that.
Yet how thick headed can we be sometimes? Could it be that we are like John?
How often have we heard this teaching, yet when we look at our lives, we find ourselves constantly living for ourselves.
Considering my needs and my gain first, before others.
Sure, maybe we don’t ONLY consider ourselves, but we’re definitely far in first place, aren’t we?
It was a simple truth, but a hard lesson, something that Christ had to continually teach his disciple, over and over and over again.
And once again, not only did Jesus teach it, but he himself was the example of it.
Out of all the gospel writers, the apostle John writes it most vividly in detail, the night that the Master washed their feet and demonstrated true humility when he served them.
No doubt the service of his Master left a deep impression on the dense disciple.
And by the end of his life, this follower of Christ had learned to balance his ambition for greatness with an attitude of humility.
The Master taught him so.
As reflected in his writing, John the Apostle learned to place Christ and others far above himself, giving glory to Jesus whenever he could.
Here is a disciple who wouldn’t even mention his own name in his writings, but only addressed himself as the disciple who Jesus loved. The focus was on Jesus.
So should we seek greatness? Or should we seek humility?
Well, it’s not a black or white issue. It’s not either or.
It’s grey, in that it’s both and.
It’s not greatness or humility. It’s greatness through humility.
Closing
So what do we learn from John the Apostle, this beloved disciple of Christ?
Well we learn that not all things are always so black and white, either/or.
That in the Christian life, some things are actually grey issues, both/and.
We learn that you can’t just pound people with the truth, but we must speak the truth in Love.
We learn that it’s not necessarily wrong to be ambitious for greatness, but that we must seek to be humble servants of God in order to attain greatness.
But these are only a few of many grey areas in the Christian life.
How can we learn more?
I want to point out to one passage that strikes me. Acts 4:13
The apostle John, next to his buddy Peter, were arrested and stood trial before the Rulers and the elders. They were punished for healing a crippled man, and then preaching in the name of Jesus.
But John and Peter stand and testify to their faith in Christ.
But what strikes me is what was made apparent to those around them, even their accusers.
It says “When they saw the courage of Peter and John, and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
They were with JESUS!!!! And it made them who they were. From ordinary to extraordinary.
How did John learn to balance his zeal for truth with Love? By being with Jesus.
How did he learn to be humble as a means to greatness? By being with Jesus.
He heard Jesus teach these things. He was rebuked by Jesus.
But not only did he hear it taught, he watched it being lived out.
Brothers and sisters, when people see your life, what do they see?
Do they see once ordinary people, but now made extraordinary because you have been with Jesus?
IT’s too easy for us to call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ, but showing no evidence of people who actually follow Christ. Of people who have been with Christ.
I want to encourage you, as I’m sure you’ve grown up learning in church. Spend time with Christ. Spend time with Master. Learn from him.
And I’m not saying just do your QT’s. I’m not saying just spend some time in prayer.
I’m also saying, SPEND TIME WITH JESUS. Get to know what he says. Watch what de does. Examine the Master’s life.
John not only listened to Jesus’ teachings, he watched him in action.
Brothers and sisters, how often to listen to the direct words of Jesus. How often do you inspect his life?
We have been left with four gospels that detail the life and ministry of our Lord.
I often encourage our Church to constantly come back to the gospels. Read a gospel, and then switch off with another book. But keep examining the life and teachings of Christ.
And the more we begin to imitate our Lord, the more I’m convinced that people will see something more than ordinary about us.
Like John the Apostle, they’ll see that we Christ followers, have actually been with Jesus.
Are you Pure for your Groom?- 2 Cor. 11:1-15
Intro
One thing I really appreciate about our wedding is that when I stood at the altar, I had total confidence that my bride stood pure in her faithfulness and commitment to me. While we were dating, I knew she wanted to present herself pure to husband when she stood at the altar one day. I had 100% confidence that she was at least pure in the sense that there was no other guy in her life but me. Not that I’m self confident and cocky, but she never gave me a reason to question her love for me. She never flirted with any other guys, or for a second gave any other guy even a hope of being unfaithful to me. I love that.
Paul wants to Present the Corinthians pure before Christ (v. 1-2)
V. 2 he writes “ I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.”
Paul sees himself as a Father of the bride. He is Spiritual Father and the Corinthian Christians are the bride. He draws a picture for us and shows how he wants to be able to present his bride as a pure virgin to the groom, which is Christ.
In that day, it brought about shame to the father if his daughter was known to be impure before her wedding.
Paul doesn’t want them to give their love to anyone other than Christ.
The problem was that there were theses attractive guys coming into town, false teachers, who were very good at what they did. They were “wise” and knowledgeable. They were excellent speakers.
And Paul says, when these guys come around, teaching you something other than what we gave to you, you put up with it easy enough! You tolerate and embrace such evil adulteration of the Gospel!
WE need to be vigilant! We need to be alert to the things that would keep us from purity for Christ.
We, Kairo, too are the bride of Christ, as we wait for our groom to come. We need to be pure as we wait.
So what does it take to be presented pure before Christ?
It’s more than just Pious Desire. (v. 3)
People often will say “As long as you have a good heart.” Or “She has a sincere heart”, you’re good.
But I want to warn you, it’s more than just a pure, pious desire for spiritual things.
Just because we have a sincere heart to know God, we shouldn’t think that that’s enough in itself to draw us to God.
Why not?
Because Paul sees that many of the false teachers are preying on their very love and sincerity for God, to draw them away in their false teachings.
3But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Paul gives us an illustration of Eve in the garden.
EX: Remember how Satan, the wicked and sly serpent in the Garden, got Eve to fall? By offering her a puff right? By offering her a sip of some of that strong stuff, right?
No! Those things are bad and wrong!
He lured her in by offering her the opportunity to be “more spiritual”, to be like God. To know between good and evil.
And it says in Gen 3:6 that she saw the fruit, and it was “desirable for gaining wisdom”. She desired to be wise.
IT’S MORE THAN JUST PIOUS DESIRE.
We can have a sincere desire to chase after God, but we have to make sure that what we’re chasing after is really God, or approved by God. We have to be sure the truth we are reaching out for is God’s truth.
The Corinthians had a sincere desire to know Christ, and along come the false teachers who claim to have more than what Paul offered with the Gospel.
These guys were the guys who came and visited Corinth, and offered a similar, yet different message than the pure Gospel. It was an adulterated, impure Gospel.
It’s impossible to know exactly what they taught, but seems to have an element of salvation by works, which totally takes away from Christ’s gospel of free salvation by grace.
And Paul says, you embrace it way too easily. Be more vigilant against what is false.
It’s more than just Persuasive Delivery (v. 6)
Remember earlier in 2 Corinthians, we talked about how Paul wasn’t the most powerful or eloquent of speakers. They would criticize him for being small and weak as a speaker.
Many of the Corinthians in that day were drawn to speakers with great intellect and powerful speech, who were trained and skilled in speaking publicly.
Problem was that many of these gifted speakers coming into town were fatally wrong!
EX: At a dinner party in nineteenth century England where the host had asked everyone to come prepared to give a recitation or reading after the meal. A famous London stage actor, with all his training and experience, stood up and eloquently recited the Psalm 23. When he finished he sat down to thunderous applause. Unfortunately the next person, who was not a professional nor a very good speaker, had also chosen to share Psalm 23. As he started out, with very little polish, there were some snickers at the table. William Barclay writes that by the time the man finished, a stillness had fallen around the table that was far more profound than any applause. As the man sat down, the actor said to him, "I know the psalm but you know the shepherd."
Paul is willing to acknowledge in v. 6 “I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge.”
Specifically, something he had that the most powerful of the false teachers didn’t have, was a true knowledge of Christ and his Gospel. They might know how to speak, but Paul knows the Shepherd.
Application: I think this strikes very close to home.
I want to challenge you guys to really seek the truth of God’s word. To really seek to be fed the truth of Jesus Christ and the Gospel, along with everything else given to us in Scripture.
Of course, right? But I think it’s common for many of to have a strong dependence on the gift or skill of the preacher.
IF the speaker engages me, or makes me laugh, or entertains me, or tells great stories, or gives colorful illustrations, THEN I will listen and I will enjoy and I will grow.
EX: I remember in college, while serving on Core, both in college and at SBECC, I remember specifically telling my friend: “I determine if I like a speaker by how much he makes me laugh.” I as a leader, but never realized how much I needed to grow.
And of course you’re thinking, “oh no, that’s not me. I love God’s word for what it is.”
Well, let’s talk about the elephant that’s in the room.
Truth is, I’ve already heard several complaints about the teaching here at Kairo. I’ve heard that Kairo teaching can be boring, or inapplicable. I’ve heard people say that they don’t depend on Kairo’s teaching to be fed, but they come just to serve. I have heard all these things.
Instead, we’ll listen to sermons online and on the radio to teachers who are famous for their preaching, and gifted in their speaking. THESE guys we can really learn from!
Church, I want to say, to be very careful… because it’s not just about powerful delivery and polished presentations.
The Preacher of the Year (T.D. Jakes) has one of the largest followings in the U.S. I also happen to be learn about him in my Theology class last week, about how his doctrine denies the Trinity!
Be careful who we listen to, that it’s not just because of their “powerful delivery”.
The Corinthians loved it, and were vulnerable to be led astray because they depended on it.
I want to encourage you to instead of depending on the teacher to be a trained speaker, rather train yourselves to be a good listener.
Paul said in 1 Cor. 2, that though he doesn’t come with eloquent speech, or wise and persuasive words, he comes with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.
I pray that we who preach here would come with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power in our preaching, but that you would also come to church with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power in your listening.
Let the speaker depend on God to open his mouth to speak God’s Message, and as listeners, let’s depend on God to open our ears to hear God’s message, no matter how engaging, or how boring the delivery is!
The Spirit doesn’t only work in the Preaching of the Preacher, but he also works in the heart of the Hearer!
EX: Corrine’s story.
I realized then that the Spirit doesn’t only work through the preaching of the preacher, but he’s also working in the hearts of the hearers.
Don’t base good teaching just off how well it’s delivered. Base it on it’s content and it’s truthfulness to Jesus Christ and his gospel.
Pray: Holy Spirit, help me to hear what you are saying to Your Church. Help me not to only hear the speaker, but to hear You, Holy Spirit, even louder.
It’s more than just Pleasant Display (v. 13-15)
13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Church, beware of the Devil.
How do we be aware of the devil? We look out for the guy in the goatee, the red suit, the horns and the big pitchfork, right?
No, contrary to common belief, the devil does not present himself as a nasty beast who goes around frightening people so that they run away from him. He can’t win like that!
The Devil is one who appears to be righteous and masquerades himself as an angel of light.
Satan knows what it looks like to be an angel of light for he used to be one.
There was something about the serpent in the Garden that didn’t cause Eve to freak out and flee.
No, instead, Eve in her purest form, was somehow lured in by one who seemed to have something very good and righteous to offer.
The false teachers in Corinth are this Serpents servants! And so Paul says, no wonder they appear to be righteous, just as Satan himself poses as an angel of righteousness!
Just because they sound good, and they look good on the surface of things, we must come back to who Jesus really is, the simple Gospel.
We are too easily drawn away by how good teachers and groups appear to be on the outside, on how pleasant their display.
Just because they do cool things, have cool music, have nice people, doesn’t make them true teachers of the Gospel of Christ.
Just because they show a lot of love, do a lot of good deeds, send out a lot of missionaries, doesn’t make them true teachers of the Gospel.
Whether they are conscious of it or not, many teachers of “Jesus Christ” act as servants of Satan, who masquerade as Servants of Righteousness.
Some teach false doctrine knowingly, and some don’t, but Satan uses the false teaching regardless for his purposes.
And I know it seems a little harsh to call them “Servants of Satan”, but essentially they are leading people to death, apart from the true Gospel, away from the Kingdom, and into the kingdom of Satan.
EX: My apologetics professor is incredible. He has authored many books and speaks at many places. He can argue the faith and out debate anyone.
One of the couples at his church and called him up with an emergency. He said I need you to come over. We’re thinking about leaving the church and joining the Mormons.
My professor was shocked. He was an expert in refuting Mormonism. He knew everything wrong with them and why you SHOULD NOT join the Mormon Church.
They sat and he refuted the religion over hours. At the end of the talk, he said. “Thank you for all those reasons. I can’t argue against a single one of them. But we’re going to leave the church”
The couple had gone through a miscarriage, the most difficult time in their marriage. And yet the Mormon church showed them incredible love. There were Mormons who knew how to show them incredible love, a love they didn’t experience in the Christian church.
As much as the Christian church should have been doing these things, the pleasant display put on by the Mormons was so pleasant and powerful and persuasive to the couple.
To the couple, these were servants of Righteousness who showed goodness and love. But what they don’t realize is that they are Servants of the one who is leading them to death, apart from the True Christ!
Church, being pure before our Love Jesus Christ, it’s more than just Pious Desire. It’s more than just going after Persuasive Deliveries. It’s more than just Pleasant Displays.
It’s a pure devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ
So what is it?
How can we be presented pure as the bride of Christ? How can we stay clear of false teachings?
Paul says in v. 4: “Come back. Come back to the Jesus you first learned of, the gospel you first accepted, the spirit you first received.” Come back to the basics.
EX: Coach Vince Lombardi was coach of the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers. He would start off every season with his championship football teams, filled with veterans and rookies: “This is a football”. He would explain the shape and the size, and what to do with it. He would then take them to the field, and say “this is a footbal field”.
For veterans and rookies, Coach Lombardi’s goal was to keep the team from getting carried away by bringing them back to the basics and the fundamentals of the game.
Paul sees the Corinthians easily carried away by teachers with fancy preaching and displays of righteousness.
But he says, come back. This is Jesus. This is the Gospel.
Many of us are still searching for spiritual peace, and a truth to belong to.
Others of us have been Christians for quite a while now, but even now we can easily forget why we are saved, how we are saved.
Some of us look at the sin we struggle with, and fall into despair for the things we know we ought to do, but fall short of doing them.
Some of us struggle with the fact of whether we are accepted by God or not.
EX: They say that Federal Agents are trained to spot counterfeit money, not by possessing the fakes, but by studying the real thing. The feds in Canada have a method they use to study the real thing: Touch, tilt, look at, look through.
And once you’ve come to know the real thing, because you’ve studied it over and over again, anything false that comes into their hands is immediately detected and done away with.
Church, I pray that this message is Spirit filled, and that his power is demonstrated in this message.
But let’s come back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Study it, know it, don’t grow weary of it.
Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man, has come and lived so that he might die for us. And by his death on the cross, in fulfillment to Scripture, is enough to cancel our sin, and reconcile us to God.
“to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:5)
“For by grace, you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God- not as a result of works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph 2:8-9)
It’s not because of anything we’ve done, and it’s not because of anything we will do, and it’s not because of anything we fail to do.
We are saved because we believe in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sins. It is by faith In Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Amen
One thing I really appreciate about our wedding is that when I stood at the altar, I had total confidence that my bride stood pure in her faithfulness and commitment to me. While we were dating, I knew she wanted to present herself pure to husband when she stood at the altar one day. I had 100% confidence that she was at least pure in the sense that there was no other guy in her life but me. Not that I’m self confident and cocky, but she never gave me a reason to question her love for me. She never flirted with any other guys, or for a second gave any other guy even a hope of being unfaithful to me. I love that.
Paul wants to Present the Corinthians pure before Christ (v. 1-2)
V. 2 he writes “ I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.”
Paul sees himself as a Father of the bride. He is Spiritual Father and the Corinthian Christians are the bride. He draws a picture for us and shows how he wants to be able to present his bride as a pure virgin to the groom, which is Christ.
In that day, it brought about shame to the father if his daughter was known to be impure before her wedding.
Paul doesn’t want them to give their love to anyone other than Christ.
The problem was that there were theses attractive guys coming into town, false teachers, who were very good at what they did. They were “wise” and knowledgeable. They were excellent speakers.
And Paul says, when these guys come around, teaching you something other than what we gave to you, you put up with it easy enough! You tolerate and embrace such evil adulteration of the Gospel!
WE need to be vigilant! We need to be alert to the things that would keep us from purity for Christ.
We, Kairo, too are the bride of Christ, as we wait for our groom to come. We need to be pure as we wait.
So what does it take to be presented pure before Christ?
It’s more than just Pious Desire. (v. 3)
People often will say “As long as you have a good heart.” Or “She has a sincere heart”, you’re good.
But I want to warn you, it’s more than just a pure, pious desire for spiritual things.
Just because we have a sincere heart to know God, we shouldn’t think that that’s enough in itself to draw us to God.
Why not?
Because Paul sees that many of the false teachers are preying on their very love and sincerity for God, to draw them away in their false teachings.
3But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Paul gives us an illustration of Eve in the garden.
EX: Remember how Satan, the wicked and sly serpent in the Garden, got Eve to fall? By offering her a puff right? By offering her a sip of some of that strong stuff, right?
No! Those things are bad and wrong!
He lured her in by offering her the opportunity to be “more spiritual”, to be like God. To know between good and evil.
And it says in Gen 3:6 that she saw the fruit, and it was “desirable for gaining wisdom”. She desired to be wise.
IT’S MORE THAN JUST PIOUS DESIRE.
We can have a sincere desire to chase after God, but we have to make sure that what we’re chasing after is really God, or approved by God. We have to be sure the truth we are reaching out for is God’s truth.
The Corinthians had a sincere desire to know Christ, and along come the false teachers who claim to have more than what Paul offered with the Gospel.
These guys were the guys who came and visited Corinth, and offered a similar, yet different message than the pure Gospel. It was an adulterated, impure Gospel.
It’s impossible to know exactly what they taught, but seems to have an element of salvation by works, which totally takes away from Christ’s gospel of free salvation by grace.
And Paul says, you embrace it way too easily. Be more vigilant against what is false.
It’s more than just Persuasive Delivery (v. 6)
Remember earlier in 2 Corinthians, we talked about how Paul wasn’t the most powerful or eloquent of speakers. They would criticize him for being small and weak as a speaker.
Many of the Corinthians in that day were drawn to speakers with great intellect and powerful speech, who were trained and skilled in speaking publicly.
Problem was that many of these gifted speakers coming into town were fatally wrong!
EX: At a dinner party in nineteenth century England where the host had asked everyone to come prepared to give a recitation or reading after the meal. A famous London stage actor, with all his training and experience, stood up and eloquently recited the Psalm 23. When he finished he sat down to thunderous applause. Unfortunately the next person, who was not a professional nor a very good speaker, had also chosen to share Psalm 23. As he started out, with very little polish, there were some snickers at the table. William Barclay writes that by the time the man finished, a stillness had fallen around the table that was far more profound than any applause. As the man sat down, the actor said to him, "I know the psalm but you know the shepherd."
Paul is willing to acknowledge in v. 6 “I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge.”
Specifically, something he had that the most powerful of the false teachers didn’t have, was a true knowledge of Christ and his Gospel. They might know how to speak, but Paul knows the Shepherd.
Application: I think this strikes very close to home.
I want to challenge you guys to really seek the truth of God’s word. To really seek to be fed the truth of Jesus Christ and the Gospel, along with everything else given to us in Scripture.
Of course, right? But I think it’s common for many of to have a strong dependence on the gift or skill of the preacher.
IF the speaker engages me, or makes me laugh, or entertains me, or tells great stories, or gives colorful illustrations, THEN I will listen and I will enjoy and I will grow.
EX: I remember in college, while serving on Core, both in college and at SBECC, I remember specifically telling my friend: “I determine if I like a speaker by how much he makes me laugh.” I as a leader, but never realized how much I needed to grow.
And of course you’re thinking, “oh no, that’s not me. I love God’s word for what it is.”
Well, let’s talk about the elephant that’s in the room.
Truth is, I’ve already heard several complaints about the teaching here at Kairo. I’ve heard that Kairo teaching can be boring, or inapplicable. I’ve heard people say that they don’t depend on Kairo’s teaching to be fed, but they come just to serve. I have heard all these things.
Instead, we’ll listen to sermons online and on the radio to teachers who are famous for their preaching, and gifted in their speaking. THESE guys we can really learn from!
Church, I want to say, to be very careful… because it’s not just about powerful delivery and polished presentations.
The Preacher of the Year (T.D. Jakes) has one of the largest followings in the U.S. I also happen to be learn about him in my Theology class last week, about how his doctrine denies the Trinity!
Be careful who we listen to, that it’s not just because of their “powerful delivery”.
The Corinthians loved it, and were vulnerable to be led astray because they depended on it.
I want to encourage you to instead of depending on the teacher to be a trained speaker, rather train yourselves to be a good listener.
Paul said in 1 Cor. 2, that though he doesn’t come with eloquent speech, or wise and persuasive words, he comes with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.
I pray that we who preach here would come with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power in our preaching, but that you would also come to church with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power in your listening.
Let the speaker depend on God to open his mouth to speak God’s Message, and as listeners, let’s depend on God to open our ears to hear God’s message, no matter how engaging, or how boring the delivery is!
The Spirit doesn’t only work in the Preaching of the Preacher, but he also works in the heart of the Hearer!
EX: Corrine’s story.
I realized then that the Spirit doesn’t only work through the preaching of the preacher, but he’s also working in the hearts of the hearers.
Don’t base good teaching just off how well it’s delivered. Base it on it’s content and it’s truthfulness to Jesus Christ and his gospel.
Pray: Holy Spirit, help me to hear what you are saying to Your Church. Help me not to only hear the speaker, but to hear You, Holy Spirit, even louder.
It’s more than just Pleasant Display (v. 13-15)
13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Church, beware of the Devil.
How do we be aware of the devil? We look out for the guy in the goatee, the red suit, the horns and the big pitchfork, right?
No, contrary to common belief, the devil does not present himself as a nasty beast who goes around frightening people so that they run away from him. He can’t win like that!
The Devil is one who appears to be righteous and masquerades himself as an angel of light.
Satan knows what it looks like to be an angel of light for he used to be one.
There was something about the serpent in the Garden that didn’t cause Eve to freak out and flee.
No, instead, Eve in her purest form, was somehow lured in by one who seemed to have something very good and righteous to offer.
The false teachers in Corinth are this Serpents servants! And so Paul says, no wonder they appear to be righteous, just as Satan himself poses as an angel of righteousness!
Just because they sound good, and they look good on the surface of things, we must come back to who Jesus really is, the simple Gospel.
We are too easily drawn away by how good teachers and groups appear to be on the outside, on how pleasant their display.
Just because they do cool things, have cool music, have nice people, doesn’t make them true teachers of the Gospel of Christ.
Just because they show a lot of love, do a lot of good deeds, send out a lot of missionaries, doesn’t make them true teachers of the Gospel.
Whether they are conscious of it or not, many teachers of “Jesus Christ” act as servants of Satan, who masquerade as Servants of Righteousness.
Some teach false doctrine knowingly, and some don’t, but Satan uses the false teaching regardless for his purposes.
And I know it seems a little harsh to call them “Servants of Satan”, but essentially they are leading people to death, apart from the true Gospel, away from the Kingdom, and into the kingdom of Satan.
EX: My apologetics professor is incredible. He has authored many books and speaks at many places. He can argue the faith and out debate anyone.
One of the couples at his church and called him up with an emergency. He said I need you to come over. We’re thinking about leaving the church and joining the Mormons.
My professor was shocked. He was an expert in refuting Mormonism. He knew everything wrong with them and why you SHOULD NOT join the Mormon Church.
They sat and he refuted the religion over hours. At the end of the talk, he said. “Thank you for all those reasons. I can’t argue against a single one of them. But we’re going to leave the church”
The couple had gone through a miscarriage, the most difficult time in their marriage. And yet the Mormon church showed them incredible love. There were Mormons who knew how to show them incredible love, a love they didn’t experience in the Christian church.
As much as the Christian church should have been doing these things, the pleasant display put on by the Mormons was so pleasant and powerful and persuasive to the couple.
To the couple, these were servants of Righteousness who showed goodness and love. But what they don’t realize is that they are Servants of the one who is leading them to death, apart from the True Christ!
Church, being pure before our Love Jesus Christ, it’s more than just Pious Desire. It’s more than just going after Persuasive Deliveries. It’s more than just Pleasant Displays.
It’s a pure devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ
So what is it?
How can we be presented pure as the bride of Christ? How can we stay clear of false teachings?
Paul says in v. 4: “Come back. Come back to the Jesus you first learned of, the gospel you first accepted, the spirit you first received.” Come back to the basics.
EX: Coach Vince Lombardi was coach of the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers. He would start off every season with his championship football teams, filled with veterans and rookies: “This is a football”. He would explain the shape and the size, and what to do with it. He would then take them to the field, and say “this is a footbal field”.
For veterans and rookies, Coach Lombardi’s goal was to keep the team from getting carried away by bringing them back to the basics and the fundamentals of the game.
Paul sees the Corinthians easily carried away by teachers with fancy preaching and displays of righteousness.
But he says, come back. This is Jesus. This is the Gospel.
Many of us are still searching for spiritual peace, and a truth to belong to.
Others of us have been Christians for quite a while now, but even now we can easily forget why we are saved, how we are saved.
Some of us look at the sin we struggle with, and fall into despair for the things we know we ought to do, but fall short of doing them.
Some of us struggle with the fact of whether we are accepted by God or not.
EX: They say that Federal Agents are trained to spot counterfeit money, not by possessing the fakes, but by studying the real thing. The feds in Canada have a method they use to study the real thing: Touch, tilt, look at, look through.
And once you’ve come to know the real thing, because you’ve studied it over and over again, anything false that comes into their hands is immediately detected and done away with.
Church, I pray that this message is Spirit filled, and that his power is demonstrated in this message.
But let’s come back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Study it, know it, don’t grow weary of it.
Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man, has come and lived so that he might die for us. And by his death on the cross, in fulfillment to Scripture, is enough to cancel our sin, and reconcile us to God.
“to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:5)
“For by grace, you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God- not as a result of works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph 2:8-9)
It’s not because of anything we’ve done, and it’s not because of anything we will do, and it’s not because of anything we fail to do.
We are saved because we believe in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sins. It is by faith In Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Amen
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