Sunday, March 27, 2011

Becoming Like Christ

40 Days of Prayer

Week 3: Becoming Like Christ

Mark 8: 27 – 38.


I. Introduction.


Thank you for praying for our church during these 40 Days of Prayer. We are in the middle of our third week of prayer. There are only three weeks remaining. In your worship bulletin, you will find the Prayer Guide for weeks 3 and 4. The Prayer Guide is the perfect size to keep in your Bible for your daily devotional time. Or, it is a perfect size to put on your refrigerator as a reminder to pray.


We have organized our 40 Days of Prayer around six weeks and have assigned a different theme to each week. These six themes are: Worship, Evangelism / Reaching Out, Discipleship / Becoming Like Christ, Missions, Fellowship / Reaching In, and Support Ministries (buildings, budget, staff, and all the things required for us to do worship, evangelism, discipleship, missions and fellowship).


Our theme today is Discipleship…And, I have bad news and good news about Discipleship. The bad news: I have written a 265 page doctoral project on the subject of Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark. The good news: I have no intention of telling you everything I THINK I know about Discipleship this morning.


When we read the New Testament, we never encounter the word “discipleship.” However, the New Testament is filled with references to disciples. I think we can make a case that the New Testament prefers to call us “disciples” instead of calling us “Christians.” Maybe we ought to take a cue from the New Testament and re-think what it means to be a Christian. To be a Christian is to be a “disciple” of Jesus.


It is interesting to me that the word “disciple” did not originate as a Christian term. It was very common in the ancient world before, during and after the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. A disciple in the ancient world was a “student” or a “learner.” Specifically, ancient “disciples” were students who had a personal relationship with their master / teacher.


“Disciples” did not learn in a classroom. They learned by having a close, personal relationship with their teacher. They often lived with the teacher, or at least spent the majority of their waking hours with their teacher. They observed the teacher as he was actively engaged in his discipline. There were disciples of philosophy, disciples of religion, disciples of carpentry and even disciples of music. After observing the master / teacher practicing his discipline, the disciples would eventually begin practicing the same discipline by imitating their master / teacher under the master / teacher’s helpful eye. The goal of this kind of learning was that the disciple would become exactly like the master / teacher.


With this in mind, I think we could truly benefit from shifting our thinking about ourselves. Rather than thinking of ourselves as Christians, we should think of ourselves as “disciples of Jesus.” This means we are always going to be “students” and “learners.” We have a close, personal relationship with Jesus. We are not students of theology or religion. We are students of Jesus. We are observing the way Jesus lived his life, and we are imitating Jesus. Our goal is not to master a set of information. Our goal is to become like Jesus.


The Scripture we read this morning is found at the beginning of what some scholars call “The Discipleship Section” in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 8: 22 – Mark 10: 52).



Read Mark 8: 27 – 38.


27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"


28 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."


29 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ."


30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.


31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.


32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.


33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."


34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.


35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.


36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?


37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?


38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."(NIV)



The Greek word “Christ” is the Greek form of the Hebrew word “Messiah.” So, Christ is not Jesus’ last name. Christ is his title. It describes who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish on earth. Both “Christ” and “Messiah” can be translated to mean “The Anointed One.” This means that Jesus had a specific mission and purpose to fulfill what God has chosen him to fulfill.

The Jewish people were hoping and praying for the Messiah to come and restore Israel to her rightful place among the nations. Israel was at one time a significant nation with a God-given purpose in the world. The Messiah was the Promised One, who would reestablish Israel as a prominent nation and no longer one of the many nations that served the Roman Emperor. They had hoped for a political leader who could rally support among the Jewish people. They had hoped for a military leader who would lead an insurrection against Rome. But Jesus was neither a governor nor a general. Jesus was something completely different. Jesus was the Son of God.

In fact, those of us who read the Gospel of Mark know who Jesus is just by reading the first verse. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. So, as we read the Gospel, we have an opportunity to witness how the disciples, the women and the crowds gradually begin to gain understanding of who Jesus is. But no one seems to understand Jesus.

In Mark 8, Peter gets very close to understanding Jesus. Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples answer, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asked a personal question: “But what about ya’ll? Who do ya’ll say that I am?” Peter was the first one to answer, “You are the Christ.”

Since you and I have already read Mark 1: 1, we expect Peter to keep going… “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” But he doesn’t go far enough. Peter stops short of confessing who Jesus really is…The Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus accepted Peter’s confession, but went on to explain that is was necessary for the Christ to suffer rejection and crucifixion in order to fulfill the role God had anointed Jesus to fulfill. Peter rebuked Jesus by saying, “No, Lord. This cannot be.”

At this point, we can make a choice between two alternative understandings. First, perhaps Peter didn’t understand what Jesus was saying and just needed a better explanation. Second, perhaps Peter really did understand what Jesus was saying and didn’t like what he had heard. I think Peter understood and didn’t like it. That is why Peter tried to talk Jesus out of being rejected and suffering on the cross. Peter’s understanding of the Messiah did not allow him to believe in a suffering Messiah.

Jesus made a bold statement to Peter. Peter has been called the Rock of the church. Peter preached a bold, spirit-filled sermon at Pentecost from which 3,000 men and women became Christians. And, Jesus looked at Peter and said, “Get behind me Satan.”

I think there are two lessons in this. First, whenever disciples of Jesus experience our highest points of spiritual relationship with Jesus, Satan is going to show up. Like right now in our church… We are praying for God’s will to be done in our church. We are asking God to do something in us and through us. We are asking for God to do more than we can ask or even imagine. This is the time that Satan likes to show up.

Second, Peter had become a tool of Satan without even knowing it. He didn’t want to work for Satan, but he was. He tried to introduce a way for Jesus to avoid the suffering and rejection of the cross. He tried to impose the Jewish system of understanding the Messiah and perhaps convince Jesus to work in a way contrary to God’s original plan. And anytime we place human expectations above God’s will, we are inadvertently doing the work of Satan...By opposing God’s will. Lord, not your will…Let my will be done.

Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me.” I think Jesus was telling Peter that he had overstepped his bounds as a disciple. A disciple is supposed to follow his or her master. Peter was now trying to lead his master. Instead of following behind Jesus, Peter was trying to tell Jesus where to go. It is impossible for us to follow, if we insist on leading the way.

An interesting thing happens in the Greek text of Mark 8. Jesus used the same words to address Peter and to address the crowds. Jesus commanded Peter: “Get behind me.” Then, Jesus invited the crowd to become disciples by saying, “If anyone wants to follow behind me…”

This tells me that the very first step in becoming a disciple of Jesus is to get into a proper relationship with Jesus. Jesus has to be the leader. You have to become the follower. In other words, Jesus is in front. We are behind Jesus. Jesus leads the way. We will only go into the places where Jesus has already gone. For disciples of Jesus, there is no such thing as uncharted waters. If we follow Jesus, he leads us to places where he is already present.

I think it is worth noting that Jesus began his invitation to discipleship by demonstrating the voluntary nature of discipleship. No one is conscripted into becoming a discipleship. No one is drafted into Jesus’ army. No one is snatched into a relationship with Jesus against his or her will. NO! Jesus said, “If anyone wants…If anyone wills…If anyone desires…to become a follower…”

Then, Jesus made three points about true discipleship…


II. Deny Self.

Again, Mark 1: 1 tells us that he wrote his Gospel to tell us about the “beginning of the Good News about Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.” The Gospel is about Jesus. Everyone else in the book of Mark is a supporting character. In other words, Mark does not tell us the story of the Twelve disciples. Mark tells us the story of how the Twelve disciples relate to Jesus.

The First Century disciples serve as a model—or perhaps a picture—of what discipleship is supposed to look like in the Twenty-First Century. This picture of discipleship began with Jesus’ very simple call: “Come. Follow Me.”

When Peter and Andrew heard Jesus’ call, they were fishing. James and John heard Jesus’ call while they were repairing their fishing nets. Levi first encountered Jesus while he was counting the money at his tax collection booth. These five men were doing the things they were most comfortable doing. Then, one day, everything changed. Their lives were never the same again.

Jesus called them to enter into an uncertain, new life of following Jesus. When faced with a choice between the certainty of their past lives and an uncertain future with Jesus, these five men dropped everything. They left their old way of life and entered into a new life.

This is what it means to deny your self. To become a disciple of Jesus Christ, you must deny your self by leaving the things you are most comfortable doing and enter into a life that is no longer comfortable. Before you become a disciple of Jesus, you get to do anything you want to do. You are fully in control of your own life. But when you hear the simple call from Jesus—Come. Follow me.—you are no longer in control. Jesus is now in control of your life and your desires.

Discipleship is the same thing for us in the Twenty-First Century. We must leave our old way of life for Jesus. We must leave our past behind. We must give up any rights we think we have to own our future in order to hand the future over to Jesus.


III. Take Up Cross.

This is one of those expressions that has lost its “shock value” over the past 2,000 years. There wasn’t a single person in this sanctuary who was surprised when I read this Scripture. That would not have been the case in the original, First Century setting. First Century people would have immediately remembered the gruesome scene of lifeless criminals hanging on crosses on the side of the “interstate highway.” Perhaps they would even remember watching condemned men agonizing under the weight of a cross-beam, walking through the city streets.

It was a typical practice for Roman executioners to force criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of execution. It was a part of the shame of crucifixion. Everyone could watch. Everyone could ridicule. Everyone could experience the terror of the Romans. Yet, Jesus said this shame and humiliation is a part of being a disciple.

We can interpret this in two ways. I think both of these interpretations are correct. First, Jesus’ life was headed toward a literal Roman cross. And we know now that most of Jesus’ original disciples faced extreme suffering and humiliation just because they were followers of Jesus. This tells us that we will not have an easy life just because we are Christians. We can expect to face the same kind of life that Jesus and his disciples faced. We will face the sufferings of the human life, and we will suffer for our faith. Jesus never promised us an easy life. Jesus didn’t pull a switcheroo on us by telling us life would be wonderful and letting us discover otherwise on our own. No. Jesus promised us up front that the way of discipleship involves taking up a cross.

Second, we can build on the image of a condemned criminal carrying his own cross. As the criminal was marched through the busy city streets, everyone who saw him knew that he was headed to his own death. He was a “dead man walking.” That is what it means to be a Christian. Your life is over. You can no longer live for your own desires. You belong to Jesus. Your past is over, and your future is in God’s hands.


IV. Follow Jesus.

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, this is the primary characteristic of a disciple. Outside of the New Testament, disciples were students and learners. For Jesus, disciples are followers. In a very literal sense, this means that we should go where Jesus goes and always stay behind him. In a figurative sense, this means that we should do the things that Jesus has demonstrated for us. In a spiritual sense, this means that we should conform our lives to the life of Jesus.

We should live like Jesus lives…Love the people that Jesus loves…Pray like Jesus prays…Preach like Jesus preaches…Desire what Jesus desires…And ultimately, give our lives away like Jesus did…


V. Conclusion.

This is why Bible study is so important for Twenty-First Century disciples of Jesus. The New Testament was written by people who had been with Jesus. They saw him; they touched him; they heard him; they smelled him. These people experienced Jesus, and that experience changed their lives! That is the reason why they wrote the Bible. They wrote about their physical experience with Jesus so that you and I could have a spiritual experience with Jesus.

We are not supposed to read the Bible with the goal that we can learn all the information and doctrine in the Bible. We are supposed to read the Bible so that we can meet with Jesus…To experience Jesus…To know Jesus intimately…To grow closer to Jesus…To begin to imitate Jesus in the way we live our lives right here and right now.

Last week I preached about Reaching Out. We need to find ways to help people who are far from God to enter into a relationship with God. Sometimes, evangelism happens suddenly and instantaneously. A person hears the Gospel for the first time; and immediately they deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus as Lord. Other times, evangelism takes place over time, like a process. We help atheists become agnostics. We help agnostics become seekers. We help seekers become new Christians.

Sometimes evangelism is a process. BUT, discipleship is ALWAYS a process. Discipleship is the way new Christians become growing Christians…growing Christians become mature Christians…and mature Christians become mature Christians who are not complacent.

Discipleship is giving your life away for Christ. But let me warn you. Your life is not like a $100 bill that you lay down on the counter once and for all. Your life is more like $100 in quarters. You lay it down one quarter at a time…It takes time and effort and intentional process.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

40 Days of Prayer: Reaching Out

40 Days of Prayer: Reaching Out
Matthew 28: 16 – 20.


I. Introduction.

Max Lucado tells a story from his high school years in his book, In the Eye of the Storm. Every year the Lucado family took a fishing trip when Max and his brother were out of school for Spring Break. One year, his mother and brother could not go on the annual fishing trip, so Max’ father told him he could invite a friend.

It was an exciting trip for Max and his friend Mark. They were going to fish all week long, and they were going to enjoy the great outdoors in a camper. Just the guys.

The three guys arrived at the campsite on the first night, set up the camper and went to bed. They were dreaming about perfect weather and the pile of fish they would catch the next morning.

While they were sleeping, a cold front blew in. The wind was blowing so hard, it was difficult to open the door of the camper. The wind was causing “white caps” on the lake, so they were not going to fish on the first day. Instead, they spent the day playing Monopoly and reading Reader’s Digest.

While they were sleeping on the second night, it started to rain and the temperature dropped. The door of the camper was frozen shut. One more day of Monopoly and Reader’s Digest.

On the second day inside the camper, the three guys were no longer happy campers. They started to feel grumpy. Then they directed their grumpiness toward each other. Being cooped up in a small space accentuates all the character flaws of the people around you.

During the next night, it began to sleet. The fishing and camping trip was officially over. They packed up and headed home the next morning.

Here is the way Max Lucado describes his experience:

I learned a hard lesson that week. Not about fishing, but about people.
When those who are called to fish don’t fish…they fight.
When energy intended to be used outside is used inside, the result is explosive. Instead of casting nets, we cast stones. Instead of extending helping hands, we point accusing fingers. Instead of being fishers of the lost, we become critics of the saved. Rather than helping the hurting, we hurt the helpers.
The result? Church Scrooges. “Bah Humbug” spirituality. Beady eyes searching for warts on others while ignoring the warts on the nose below. Crooked fingers that bypass strengths and point out weaknesses.
Split churches. Poor testimonies. Broken hearts. Legalistic wars.
And, sadly, the poor go unfed, the confused go uncounseled, and the lost go unreached.
When those who are called to fish don’t fish…they fight
.[1]


According to the Gospel of Matthew, the first words Jesus spoke to his disciples were, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers for people (Matthew 4: 19).”

I think there were two reasons why Jesus said these words. First, they fit very well in the context of what the first disciples were actually doing at the time. They were fishing. They were fishing, because this was their job—as professional fishermen. Second, Jesus’ words at the very beginning of his relationship with his disciples were “truth in advertising.” This was the reason why Jesus called his disciples.

Jesus did not call disciples so that they could become the smartest men in Israel. Jesus did not call disciples so that they could gain supernatural insight into God’s purpose for Israel and his chosen people. Jesus did not call disciples so that they could have an extra special relationship with God and Jesus that would make the rest of the world jealous. No. Jesus called his disciples to a specific task.

I don’t think we could build a very good case that the disciples eventually became the smartest men in Israel. However, we can definitely state that they gained a special understanding of God’s work through the people of Israel, AND they became benefactors of a special relationship with Jesus.

There was a purpose for their relationship with Jesus. There was a purpose for their new understanding of God’s work. The purpose was fishing. The purpose was to share their relationship and understanding with other people. They were evangelizing the world. They were reaching out to other people.

Jesus began his earthly ministry with the words, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers for people.” Matthew 28 tells us what Jesus said to his disciples at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry…


Read Matthew 28: 16 – 20.
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.""(NIV)


I discovered years ago that some of you write dates in your Bibles to remember when I preach on certain Scriptures. I preached on this Scripture on May 14, 2006. It was Mothers’ Day and the day you voted to call me as your pastor.

This was the first Scripture you ever heard me preach, because I believed it was important enough to start with. I also believe it is important enough to keep reminding our church. These words describe our unchanging mission as a church. We don’t need a Long Range Planning Committee to formulate a new mission for us. This is our mission in 2011, just as it was our mission in 2006, and just as it was our mission in 1883. The mission does not change.

In the Greek text of Jesus’ words to his disciples, there is only one verb. Jesus instructs his disciples to “make disciples.” This might be a little surprising, because the way it is translated into English makes the word “go” look like the primary commandment.

“Go” is actually one of three participles that define three different ways we are supposed to carry out Jesus’ instructions. Understood in this way, Jesus is telling us to “make disciples” by “going,” “baptizing” and “teaching.”

It seems to me that Jesus’ mission for his disciples has never changed. He began by calling them to a specific purpose—fishing for people. When he ascended into Heaven, he left them with instructions to “make disciples of all nations.” Ultimately, these are two ways of describing the same task. “Fishing for people” and “making disciples of all nations” basically describe our purpose as reaching out to others with the Gospel…This is evangelism.

Remember what Max Lucado said…When those who are called to fish don’t fish…they fight. Jesus called his disciples to fish. When you and I—as Jesus’ disciples in the twenty-first century—stop doing what Jesus called us to do, we will begin to fight.


II. Making Disciples.

These are the words Jesus spoke before he ascended into Heaven. Notice who was gathered with Jesus on the mountaintop to hear these words. Verse 16 tells us there were eleven disciples gathered there.

Wait a minute. Weren’t there twelve disciples? If Jesus had twelve disciples, but only eleven gathered on the mountaintop to hear his final instructions…Does that mean someone didn’t show up? No. Judas was dead at this point. So, after Judas died, there were only eleven disciples remaining. Eleven included everyone who had committed their lives to being a follower of Jesus.

So, we can interpret Jesus’ words as his final instructions to everyone. This will help us to understand what Jesus meant when he said “make disciples.” If all the disciples received the instructions to “make disciples,” then Jesus is basically telling them to grow by adding more people like them.

Disciples were followers of Jesus. They were the people who had left everything behind to answer Jesus’ call. Jesus called them to be with him on the journey. He called them to model their lives after his life. He invited them to share a special relationship with Jesus as their Master and Lord. Therefore, the call to “make disciples” is the call to reach out to others. They were not supposed to keep Jesus all to themselves. They were to invite other people to join them in the same kind of relationship.

Of course, I am very aware that these words were originally spoken to the first eleven disciples. Someone could make an argument that perhaps we are not included in Jesus’ instructions. However, that seems illogical when we read the way Jesus closed his statements in verse 20. Jesus said, “And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This tells me that Jesus’ instructions did not die when the last of the eleven disciples died. Jesus’ instructions were valid and unchanging as long as there is time. Jesus’ words were the mission of the original eleven disciples…the mission of the early church in the Book of Acts…the mission of the nine people who founded this church in 1883…the mission of our church in 2011.

Jesus told us to be “fishers for people.” Jesus told us to “make disciples of all nations.” We are not doing our job if we are not fishing, making disciples, reaching out.


III. Going.

Since Jesus told us to make disciples by “going,” it seems obvious to me that we are not supposed to wait for people to come to us. I think we can use fishing illustrations to understand what Jesus had in mind.

Where do fish live? Fish live in the water. There are fish in ponds, stock tanks, lakes, rivers and the ocean. In most cases, fish don’t live in the church or in your house. Fishermen know this. They know that in order to catch fish, they have to go where the fish are. This means they have to get really close to the water. Fishermen stand on the side of the stock tank, sit in a boat in the middle of the lake, or even wade out into the river. They can’t stay at home and catch fish.

In the same way, we can’t sit inside the sanctuary of our church and wait for fish to come to us. We have to reach out. This is why you often hear me say, “Invite your friends, your family and your neighbors.”

Some of you can’t invite your friends to church, because all your friends are already here. If all your friends are here, then you need to find some new friends. You need to make friends with some people who are not Christians…people who have dropped out of church…people who are running away from God.

Jesus does not want us to spend all our time around Christians. He wants us to be fishermen who go where the fish are. We cannot fish inside the church.


IV. Baptizing.

Another way we are supposed to “make disciples” is by “baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Baptism is the first step of obedience. Baptism does not wash away our sins or provide us with salvation. Baptism is our response of obedience. On one hand, we are following the example of Jesus who was baptized. On the other hand, we are demonstrating the change that has taken place in our lives. We were dead in our sins. The old person / way of life is buried with Jesus and resurrected as a new person.

An important part of “making disciples” is leading people to give their lives to Jesus the way we have given our lives to Jesus. There was a time when each of us was not a Christian. Then, there was a time when we placed our faith in Jesus as the only One who could forgive us our sins and give us eternal salvation. That was the moment when we became a Christian…a follower of Jesus.

This is the only way the New Testament describes a growing church. The Bible does not tell us to grow our church by having babies or by transferring fish from one aquarium to another aquarium. The Bible tells us to grow our church by catching new fish.

Some of us are under a false impression about the ways our church is supposed to grow. We think the church will grow if we have the right pastor, the right children’s minister, the right youth minister, etc… We think the church will grow if we have nice buildings, a better location, better technology, etc… We think the church will grow if we sing the right kind of music or offer more attractive Bible studies.

None of this is biblical. The Bible tells us the church should grow by reaching people who are far from God.


V. Teaching.

The final way we are to “make disciples” is by “teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” I think there are a couple of ways to think about “teaching.” The most obvious way is to think of this as the work of discipleship and formation that take place in our Sunday School and Bible studies. A less obvious way is to think of evangelism as a process of teaching and leading people.

Most of us have been trained to think of evangelism in terms of a one time, radical conversion. A person hears the Gospel for the first time—we are all sinners separated from God and deserving of an eternity in Hell; we could not solve our sin problem, so God sent his Only Begotten Son to earth; Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life and was crucified on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins; Jesus rose again as a promise that we too can have eternal life. Then, that person immediately has faith in Jesus and asks Jesus to be their Lord.

Evangelism doesn’t always work that way. In fact, I would suggest that in most cases evangelism is a process that takes place over time. For example, we need to find a way to help people move through stages of belief before they are radically converted. We need to help atheists become agnostics. (An atheist says there is no God. An agnostic says they don’t know if there is a God.) We need to help agnostics become seekers. (A seeker is someone who is willing to listen to the claims of Jesus and the teachings of the Bible.) We need to help seekers become new Christians. Then, we need to help new Christians become growing Christians and growing Christians to become mature Christians.


VI. Conclusion.

The only way to accomplish this is to go fishing. When people who are called to fish don’t fish…they fight.

Whenever the pastor challenges the church to reach out to new people, there will always be someone who says, “We don’t need to reach new people. We need to take care of the people who are already members of our church. We need to be there for the people who built this church.”

One answer to this attitude is to go back and look at the reasons why this church was built. I believe this church was built in obedience to Jesus’ command to “fish for people” and to “make disciples.” The people who built this church did not build it to take care of themselves. They built it to reach out to others who needed to know Jesus.

Another answer to that attitude is to look at our current demographics as a church. Over the past ten years, we have performed over 200 funerals in this church. We average 20 funerals per year. If we continue to lose 20 people per year for the next 10 years, we will lose another 200 people.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 28 are the unchanging mission for our church. BUT, they are also the unchanging mission for us as individuals. This mission will only be accomplished when we all take serious the call to make disciples.

Think of a person far from God…
Pray for that person…
Go to that person…
Speak the Gospel…
Invite them to LFBC…
We could fill this sanctuary…


[1] Max Lucado. In the Eye of the Storm: A Day in the Life of Jesus. (Dallas: Word Publishing Company, 1991): p. 57.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

40 Days of Prayer: Worship

40 Days of Prayer: Worship
Isaiah 6: 1 – 8.


Introduction

Today is the first Sunday in our 40 Days of Prayer. We are distributing a prayer guide for you to use as we pray for God’s will to be done in our church. The prayer guide is organized into six weeks, with each week beginning on Wednesday. The prayer guides will be available in three formats: it will be published in the church newsletter; it will be distributed as a bookmark in the Sunday morning worship bulletin; and it will be available on the church website (click on the resources link at the top of the website). http://firstlufkin.com/resources

Also, please make a point to wear one of these gray bracelets for the 40 Days of Prayer. The bracelet serves three purposes. First, it is a good reminder to pray for our church. Every time you notice that you are wearing the bracelet, take a moment to pray. Second, it could provide you with a good conversation starter with your friends. “Why are you wearing that gray bracelet?” “It is a reminder for me to pray for my church.” Third, the bracelet has the church website imprinted on it. If you need help remembering what to pray for, go to the church website and download the prayer guide in PDF format. (Or, if you have a hard time reading the website on your bracelet, you could ask your friends to read it to you, so they can go look at the website and learn more about our church.) http://fbclufkin.org

The reason we are beginning the weeks on Wednesday is to connect our prayers with the Sunday morning preaching. For example, this Wednesday we began praying about “Worship.” And, today I will be preaching about worship. On Wednesday, we will begin praying about “Evangelism and Reaching Out.” Then, next Sunday I will preach about evangelism and reaching out. Ideally, the church will pray about a particular topic on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday…Then hear a sermon about that topic…Then we will continue to pray about the same topic on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

What do you think of when you hear the word “Worship?” I can remember when I was a child, the word “worship” was often associated with the Sunday morning church service. Each week, we would attend Sunday School as a family, and then we would attend worship. It was not only the way we thought about the Sunday morning church service, it was also the way we talked about it. For example, sometimes families would come to Sunday School and leave after Sunday School to go visit grandparents. These families would say something like, “Since we are going to grandmother’s house today, we are not staying for worship.” I suppose you could say that we thought of worship as an event…something we could attend on a regular Sunday, but something we could skip if we had other plans.

I don’t think that is the best way to think of worship. Worship is not an event. Worship is an action. It is something we do. I would even argue that worship is an action that is so important that it ought to become a part of our lives…a lifestyle of worship.

Our English word “worship” originated in Old English. This is one of the few times that I will explain the origins of a word that did not originally come from one of the biblical languages. It derived from the Old English word “woerthscipe,” which was built on the word “woerth” and the suffix “-scipe.” Over time, the Old English word “woerth” became our modern day word “worth,” and the Old English suffix “-scipe” became “-ship.” All of this is to say that the original meaning of our English word “worship” is something like “to state or to create worth.”

Every time you place a great value on something in your life, you are declaring its worth. Every time you tell another person how important they are to you, you are declaring their worth. If God is the most valuable person in your life, then you ought to show that by spending more time declaring God’s worth than any other person or thing in your life.

When it comes to describing worship as a Christian action, I think we would do well to observe what worship looks like in the Bible. One picture of worship comes in Isaiah 6.


Read Isaiah 6: 1 – 8.
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"(NIV)


Isaiah started the day like any other Sabbath…He went to church…no idea this would be day to change his life…

He walked into sanctuary like any other day…He got a bulletin…saw people he knew…found his familiar pew—you have to be early to get a good back row seat…

Suddenly, Isaiah realized someone far greater than he was present…And that presence changed everything…

I think Isaiah’s experience of worship ought to be the normal experience of worship…We should not be surprised by Isaiah’s story…Because this should be our story as well.

I want you to notice two things about Isaiah’s experience in the Temple. First, Isaiah Encountered God in the Temple. Second, Isaiah’s worship was ACTIVE…He responded to the presence of God. Worship is always our response to the presence of God. Worship is what we do when God shows up.

There is an interesting thing about God's presence. The Jews in Isaiah's day believed that God's presence could be contained. Kind of like we are worried about the radiation being contained in Japan right now. They believed God's presence could be contained in the Temple. God's presence lived on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. It was contained by the Holy of Holies. It was contained in the Temple.

Any time a person wanted to experience the presence of God, they could go to the Temple. But, the rest of the time, they didn't have to worry about it leaking out. It was contained.

We don't believe like this today. We believe that God poured out his Spirit on all flesh. Therefore, the presence of God lives with anyone who has received Christ as Lord. The presence of God can not be contained. Therefore, worship is an action that we ought to engage in every time we experience God's presence. When we experience God, we respond. When God shows up, we should be active in worship.

This is one of the reasons that I like for you to laugh at my jokes. On one hand, it helps my self-esteem to think that I am a funny guy. On the other hand, it shows me that you are participating and responding in worship. I want you to take an ACTIVE role in worship. But so many of us are used to being INACTIVE. Like when we watch TV…When we are being entertained.

But worship is NOT entertainment. Worship is not a performance that Perry and I put on every week for you to sit back and enjoy with a bag of potato chips and a remote control. Worship is something we do…Worship is a verb…Worship is not a noun that describes this service as an event we attend, “We are staying for worship.” Worship is an activity that we engage in when we encounter God.

Did you know that it is impossible for a person to sit INACTIVE in the presence of God? In every biblical story of a person entering into the presence of God, that person did something. Moses entered into the presence of God at the burning bush and took off his shoes. Isaiah entered into the presence of God in the Temple and responded 3 ways… He Saw the LORD…He Saw Himself…He Saw the World…

Let’s look at Isaiah as our model…


Worship Is to See God, for Who He Really Is (vv. 1 – 3).

The first thing we see Isaiah doing in worship is he looked UPWARD…I saw the Lord…When Isaiah entered into the presence of the Lord, he focused his eyes on the Lord…Nothing distracted him…Nothing was more important…Nothing caused him to turn his head away from God…

As he looked UPWARD…Toward God, he saw…

Majesty…v. 1 described God as “high & exalted”…in other words, nothing is above God…

Sovereignty…Royalty & Supreme Power of God…God’s royal robes were so long that they filled the entire Temple…

Holiness…The angels around the throne sang of the holiness of God…Holy, Holy, Holy…Numbers are important in the Bible…3 is usually a reference to divinity, perfection…Holiness is the only quality of God described as superlative…Never, Love, Love, Love…Justice, Justice, Justice… Holiness = God’s moral Purity / Perfection. God is set apart from us as the only One without sin or guilt.


Worship Is to See Myself, as I Really Am (v. 5).

Once Isaiah entered the presence of God something happened…He immediately recognized the goodness, holiness, perfection of God…But Isaiah also noticed something about himself…When he saw God, Isaiah saw himself as he really was, a sinner…It’s like trying on a swimsuit for the first time and looking in the mirror…We see ourselves as we really are…We can no longer deny.

v 5…Woe is me! If Isaiah were living today, he would have said, “I’m doomed.”…Or, “I am a dead man.”… This is based on the OT belief that no one could see God and live…Therefore, if Isaiah has truly seen God, then he will surely die…

This belief is based on the doctrine of the holiness of God…God is sinless and perfect…His righteousness cannot withstand sinfulness and imperfection…As a result, a Righteous God cannot exist in the presence of human sinfulness...

When we truly enter into the presence of God we recognize…God is holy…I am not…I am sinful…I am unworthy to stand in the presence of God…I am doomed…

When God shows up, it can be a frightening experience! Many people think that worship should always be a time of celebration and joy. That is only part of the story. Worship should INCLUDE celebration and joy. However, worship is only possible when we recognize that there is a big difference between God and me. God is perfect. God is sinless. God is without guilt. I am none of those things.

This should NOT cause us to celebrate and experience joy. This is frightening. This is awe inspiring. This brings about reverence. The perfect God who created the universe has entered into space and time…He has entered into my life. Instead of inspiring us to celebrate, this ought to inspire us to confess our sins.

Let’s look again at Isaiah as our example…Once we recognize our own inadequacies and sinfulness, there is only one thing to do…CONFESS

V 5…Isaiah said, “I am of unclean lips.”…Then notice what happened…Confession led to cleansing…

1 John 1: 9…If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.


Worship Is to See the Needs of the World (v. 8).

When God showed up in the sanctuary, Isaiah saw God for who he really is. Then, Isaiah confessed his own sins. Then, Isaiah noticed that the rest of the world needed the same kind of cleansing and forgiveness he had experienced.

Notice that Isaiah was changed in worship. In the beginning he feared God. Once he confessed his sins, he had a reason to celebrate. The perfect God of creation is the same God who provided a way for our sins to be cleansed. And once Isaiah was changed, he went out into the world to tell others about what had happened in his life.

It is natural for us to want to share with others what we have received from God. We want others to Experience Grace…We want others to Encounter God…

But if we never encounter God in this place, it is natural for us to leave just like we came…Unchallenged…Unchanged…Unaffected by the Grace and Presence of God…


Conclusion

Worship is NOT a religious event that happens on church property. Worship is an action. It is declaring God to be the most worthy Person in our lives. If God is worth more to us than money, we should spend more time with God than we do making money. If God is more important to us than other people, then we need to spend more time declaring the worthiness of God. If God is more important to us than we are, then we need to realize that worship is more about God than it is about me.

This is where we get into questions about music and style of worship. If you believe that worship is an event, then I think you ought to find a church that can put on the best show. For some of you, the best show in town will be the church with the biggest pipe organ and the most harmonious choir. For some of you, the best show in town will be the church with the most guitars on stage.

But, worship is not a show. Worship is declaring the worthiness of God. He created the entire universe. He provided the only way for your sins to be forgiven. He offers you the hope of the resurrection—an eternal life that goes beyond life on earth.

If we realize that worship is more about God than it is about me, then the questions about music become different questions. When worship is about me, then I need to find the church that offers the kind of music I think is appropriate. When worship is about God, then I need to find the church that offers music GOD thinks is appropriate. And, what kind of music does God find appropriate?

Somewhere in Africa right now, there is a church worshipping God. They don’t have a pipe organ. They probably don’t even have a guitar. But what they do have, they are using to sing their praises to God. They are playing a drum. They are clapping their hands. They are probably even dancing. As they sing their songs, play their drums and clap their hands, God is glorified…God is pleased with their worship.

Look at the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5: 15 – 21… “Be very careful, then, how you live-- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

If I understand Paul correctly, he is telling us that God likes all kinds of music. God likes “Psalms,” “Hymns,” and “Spiritual Songs.” The only thing that truly matters about worship music is that God wants you to be involved. God is glorified when God’s people sing and participate in worship. God is not glorified when God’s people grumble and complain that the music is too contemporary or too traditional.

I believe worship is the primary thing we do as Christians. It is primary for us as individuals. It is primary for our church. If we are not worshipping God, there is very little chance that we will get anything else right!

Isaiah teaches us that to worship God is to enter into his presence…To see God for who he really is…To see ourselves as we really are…To see that the rest of the world needs to know the God of creation and the God of salvation.

Worship is not about me. But, when I worship…God changes me and uses me. When our church worships…God changes us and uses us.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

What Is It?

What Is It?
Exodus 16: 1 – 18


I. Introduction.

When I was in college, one of the academic clubs on campus sponsored a trivia competition known as “Quiz Bowl.” They invited all the campus clubs to enter a team in the competition but also allowed “merely interested individuals” to put together their own team. So, a group of my friends in the freshman dorm put together a team and called ourselves, “Merely Interested Individuals.”

We really didn’t think we stood a chance to win the competition. In the first round, we were paired against the honor society and defending champions from the year before. We won. Then, we went on to win every round. This set us up to compete against the faculty team in chapel.
The chapel crowd was very sympathetic. Here we were, four freshman guys, calling ourselves “Merely Interested Individuals,” going up against the faculty team. We had the home field advantage…And we won.

(I know this is a very sad statement…But, I am proud to tell you that I was on the winning Quiz Bowl team in each of my four years of college. All I have to show for it is a cheap trophy from my senior year.)

The Quiz Bowl format was to pit two teams against each other. The moderator would ask a “pop up question,” and the first person to raise their hand got to answer. If the answer was correct, the team was allowed to confer on a bonus question.

In one of our early matches, one of my team members answered a “pop up question.” Then, we got our bonus question. The moderator said, “What does the Hebrew word manna mean?”

Since I was the only religion major, everyone looked at me. Then, Chris said, “What is it?” I said, “OK, this is a good place to start. Let’s think about it. Manna is the bread God provided for the Hebrew people while they were living in the desert.”

Chris said, “What is it?”

I said, “Well, no one really knows. But, the Bible says it was something they gathered and baked into bread.”

Chris said, “What is it?”

Another guy on our team named Andy said, “The bread stuff.”

The moderator interrupted us and said, “Time is up. I need an answer.”

Chris said, “What is it?”

The moderator said, “That is correct. The Hebrew word manna means “What is it?”

(Several years ago, I wrote that story and sent it to Reader’s Digest. I thought it was funny enough to publish. But I never heard back from them.)

According to the Bible, the first time God sent manna to the Hebrew people, they came out of their tents early in the morning. They saw this strange white substance on the ground. The people took one look at it and said, “What is it?” Moses replied, “This is the food God is providing for us to eat. It doesn’t really have a name, because God has never done this before. We might as well call it ‘What Is It?’’


Read Exodus 16: 1 – 18.

1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.
2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."
4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.
5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt,
7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?"
8 Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."
9 Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'"
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
11 The LORD said to Moses,
12 "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.
15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.
16 This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.'"
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little.
18 And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.
(NIV)


Last week, we read the story of Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery. He ended up in Egypt and eventually became the second-in-command over all of Egypt. When the entire Middle East experienced a famine, Egypt was the only country with food. Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt for food. God used Joseph’s circumstances and rise to power in Egypt as a means to provide for God’s chosen people.

Because of Joseph, the Egyptian Pharaoh gave Joseph’s family the best land in the country to live in and to raise their sheep. As long as Joseph lived, and as long as the Pharaoh was in power God’s people lived a very blessed and protected life. That is…Until one day a Pharaoh came to power who did not know Joseph…He did not know the story of how the Hebrew people moved to Egypt.

This Pharaoh turned the Hebrew people into slaves and mistreated them until they cried out to God for help. God sent Moses to rescue his people from slavery. God sent plagues on the land of Egypt, and eventually Pharaoh let God’s people go.

As soon as Moses and the Hebrew people left Egypt, the Pharaoh changed his mind. He sent his army after them. The Egyptian army caught up to the Hebrew people on the banks of the Red Sea. Then, God performed another miracle. God sent a strong wind to part the Sea. The Hebrew people crossed the Sea on dry ground. But, Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the sea.

Exodus 14 tells us the Hebrew people placed their faith in the LORD and in Moses after crossing the Red Sea. They are getting off to a great start, trusting in God and trusting in the leader God has given them…I wonder how long this will last…In my Bible, it only lasts for a page. Right across the page from Exodus 14, the people start complaining. In real time, it was only a matter of days before the people started complaining…one month and fifteen days…What is that 45 days?

When Moses led the people out of Egypt, he was leading them to the Promised Land. When they left the land of Egypt, God promised to give them their own land…the land we know as Israel today. But, they didn’t go directly from Egypt to Israel. They had to first spend 40 years in the wilderness. The wilderness is the “in between” period. It is the time between God’s promise and God’s fulfillment of his promise.

Wilderness in the Middle East is nothing like what we think of as wilderness in East Texas. We typically think of wilderness as woods, trees, forest, or something like that. Wilderness in their region of the world is what we think of as a desert. It was dry and rugged, and it was impossible for anything to live in the wilderness.

After just 45 days, the Hebrew people have run out of food. They have a legitimate complaint. If they don’t eat, they won’t live. If they don’t live, they will never make it to the Promised Land.

The people have a legitimate need. But, notice the way they express their need in verse 3, “The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."”

They are blaming everything on Moses. Ultimately, Moses is not the one who had brought them out of Egypt. Moses was simply an instrument of God. God is the One who rescued them. God is the One who brought them into the wilderness. God is the One who is responsible for getting them to the Promised Land.

When the people complain to Moses, Moses takes their complaints to God. And God answers their complaints. He promises Moses to send them “bread from Heaven.”

The next morning, the people wake up to find the ground covered with something. They don’t know what it is and immediately ask, “What is it?” Moses says, “That’s good enough…We’ll call it manna.”

What do you think manna really is? My children believe that Chick-Fil-A is manna. It makes sense to me. You could live on Chick-Fil-A for 40 years. It tastes good. AND, if you want to eat it on Sunday, you have to buy it on Saturday night.


II. Natural Phenomenon.

One explanation of manna is to say it is a natural occurrence in the Sinai Peninsula. This is not a new interpretation for manna. It has been known and written about since the 1600’s.

The natural view of manna suggests that there is a particular type of louse which eats the sap of the tamarisk tree. When it eats the sap, it secretes a waxy substance. This waxy substance takes the form of a solid in the cool morning temperatures. As the sun gets hotter in the day, it melts and attracts maggots and ants. That sounds a lot like the biblical account of what happened to the manna when people tried to keep it for the next day.

Desert dwellers in this region of the world use this substance as a source of food, and even bake it into cakes. That sounds a lot like the biblical account of the way people gathered the manna and baked it into cakes of bread.

There is one significant problem with this natural description of manna. In the Book of Numbers, we read that Moses took a census of all the men old enough to serve in the army. There were over 600,000 men over the age of 20! That means the total population of Hebrews was well over one million people. It would take a lot of lice to feed one million people every day for 40 years.

(It also doesn’t explain how the manna collected on the sixth day was still good enough to eat on the Sabbath Day.)


III. A Physical Miracle.

The Jewish Rabbis described manna as something new that had never happened before. They did not believe it was a natural phenomenon. It was a miracle. The people needed food. God provided food…food from Heaven.

I tend to agree that this is a miracle. But it was not the first time God had performed a miracle for these people. God had sent plagues to the nation of Egypt. The Egyptian people suffered the plagues, but the Hebrew people were not affected. God had parted the Red Sea. The Hebrew people walked across the Sea on dry ground, while the Egyptian army drowned. God provided water in the middle of the desert. God sent “bread from heaven.” God even sent quail for his people to catch and eat.

Sometimes we look back at all the miracles God performed for his people and wonder why they ever complained. Why did they not place all their faith in God? And, why did they not trust God to provide for all their needs?

There is an interesting thing about miracles. Miracles do not usually lead people to place their faith in God. It’s actually the other way around. Miracles do not allow us to have faith. Faith allows us to see miracles. The non-believer can always look at a miracle and find another explanation…something ordinary…something normal. The believer can look at something ordinary and normal and give God the credit for performing a miracle.


IV. God’s Provision.

The truth is, we do not have to wonder what manna is. The Bible tells us what it is in verses 11 – 12, “The LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"”

There was a spiritual purpose for God’s miracle. On one hand, God provided food for his people. On the other hand, God gave them physical food to make a spiritual point. The food proves that God really is who he says he is.

Think about this in terms of the big picture. God had a plan for his people even when they were slaves in Egypt. God’s plan was not to keep them slaves in a foreign land forever. God’s plan was to rescue them. Then, God promised to give them their own land. Not just any land…A land flowing with milk and honey…A land that could provide for all their needs. God made the promise. Therefore, God also took the responsibility to fulfill his promise. Any time God makes a promise, he will fulfill his promise. It is not our job to fulfill God’s promises for him. It is our job to allow God to do his work in us and to recognize how God is at work in all the ordinary and normal details of life.

There is another way to think about the big picture. When the Hebrew people were slaves, they were not recognized as their own people. They were slaves. They were simply the property of the Egyptian state. When God rescued them out of slavery, God gave them their own identity. Now, they were a people…and not just any people…They were God’s own people. And, God takes responsibility to provide for his own people.

But, we need to notice the way God provides for his people. God did not give them a “lump sum” of manna. The Hebrew people did not wake up one day to find a 40 year supply of manna. No. They woke up to find enough manna for one day.

On one hand, this ought to remind us of the way Jesus taught us to pray in the Model Prayer. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6: 11).” He didn’t tell us to pray for enough for the rest of our lives. He didn’t tell us to pray for enough to make it until retirement (or even to make it through retirement). Jesus didn’t even tell us to ask for enough to make it to the end of the month. Jesus taught us to pray for our day to day needs.

On the other hand, this reminds us that faith is never a one time event. God’s provision is not offered one time and accepted one time. God’s provision is offered new and fresh every day of our lives. Faith is waking up in the morning and trusting God to meet our needs for the rest of the day…no more, no less. Then, waking up the next morning to do it all again…trusting God to meet our needs for the rest of that day. One day at a time. God’s provision comes according to God’s plan…one day at a time…in God’s time…And God is always on time.

This reminds us that there are two ways to think about God’s provision. Some people operate on the assumption that the resources we need are scarce. Since they are scarce, we need to gather up more than we could ever use and hoard those resources. They are in limited supply. Other people operate on the assumption that the resources we need are abundant. There is more than enough for today. There is more than enough for tomorrow. There will be more than enough for the days that come after tomorrow. We can think of resources in abundance ONLY when we recognize God is the source of all we need.


V. Conclusion.

One of the things I like about the wilderness stories in the Old Testament is the way they describe the “in between” times. The wilderness is the time in between God’s promises and God’s fulfillment of his promises.

In this way, the wilderness describes the Christian life. Once you have become a Christian, you have received God’s promise. God has already saved you by providing you with forgiveness of all your sins. However, God has also promised to give you eternal life in Heaven. As long as you are alive, you are living in the wilderness. You are living “in between” God’s promise of eternal life and the fulfillment of that eternal life in Heaven.

I also believe the wilderness describes the life of our church right here and right now. God has promised to use us to be the Light of the World (Matthew 5: 14 – 16). God has promised to use us to be an instrument for reaching the lost and sharing the hope of Christ with all the nations—beginning right here in Lufkin, Texas.

But, that is not exactly who we are right now…That is because we are in the wilderness. We are living in between God’s promise and God’s fulfillment of his promise. We are not supposed to fulfill God’s promises for him. We are to trust him to meet all our needs and to give God the credit for all the ordinary and normal ways God meets our needs. And when God meets our needs, then we will know God really is who he says he is.