Sunday, January 27, 2013

Listening to God


Listening to God
Luke 5: 17 – 26.

Introduction
Last year, I had an opportunity to preach a chapel service at East Texas Baptist University.  I was really excited about preaching chapel, but it is a sign that I am truly getting old.  The chaplain at East Texas Baptist University is one of my old college students from when I was the college minister in Waco.
Chapel at ETBU is different from what I remember about chapel at Mississippi College.  I remember chapel being painful and boring—painfully boring.  But, ETBU had a worship band and praise team made up of college students.  The chapel students actually sang along in worship.  Then, I got up to preach.  (I suppose I was the painfully boring part of the chapel service.)
I preached a sermon that I have already preached here in Lufkin.  The sermon is about the boy Samuel in the Temple.  While he was asleep, God spoke to Samuel.  Samuel did not recognize the voice of the LORD, so he ran into Eli’s room thinking Eli had called him.  Eventually, Samuel recognized the voice of the LORD; he listened; and he obeyed.
I was really proud of the way I concluded my sermon.  I said, “If the Bible is the Word of God, then God is still speaking to us today.  But, if our Bibles remain closed, then God is silent.”
I built my last sentence up and dramatically held up my Bible and snapped it shut.  You will never guess what I did next.  I set my Bible down on the pulpit and prayed.  Then, I drove all the way home from Marshall to Lufkin…and LEFT MY BIBLE IN MARSHALL.

Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?  I would suggest that this is one of our basic beliefs as Baptists in general and Lufkin’s First Baptist Church in particular.  We believe the Bible is our authority for both our beliefs and our behaviors.  When we gather in Sunday School classes or small groups, we read the Bible.  When we gather to worship on Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening, we read the Bible.
As a church, our corporate behavior reflects our belief that the Bible is the Word of God, and God speaks to us through the Bible.  But what does our private behavior demonstrate about our view of the Bible?  If you truly believe that God speaks to you through the Bible, then your private behavior will reflect that. 
I used to think this was very simple.  If you believe God speaks to you through the Bible, then you will read the Bible expecting to hear from God.  If you do not believe God speaks to you through the Bible, then you will not read the Bible.  But, I think there may be one more possibility.  It is possible to believe the Bible is the Word of God and refuse to read the Bible, because you are afraid of what God will say.

Reading the Bible does not have to be complicated.  Of course, it is very helpful to read the entire Bible and to have a good understanding of the overall story of God’s work in the history of Israel and how that history culminated in the life of Jesus.  It is also helpful to know something about the original languages of Hebrew and Greek or to study commentaries that are based on the original languages.
There are two ways to think about the Bible.  Some people think the Bible is complicated and can only be understood by people who can “crack the code.”  I do not believe this is true.  I believe God is revealed in the Bible and not concealed in the Bible.  Therefore, I believe anyone can read the Bible and come to know who God is.

The simplest way to read the Bible is to read it prayerfully.  I recommend that you read one short passage of Scripture and pray a simple prayer…  “Lord, what are you saying to me in this Scripture?”

Let’s try this together in a familiar story from the life of Jesus…


Luke 5: 17 – 26.
17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . .” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”



You have probably heard and / or read this story one hundred times in your life.  Sometimes a story is so familiar to us that we have learned everything we can possibly learn from it.  And, other times, a story is so familiar to us that we THINK we have learned all we can learn from it.  Familiarity is not always a good thing.
One of the best ways to re-read / re-hear a familiar story is to imagine what it would have been like to be there while the story was happening for the first time.  Try to put yourself into the biblical story and imagine what it would have been like.  What are some of the things you would see?  What would it smell like?  How shocking would it be to hear Jesus forgive a man’s sins and tell him to stand up and walk?
As you imagine yourself as a part of the story, maybe you can imagine yourself as one of the characters…  Jesus is the main character in the story, but none of us is Jesus.  Jesus had people overcoming all odds to meet him face-to-face.  Jesus pronounced forgiveness of sins.  And, Jesus performed a miracle.
But, maybe we can identify with one of the other characters…The Paralyzed Man, The Four Friends, The Crowd…


The Paralyzed Man
We don’t know much about the paralyzed man.  For example, we don’t know if he had been paralyzed from birth or as the result of some accident.  But, we do know that he could not walk.  His four friends had to physically carry him to meet Jesus.
His physical disability was only one part of his problem.  As a result of his paralysis, he was totally helpless and left to depend on his friends (and possibly his family members) to meet his needs.  He could not work and support himself financially.  He could not even move around under his own power.  This helplessness probably led to a loss of dignity and feelings of shame.
This is a very difficult situation for a man to find himself in.  He had nothing to be proud of and probably struggled with thoughts that he was a burden on others.
If you cannot relate to feelings of helplessness or shame, there is one more problem mentioned that we can all relate to.  This man was a sinner, who needed forgiveness.
This is the first problem Jesus addressed when he first met the paralyzed man.  Jesus said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven…”
The religious leaders were offended when Jesus pronounced forgiveness.  The Scripture says they were offended because Jesus claimed to do something only God can do—forgive sins.  But, I think there might be something else offensive about Jesus’ words.  Not only did Jesus claim to do what only God could do…Jesus was replacing the Temple and the entire sacrificial system of Judaism!
The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were very religious men.  They were committed to all of the teachings of the Old Testament.  And, they were committed to worship at the Jerusalem Temple and all the sacrifices required by the Scriptures.  And, Jesus has just by-passed both the Temple and the sacrifices.  Jesus is claiming equality with God, AND Jesus is claiming that he is all we need to be forgiven.
As I read this familiar story, I can certainly relate to the paralyzed man.  He felt helpless and ashamed of his life.  And, he knew he needed forgiveness for his sins.  That afternoon he found the answer to all his problems when he met Jesus face-to-face, because Jesus is all we need.


The Four Friends
The paralyzed man would never have met Jesus face-to-face without help from his four friends.  They placed the paralyzed man on a mat and physically carried him to meet Jesus.  That alone was quite an inconvenience for the four friends.  They had to put their own needs and their own daily schedules on hold so they could carry their friend to Jesus.
I don’t know what the four friends expected to find when they arrived at the house.  But, what they found was an impossible situation.  They had changed their daily schedules and put everything else on hold only to find a house so crowded that no one could enter.
Some people might turn around and go home.  We did the very best we could do.  At least we tried.  Maybe we can find Jesus another day.  That is not what these friends thought.  Instead, they found a creative and bold solution.  They climbed to the roof of the house; they cut a hole in the roof; and they lowered their friend right at the feet of Jesus.  These friends were willing to overcome any and all obstacles.
I want you to think about their creativity and their boldness.  They were creative, because they found a solution to an impossible situation.  They were bold, because they cut a hole in someone else’s roof.  Nothing could stop them from bringing their friend face-to-face with Jesus!
Can you relate to their creativity and boldness?  There are some people who will not allow any obstacles to stand between their friends and Jesus.  And some people who will not overcome obstacles because personal convenience is more important than introducing others to Jesus.
There is a remarkable phrase in verse 20…

Luke 5: 20… “When Jesus saw THEIR faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’”

 Jesus responded to the faith of the paralyzed man AND to the faith of his four friends.  It takes faith to believe that Jesus can change a life.  The paralyzed man had faith that Jesus could solve all his problems.  The four friends had faith that Jesus could help their friend.  And, it was their faith that led them to overcome obstacles.
If we have faith that Jesus still changes lives, then we will put our personal inconveniences aside and help others meet Jesus the way we have met Jesus.  If we do not have faith that Jesus changes lives, anything and everything can stop us.


The Crowd
I used to read this story differently than I read it today.  I used to think that the four friends could not get into the house because Jesus was surrounded by friendly faces.  I imagined that Jesus was teaching his disciples about the Kingdom of God and that sick people were coming to Jesus to be healed.  I thought this was a friendly scene until I noticed an important detail in verse 17.

Luke 5: 17…  “One day as (Jesus) was teaching, Pharisees and Teachers of the Law who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there.  And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.”

The house was full, because Pharisees and Teachers of the Law had traveled from all over the country to meet Jesus!  And, we know from the rest of the Gospels that the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were not friendly faces around Jesus.  They didn’t like Jesus.  They didn’t appreciate his teaching about the Kingdom of God.  They were jealous of all the crowds that came to Jesus and believed his message of faith. 
The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were the most religious people Judaism had to offer.  They had committed their lives to read and follow all the teachings of the Old Testament.  When Jesus challenged their understanding of religion, the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law dug in their heels and did everything in their power to protect their religion from Jesus.  They tried to trick him with theological questions and eventually conspired to have Jesus executed by the Romans.

The paralyzed man could not get to Jesus, because religion stood in the way!

I wonder how often this happens to us. 
Perhaps there is someone who needs to meet Jesus, but they don’t dress the way religious people think they should dress.  The Bible never tells us we have to wear a suit and tie to come to church.  That is something we made up and added to the Gospel.
Perhaps we make it difficult for some people to meet Jesus by only providing Sunday morning activities.  What about people who have to work on Sundays like waitresses, police officers and firemen?
Perhaps we think people need to clean up their lives before they enter into the church.  We expect people to look like us, walk like us, smell like us and vote like us before they come to church.  Jesus never asked anyone to clean up their lives before they had faith.  Jesus accepts us just as we are and THEN Jesus is the one who changes us.  Like I once saw on a church sign, “You catch ‘em.  He’ll clean ‘em.”

When I read this story, I think God is speaking to us all.  God wants us to be more like the four friends who were creative and bold in their efforts to bring a needy person to Jesus.  He does not want us to be like the religious folks who stood in the way.


Conclusion
This week, a pastor friend of mine emailed me a quote from Philip Yancey.  I don’t know where this came from, but I love the quote…

“As I travel, I have observed a pattern, a strange historical phenomenon of God “moving” geographically from the Middle East to Europe, to North America, to the developing world. My theory is this: God goes where He’s wanted.”  Philip Yancey

God goes where he is wanted.  That means if you don’t want to hear from God, then you have nothing to worry about.  But, if you do want to hear from God…God goes where he is wanted…  God has given us a way to hear from him.

Reading the Bible does not have to be complicated.  If the Bible is the Word of God, then God is speaking to us whenever we read the Bible.  But, if the Bible is the Word of God, then God is silent as long as our Bibles are closed.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Jesus Modeled Prayer


Jesus Modeled Prayer

Matthew 6: 5 – 13.


Introduction.
Do you have a cell phone?  I don’t know how we ever lived without cell phones! 
I remember when I was a kid, Batman and the President of the United States were the only people with phones in their cars.  Now, everyone has a phone…And, we can stay in constant communication with our friends, family and our jobs.  I guess there is both good and bad about having a cell phone.
Maybe you have the same experience with your phone that I have…I don’t always have a good signal on my phone.  This is especially true in the church office.  Sometimes my phone works just fine in my office.  But, other times I have to stand next to the window in my office to talk on the phone.  (This is interesting to me, because in 2006 I traveled to North Africa on a mission trip.  We spent a week in a mountain village with crude bathroom facilities, limited electricity and better cell phone reception than in downtown Lufkin!)
Isn’t it a good that we don’t have to have good cell phone service to talk to God?  In many ways, this is the message we proclaimed at Christmas.  God sent his Son, Jesus…And as the Gospel of Matthew tells us, his name will be Immanuel—God is with us.  No matter where you go or where you are, God is accessible.  God is present.  And we can always talk to God through prayer.
One of the Spiritual Resolutions I mentioned last Sunday is that we should resolve to spend more time with God.  Jesus modeled this for us by waking up earlier than his disciples and spending time alone with God in prayer.  And, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us how we can pray as Jesus prayed…


Matthew 6: 5 – 8…"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Jesus introduced the Model Prayer by first describing two negative examples of prayer.  First, there is the hypocrite who does not love to pray.  Hypocrites love for other people to see them praying and to hear the words of their prayers.  A hypocrite is an actor who prays for show or a person who puts on a mask to hide the wickedness on the inside.  There are two ways to describe the prayers of the hypocrites.  On one hand, they are more concerned with what other people think about them than what God thinks about them.  On the other hand, hypocrites pray with no heart.  They pray with their bodies and their lips and even with their minds—wondering what other people think about them.  But their hearts are far from God.  Don’t pray like a hypocrite who prays with no heart.
The second negative example Jesus gave us was the pagan.  Jesus makes no mention of whether the pagans prayed in public or in private.  Instead, Jesus criticizes their “babbling.”  Other translations call this “vain repetitions.”  The NIV chooses to interpret this as “babbling,” because the Greek word used is probably an onomatopoetic term imitating the sound of a language other than Greek (battalogeo).  In this case, Jesus is not discouraging repetition or even persistence in prayer.  He is discouraging us from babbling on and on and on…
The reason the pagans babbled in their prayers was to find the right magic words acceptable to their gods.  Pagan prayer was an attempt to flatter the gods and thus to coax them to act.  If the gods did not answer prayer, it was because the pagans prayed incorrectly—either using the wrong words or praying them in the wrong order.  So, they prayed on and on and on...uttering words that had no meaning, hoping to pray the magic words or to stumble upon the right formula.  In other words, the pagans prayed mindless / meaningless prayers.
Hypocrites pray heartless prayers.  Pagans pray mindless prayers.  Jesus calls us to pray with engaged hearts and minds.  Prayer is to be a passionate and heart-felt communication with God.  Prayer is to be thoughtful and mindful. 
The Model Prayer is Jesus’ remedy to the heartless and mindless prayers demonstrated by the hypocrites and pagans.  Therefore, we should never turn Jesus’ words into a heartless and mindless formula.

Matthew 6: 9 – 13…"This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'


In introducing the Model Prayer, Jesus instructs his disciples that this is “how” they should pray and not “what” they should pray.  This is why we refer to this prayer as a model.  It does not prescribe the proper formula for praying.  Instead, it describes one model or example of prayer.
It is significant that the Model Prayer can be divided into two sections.  Both sections contain three petitions (or requests) of God—a total of six petitions.  The first section is all about God.  The second section is about human need.

The first petition: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…”
Prayer begins in the intimacy of a child speaking with his or her father.  But this intimate relationship with God as heavenly Father is balanced with the holiness of God’s name.  More than likely Jesus spoke this prayer in Aramaic rather than Greek.  If this is the case, we might expect Jesus to use the Aramaic word “Abba,” since we have examples of Jesus’ addressing God as Abba in other places.  This would be like our English word “Daddy.”  And we all know there is a difference between a “Daddy” and a “Father.”  A father is a male parent.  A daddy is a father who is involved in the life of his children.  Our relationship with God is not like a father who sends child support payments to his children.  Our relationship is like a daddy who is involved in every aspect of our lives.  He wants the very best for us and is so involved in our lives that he blesses us with his time and good gifts.
Yet this intimacy with God as our heavenly Daddy should be balanced with the holiness of God’s name.  Name in the Bible is always a reference to a person’s character.  Person and name are so closely related that they cannot be separated.  Both God’s name and character are holy.  That is to say God is separated from everything that makes us human beings.  We are human and imperfect.  God is not human and is perfect.  We are sinners and subject to temptation.  God is sinless and cannot be tempted by evil.
It is important to note that God does not become more or less holy as a result of our prayers.  Matthew recorded this petition as a third person passive.  Since it is addressed to God in a prayer, many New Testament scholars refer to this as a “divine passive.”  A divine passive calls on God to act and to accomplish something that is impossible for us to accomplish on our own.  It could be translated “Let your name become holy.”  In other words, this is not our telling God how holy he is.  This is our praying that the rest of the world will one day recognize the holiness of God.

The second petition: “Your Kingdom come…”
This petition is also written in the third person passive.  This is another instance of a “divine passive”—calling on God to do something we are incapable of doing.  It could be translated “Let your Kingdom come.”  In other words, the Kingdom of God is not something we have the power to bring about.  Of course, this has not stopped people from trying to bring about the Kingdom.  Some people think they can bring the Kingdom of God to earth through military conquest; terrorist acts; or even through the ballot box.  This is not what the Kingdom of God is about.  The Kingdom of God is the realm in which God is the King.  One day there will be a place where God rules supremely.  Until that day comes, the Kingdom of God is present on earth in the lives of men and women like us, who have given over control of our lives to God as our King.  On one hand, we have a responsibility to enter into the Kingdom of God right here and now—living under the rule of God and preaching the Gospel to those who live under the rule of Satan.  On the other hand, only God can bring his Kingdom to earth.

The third petition: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”
For the third time, we see another “divine passive” in Jesus’ prayer.  Jesus prayed, “Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Jesus teaches us through this petition that there is a place where God’s will is always accomplished.  That place is heaven.  If God’s will were always accomplished on earth, then we would experience heaven on earth.  Perhaps that is what Jesus is teaching us to pray—Make this life “heaven on earth.”

Shift from the Greatness of God to Human Need

While the first half of the Model Prayer is about the greatness of God and God’s great purposes for the world, the second half concentrates on human need.  Human need is the very foundation of prayer.  Only needy people pray.  Self-sufficient people have no reason to pray: they can take care of their own needs.  However, none of us is totally self-sufficient.  We are needy, even when we do not like to admit our needs.

The fourth petition: “Give us today our daily bread…”
With the fourth petition, Jesus has changed his focus from the miraculous to the mundane.  There is nothing in life more basic than bread.  For modern Christians, bread is something we can live without.  If we don’t have bread, we can just eat meat.  That was not the case in Jesus’ day.  Bread was the primary source of food for the ancient world.  If there was no bread, there was no food.  Perhaps we should interpret Jesus’ prayer as a prayer for food…for our basic, daily needs.
Notice how much food Jesus prayed for.  Just enough food to make it through the day.  This is not a greedy prayer.  It is a needy prayer.  It is a prayer of absolute dependence on God to give us enough food to sustain life for one more day.  I believe it is grounded in the Old Testament story of the manna in the desert.  God provided manna for the Hebrew people to eat and instructed them only to gather enough for one day.  When they gathered enough to last to the next day, the leftover manna spoiled.  You and I are more accustomed to pray for enough money to make it to the end of the month or the end of the year.  Jesus demonstrates that we are to be so dependent on God that we could not live through today without his provision.

The fifth petition: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors…”
“Debt” is one of the ways the Bible describes sin.  It is a debt we owe to God.  But, it is a debt we cannot pay.  The only hope we have is that God will forgive our debts, or cancel our sins.  Again, we are needy in the presence of God.  We cannot solve our own problems.
I don’t like the second half of this petition.  I don’t want God to forgive me “AS I have forgiven others.”  I want God to forgive me “BETTER than I have forgiven others.”  But, there is a connection between my forgiveness and God’s forgiveness.  The person who has been forgiven knows how to forgive.  But forgiveness is a gift from God.  God gives us forgiveness for our own sins, and God gives us a forgiving spirit.

The sixth petition: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one…”
Where the fifth petition dealt with past sins, the sixth petition deals with future sins.  On one hand, we need God’s forgiveness to deal with our past sins.  On the other hand, we need God’s protection to prevent sins in our future.
God does not tempt us or cause us to sin.  However, there is a biblical precedent that God does test our faith.  The purpose of temptation is to bring about a negative result—sin.  The purpose of testing is to bring about a positive result—increased faith and resistance to sin.  This leads me to believe that Jesus is teaching us to pray about our weakness. 
In Psalm 26: 1 – 3 David prayed, “Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.  Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.”  But when David saw Bathsheba, he failed miserably.  David was not strong enough to resist temptation.  Jesus was strong enough to resist 40 days of temptation from Satan in the desert.  I am not strong enough.  Therefore, I must pray for God to keep me away from all temptation.


Conclusion.

The most common ways we speak of prayer are really not good images…
Sometimes we use expressions like “going to God in prayer.”  But, prayer is not going to God…Because God is already here.
Sometimes we say that we are “seeking God in prayer.”  But, God has already sought and found us.  God sent his Son to seek and to save those who are lost.  Therefore, God has already sought you and found you.
Perhaps the best way to think of prayer is to say we are “spending time with God.”

The Christian faith is not a religion.  Religion is a human attempt to make our lives pleasing to God.  The Christian faith is not a philosophy.  Philosophy is a way of thinking about the world around us.  Instead, the Christian faith is a relationship with God.  And, just like any relationship…Our relationship grows stronger as we spend more time with the person we love…Enjoying their presence and investing time in communication.

The first sign of trouble in any relationship is when people no longer communicate.  If you are too busy to talk with God, what does that say about your relationship with God?

Sunday, January 06, 2013

Spiritual Resolutions


Spiritual Resolutions
Philippians 3: 12 – 14.

Introduction
For the first Sunday of the new year, I want to begin by asking you a riddle.  There were four frogs sitting on a log.  Three frogs decided to jump off the log.  How many frogs are still on the log?  Four.  There’s a difference between deciding and doing.
In my opinion, this is the biggest problem with making New Year’s Resolutions.  Most people have a hard time keeping their resolutions, because there is a difference between deciding and doing.  It is easy to decide.  It is much more difficult to actually do it.

If you have not already made your New Year’s Resolution, then I am here to help you this morning.  Here is a list of the top ten most popular New Year’s Resolutions:

Get Organized
Help Others
Learn Something New
Get Out of Debt
Quit Drinking Alcohol
Enjoy Life More
Quit Smoking
Lose Weight
Exercise More
Spend More Time with Family and Friends[1]

Perhaps these are your resolutions for 2013.  If so, you are in good company and you have decided that you want to become a better person in the next 365 days (360 days, since five days have already passed).
There are no New Year’s Resolutions in the Bible.  But, that does not mean there is anything wrong with making resolutions.  New Year’s Resolutions are actually a good thing.  Our resolutions indicate that we really do want to become better persons.  After all, no one resolves to become a sloppier, less caring or more evil person.
However, there is no power in a New Year’s Resolution.  There is a difference between resolving something and doing something.  And, motivation is important.  If we can’t stay motivated beyond January 15, then we are not going to change.
Actually, I would go a step farther than that and say it is almost impossible for people to change.  It is a rare person who resolves to lose weight at the beginning of the year, sticks with it, and makes a big change in their life.  But, with God all things are possible.  You may not be able to change your life.  But, God can change your life.
This leads me to think we ought to make resolutions to become the kind of people God wants us to be.  Instead of resolving to become a better person, perhaps we should resolve to become the kind of Christians God wants us to be.  We ought to make Spiritual Resolutions.


Philippians 3: 12 – 14…  “12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

These words were written by the Apostle Paul.  There was no one like Paul in the entire New Testament.  In the Book of Acts, we read about three long missionary journeys that Paul took to spread the Gospel into regions where people had never heard of Jesus before.  Paul was a preacher who supported himself through the secular work of making and selling tents.  Wherever Paul made new Christian converts, he organized them into churches.  Then, Paul kept up with these churches by training their ministers, visiting them periodically and writing letters to help resolve their church conflicts.
Paul had been trained to be a Jewish Pharisee.  As a result, he knew the Old Testament and could quote large sections.  In Paul’s letters to the churches, he demonstrates that he had a good working knowledge of Greek rhetoric.  There was no one who could stack up to Paul’s qualifications in theology, preaching, church planting and church leadership.
Yet, here in Philippians 3, Paul says something remarkable about himself.  He does not think he is perfect.  He still has room to grow and improve.  He is still striving toward the goal of becoming like Jesus.
I don’t think any of us would compare ourselves to Paul.  If we did compare ourselves, we would not think that we are better Christians than Paul.  Paul has room to grow, and so do we.  No matter who you are or how long you have been a Christian, you still have room to grow to become more like Jesus.


Spend Time with God

Mark 1: 35 – 39…  “35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.”

It seems pretty obvious that if our goal is to become more like Jesus, then Jesus is our model.  And, one of the things we see in the Gospels is that Jesus spent time with God.  This is not the only time Jesus did this.  In fact, Jesus regularly pulled away from his disciples and from the crowds in order to be alone with God.
The Christian faith is not a religion.  Religion is a human-centered attempt to gain God’s approval through the good things we do.  The Christian faith is not a philosophy.  Philosophy is a way of thinking.  The Christian faith is a relationship with God.  Since the Christian faith is a relationship with God, we need to treat our faith like we treat all important relationships.  We need to invest in the relationship.
It is important to keep in mind that God himself has initiated this relationship.  God has invited us into this relationship by sending his Son as the only way to have our sins forgiven and enter into relationship with God.  AND…God has made himself accessible to us.  God has revealed himself to us through the written word of the Bible.
The Bible describes the ways God has been involved in historical events.  The Bible describes God’s expectations for his people.  And, the Bible describes how God’s expectations were lived out in the life of his Son, Jesus.
Reading the Bible is one way to invest in our relationship with God.  Of course, I don’t mean to read the Bible like we read other literature.  Yes, there is a lot of information contained in the Bible.  But, our goal in reading the Bible should not be to receive or comprehend more information.   Instead, we read the Bible in order to experience God and to draw closer to God by hearing from God.
This is why I recommend reading the Bible prayerfully.  I don’t recommend for you to try to read all 150 Psalms in one sitting or to try memorizing all the kings of Israel and Judah in proper order.  I think it is better to read short passages of Scripture and to pray a simple prayer… “Lord, what are you saying to me in this Scripture?”
Just like any relationship, your relationship with God requires communication.  And communication is a two way street.  It involves both speaking and listening.  We speak to God in prayer.  We listen to God by hearing God speak to us through the words of the Bible.
If you want to grow closer to God, it is important to follow Jesus’ example.  Jesus withdrew from his disciples and from the crowds so that he could be alone with God.  But, notice that Jesus did not live a solitary life with God.  Jesus lived in community with his disciples…  And, Jesus did something else…  Jesus served the needs of others.


Serve Others

In Mark 1, we see Jesus withdrawing to be alone with God, and then we see Jesus reentering life to engage the needs of others.
The last statement in Mark 1: 39 is a little intimidating if we want to be like Jesus.  It tells us that Jesus went “throughout Galilee…driving out demons.”  Does that mean we are supposed to cast out demons if we want to be like Jesus?  In some ways, that is exactly what we are supposed to do.
One of the ways the Gospel of Mark presents the life and ministry of Jesus is to emphasize the concept of the Kingdom of God.  While some people thought that the Kingdom of God was a political kingdom equal to the Nation of Israel.  Jesus taught something different.  The Kingdom of God did not have geographical borders.  It is a spiritual Kingdom which calls individual men and women to submit themselves to the sovereignty of God.  But, before someone can submit to God as their King, they must first be released from their present king.
In some cases, Jesus releases people from demonic possession.  In one case, Jesus tried to help a man who was possessed by his own wealth and possessions.  There are even cases where Jesus serves basic human needs like feeding hungry people and helping sick people.  In each of these, Jesus is helping people move from the kingdom of the world to the Kingdom of God.
Anytime we serve the physical needs of other people in the name of Jesus, we are releasing them from earthly bondage.  This involves feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, meeting financial needs, responding to disasters, or simply being a friend to someone who’s life is falling apart.


Be a Witness

Mark also tells us that Jesus went “throughout Galilee preaching.”  Jesus did more than simply serve physical needs.  Jesus also told people about the Kingdom of God and invited them to allow God to become their King.  If we want to be more like Jesus, we will meet physical needs and spiritual needs.  This is the work of witnessing to others.
Some people have a gift for confronting other people with the Gospel.  They can knock on the door of a stranger and say, “If you died right now, would you go to Heaven or Hell?”  If you have that gift, just keep doing what you are doing.  I am not offering any suggestions for you.  I am talking to everyone else.
If you don’t have the gift of confronting strangers with the Gospel, there are two other ways for you to be a witness.
One way is through serving physical needs.  While I do not believe feeding the hungry and taking care of the sick are the same thing as witnessing, I do believe they go hand in hand.  It is possible to be a witness by feeding the hungry only if you also speak a word of Gospel when you offer them food.  It doesn’t have to be an elaborate presentation of the Gospel.  It could be as simple as saying something like, “I am helping you because I am a Christian.  I want you to experience God’s love the way I have.”
Another biblical way to be a witness is what we read in 1 Peter 3: 15…

1 Peter 3: 15…  “15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

As Christians, we live with hope.  The hope of Heaven…the hope that this world is not all there is…the hope that things will not always get worse…the hope that God will give us the strength we need to face the struggles of life…
Not everyone lives with this kind of hope.  But other people ought to notice that your life is different from theirs.  And that should open up conversations about what makes your life different.  How will you answer that question?
We can use this to make a case for reading the Bible.  In reading the Bible we learn more about God and his love for us.  Then, we can share with others what we have learned from the Bible.
But, I think it is best to speak about your experience.  To tell others how God has changed your life by giving you peace in the midst of life’s storms.  To talk about how you experience God’s presence in both the little things and the big things in life.


Conclusion:  Live in the Present

Matthew 6: 33 – 34…  “33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Living in the present is hard for some people.  Some people would rather relive the past than face the present—even though the past cannot be repeated.  Other people prefer to worry about the future—even though worrying cannot change anything.
Every day we should remind ourselves that the past is gone and the future hasn’t happened yet.  All we have is today. 
The most important question is “How am I going to live today?”
Jesus has an answer to that question…Live today with the Kingdom of God and God’s Righteousness as your first priority.