GONE FISHING?

OK, SO MANY MIGHT THINK I HAVE BEEN "GONE FISHING" sine I have not posted here for quite awhile, but the truth is a man has to have his priorities! Right? Of course, right!

Though I have not been "gone-fishing" this week's sermon text from the Gospel of John deals with the issue of fishing, and seeing that this sermon should be the last in my sermon series, "Changing Our World for Good," I thought it good to open the Pastor's Study back up.

Our text for this week is John 21:1-25 where we find the risen Lord Jesus fixing breakfast on the shore of Galilee while the disciples struggle to bring in another miraculous catch of fish. (Luke 5:4-8) Another time where a second lesson is needed to teach the disciples the deeper truth.

Early in Jesus' ministry He called to Himself this group of men and told them He would make them "fishers of men." (Luke 5:10-11) And yet, how quickly after the glorious resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah, did these same men return to the lesser work of fishing for fish, which by the way, was not proving too profitable for them. I believe there is a lesson to be learned that once Jesus gets a hold of our lives the old ways of life will no longer profit us as we thought they did in the past.

There are lots of lessons in this passage, but the one that grabs me is the strong call from Jesus to Peter, "Then He said to him, 'Follow Me.'" (John 21:19) The reality is, the resurrection of Jesus changes everything. It changes our work, our home, our relationships, our past, our present, and most definitely, our future. To respondto God's grance and love poured out to us in and through the Person of Jesus Christ, and then return to "life as normal," is just wrong. We are not given the place to hang out a sign that says, "Gone Fishing," unless we are out fishing for souls with Jesus in the boat.

It is this fishing the Lord desires to find us doing as we follow Him awaiting His return. (Matthew 24:46)

TRUTH and CONSEQUENCES

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES WAS A GAME WE USED TO PLAY AS KIDS. And of course it also was a television show during the "golden days" of TV. But as I read this coming week's sermon text (John 18:1-40) and contemplated the words of Pontius Pilate, "What is truth?" (John 18:38), I was reminded that it is not truth or consequences, but rather truth and consequences.

Pilate's question was of course a good question, one that has been asked in one form or another since God inquired about the truth of who ate the fruit from the tree in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Parents and philosophers, pastors and potentates have been seeking the answer to the question for millennia, and it's answer seems always elusive. It's answer seems determined by season or circumstance, or at least by the need of the moment. And so we continue to ask, "What is truth?"

Even as theologians we try to answer that eternal question. We try to nail it down into some propositional form. And just when we think we have an answer for the ages, somebody changes the question ever so slightly, or some new "revelation" comes to light. (Just take the flat earth "truth" for example.) So what are we to do? Can we ever find the truth?

I believe we can.

The problem in discovering the truth comes from the fact that we see it as a propositional statement, a reality that can be measured. But the truth is the truth is not a thing, but a Person. And until we come to know that Person all other truth will leave us questioning. When Pilate was searching for the answer to his question, what he failed to realize was that the truth was standing right in front of him. Truth was on trial, and without Pilate's realization of the Truth that stood before him all his decisions, no matter how truthful, would fall short.

Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). This is the Truth we need. To know this Truth is to know the Truth that will set you free. (John 8:32) To not know this One who is the Truth is to place yourself in the face of dire consequences! This is the Truth the world needs to know. A truth that goes beyond determining the human genome, or finding the "god-particle." It is a truth that brings us true life, a forgiven, reconciled life.

The one Truth that will set us free!

ARE WE THERE, YET?

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HOW MANY TIMES did I drive my dad crazy by asking him, "Hey Dad, are we there yet?" I can remember he usually answered in one of four ways. First, "No, we still have five-hundred miles to go!" Which to me meant nothing because I had no concept of mileage/time. His second answer was usually was, "We'll be there when we when get there!" Again, big help! Even I knew that! Then there was the eternal lie, "We'll be there real soon." Yeah, right! And then there was the silence, usually followed by the stare in the rear-view mirror. At which point I would slink down to the floor of the back-seat. (No seat-belts in those days.)

In our passage for this week's sermon we will be looking at John 16:16-33. As I have read it over and over again I could picture the disciples asking Jesus what He was talking about, but never quite getting the answer for which they were looking (hoping). They kept asking, "What does He mean in a little while we will see Him no more, and then we will see Him?" (John 16:17-18) Much like a 6 year-old in the back-seat they were getting anxious that they might never get to where they were promised.

Into their anxious thoughts Jesus spoke this truth, It might seem like we are never going to get where I promised you, but take heart soon you will see me again (John 16:22-24), and when you do it will be so amazing that all your grief will be turned to joy. Little did they realize that though it looked like their journey was going to end in death of their rabbi, friend, and Lord (and even in their own deaths), in reality the journey would be one to the resurrection and beyond!

Jesus told them, yes the journey is indeed long and rough and filled with trouble. Yes you may feel trapped in the back-seat, but Jesus reminded them than in Him they would find true peace, because he had overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Jesus knew that the journey he had called His disciples on would be tough, but He also wanted them to know that the destination would be one of great joy and of everlasting peace, and would be completely worth the trip.

It's the truth He wants us to know as well. Are we there yet? Soon, maybe very soon!

Not Without Reason

I remember this acquaintance I once had, (I really wouldn't call him a friend) every so often he would come up and whack my in the arm. When I asked him "why?" he would respond, "no reason," and just walk away. I always thought that if you're going to punch me in the arm, you should at least have a reason. But I guess some people will do mean things for no reason at all.

In this week's sermon passage (John 15:18-25) Jesus states that there are those who have "hated me without reason." (John 15:25) Jesus' words at this point are a quote from the Old Testament, from Psalm 69:4,

Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs on my head,
many are my enemies without cause
those who seek to destroy me
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.

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Scholars have said the Psalm 69 is the most quoted by the New Testament writers. And for good reason. As you read through it it is quite evident that the words of the psalmist can be placed in the mouth of the Messiah, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.

As I studied this Psalm in light of John 15:18-25, I was specifically drawn to the final phrase where the psalmist (Messiah) declares that he is forced to restore what he did not steal. Is that not what Jesus did on the cross? He paid for the sin that was not His. By His death He brought back to us the possibility to live in a restored relationship with the Father, a relationship that for Jesus did not need restoration. Yet, in the darkness of the Cross, He too knew the depth of separation from the Father which sin brings. (Mark 15:34, Psalm 22:1)

The death of our Savior Jesus the Messiah, brought about by a hatred which was thrown at Him without reason, but His death was not without reason. In fact, it was something that God had reasoned from of old.

Come, let us reason together
says the LORD,
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be white like snow;
though they are as red as crimson,
they shall be like wool."

How good is our God! For He has not given us what was reasonable considering our state, but in His grace and mercy He has done the incomprehensible paid the price for our sin. As the hymn writer, Charles S. Gabriel (1905) wrote in the refrain to his hymn, "I Stand Amazed in the Presence,"

How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How Wonderful!
Is my Savior's love for me!

Better than Facebook

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OK, so I confess, I enjoy spending time (wasting?) on Facebook. Sometimes I do think it borders on the voyeuristic, but truly it is a great way to find and keep up with friends. Though I must wonder how many of the 416 people listed as my friends really count as friends? In fact, there are those who I really count as friends who are not on Facebook.

In this week's sermon passage (John 15:1-17) Jesus, in speaking with His disciples, calls them friends (John 15:15). Now, we must say, that's even better than having thousands of friends on Facebook.

Friendship with Jesus is quite different than friendship with those on Facebook. His friendship is one that is marked by His sacrificial death for us (John 15:12-13), and maintained by an open relationship of communication (John 15:15).

Yet, unlike Facebook friendships, our friendship with Jesus carries with it some important requirements: obeying His commands (John 15:9-13), staying attached (John 15:4), and loving each other (John 15:17). Hardly burdensome when we consider the benefits friendship with Jesus brings: fruitfulness in life (John 15:6), open communication with God (John 15:7), His promise to remain in us (John 15:9-10), the gift of His joy (John 15:11), and the list could go on if we would take a survey of the rest of Scripture.

So, enjoy your time on Facebook, if nothing else it sure makes a good prayer list! But remember, there is a friend who sticks close than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). And if you're going to be adding a friend, Jesus is the best one to have on your friend list!

See ya on Facebook.

Combating Homelessness

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LAST WEEK ELEVEN from our church family (7 youth, 4 adults) traveled to southern California to serve at the Los Angeles Dream Center. It was a week that truly impacted each one of us. We started our week in a light-hearted fashion by spending a day at Disneyland, that place where dreams come true, and then spent the rest of the week experiencing the ministry of the Dream Center as they endevor to help those whose dreams have been shattered by homelessness, drugs, abuse, crime and the other destructive epidemics that ravaged the inner-city.

Our sermon passage this week is found in John 14:15-31. And in many ways relates to the realities that we experienced last week while we were serving on the streets of L.A. I believe one of the greatest fears I possess is that of being homeless, but as I was reminded last week, homelessness goes far beyond not having a roof over your head.

In reading through this portion of Scripture I was reminded that there is a marked difference between being home-less and being house-less. Being house-less is an issue of "location." Being home-less is an issue of the heart.

In speaking peace to His disciples, Jesus reminds them that they shall not be left as orphans, those without both house and home, but rather he was sending to them the Holy Spirit (John 14:16) and that He and the Father would also make there home within them. (John 14:23) In this passage we are reminded that homelessness is so much more than being without a place to live, and we are reminded of what is needed to insure that a person can be at home even if forced to live under a bridge.

To find our home with the Heavenly Father requires that with live in relationship with Him and this relationship involves keeping His commands (John 14:15), namely, to love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Matthew 22:38) and to love your neighbor as Jesus has loved us. (John 13:34-35)

As we continue to live out the life of love in and through and by the Person of Jesus Christ, let us continue to do what we can to combat house-less-ness, but also let us combat the deeper need of bringing people home to the Savior, for this is the greatest need.

So Close...Yet So Far

There are some passages of Holy Scripture that are more worrisome to me, than others. Take this coming week's sermon text from John 13:18-38. It this encounter around the table Jesus introduces to His followers that there is a betrayer in their midst. One who has journeyed with them for three years and one who had the responsibility of keeping the common purse of this band of Jesus followers. As the writer John records it becomes obvious by the end of the meal, that the betrayer is Judas.

What makes this disclosure even more striking is that even at the very time of Judas' turning he is sharing bread with Jesus, he is in close proximity and fellowship with the one whom he will turn over the authorities for 30 pieces of silver. (Matthew 26:15) So close, yet so far away.

Whenever I read the accounts of Judas' betrayal (Matthew 26:14, Mark 14:10, Luke 22:3) I wonder does that capacity reside within me? I pray not! John makes an interesting comment in John 13:27, that it was after he took the bread from Jesus that Satan entered his heart. At one level it sounds like up to that point Judas still had the opportunity to do right. I certainly cannot say what the reasons where for Judas to betray the Lord, I am sure there was more than one, but the bottom line is, he did.

It's easy to cast Judas in a bad light, but the passage goes on to remind us that Judas was not the only "betrayer" in the group. Even Peter, the Rock, one of Jesus' closest disciples would turn his back on the Lord. He stood in the shadows of Jesus' trial and when questioned as to his commitment to Jesus of Nazareth, denied knowing Him, not once, not twice, but three times. (John 18:25-27) Peter even knew what was coming (John 13:36-38), he could have steeled himself for the coming trial, but alas, he too betrayed his Lord. He was so close, yet so far away.

What about me? So close...

Stay close!!!