JESUS - THE LAWBREAKER

JESUS – LAW BREAKER
Mark 2:18-3:6

Please turn in your Bible to Mark 2. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 866 or 883.

I’m sure there are laws that you don’t appreciate very much and wish were non-existent. I’m sure there are some speed limit ones that make no sense and are hard to obey. On the internet, there are some things which, according to these websites, are still against the law in some places in Ohio. I cannot promise that these are all true, but I know there are some incredible laws like these still “on the books” in our country:

· In Ohio, if you ignore an orator on Decoration day to such an extent as to publicly play croquet or pitch horseshoes within one mile of the speaker’s stand, you can be fined $25.
· It is illegal to get a fish drunk.
· The Ohio driver’s education manual states that you must honk the horn whenever you pass another car.
· Participating or conducting a duel is prohibited.
· Breast feeding is not allowed in public.
· It is illegal for more than five women to live in a house.
· It is illegal to mistreat anything of great importance.
· No one may be arrested on Sunday or on the Fourth of July.

Jesus was a law-breaker, not in the Ten Commandments or Bible’s absolute laws; but when it came to man-made laws; especially those that were meant to make people seem more spiritual. The laws that were made by the religious leaders of Jesus day seemed even more outlandish than some of the ones mentioned above. They got caught up in the deception that the more laws you made to dictate people’s every move would make you more holy and acceptable before God. Jesus was going to destroy those myths.

In the previous passage (Mark 2:15-17), the religious leaders had been complaining that Jesus was spending time with sinful people; and Jesus told them that He was here to do just that. Those who recognized they were in need were the ones who would humble themselves and accepted the message that Jesus was giving: That He was the promised Messiah, the Son of God, who had come to save them from their sins. But, we will find that nothing will satisfy the religious leaders when it comes to Christ; until they kill him, that is.

This morning, Mark takes us right into another episode where they are criticizing Jesus and His followers for something else:

Jesus and His followers broke the religious traditions of fasting:

Mark 2:18 – “Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

Perhaps the cynical people, who were looking for anything they could accuse Jesus of, were taking this opportunity with the party at the new disciples’ Matthew’s house, to go after him again. Maybe they were pointing out that while Jesus and his followers were having a feast, the followers of John the Baptist and the Pharisees were observing a religious fast.

The Old Testament said that all Jews should fast on the Day of Atonement, showing their spirit of repentance (according to Leviticus). The Pharisees and those who followed their traditions would also fast twice a week, usually on Monday and Thursdays, to show they were righteous and holy. It is interesting that the fasts normally took place, not during the full day; but from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. At least, according to tradition, that is when they fasted.

So, the criticism was this: Hey Jesus, the followers of John the Baptist and the religious leaders all fast, to show their dedication to God. So, why aren’t your followers fasting as well, following their example of piety? In other words: “your followers aren’t as holy as the others!”

Fasting does not seem to be the issue people use to show their spiritual superiority today; but we could substitute issues such as music, Bible translations, how many church services someone goes to, how long their devotional or prayer time is, etc. Anything that might be good, but people can wrongly use as some type of spiritual holiness test, could fit what these religious leaders were doing with fasting. It would be like going to someone and criticizing them because they didn’t attend a Sunday evening service, not really caring the reason they had, but just assuming that they must not be as spiritual as those who did!

So Jesus responds:

Mark 2:19,20 – “And Jesus said to them, Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.”

Jesus used a modern day illustration of the first century to explain why his followers were not fasting. And again, Jesus loved to answer questions with questions: When the bridegroom is present for the wedding and all the celebration around weddings, there is no reason for the wedding guests to fast. When a Jewish couple was wed, they would not go on a honeymoon but stay for a week of celebrating. And the closest friends of the bride and bridegroom were invited. They would be celebrating, eating and drinking and enjoying the presence of the bridegroom. It would make no sense to be somber and abstain from food during the greatest times of celebration. In fact, it would be inappropriate to do so.

And of course, Jesus was referring to Himself as the bridegroom and his disciples as the wedding guests. He said: The time will come when I am taken away and then they will fast. And when he says “taken away”, his words denote a violent removal, as the prophecy declared:

Isaiah 53:8 – “By oppression and judgment he was taken away…”

Yes, that time would come. In fact, some of those religious leaders who were fasting so proudly, would be a part of the unjust judgment that would be brought on Jesus. But, Jesus’ point was that his followers were not fasting now, because he (the bridegroom) was with them; and so this was a time of celebration and focusing on Him. When he would be taken away (the crucifixion and eventual ascension to Heaven), then it would be time for them to fast. Let’s not just keep this in the First Century. Let’s consider how these things apply to us today:

SO WHAT?
Do not allow traditions to dictate your worship
There is nothing wrong with traditions unless you treat them as biblical absolutes. The religious leaders viewed fasting as part of their worship of God (mostly just an external show); and anyone who did not fast as often as they did must not worship God or be as holy. Fasting is not talked about in most churches; but many churches certainly have their traditions which they believe honor God. That is no problem. The problem comes when those churches or individuals within them expect that abiding by tradition brings extra merit with God; or those who do not abide by the same traditions are less committed to Him or less holy. Don’t fall into the trap of being bound by other’s man-made traditions; and don’t use your traditions as the standard for determining someone else’s holiness. But, this does not mean that we should ignore this issue of worship that is described in the Bible:

SO WHAT?
Use fasting to get closer to the invisible God
We should not completely overlook the fact that Jesus said His followers would fast, once He was gone. For we who are followers of Christ today, we serve a God we have never seen. The bridegroom, Jesus Christ, whom we are waiting for, will return one day; but is not yet here in body. So, it makes sense that we would take times to do without things, such as food, in order to focus on our God, and on our complete dependence on Him. However, do not allow even this good practice of fasting to become another tradition just to make you look more spiritual to others.

Jesus moves into a couple other illustrations, to go beyond the issue of fasting, and keep emphasizing how Jesus’ arrival and presence with His followers has brought in a whole new way of life; and means that the old ways of worship and expectation have passed. He is using this critical comment and question of the people to teach something more about Himself:

Jesus broke the traditions of Judaism and became the way to get to the Father

He explains with a couple of illustrations, how you cannot abide by the old laws of tradition and mix it with a belief in Christ. The Old had to go completely so that they could embrace the truth of the new: Jesus was the way, the truth and the life, the only way to the Father. He gives illustrations people in that day would understand:

Mark 2:21 – “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.”

The religious leaders and people who were hearing Jesus’ statements about Himself and the gospel, were trying to keep the old covenant, the Old Testament worship practices, the traditions that they had added to the Law; and keep their own perceptions of what the future Messiah would be like and what He would do. This, Jesus says, is the old garment.
No one is going to put a new piece of fabric (unshrunk cloth) on the old garment; because it is only going to cause a greater tear in the garment eventually. The new cloth had never been shrunk, so when it got wet, it would shrink, causing a bigger hole than it had in the first place.

I think Jesus’ point was this: He is the something that is new. The Old Testament and law are being fulfilled before their very eyes. This was unique, fresh and definitely new. This is how, through Jesus Christ, that one gets to the Father. And therefore, you (which included all of those hearing Christ, living in that day and today) you must change the way you relate to God. You cannot hold on any longer to the old ways, the traditions, the sacrifices of your faith. You must believe that I (Jesus said) am the only way to God, and in this way, it is a new covenant, a new way of worship. And you cannot mix the two. Interesting.

Have you met professing believers or churches that are so tied to their religious, old traditions, that they just cannot bring themselves to celebrating the freedom in Jesus Christ, and allow what Jesus Christ has done to be enough? Again, there is nothing wrong with tradition until it gets in the way of the gospel and the truth that Jesus Christ is enough to save us and keep us with the Father and eternal life. Do not try to mix salvation by grace through faith with a works salvation. People and churches have tried it; and it eventually tears people apart and destroys.

Jesus goes right into another illustration that they would have related to:
Mark 2:22 – “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins – and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

It was also not smart to pour new wine (not fully fermented) into old wineskins (these were used and worn out, with no flexibility, very hard). No bottles in that day. The new wine would ferment, that is it would release gases, giving pressure to the container, so that the brittle wineskin would burst and the wine and skin would be wasted.

Jesus was emphasizing that you cannot just try to add Him (the truth of the gospel) in with the old church traditions that didn’t save anyone. When it comes to eternal life, you cannot mix grace through faith with hard work through religious traditions. Those who just wanted to add Jesus Christ to their list of religious practices and beliefs were deceiving themselves.

A few hundred years ago, Martin Luther wanted to reform the Catholic Church from within, but soon realized that the old traditions did not mix with the plain biblical truth, that salvation was completely apart from works and came only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. The old traditions were getting in the way of getting to God only through Christ and his finished work on the cross.

Please understand: it is not just the Catholic Church that tends to hold on to traditions. It is human nature and the way churches tend to go eventually: we make and then cling to man-made traditions, and we have a very hard time letting go of them; even if they have become obstacles to spreading the good news about Jesus Christ and helping people grow in the freedom available in Christ. Jesus would have many opportunities to teach how His coming brought new life and meaning to all of the laws that God’s people had faithfully practiced and added to in the past. And action from Christ brought the religious leaders frustration and ammunition time and time again:

Jesus broke the Sabbath laws

Mark 2:23,24 – “One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, is disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

Jesus and His disciples, on the Sabbath day, were walking through someone’s grainfields, when the disciples picked up some heads of grain and ate them. The religious leaders, who were following, watching every move of Jesus and His disciples, saw another great opportunity to challenge Jesus.

They are like the younger sibling who loves to come running to the parents: Guess what brother was doing, what sister was doing. You told them not to, but they were doing it anyway! The Pharisees loved to run to Jesus with every little criticism they had, not only of him (they liked to criticize Jesus to other people) but of His followers.

According to commentator William Barclay: “This was done on the Sabbath and…all work was forbidden. Work had been classified under thirty-nine different heads and four of these heads were reaping , winnowing, threshing and preparing a meal. By their action the disciples had technically broken all these four rules and were to be classified as law-breakers. It seems [incredible] to us; but to the Jewish rabbis it was a matter of deadly sin and of life and death.”
According to the Talmud, the book of Jewish traditions: “On the Sabbath, you could not travel more than 3,000 feet from your house. You were not allowed to carry anything that weighted more than a dried fig. You couldn’t carry a needle for fear you might sew something. Taking a bathwas forbidden. Water might splash on the floor and wash it. Women were not to look in a mirror; they might pull a gray hair!”

It was like they were saying: How dare Jesus and His disciples? They claim to be the Son of God and followers of God; and yet they are not even keeping the most holiest of days, the Sabbath. So Jesus responded to this next criticism and accusation with another penetrating question and biblical story:

Mark 2:25,26 – “And he said to them, have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”

Jesus responded to this criticism by asking another, rhetorical question to make his point: Don’t you know the Scriptures, Jesus asked. It is funny, every time Jesus asks that question to them over the few years, because they of course knew the Old Testament Scriptures better than anyone. They just applied them in a legalistic, unbiblical way; and ignored the most important principles of the Scriptures!

Jesus reminded them of the story told in I Samuel 21, when David and his friends were hungry, and they went into the court of the tabernacle and asked for the consecrated bread. There were 12 loaves of bread on the golden table; and it was against the religious laws of that day to eat the bread that was reserved only for priests.

Jesus used this story to show that the religious leaders were so narrow on their interpretation of the law, that they were setting aside the principle. In other words, the true needs of others were to take priority over the man-made traditions of the law. Jesus’ followers picking and eating grain on the Sabbath, in order to satisfy their hunger was no big deal in Jesus’ eyes.

There have been laws in the United States in years gone by that prohibited certain things on Sundays, which in the First Century, took over the importance of the Sabbath Day, as believers celebrated the first day of the week because of Jesus’ resurrection. So, “blue laws”, as they were called were instituted and some of them are still in place in certain areas:
· In Ohio, It is illegal to fish for whales on Sunday.
· In Salem, West Virginia, it's against the law to eat candy less than an hour and a half before church service.
· In Winona Lake, Wisconsin, it is illegal to eat ice cream at a counter on Sunday.
· And don't expect to order a slice of cherry pie a la mode in Kansas on the Lord's Day. No restaurant is allowed to serve it unless they're willing to run afoul of local police.
· Marbles, Dominoes, and yo-yos are also banned on Sundays in a handful of states.

Some of these are old laws, some are still “on the books”; and all of them, I’m sure were instituted so that people could give their focus on Sunday to God and church worship services. However, just as with the Pharisees, man-made laws become inflexible, don’t take real people into consideration and are many times way out of date. They are no longer reasonable or practical or purposeful.

I remember people in my past who felt this same way about Sundays, the Lord’s Day. They didn’t think you should work or even play on that day – just rest and go to church, of course. Now, there is nothing wrong with people who choose to do that; but the problem comes when they make that some kind of holiness rule, and expect everyone else to abide by it as well.

And then Jesus makes this next statement, that should have made it clear to everyone, how the religious laws fit into every-day life:

Mark 2:27 – “And he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

This is a very telling statement. The idea of the Sabbath, of course, comes from the very beginning of human existence and beginning of the Scriptures, when we read in Genesis that on the 7th (Sabbath) day, Jesus rested. From then on, the 7th day of the week (Saturday) was connected with rest – a time to reflect on who God was and what He had done. Just like when God took a day to reflect on His creation and to rest.

The fact that God, who was all-powerful, did not need physical rest, should help us understand a little of what the Sabbath was all about; and how it was intended to help man. It gave everyone a day where their main responsibility was to rest from all of their hard work and reflect on who God was and what He had done.

Of course, eventually, the apostles began meeting on the first day of the week, Sunday, and declared that the Lord’s Day, because it was the day Jesus rose from the dead. So, most believers, after that, began taking Sunday as the day of rest – the day dedicated to reflecting on God with other believers.

However, as we have already mentioned, humans end up taking something good and turn it into some legalistic rules of holiness. And that is exactly what happened to the Pharisees and the religious people of Jesus’ day. They made their own binding rules about the Sabbath Day; and condemned those who broke them – no exceptions.

Jesus said during his public ministry that he was not here to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. His point was that the Sabbath Day was put in place to help people, not to confine them or limit them. It was to allow people to not have to work, but to spend the day enjoying God, God’s people, and whatever else they would enjoy as rest. And, if they needed to do work, or needed to prepare food, or whatever was needed, it was ok to work on the day of rest; because the people were more important than the program.

Jesus had authority over man-made laws

And Jesus then adds onto this statement, by reminding them that He is the one who has all authority. He has already demonstrated that he had authority over disease and demons and other’s people purposes for Him, and the process for how everything takes place. And now He says:

Mark 2:28 – “So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Guys, I, fully man and fully God, have the authority to use the day of rest however it will best benefit me and my followers. My followers have the same freedom. Don’t try to tell me that you are the authority. And don’t look at the law so narrowly and hold your traditions over the freedom that comes through me.

Jesus continually demonstrated who He was, and the religious people and leaders continued to deny Him. The next story that the gospel writer, Mark, relates to us is a prime example of this statement by Jesus: that He was the master of the Sabbath day.

Mark 3:1– “Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.”

Here is the set up again. He went into the synagogue, probably to once again preach the good news message about who he was, and guess what? It’s the Sabbath and here is someone in need of healing. Surprise, surprise…There is a man with a shriveled up hand and he comes into contact with Jesus. Hmmm…I wonder what is going to happen.

And the Pharisees begin to drool, because they can see another great opportunity coming to show Jesus to be a religious fraud, not willing to obey the biblical laws of the Sabbath Day! You don’t think they were that diabolical? Look at:

Mark 3:2 – “And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.”

Have you ever felt like there were certain people just watching, waiting for you to screw up? Jesus had that all the time, it seemed. They were relentless, and they certainly were not going to miss Jesus doing “work” on this most holy day – the Lord’s Day – the Sabbath.

And according to the law, this was punishable by death:
Exodus 31:14 – “You shall keep the Sabbath…Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death…”

The only “work” that was allowed by Jewish law on the Sabbath, was to save a life. For example, if a woman was in child-birth, she could be helped. If something was life threatening, saving a life was ok. Injuries could be helped so that they would not get worse, but could not be helped so that they would get better – on the Sabbath Day.

The Jews took this to such an extreme, that they would not even defend their own lives, if it meant violating the Sabbath laws. According to Barclay: “In the wars of the Maccabees, when the resistance broke out, some of the Jewish rebels took refuge in caves. The Syrian soldiers pursued them. Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that they gave them the chance to surrender and they would not, so [the Syrians] fought against them on the Sabbath day, and they burned them as they were in caves, without resistance and without so much as stopping up the entrances of the caves. They refused to defend themselves on that day because they were not willing to break in upon the honor they owed to the Sabbath, even in such distress; for our law requires that we rest on that day.”

What did Jesus do?

Mark 3:3,4 – “And he said to the man with the withered hand, Come here. And he said to them, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill? But they were silent.”

Jesus told the man to come out, where everyone could see him. Jesus was about to do something, and really teach something, that he did not want people to miss.

Again, Jesus answers them with a question: a convicting, penetrating, revealing question. He brings the man in need of healing over, then looking at the critics, He asks: So, how does the law speak to this issue? Is it better to do good for someone or hurt someone on the Sabbath? Is it better to kill someone or to save a life? And I love this: The text says, in response to Jesus’ rhetorical questions, they were silent! They were speechless. Jesus had shut them up once again. The answers were obvious: It is better to do good and to save lives on the Sabbath. To not do good would be considered doing evil.

Mark 3:5 – “And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”

Jesus gave a penetrating look to the Pharisees, showing his disgust with their sinful attitudes. He was grieved in his heart because of the hardness of theirs. And then, he said to the man: stretch out your hand. The man extended it toward Jesus; and immediately, he was healed. In this case, it is not recorded that Jesus touched him or even said “be healed.” The man just obeyed what Jesus told him to do and all of a sudden his hand was “normal”, as though it has never been crippled.

There is something that sticks out, here, about the vast difference between the priorities of Jesus and the religious leaders. In fact, there is something revealed about their hearts that is then repeated time and time again in the gospels. And it leads me to the final:

SO WHAT?
Have a tender heart toward those in need of Christ

I believe this is applicable because we can see, over and over again, that those who claimed to be holy, committed to God, were really committed to their own agenda; which meant ignoring the real needs of people and going on the attack instead. Jesus, however, had a tender heart to those in need of Him; and spent His time restoring their health and more importantly, introducing them to God.

Let’s listen to this song and look at the story unfold of those who were so concerned with their righteousness, that they lost sight of a person’s true need:

MUSIC VIDEO: MY BROTHER JACK

Have you ever experienced this, as any of the participants? Perhaps you were the non-believer, lambasted by the professing believers. Or maybe you were the believer that decided you needed to set the non-believer straight. Or maybe you were the believer who brought a non-believer to a place where believers were; and then you witnessed those other believers “attack” your friend. This scenario we just heard played out in song and pictures depicts in present day what was happening in Jesus’ day. The religious, pious people were so concerned with their rules and standards that they forget there is a hurting non-believer who needs to see Christ’s love and acceptance modeled.

When people saw that others were truly healed by Jesus, what kind of response did they normally have? They would glorify God. They would be amazed. And then, they would go everywhere spreading the news that Jesus Christ could heal, do miracles, cast out demons. But, what was the response to this incredible healing, from the Pharisees?

Mark 3:6 – “The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.”

Unbelievable! But, then again, this is what religion without a relationship with Christ can do. This is what religious people, more concerned with the external and regulations end up doing: they criticize those who are fully committed to Christ, responding humbly, in Christian liberty, to their God.

Isn’t interesting, that although it was obvious that the Sabbath should be used to give life and do good, the Pharisees used the Sabbath Day to plot how they could destroy Jesus. Do you see the irony in that? Sometimes, it is the church and its people that are the most unloving, unforgiving, critical people around. That is not how it should be; but sadly, it is many times true.

This says that they conspired with the Herodians. Isn’t that interesting? These two groups hated each other, and yet their hatred for Jesus was even stronger and made them allies.

The religious leaders were much more concerned with their traditions and rules than they were that people were in need of healing and that Jesus was able to make them whole. I wish this wasn’t true; but I have met people that were much more concerned with one of the following:

Music style; translation of Scripture; how we dress; how we give invitations; how much we dictate how people live their lives – much more concerned with these issues than whether or not we are reaching out to those in need; and doing whatever we can to meet those needs; especially meeting spiritual needs by pointing them to the love and grace of Jesus Christ. And, of course, the best way to do that is to model it.

To the Pharisees, true religion was about obeying all the rituals and traditions, which is why they emphasized work done on the Sabbath Day. To Jesus, true religion was about serving people; which is why his focus was on those in need, and he was not concerned that it happened to be the Sabbath Day when he did a great service for another people.

The challenge for us to make sure we don’t make our Christianity and worship ritualistic and legalistic. We need to make sure the priorities Jesus Christ had are the same ones we hold to.

Prayer

DRIVE conference - Day 3

I am back home now after a crazy day that began with 5 hours of sleep. At the conference, we had 2 more breakout sessions. The first was a question and answer session based on North Point's children's ministry: Kidstuff. It has been a ministry of theirs that has gained in popularity in many churches. The basic premise is: parents come with their kids to a production that is filled with excellent staging, decor and lighting, great singing, dancing and acting, all trying to bring across a spefic truth of the Bible that the whole family can respond to. However, it is probably not something we can pull off or that would be a fit for us. So, what I took away from that was that we needed to consider how to minister to the family, giving them ways to experience something with their children and disciple them.

Session 2 was about funding, the financial aspects of doing ministry. This was probably the least interesting and applicable to us, because the principles shared are things I have already embraced. The finances of a mega church such as North point and our small church are quite different. Putting margins into your budget, planning on having some money not already designated to something was the best idea I gained from the session.

After lunch, we went into the final, general session. I really enjoyed the worship times of singing througout the conference. For me personally, I connected with the music background and words of the songs we sang. It prompted me to really consider what I have in Christ and to focus on Him for an extended period of time.

Andy Stanley, the senior pastor of North Point, decided not to talk about his planned topic: Making it stick, which had to do with presenting and holding to the vision of the church. Instead, he shared "Recent Random Thought on Church and Leadership". In is office, he posts certain quotes that has made him really think about ministry, so that he will see them often and let them bother him until something tangible is done about it.

I will share the quotes and the application of the quote for him:
Quote 1: "To reach no one else is reaching , we must do thing no one else is doing." - Craig Groeschel

Application: Become preoccupied wit who you haven't reaches as opposed to those you are trying to keep.

Quote 2: The next generation product almost never comes from the previous generation." - Al Reis

Application: Be a student, not a critic

Quote 3: "What do I believe is impossible to do in my field but if it could be done, would fundamentally change my business"? - future edge

Application: Pay attention to teh people who are breaking the rules

Quote 4: "If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new leader, what would he do? Why shoudn't we walk out the door, come back in, and do it ourselves?" Andy Grove

Application: Acknowledge what is not working and own up to why you are not willing to do anything about it.

Quote 5: "When your memories exceed your dreams the end is near." unknown

Application: Don't let success or momentum overshadow your vision. keep the vision out in front.

I may come back to these later and really consider them for my own ministry; but these thoughts certainly had an effect on me and Steve, as we traveled back home after the session. That is what made it a little crazy, as we tried to get to the Atlanta airport to get on standby for an earlier flight - we made it, but it was crazy.

All the way home we discussed our own ministry, in light of what we have been talking about for a year now, and what we just experienced at the conference. We will see how God leads us in the future;but for now, I just want to thank God for the opportunity to have the time to experience another ministry and to have a fresh perspective of what we are trying to do for His glory.

all for now.

DRIVE conference - DAY 2

Today was a full day. We attended 3 break-out sessions, one main session and a "road trip."
My first break out was "Starting Point". It is the ministry at North Point Community Church in the Atlanta area that is focused on those who are investigating Christianity or fairly new to Christianity. This seems to be an area in which we are weak at Grace; so this was good for us to sit through and think through. Their starting point is: "a conversational environment where people can explore faith and experience community." We may not be able or even want to implement everything they are doing in this area; but we agree we need to do something to help people in these stages of spiritual growth.

The second break out was "Turning the Bus around". This was led by two different pastors, who led traditional churches to adopt the North Point model, which meant dramatic change for their ministries. Both churches were headed to death, according to these pastors, and the changes eventually turned them into churches that reached more people for Christ, although they lost people who didn't agree with their methods. Although we do not agree with just making sweeping changes, we do agree that we need to be purposeful in what we are doing and continue to take steps forward - even if that does mean that people decide to leave on their own.

The third break out session was "How did you do that?". It was about creating a creative team, helping to take the message and make it "stick" with the listeners. This is actually something we already started at Grace several weeks ago. I have really enjoyed the process of collaborating with others about creative ideas to communicate the truth more effectively for life change. This session will help me think through more details about this process.

The main session was entitled: "Becoming a Great Staff" by Andy Stanley. The goal: "A staff culture characterized by mutual submission." The basic idea of this talk was about truly serving one another on staff; in particular those seen as the main leaders. The key question to keep asking is: "What can I do to help?" This was a good reminder that I am here to serve everyone in my ministry, modeling the love of Christ. If I will give myself to that, I will be honoring God.

The road trip in the afternoon led us to one of the satellite churches with North Point. On Sundays, they show the same message by satellite, but do their own worship and other programming. They brought in a bluegrass band and Jeff Foxworthy, who is an attender at North Point. He was clean and very funny.

It has been a very enjoyable time so far, being able to think and talk alot about our ministry, as we can appreciate what God is doing here in his context. Tomorrow morning we have 2 more break out sessions and one more main session.

I will write tomorrow as we end our conference.

Greg

DRIVE conference - DAY 1

My friend and fellow pastor, Steve, made the air trip today from Cleveland, OH to Atlanta, GA, in order to attend the DRIVE - pastor's conference at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. Andy Stanley is the senior pastor and founder of this ministry. For 3 years now, they have hosted this conference to be an encouagement and challenge to others in ministry. There are about 2,300 people attending this conference, representing 42 different denominations and over 600,000 people who attend their churches.

It is a blessing to me that my church, Grace Baptist in Westlake would send us to a conference like this. It really is a time, not only to get away to refresh, but to build a stronger staff (Steve and I) relationship; and consider what God might want us to consider for future ministry. Times like this remind me of two important things: God has given me wonderful blessings for which I need to be thankful; and there is always more to learn and implement for more effective ministry.

The conference began with an evening session, including communion (time of refection while 3 paintings of Christ were done), a time of worship through singing, and the opening message by Andy. His focus through these sessions focus on the team aspect of ministry, staffs of the church.
Tonight, Andy spoke about 2 gifts that every staff member must give to each other every day: "To maintin the relational integrit necessary to operate as a team, we must choose to trust and be trustworthy."

He emphasized that trust is a choice, albeit a very difficult one. And playing off the "Golden Rule", he said: "Trust others the way you want to be trusted." I am grateful for the trust that I think we have on our staff, in our offices and among our leaders; but I do not want to take that for granted. That can change in a moment. It is my desire that those who work for Grace and those who serve in leadership positions love what they do and wouldn't want to do anything else. That is my desire.

If I blow it, as I often do, I want to be trustworthy enough to "own up to it" and make sure our serving relationships are right and up to date biblically.

During the playing of music, painting on the canvas and communion, I was able to pray, praise and reflect on all that Christ has done for me. I feel very inadequate as a pastor, but am grateful for the privilege of serving God; and being able to do it as a part of a team.

Over the next 2 days, we will have the opportunity to hear more about this important area of teamwork; but will also attend workshops that tell us how North Point is working hard together to reach people for God's glory. I know we will enjoy it. I will try to write again tomorrow night and talk about Day 2.

All for now.

DOCTOR JESUS

This message can be heard by going to www.gbcwestlake.org and clicking on the option: Listen online.

DOCTOR JESUS
Mark 2:1-17

Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 2. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 865 or 883.

Do you like my shirt? Do you know what it means? If you are basketball fan; or more specifically, a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, then you know what this means. Or, perhaps, you have seen the advertisements or large billboards that talk about us being witnesses. You have probably guessed that this is not talking about being witnesses for Jesus Christ; but this tee shirt message is about being witnesses to the Cavs basketball team, and more specifically, witnesses to the basketball exploits of its star: LeBron James.

He has been labeled King James, and in a sense, we as Cavs fans, are his worshippers. Other tee shirts say “Rise UP”, as though we are rising for royalty, for something great. When, in fact, it is just a basketball player playing a game – playing it very well; but a game nonetheless.

I am to wear this shirt, showing that I have been to the games, and am a witness to the incredible things that this team, that this player can do. I am giving the idea that I am a witness to something great, something incredible, something amazing. But, I wear this shirt today for a completely different reason. I want to point your attention to someone much greater, more amazing and more incredible than LeBron James could ever hope to be.

This morning, we join the witnesses – those who 2,000 years ago saw and heard some things they just could not believe. But, once they saw Jesus Christ as he loved people, healed people and cast out demons – once they heard him teach with great authority, unlike any other religious leader before Him – they could not hold it in. Like a crazed fan who just can’t stop talking and arguing about how great LeBron James is, these followers could not stop talking about what they saw and heard from Jesus Christ.

Mark 2:1-3 – “And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.”

Jesus has been out of town, preaching, casting out demons and healing. But, now, Mark records, Jesus returns to home. Capernaum seemed to serve as the headquarters for the ministry Jesus had in the region of Galilee. Jesus did not have his own house; so this probably means he was at Peter’s house, that served as somewhat of a home base for some of Jesus’ ministry. It is where he had recently healed all kinds of people, with all kinds of diseases, that had lined up at the door.

People had heard that Jesus had returned to town, and immediately went to see him at the house. This was not unique in Palestine. People could pretty much freely go into other’s homes during the day, unless someone asked for privacy. The door to the house would remain open and people could come as they liked. In this case, since Jesus was there, it did not take long for the house to be filled to the limit.

Mark tells us that people were crowded in the house and outside the doors, so that no one else would be able to enter. So, Jesus turns the house into a church and begins to teach the Word of God to them. We know the main message he taught everywhere he went:

Mark 1:15 – “and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus, although healing and casting out demons, continued to teach that He was the Son of God, here to save people from their sins. And this was an amazing, unique message that the people were not expecting from this carpenter’s son from Nazareth.

So, Mark sets up the scene for us and then tells us that a group of guys show up at the house, and they were carrying their friend, who was paralyzed. It is obvious they were not just coming to hear a good preacher. They were there for one reason: they had heard that Jesus was able to heal anyone he chose to heal, and they were hoping he would heal their friend.

This man was not able to walk anywhere on his own. He was completely dependent on others to get where he needed to go – no motorized wheelchairs in the first century! Verse 4 tells us that they brought him on the bed on which he normally laid. The word here for bed describes a mat, actually the type of bed that someone very poor would use. Here was a poor man, paralyzed, and in need of a miracle.

Mark 2:4,5 – “And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, My son, your sins are forgiven.”

Dr. Jesus could heal people physically.

People were quickly finding that out at the beginning of his public ministry. And that brought great crowds. And Jesus’ ability to heal made an incredible impact, not only on those who were healed, but on those who viewed the healings and those who longed for people they loved to be healed. It also showed everyone that what Jesus was saying about Himself was not just talk.

I am tempted to just focus on this last phrase, when Jesus forgave this man’s sins. It then led to a controversy about Jesus’ authority to do so, and it teaches us more about Christ. But, I cannot move on here, without taking a few moments to consider the phrase just prior: “And when Jesus saw their faith…” Did you notice it, at the beginning of verse five?

“And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, My son, your sins are forgiven.” I would expect to read: when the paralytic prayed the sinner’s prayer, then Jesus forgave his sins. Or, when the paralytic demonstrated faith, Jesus said because of your faith your sins are forgiven. But, that is not what the text says. It says: “And when Jesus saw their faith, he forgave the sins of the crippled man. Isn’t that strange?!

Don’t get confused here. There is no theological doctrine in the Scriptures that teach that a person is saved because someone else in the family, or a friend is saved. We must have our own faith. But, let’s put this statement in the context of the book of Mark, and what we have already found to be an important theme of application.

Certainly, the crippled man had demonstrated faith, but Jesus includes the faith of his friends as well. When Jesus called his first followers, recorded in chapter one:

Mark 1:17 – “And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

Those who claimed to follow Jesus were supposed to make it their highest priority to bring other people to Jesus, so that they could have their sins forgiven and learn to be disciples of Jesus Christ. This group of friends demonstrated their faith by doing just that: they brought their friend to Jesus, believing that He was who He said He was, and could heal their friend. That was real faith.

And their faith that is described here was not just that they took time out of their busy schedule, and gave their strength to carry their friend to Jesus. But, included in this demonstration of faith, was what they had to do in order to get to Jesus in the first place. It was too crowed in the house. There was no way people were going to move aside for this man. Maybe they should wait. Maybe they should come back another day. But, the faith that was attributed to these men by Jesus pointed to the fact that they would do anything necessary to get their friend to the One they believed was the Son of God.

So, what did they do? Verse 4 tells us they removed the roof, made an opening, and lowered their friend down to Jesus, where he was standing. Commentator William Barclay gives us some historical details: “The roof of a Palestinian house was flat. It was regularly used as a place of rest and of quiet, and so usually there was an outside staircase which ascended to it. The construction of the roof lent itself to what this ingenious four proposed to do. The roof consisted of flat beams laid across from wall to wall, perhaps three feet apart. The space in between the beams was filled with brush-wood packed tight with clay. The top was then marled over. Very likely the roof was of earth and often a flourishing crop of grass grew on the roof of a Palestinian house. It was the easiest thing in the world to dig out the filling between two of the beams; it did not even damage the house very much, and it was easy to repair the breach again.”

So, the guys were not completely destroying the house or the roof by doing this; but they were showing their determination to get their friend to Jesus; and this is what Jesus noted as their faith that led to him dealing with their friend. In the context of Mark, we cannot move on until we ask:

SO WHAT?
Do what is needed to bring your friends to Jesus

This is a high priority. This is one major reason God has left us here. For those of us who claim to be followers of Christ: He wants us to demonstrate our faith by doing what is needed to introduce our friends to Jesus. Our faith in Christ will not save our family members or friends; but if we have faith in Jesus Christ’s ability to save them, then we will make the effort to bring them.

Now, let’s keep this straight – we are talking about bringing people to Jesus, not necessarily to church. It is Jesus that saves people, not religious tradition or church buildings. But, let’s not make a mistake to the other extreme. One key way to introduce people to Jesus is to make the effort to bring them to the church, which is: a group of people who follow Christ, who will love your friends, and where Jesus is worshipped authentically and the Word of God is taught faithfully. I cannot think of a better place to introduce people to Jesus Christ.

But, regardless of how you do it, the application is clear: find a way to help people you care for learn about the saving power of Jesus Christ. What are you willing to do to help people find Christ? Yes, God the Holy Spirit is the One who saves; and yet God has called us to bring people to Him. So, what are you willing to do?

Are you willing to take the time to build a closer relationship with someone who is not yet a committed follower of Christ? Are you willing to pray fervently and look for the right time to tell them about your relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you willing to invite them to the right environment within our ministry, where they can experience what we described earlier – a place where imperfect followers of Christ love one another and worship God?

Who knows what God might do. It may be, that God will choose, in just the right time, to open your friend’s eyes, so that his heart will believe in Jesus Christ; and His life will be changed forever. Are you willing to be a part of that process in the life of a friend?

Mark 2:6,7 – “Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Dr. Jesus could heal people spiritually

And we will see how Jesus uses both of these truths in just a moment.
Let’s get our focus back, now, to what we are learning here about Jesus Christ. He did say to this paralyzed man something that no one expected: “My son, your sins are forgiven.” And some of the religious teachers nearby thought to themselves: What did he just say? He didn’t say: your sins are forgiven did he? How dare he say something like that! Who does he think he is? Only God can forgive sins; and that means that this imposter is committing blasphemy against God!”

They believed the Old Testament teaching: “Bless the LORD”, King David has said:

Psalm 103:3 – “Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases.”

The LORD was Jehovah, the covenant keeping God, and only He could heal and forgive sins. So, this Jesus, whomever He is, is committing the worst sin imaginable – blasphemy; which, according to Old Testament law, was punishable by death.

Teresa likes to tell me at times that she believes she knows exactly what I am thinking; and I enjoy telling her when she is wrong (and there is some disagreement about how often that happens)! Well, Jesus really did know what these men were thinking; and so, as soon as these thoughts came to their minds and hearts, Mark tells us:

Mark 2:8,9 – “And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise, take up your bed and walk?”

When teachers debated in those days, they would often respond with rhetorical questions to make their points. Jesus loved to do this. When he asked: which is harder – to say someone’s sins are forgiven or to actually heal a crippled man?, in their minds, they were thinking: to say someone’s sins are forgiven. Why? Because that is invisible – you cannot see that taking place. But, if we saw some crippled man healed right before our eyes, yes – that is most difficult.

So, then, Jesus made his point:

Mark 2:10,11 – “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins – he said to the paralytic – I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

Now we find the real reason for this healing. It was not to show that the friends faith was transferred to this man. It was to show that Jesus Christ was who he said he was, and was able to forgive sins. Remember – the most important thing here was not bringing physical healing. The reason for the miracles, for the incredible healings, was to authenticate this life saving message: That Jesus Christ was indeed who he said he was – the Son of God, the Messiah, who could forgive sins.

So Jesus demonstrated his healing ability while he had their full attention; to prove that he could also do what they thought was much easier – forgive the man’s sins. He wanted to prove His invisible power to forgive through the visible power to heal. So, he looks at the cripple and says: Get up, pick up your mat, go home.

Now, I know when I speak here, many of you find other things to do, and I don’t blame you. Some of you take the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Some of you count the numbers of bricks in the walls, important things like that. Some of you play games on your cell phones or ask your friends to call you so you can escape the service. Some of you find some other fun ways to pass the time.

But, if you were in that house of worship on that particular day, you would n’t be thinking about anything else. Your attention would have been completely focused: the scribes had just challenged Jesus, and Jesus had just said to crippled man: get up and walk. But, you would not have had much time to consider what was going on, because:

Mark 2:12 – “And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like this!”

All of sudden, people made room for this man. They were all paying attention to this man now. Why? Because this crippled man, at the Word of Christ, stood up, picked up his mat, and said, “Excuse me please – I need to go home”! Unbelievable. These people went right out and bought their t-shirts: I am a witness. We are witnesses. I saw it with my own eyes. I have never seen anything like this. Glory to God!

I think the religious leaders may have slithered away fairly quietly and quickly. Jesus had made his point. He had backed up his talk. Recently Lebron James answered the criticisms of an opponent who said he was overrated, with incredible team play, winning the series (so far) against the Wizards. But, how much greater is Jesus Christ, and how much greater is it to be a witness to what Jesus Christ can do? And how much greater is it to introduce people to the saving power of Jesus Christ – even more so than telling them about the greatness of basketball star!

SO WHAT?
You must go to Jesus for physical or spiritual healing

It seems pretty obvious, especially since we pointed out that Jesus does both. But, if we are being honest, most of us look elsewhere first, when there is physical problems. And even in the area of spirituality, we many times think other counselors, books, popular speakers or being busy in ministry can replace the work that can only be done through Christ and His power.

Look to God first, when there is a physical problem. All the doctors, medical procedures and discoveries, are all under His care and all came from him in the first place. Remember: His main goal is not to heal every person with physical ailments; but to heal people spiritually. And whether you need to know how to get to Heaven or how to live your life as a believer, the answers still lie with God, through Jesus Christ and His revealed Word. You must go there first. Then what?

Doctor Jesus added to His team

Jesus’ first four disciples were fisherman; but now Jesus is going to add to His team another very unique individual. He is going to join this team of followers that are going to learn from Jesus, not only about physical healing; but more importantly, how to heal someone’s soul, someone’s heart.

Mark 2:13,14 – “He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, Follow me. And he rose and followed him.”

Jesus is by the Sea of Galilee again, and the crowds are still coming. In this case, it mentions that he is teaching. We know that his healing ministry, casting out demons, and teaching about how to get to God were all a part of what he was doing at this time. His team was not yet fully set. And it was time to call another disciple.

Jesus sees Levi sitting at the tax booth. Beginning in chapter 3, he will be known as Matthew. Levi was a Jewish tax official, serving Herod Antipas, who ruled Galilee. To serve in this way was to be known as one who cheats people. The tax collectors of that day would extort extra money from the tax payers, so that they could keep the extra. It was a known and accepted practice; although despised by the common people.

If you or I were to counsel Jesus on who to make a part of His ministry team, we would never have suggested a tax collector from that day. Are you kidding me Jesus? This guy is a cheat. That is how he makes his living – cheating people out of their hard earned finances. Let’s find a social worker somewhere who is at least concerned about people, trying to help them be financially stable in our society! Nope. Jesus goes to Levi and gives the now familiar call: FOLLOW ME. And Levi doesn’t hesitate. He leaves his life as a tax collector, making a pretty good living (albeit dishonest) and becomes a follower of Jesus Christ.

I am not going to spend much time breaking this down, but I cannot help but think of the application for us as it relates to who Jesus decided to call to be His followers.

SO WHAT?
Remember that Jesus calls sinful people to follow Him.

Remembering that should cause you to be eternally grateful that He called you. You didn’t deserve to be His follower any more than Matthew did. Your sins were just as bad, your reputation with God just as tainted. But He called you anyway. Give praise to the One who is mighty enough to save even you – and me.

Remembering this should also remind us that no matter how sinful you think your non-believing friends, family or neighbors are, God still may very well call them to follow Him. Don’t discount people just because you think they are living too sinful a lifestyle or working in an occupation full of deception and cheating. God loves to call people like Matthew into His service.

***BRIAN INTERRUPTS anytime now
OK – Assuming no one else has anything to say, let’s continue in our text:

Mark 2:15 – “And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.”

Matthew begins to follow Jesus and one of the first things he does is throw a party. He has Jesus and His friends over for dinner. In fact, it says, many people who had begun to follow Jesus, were there. And this verse identifies them as tax collectors and sinners. Hmmm… Tax collectors – we have already described their reputation back then; and then the general term – sinners. This was the term used for the common people who did not abide by the religious leaders standards of living.

Dr. Jesus came for sinners

Jesus was hanging out with the people we warn our children to stay away from. These people today would be those who were into drugs, alcohol addictions, pornography, gambling away their savings, lying and cheating to get ahead; and just your regular sinful people who couldn’t seem to get their lives straightened out.

This was Matthew’s circle of friends and the kind of people Jesus was calling to follow Him. And this really ticked off the Pharisees, who prided themselves on abiding by the letter of the law and going beyond that, holding to man-made traditions that made them feel holy. So, this scene with Jesus hanging out with the common sinners, brought a response:

Mark 2:16 – “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

This was what Brian was so upset about. First of all, I’m up here speaking but I am a hypocrite. I don’t always keep all the regulations. There are people more holy than me. I don’t even keep all the things I preach about. And then, what about the people I am spending my time with. You are all hypocrites as well; and some of you might even admit to messed up lives. And I spend time with other people not here at church, that do not follow Him yet. They are sinners as well.

Can’t you hear the pious, religious people of today saying things like this? Come on Jesus – you can’t be hanging out with sinful people. What will the people at church think? What will people say? Aren’t we supposed to abstain from all appearances of evil? You’ve got people smoking outside, drinking alcohol inside, gambling in the corner, telling their jokes, living filthy lives; and you are eating with them – which makes you a part of it.

When someone follows you, aren’t they supposed to be holy now, like us? Aren’t they supposed to completely and immediately come out of their sinful habits; and certainly, they are supposed to stay away from sinful friends – right? Jesus, there are many holy, moral, religious, church going people, who have high standards and good friends, that you should be spending time with and encouraging your followers to spend time with.

The Pharisees make this accusation in question form, addressing his disciples. But, of course, Jesus heard it, and responded – once again clarifying why he was here in the first place, doing what he was doing:

Mark 2:17 – “And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus answered the question: Why are you spending time with sinful people? He answered it from his position as a physical and spiritual doctor – a healer. He said: I’m here to help those who are sick, not those who think they are well. I am here to help the sinners, who know they are sinners, not the people who already think they are righteous, and have it all together.

He did not call them righteous because they actually were in God’s sight; but because they thought they were righteous, in their own eyes. The sinners were the ones who knew they needed healing. They were humble before God, and acknowledged that they needed help. Those were people who were constantly struggling with sin. So, Jesus spent his time with them, because they were the ones who needed him most. That is why He came.

This has always been a struggle for churched people to try to figure out and handle the way Jesus did. You may recognize William Booth as the man, who in the mid to late 1800’s started in England what would become known as the Salvation Army. One main reason he began that organization is because the established churches of that day wanted nothing to do with the poor and sinful people that he believed God loved and wanted to reach. That led to William to take his ministry outside the church and eventually led to the establishment of this service organization and church, The Salvation Army, that continues on today.

Jesus had to do his work outside of the religious establishment as well. The religious leaders wanted nothing to do with the sinners, people they thought were well below them in terms of holiness and acceptance by God. One of the most famous illustrations in the Bible of this is in the gospel of Luke. Our focus is on Mark, but this story that Jesus told illustrates why Jesus was reaching out to Matthew and his friends, while the religious leaders, the Pharisees, were critical of him:

Luke 18:9-14 – “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This is exactly what was taking place with Matthew and the Pharisees. Matthew and the sinners were humbling themselves and following Christ’s lead, appreciating what He could do for them. The Pharisees didn’t think they needed any help spiritually, or otherwise, and saw Jesus as a troublemaker, who could n’t be from God, if he was spending time with these horrible sinners.

So WHAT?
Spend time with sinful people, pointing them to Jesus

No, Jesus was not spending time with them, taking part in their sins – and neither should we. No, these were not his best friends, from whom he gained spiritual support or encouragement – and we also need strong believers who will help us grow. No, these were not the only people Jesus spent time with; but these were the ones who needed to hear the truth; and spending time with them showed that he cared for them and their greatest spiritual need.

We cannot get around this. If we are going to be Christ-like, following His example and doing what he has called us to do, we must be spending time with people who do not know Him; people who do not think they are more holy than everyone else, with no spiritual need.

This means you may be criticized. Brian was pretending to criticize me for not only being sinful myself but for spending time with sinful people. If you spend time with those in need, there are religious people who will criticize you. It means your children may hear words you do not want them to use or see things you would rather they not see.

Don’t misunderstand: if you are spending time with non-believers just because you are comfortable with them, and you never tell them the truth about Jesus, how much he loves them and the changes he can bring to their life, then your friendships can be harmful and not glorify God.

Jesus spent time with sinners in order to help them find God through a relationship with Himself. We are to be around sinful people, always keeping in mind why we have these relationships. It may take time. This may require sacrifice on your part. For most of us, it is easy to just be with committed Christians all the time, and it has great benefits; but it is hard to make the time to have relationships with people who have not yet committed their lives to Christ, and to take the necessary steps to introduce them to Him.

The people in that day were all witnesses – to the fact that Jesus Christ was who he said he was, and could bring eternal life to those who believed. We are still witnesses of God’s mighty power to save, even today. We know He continues to change us and we have seen Him dramatically change the lives of others. And it is up to us, to let others we care about know what we have witnessed.

[John begins playing]

Would you please stand with me? Please bow your heads in prayer. Let’s take some time for silent prayer. Is there one thing that God’s Spirit is speaking to your heart about today? Is there one commitment you need to make, from this passage of Scripture today? What is it? Take some time to consider that in prayer. Then, we will close with singing a song about knowing Christ. This is all about knowing Christ ourselves, the one who can save; and then introducing him to others as well. Let’s pray. Let’s pray.


KNOWING YOU

Bible Reading

Psalm 86:1-3 - "Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for i am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you - you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day."

Psalm 86:5 - "For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you."

Psalm 86:8 - "There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours."

Psalm 86:11,12 - "Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my hert to fear your name. I give thank to you, o Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever."

This Psalm resonates with my heart right now. I love it, because much of this is what I have been praying personally. I call out to God in desperation, because I many times feel weak, spiritually dry, and incredibly needy. I many times have no idea what to do or how to feel differently than I do. So, all through some days, I find myself crying out to God for help.

I also lean on His forgiveness. I count on that, and it revives my heart often. Without His forgiveness, I would die inside. I feel like I need it so often every day; and yet I know that truth: everyone does, even though we act as though we are fine on our own. But, God's forgiveness I something I thank and praise Him for often.

Recently, I had the opportunity to join the worship team in church; and I have been able to focus more on singing these types of praises, the one I privately rehearse on a regular basis: for how great God is, how there is none like Him; and that I am committed to glorify Him all the days of my life.

My daily prayer is contained in verse 11: Lord, please teach me your truth, I need your help. I don't want to just know the truth, but I want to live in it.

Take some time today to share your heart with our Heavenly Father; and then go live in His truth.