mondayschoolblog

Everybody wants to have purpose for living. Rick Warren made millions on his book “The Purpose Driven Life,” because everyone wants to live a purpose driven life.

God has given us a mission and a purpose for us to exist (read last week blog)– You and I are here to make more and better disciples. How you go about doing that is up to you.  Our purpose for living has been given to us by God. For a multitude of reasons we get side tracked.  One of those reasons is that we like to have stuff and a lots of it.  Watch this video clip as George Carlin makes a very subtle point and makes fun of our stuff (yes the video is edited). The video only last a couple of minutes (click here to view it).

George Carlin makes fun of the mountain of stuff we compile. His assertion is that “a house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. We place our stuff in the house and leave it there while we go out and get more stuff.”

We never know how much stuff we have accumulated until we either need to rent a moving truck or we see a fire truck in front of our house. We like to accumulate stuff. We like stuff.  If we need to move or have a fire burn our house down we realize how much stuff we have. When we moved here seven years ago I was going through our stuff deciding what to take and what to put in the dumpster. I found a cheese slicer that we got as a wedding gift – that had never been opened.  Every time we moved – we moved that cheese slicer.  For some reason I was attached to this cheese slicer because I saw it every time we have moved.  It didn’t make the trip to Marion. I am hoping it has a happy home.

Having stuff is not evil nor will having it keep you out of heaven. It just opens up a bottle neck of questions. How much stuff do we need? How much is enough? Why do like to accumulate and hoard things?  Why are we never content with what we have? Why do we get so emotionally attached to our stuff that we can’t give it up?  Why do we get more stuff when we already have a bunch of stuff?

Jesus makes some very strong statements about our stuff. Statements that we will probably never see on a plaque sold in a Christian book store. There is a reason why Christian bookstores don’t put those kind of plaques in their stores. Nobody would buy them. These kind of plaques don’t inspire us to do great things for God– they force us to ask difficult questions

The first plaque you will never see is Matthew 6:21

For where your treasure is
there your heart will be also.

This verse forces us  to ask some hard questions – where do I put my treasure? Do I invest it in the things of eternity? Or do I invest it in things that will rust, decay, and break down. Do I like to accumulate stuff or do I like to accumulate souls?

I don’t know about you but these kinds of questions makes me feel uneasy. But this scripture also forces me to ask, “What do I need or don’t I need to accomplish my mission?”  If you know your mission then you will know exactly what you need to accomplish your mission. Like when you are going on a vacation. You can’t take everything with you. You take what  you need. You have a destination and you know you can’t take everything.

Do you use your stuff to accumulate souls?

A second plaque you will never see sold is Luke 12:33

³³ “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you
in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure
will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. 

This verse forces us to ask the question: What do I need to give up in order to accomplish my mission?

My daughter Lyndsay made a life changing decision a few months ago to give up everything to teach third graders in the DR. That was a tough decision. Part of the reason it was a tough decision was because she had to give up a lot of stuff. I took up an inventory of the things she left behind:

• Ipad
• Income
• A house
• Her family
• Her car
• Her furniture
• Her house

She traded her stuff in for making treasurers in heaven.

We find safety and security in our stuff.  It is a risk to give up our stuff because once you give it up it is not yours anymore. My cheese slicer stayed with me for 18 years and I don’t even like cheese. It was hard to let go of it.  I kept moving it from house to house. I am hoping now  it is a safe home and being taken care of and used.

The third plaque you would never find sold  is Luke 12:15:

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

The Message says it this way – ¹⁵ Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”

Once again we are once forced to ask a difficult question – Are we allowing the stuff we have to define who we are?

If you are defining yourself by what you have or don’t have then you are greedy.  You don’t have to be rich or have a lot of stuff to be greedy. Just because you have a lot of money or stuff doesn’t make you greedy. But when you define your life by what you have and don’t have that’s when you know greed has set in. In other words your greed is not about what you have or don’t have, it comes out of a selfish and self-centered heart. Greed buys things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.

Greed is a terrible thing. It is one of the seven deadly sins. It can destroy you.

Jesus said that Greed was one of the attitudes that can make us unclean.
“For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, GREED, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘UNCLEAN.’” Mark 7:21-23

Romans 1:29 declares that (godless and wicked men) “have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, GREED and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.”

And Ephesians 5:3 warns us that “among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of GREED, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”

Greed is equated with wickedness, godlessness, adultery, slander, murder, etc. And is amongst top 10 of just about any list in Scripture of sin. In fact, Colossians 3:5 condemns greed, saying it is idolatry.

• It is not greed to own stuff or even to have stuff.  It is not even idolatry.
  Abraham was a wealthy man with flocks of sheep and herds of cattle but he
  wasn’t greedy

  • Jacob had a multitude of sheep and cattle and camels but he wasn’t greedy

  • David was a wealthy King. All you need to do read how much money he set aside
  for the building of the Temple but he wasn’t greedy.

What’s the difference?

These wealthy people were not condemned. Why? Because they were rich toward God.

They were focused on their mission on what God called them to do.

They put more trust in HIM than they did in their fortunes and possessions.

They listened for God. They looked for God. They longed for God.

That’s the difference between owning stuff and your stuff owning you. You can’t serve your stuff and God. It is physically, emotionally,  and spiritually impossible. The scriptures have warned us about the dangers of greed. It can destroy you. It can distort your view of life.  It can ruin your life. Someone asked a wealthy man what it would take to make him happy and he replied: “Just one more dollar.”

Greed is that ongoing belief that if I can only get enough money, if only we can get that I thing I can be safe and secure.  Jesus is saying to us back in Luke Are you tempted by worry? Are you tempted by greed? Then “Sell your possessions and give them to the poor.”

What’s the answer to greed?

Plaque number four you might you might find sold in a Christian book store:

Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 

I Timothy 6:6-8 

Contentment says,

“I’m okay with it and I’m okay without it. I would like it, it would be nice, but I do not need it in order to be whole.” Contentment is having a heart that is alive to God and to the people around us when we don’t have what we want. Contentment allows us to focus on the mission that God has called us to and not our stuff.

Greed is selfishness. Contentment is selflessness

Green wants more stuff.  Contentment wants to use that stuff to accomplish the mission God has given.

The choice is really up to you. You just need to answer one more question:

Do you want to go on the adventure?

Everything starts with a dream.

• Electricity started with a dream
• Our washing machines started as a dream
• Our horseless carriages started with a dream
• Our picture tubes started as a dream
• Our personal computers and internet started out as a dream
• Facebook started out as a dream

Someone spent countless hours and other resources to make these dreams come into a reality.  They invested in their dreams by going on a personal mission to make these dreams a reality. They saw the finished product in their head. What they saw compelled them to keep working, to keep moving forward. To accept failure as a lesson learned. They never stopped!

When Walt Disney World in Orlando ,FL. opened in 1974, Mrs. Disney was sitting beside Walter Cronkite. Walt Disney has passed away a few years earlier. Walter Cronkite wanted to say just the right thing to Mrs. Disney, so he leaned over to her and said, “Wouldn’t it be great if Walt were here to see this today.” Mrs. Disney wisely replied, “If Walt had not first seen this you would not be seeing it today.”

Back in 1915, a church started when some people dared to make their dream a reality. I don’t when they got this dream or this vision – obviously it was before 1915.  This particular church started in a saloon.  A few people prayed and decided before 1915 that there needed to be a Church of God in Marion, IN so they gathered together in a saloon and had church. Here we sit nearly 100 years later in this beautiful sanctuary, evidence of the time, energy, money, and other human resources that made their dream,  their vision, a reality. Thousands of people have walked through these doors over the years and have been impacted by the gospel. We had to give up one of those people this past week.  Doris was one who believed in the mission and vision of this church. She made pies. She made the communion bread. She taught Sunday School. She served meals on Wednesday nights. She prayed. She studied. She prayed for the needs in your bulletin. Even when she didn’t understand what was going on she believed in the mission and vision of this  church. She knew this church existed for one mission. I am confident she knew it existed to:

• Impact lives
• Influence others
• Encourage others
• See lives transformed

She gave time, money, and other resources to help make this happen.

Our scripture today focuses in on that one mission.

Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

As you can see our mission has already been determined.

We don’t need to pray and ask God what we should be doing. He told us what we need to do. He said go and make disciples. As The Message says, “Go out and train everyone you meet in this way of life”. To translate this  portion of the text literally, it reads “as you go” make disciples. In other words you don’t have to go to a foreign land to make to make disciples. You don’t have to go another city to make disciples. You don’t have to go on a mission trip to make disciples. Christ simply says “as you go”.  As you do life!

• While you are at work.
• While you are at play.
• While you are working out.
• While you are at the grocery store.
• While you are out eating.
• While you are at Starbucks
• While you are at church
• While you are at home
• While you are out serving others

In other words, wherever you go, make it your mission to train everyone you meet “in this way of life.”

This is our mission. Our mission is other people.

In contrast

We have been trained all our life that our mission is

• To accumulate wealth
• To build bigger houses.
• To live comfortably.
• To build our 401k.

There is nothing wrong with these things but if that is what your life is focusing on, then you are missing the mark. I got to see the evidence of this up close and personal a couple of weeks ago when we were in LA. While we were there we got to tour and see some of the homes of the stars. We got to see the homes of Michael Jackson, which he rented for $90,000 a month, Ron Howard, Justin Timberlake , and Brittany Spears. One particular home we saw had 152 rooms in it.  A father gave his 23 year daughter this house as a birthday present.  I believe the home was worth $52+ million.

It was very easy to be hyper-critical of their life style.  But it was quite obvious their mission is to accumulate wealth and stuff.  The more stuff you have the better your image. It is not as easy to recognize this life style in the Midwest. We put a mask on it and call it “conservatism”.

Whether you live in LA or in Indiana, the mission of Christ followers is still  the same.

• Make disciples.

If you have money or you don’t have money, the mission for Christ followers is still the same.

• Make disciples

Whether you live an apartment or own a $52 million home,  the mission for Christ followers is still the same.

• Make disciples

Whether you’re an ordinary Jane or John Doe or your hands and feet our imprinted in cement at Grauman’s Chinese Palace,  the mission for Christ followers is still the same

• Make disciples

While our mission has been determined for us,  how we go about doing that mission is where the adventure begins.

Peter and Paul went about carrying out the mission in different ways to different people. Philip went about the mission his way. Joseph and Mary carried out their part of the mission. Doubting
Thomas did his part. Even John the Baptist and Jesus went about making disciples their own way.  John yelled “repent for the Kingdom of God is near.” Jesus taught on a mountain and spoke in parables.  He never condemned anyone.

All of them had the same mission but how they went about it was unique to them.

While we were busy looking at the foot and hand prints of some famous people, there was a bearded young man there holding up a sign saying “Repent” and was reciting scripture through a megaphone. I don’t know whether anyone was listening or not. But I, personally, wouldn’t do it that way, He did. God will use him and his way of doing it. God will use me and my way of doing it.

All of us in here our unique.  God made us unique. No two of us are alike.  We all have a least one spiritual gift. We all have talents that can be used to encourage others. We all have unique personalities. We all have unique stories. God will use you and your way of making disciples.  But you need to be willing to enter into the adventure. You need to be willing to sacrifice personal comfort. You need to be willing to sacrifice personal agendas. You need to be willing to make some difficult life choices.

God will use you right where you at.  As you go – he will use you. But you need to be willing to go on the adventure. You will need to fight through fears. You will need to fight through insecurities. You will need to fight through anxieties. You will need to fight through your personal inadequacies.

Your fears, your insecurities, anxieties, inadequacies never go away but they begin to lose their power when you face them and remember that last line in vs. 20 – “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” He is with you…………. to the end of the age!

We know what our mission is: “To Make More and Better disciples”.  How you go about that mission is up to you.

When I was 18 years old God made is pretty clear to me that my personal mission was to impact the lives of others for the Kingdom of God. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I didn’t know where I was going to do it. I didn’t know what I was going to do. It was clear I needed to do something.  And the adventure began. I read Isaiah 6:8 –

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

I committed to go wherever I needed to go. I committed to do whatever I needed to do to make more and better disciples. Like Walt Disney seeing Walt Disney world, I saw lives being transformed, marriages being restored, and the weak becoming strong.

Are you willing to go on the adventure of Making More and Better Disciples?

What do you dream about?

• Accumulating wealth or accumulating souls
• Building a bigger house or building the Kingdom of God
• Living comfortably or living passionately
• Living for retirement or life transformation

Do you dream of lives being transformed? Do you dream about your family member, your friend, your colleague, or co-worker coming to know Christ?

Your new dream (I believe) starts with a personal mission statement.

My mission is _____________________________________.

You fill in the blank.

I encourage you to listen to the message to help you understand what has been written here.  Just click on the pic above.

 Jonathan Secrest.

Our former youth pastor and now Youth Pastor at Teay’s Valley Church of God in West Virginia spoke on 12.29.13. There are no printed notes. You can click on his pic to hear the sermon once again.

Matthew 2 (click on the pic to listen to the message)

After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.  Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸ “A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”

Everyone in Who-ville loved Christmas. Everyone, that is, except the Grinch. The Grinch hated Christmas and made up a plan to spoil the joy of Christmas in Who-ville. His plan was to dress up as Santa Claus and go into Who-ville and steal all of their Christmas presents, all of their Christmas trees, and even the food for their Christmas dinner. He wanted to destroy Christmas.  Why did the Grinch hate Christmas so much? Well, according to the story, it was because his heart was too small! He was so selfish that he hated to see anyone else who was happy and enjoying themselves. But, as you know, the Grinch’s plan did not work. Why? Because the people in Who-ville knew that the real joy of Christmas does not come from the presents, decorations, and food — it comes from a heart filled with love.

The hope in Who-ville was rather sickening. But at the same time they were not going to let one person ruin their hope.

Herod was the Grinch that almost killed Christmas. Herod was a clever and cruel man. He was powerful and brutal. He removed anyone who got in his way. Over the years he killed many people. He killed anyone that was a threat to his power. He killed his brother-in-law, his mother-in-law, his wife, his two sons and 100’s of others. They say it was the murder of his wife that drove him mad. He killed her because he thought she was a threat to his power. But he never got over her. Even though he was only 44 when he killed her, and even though he lived to be 70, her murder was the beginning of the end.

Herod’s heart was too small. He was selfish and he wanted to destroy anything and anyone. I am sure Herod was a pretty smart man. He became a ruler at age 25 and was feared by the world.

But Jesus was a threat to Him.

As I was thinking about this …… why would a king be threaten by a baby?  Jesus as a baby was  a threat? Unless …. he believed the prophecy was true. The prophecy that said  Jesus was really going to become king. Herod only killed people who were a threat to his throne.  Herod totally misunderstood what kind of king Jesus was coming to be. Jesus didn’t come to establish an earthly kingdom. He didn’t  come to be an earthly king. He didn’t want to rule the world. He wanted to be the ruler of our life!

He wants to establish His kingdom in our heart.  For him to be able to do that you must first recognize him as a King.

For many people we like to keep Jesus like a baby wrapped in strips of cloth. Babies are warm and cuddling. They are  soft and gentle. They are a threat to know one. But as everyone knows they grow up. (all of us at one time were cute cuddly babies and then we grew up).

Its tough watching your kids grow up and letting them go to go make their mark on the world. Every parent knows that day is coming when they have to let their kids grow up and let them go make their mark in the world. They are cute. They do cute things. You raise them. Discipline them. You do what you believe is necessary to prepare them for the world. Then all of sudden they are going to college learning how to be an adult. They start making their own decisions.  And the process starts all over again. We want to keep them as infants and toddlers because they are sweet and nice. But we know it isn’t possible.

There are some who want to keep Jesus in the manger. We don’t want Him to grow up. If we only recognize Him as a baby in the manger, if all we did was celebrate the spirit of Christmas all the time, we will totally miss the point of why He came.

Herod knew he was more than just a baby. He had the prophecies explained to him. That is why earlier in the chapter he asked the Magi to come back and tell Him where the baby Jesus was for he too wanted to worship him.  The magi skipped town and escaped without Herod’s knowledge. Herod, whether he believed the prophecies were true or not, was not taking any chances. He had every two-year old and under boy in the area slaughtered.

Jesus was a threat to Herod because He knew there was something different about this baby. Magi from the east were coming to him talking about following a star. After he met with the magi he met with his religious officials to put it all together.  The scriptures in Isaiah spoke of a shoot that was going to come from the line of Jesse. There was something special about his baby. Herod knew it. My guess is that he knew Jesus was the One. The Messiah. The One who was coming to establish a new kind of kingdom. The only thing Herod had wrong is that Jesus wasn’t coming to set up an earthly kingdom. Jesus wasn’t coming to knock any king off their earthly throne. He was coming to set up a kingdom in people’s heart.

God’s intention was never to make Jesus an earthly king. But Jesus was still a threat to Herod  had to know what the scriptures and prophecies said. Jesus was going to turn the world upside down. He knew that Jesus was going to grow in wisdom and stature. He was a threat NOW.

Jesus is always a threat to the world.

There are many people who have given their life to make him known to the world. Have you ever asked yourself why Jesus is such a threat? Such a threat that many governments and kings and other religions find him and his teachings a threat. How is someone who wants to bring hope and peace in the world a threat? I think the answer to that question is because they know He will grow up. He wants to be more than a baby in a manger He wants to be the ruler of people’s  lives.

No matter where you go in the world there is still opposition to the hope that Jesus has to give. You saw an example of this this past week of someone who spoke his convictions – and did you hear the opposition. If you are a Duck Dynasty fan you saw Phil Robertson get hammered this past week in an interview he made in GQ magazine.  The way he presented his case was a little vulgar but it gives you a pretty good picture of how much of a threat Jesus is to the world.

Whenever you speak about Jesus there is going to be opposition. He is a threat to any culture. The gay culture, the church culture, and the many other sub-cultures that exist. Whether  you are gay or straight or black, red, or white, rich or poor there will be opposition.   Before anyone makes Jesus the hope of their life, he is a threat. At one point in all of our lives Jesus was a threat.

Jesus is a threat because he is counter cultural. When you meet him he will change your life. He will change the way you think. He will change the way you are living your life. He will make your heart bigger.  Until you meet him and enter into a relationship with him you are like Herod. He is a constant threat in your life. It is much easier to conform to the patterns of this world than to be transformed. We are afraid of what He might do to our life. He will turn your life upside down.

Jesus is a threat to our world because he wants to do more in our life than we want him to.

He wants to give you more than a good worship song. He wants to do more than make you feel good. He wants to give you more than a warm and fuzzy feeling on Sunday morning. He wants to give you more than an answer to prayer. He wants to be more than a baby wrapped in strips of cloths in your life.

Those are the things we want and desire. We want the warm and fuzzies. We want the answer the prayer We want to feel good. We want Jesus to stay a baby. We don’t want him to grow up in our life. We want to keep him as baby because babies aren’t a threat to us. Babies are dependent on us.

If all we see Jesus as is a baby in the manger and we never let him grow up in our life he will never become Ruler of your life and like Herod you become a threat to him.

Jesus is a threat to us because He wants more from us than we want to give him. We want to keep Him in the manger because He is less threatening to us. We want to keep in the manger because he can then control him and tell him what to do. He wants to make our hearts bigger and more compassionate.

Jesus is a threat to us because he wants to be more than a part of our world. This is why we are in a constant battle with Him. We do things we shouldn’t do and we don’t do things we should do. It is a never-ending battle.

Many want Jesus to be a part of their world.  Jesus doesn’t want to be part of our world. He doesn’t want to be one of many things in our life. He wants to be the only thing in your life. He wants to be the Alpha and Omega in your life. He wants to be the Author and Perfector. He want to be the Way, the Truth, and The Life in our life. He wants to be the King of your world.

You are the reason he came as a baby in a manger. He does not want to be one of many things. He certainly doesn’t want to be your enemy. He wants to be King of your world.

Will you let Him grow up?

Luke 2:1-7 (click on the pic to hear it)

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.  He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Back in 1994, two Americans were invited by the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics in their prisons, at their businesses, fire and police departments and even at a large orphanage. They were also told they could teach from the perspective of their faith.

One of the places they got to speak was a at a Russian orphanage. This place was full of children who had been abandoned, abused and left in the care of a government-run program. Fish, who was one of the Americans. tells the following story of what happened when the holiday season approached and it was time for the orphans to hear – for the first time – the traditional story of Christmas.

“We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem,” says Fish. “Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. “Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city.

Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia, were used for the baby’s blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States. “The orphans were busy assembling their mangers as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat – he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy’s manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. “Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had heard the Christmas story only once, he related the happenings accurately – until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. “Then Misha started to ad lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, ‘And when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn’t, because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, “If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?” And Jesus told me, “If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.” So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him – for always.’ “As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him – for always.”

In the midst of a hopeless situation Misha found hope.  He didn’t have any gift he could give to Jesus that would make him worthy for Jesus to stay with Him. The only thing he could give him was himself  to keep him warm.

Things have to get hopeless before we can begin to experience hope. If you look through out the scriptures you will discover that the people we read about experienced some hopeless situations. Job lost  his family, his wealth, and his health. Paul lost his job, was blinded. Jonah was stuck in the belly of a big fish. The disciples thought everything was over when Jesus died.  All of them experienced hopeless situations. All of them were transformed by God and used to give hope away. But …. their situation had to get hopeless before they could experience hope.

G. K. Chesterton said, “ it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.” When you are hopeless, when you have nowhere else to turn, when things are dark and you are uncertain about the future. Who are you going to turn to? It ‘s in hopelessness that we find hope.  It’s in those moments where we have nowhere else to turn that we realize that we have to be dependent on Someone greater than ourselves.

Things for Mary and Joseph seemed hopeless.

Mary was pregnant and it wasn’t Joseph’s baby. The simple fact that Mary was pregnant made her an outcast and she deserved to be stoned to death.  There was no one she could turn to. There is no one she could talk to. This is more than likely why she went and visited her cousin Elizabeth who also got pregnant in a miraculous way. Joseph had to be stunned and disappointed and he too had nowhere to turn.  His friends didn’t know what to say to him.  He didn’t know what to say to them. Joseph was an honorable man and was convinced in a dream that all of this was true.

When he got to Bethlehem there was no room for him and his wife. They were expecting a baby right now. He was desperate.  He was hopeless. He didn’t’ know where to turn.

Who is it that believers  turn too when things are hopeless?  God

Who is it that unbelievers turn too when things are hopeless? God

I met a guy yesterday at the wedding we hosted. I could tell he was a follower of Christ so I asked him to tell me his story. He was into drugs, alcohol, and sex with any woman who would have him. He was destroying his life. He tried treatment programs. But he continued to relapse.  He eventually lost everything. He was hope – less.   He was desperate and didn’t have a place to stay.  So, some guy who owned a woodshop told him he could stay in a little room off the woodshop. This guy eventually told him about Jesus. He found hope. He didn’t find it in a bottle, nor did he find it in a needle. Nor did he find it in a woman.  He eventually married his live – in girlfriend. They are now both born again. They are now serving in their church in Muncie.  They have a home. A couple of kids. Now they are giving hope away to this couple I married yesterday.

God turned his hopelessness into hope. God didn’t do it by granting his wish. He first had to become hopeless to realize he was putting his hope in the wrong things and people. N0 thing and no one can give hope. Only Christ alone.

Mary and Joseph were in a hopeless situation. They had nowhere to stay. They didn’t know what to do. Mary was dependent on Joseph and Joseph was desperate to get his wife somewhere where she could have that baby. When your wife is ready to have a baby …. You want to find a place and you want to find a place fast.  I remember when Jordan was born. The reason I remember is not because he is our only boy but we cut it as close as you could cut it. We took the kids with us and told my brother and his wife to meet us at the hospital. The hospital was 15 miles away. Needless to say I went to the speed limit and took my time because I was calm cool, and collective. In reality, I was freaking out inside. “What if we don’t make it to the hospital in time?  I have never delivered a baby before. God you have got to get us there!  God don’t let any police men be out!  God help me not to forget the directions to the hospital.”  All of those things were running through my mind. I was desperate.

When we become hope – less, we get desperate for God. We want God to do something and we want him to do something now! A lady (a single mom) called yesterday desperate for Christmas presents for her kids.  Someone had stolen the presents that she bought for her kids. She sounded desperate on the phone. She was desperate because she didn’t have anymore money to buy presents. All she wants is to have her kids open a present on Christmas day. That is every child’s dream.

It is usually situations in our life when  we feel hope-less is when  we become fully dependent on God and other people. We are dependent on God to provide a way of escape. We are dependent on others to do something.

Our relationship with God doesn’t start until we experience a hopelessness. Everyone’s salvation experience begins by understanding that your life is hopeless without God in it.

Mary and Joseph were fully dependent on God. There were in a situation where they had no other choice but to be dependent.  She was carrying the hope of the world in her womb! They had the confident assurance that God was not going to leave them now.  God was not going to abandon them when they were carrying His son.

We need hope. God knows we need hope.  God knows there’s going to be times when you feel like everything is hopeless.  I am confident that all of us in here have gone through some situations that seemed hopeless. If you haven’t gone through situations where  you have felt hopeless – there is going to be a time that it is going to happen.

When that something  happens remember  you are the reason for the season.

When money is tight and things seem hopeless – you are the reason for the season.

When you get the diagnosis that make living seem hopeless – you are the reason the season.

When you don’t get the job you wanted – remember  you are the reason for the season.

When depression seems to be having victory in your life  – remember you are the reason for the season.

When the  your world seems to be crumbling down around you – remember you are the reason for the season.

When you feel hopeless – God has you right where he wants you.  Because when we feel hopeless we learn that no one and  no thing can give us hope. 

Like Mary and Joseph

When  you get news that you are not expecting trust God’s direction for the journey. How do you do that?  Not to minimize anything what you are going through but there is someone else who has gone on a similar journey before you.  This young man I met yesterday was not the first time I have met someone who  was an alcoholic, had a drug addiction, and his life was crumbling all around him and was in what seemed like a hopeless situation. There are others who have similar stories. In his hopeless situation he found Christ. This is what God does.  The story has been repeated a million times over.

Find out how they trusted God’s direction for their journey. I am pretty sure they will tell you it is the most difficult thing you will do in your life, but your life will change for eternity.

Like Mary and Joseph

When you are desperate and you don’t know where to turn, God will show up at the perfect time. When you relinquish control of your life or a situation in your life causes you to relinquish control you will experience and relief and peace. God is not going to abandon you. God is not going to give up on. God is not going to stop caring about you. This is what  God does. He is always with you.

Like Misha  (from the story I shared at the beginning)

When you are in a hopeless situation remember God will take you in. Misha was in what seem like a hopeless situation but he figured out all he had to give God was himself.  Misha knew God would take him in. He heard the story once and he figured out that Jesus wanted him!  He couldn’t give him anything. All he had to offer was himself. Joseph and Mary gave themselves to God. That is all they had to give. That is all anyone has to give.

All you have to give to God is yourself. And that’s all He wants. When you give Him yourself you will begin to experience hope.

Matthew 2:1-12 (NLT)

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,and we have come to worship him.”

 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”  After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Have you ever wondered what would have been different had the wise men been wise women? (sorry my brain works this way sometimes)
1. They would have asked for directions before they arrived in Jerusalem to alert evil king Herod.
2. They would have arrived on time and helped deliver the baby
3. They would have cleaned the stable and brought something practical for the family– like a casserole, diapers, and baby wipes.
4. And there would have been peace on earth!

Who were the Magi?

The Magi Were God-Fearing Gentiles Who Were Looking Forward To The Coming Of The Jewish Messiah!

The Magi were from either Persia or Babylon. The word Magi comes from the Greek word magoi which is in turn a Persian word for a select set of priests. These priests functioned as the religious, civil, and political counsel to the kings of Media and Persia. In time their power grew to the extent that they became the “king-makers” whose duties included the election of the king of the realm. Their education included a mix of astronomy, astrology, science, and religion.

They studied the stars and the influence of the stars on the lives and destinies of people and nations. They were interpreters of dreams – as Daniel and his friends in the book of Daniel joined a group of wise men there.

The group of Magi who searched for the newborn King were men who had been influenced by the Jews and were looking forward to the coming of the King of the Jews. The fact that they undertook such a difficult journey in order to worship Him strongly suggests that they believed in the God of the Jews.

They learned of God primarily through the prophet Daniel. As a young man Daniel had been taken to Babylon as a prisoner of war but, because of his faith in God, he had risen to become an advisor first to the king of Babylon. He later continued in this role as advisor to the king of Persia after the Persians conquered Babylon. Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were probably called Magi, and one of the titles given to Daniel was Rab-mag, the Chief of the Magi.

How did they know there was a king of the Jews coming? Daniel told them. Daniel influenced kings and influenced the other Magi and what was taught.

Speaking through the prophet Daniel God told the world that His King (Messiah means anointed one) was coming. There is only one passage, and only one, in the whole of the Bible that foretells the time of the Messiah’s (first) coming. The passage is Daniel 9:24-26.

The angel Gabriel (the same angel who visited Mary) told Daniel that the King would come 483 years after a decree was issued to rebuild Jerusalem. Given Daniel’s position as the chief advisor in the Persian court it seems likely that he told the rest of the advisory council about this prophecy.

Since the Magi were looking forward to the coming of the King, God sent them a supernatural signal that confirmed the arrival of Jesus: a unique star. (Numbers 24:17 is a passage that alludes to the fact that the wise men would have known to look for a star. They would have learned it from Daniel).

God used the star to signal to the Magi that the King had been born. The hope of the Magi was strong enough to compel them to undertake a costly and difficult journey to find Him. Their journey may have covered 1,000 miles and taken four to five months.

God was the source of hope for  the Magi. He guided them by His Word (Daniel) and by His star.

Hope is what starts this journey of faith.

• The Magi were convinced that he was the Messiah.
• They traveled close to a 1000 miles
• They brought gifts that only a king is worthy of.
• They paid the price.

Once you are convinced that he is the Messiah – your life changes. The Magi’s lives were forever changed. You learn, like the Magi,  that there is a price to be paid. It is not gold, frankincense, myrrh. The price to be paid is to die to self.

Those of you who are on this journey – haven’t your lives been forever changed? As you listened to Dave and Heather’s story this morning, you learned there lives have been changed forever because of the commitment they have made to follow Christ. The same is true for any body who willfully decides to follow Christ the rest of their life. Your life is forever changed.

You are the reason He put the star in the sky. He wants you and I to find Him. Why? Because your life will be changed for eternity!

Hope makes the supernatural happen. The hope we have in Christ changes us from the inside out in a supernatural way. Hope is what makes the supernatural possible. We might not see water turned to wine, the parting of the red sea, or water come from a rock.  But we see something far greater than any of those things. When someone finds hope – their lives are transformed.

The story about Larry Clarke

When Larry was in his 30’s he quit his job so that he could work full-time at his church for no pay. He never married. Never owned a home, and never went on an expensive vacation. He got his groceries by going through what his neighborhood grocery would throw out.

Larry befriended people. He saw potential. He invited people into groups, into opportunities to make friends and contribute. He saw potential in discouraged people. He had radar for lonely people. He told people what he thought they could become.

Larry was tragically killed while doing his routine jog in the morning. The service was packed and had to be moved to the sanctuary of the Willow Creek Church in Chicago. People kept sharing story after story of how they felt loved by Larry.

Larry gave people hope! Larry was their “guiding star” so to speak. Larry was leading them to Jesus.

When darkness was destroying people Larry would encourage them and give them a ray of hope. Larry became their friend. He told the what they could become.

Larry didn’t part the red sea,, turn water into wine or make water come out of a rock, but he gave hope away.

When you give hope away you become the “guiding star” that points the one who is feeling hopeless to the one who is Hope!

What can we learn from the Magi?

1. Look for Jesus

All of us are looking for something or someone who will satisfy us. No one and no thing can satisfy the longing in our heart. The Magi had gold, frankincense and myrrh. They had blinged out camels, they had servants, they had the riches of the world. But yet they traveled over 1000 miles at their own expense to find a baby wrapped in strips of cloths.

2. Stay focused on the star

With so many distractions it is hard to stay focused on anything. We have so many thing vying for our attention. We live in the “tyranny of the urgent”. Everything has to be done yesterday. All us in here are like Mary or  Martha. Martha made Jesus part of the 100 things she was doing. Mary made Jesus the only thing that mattered. Many followers of Christ  make following Jesus one of many things they do. They fit him into their schedule. They make time for Him. They make him a part of their day.

He doesn’t want to fit into your schedule – he wants to determine your schedule

He doesn’t want us to make time for Him – he wants to be with us always.

He doesn’t want us to make him part of our day – he wants us to be aware of him all day.

3.  Be convinced that this baby wrapped in strips of cloth is the Messiah

The Magi were convinced that this baby wrapped in strips of cloth was the Messiah. They paid a great price to get to Bethlehem. They traveled a great distance. They gave Him their best and most expensive gifts. They made a willful decision to look for what Daniel said would happen some 500 years ago before He was born.

Are we THAT convinced?

Are willing to pay a similar price?

Are we willing to go the distance?

Are willing to give him our best gifts?

Luke 2:8-20

⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

¹⁵ When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. ¹⁷ After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, ¹⁹ but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. ²⁰ The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

“Tomorrow morning I’ll open up your heart” the surgeon said to the 8 year-old-boy.
“You’ll find Jesus there,” the boy said.
The surgeon continued, “I’ll open your heart and check the damage.”
“You’ll find Jesus there,” the boy said.
“When I see the damage, I will suture you back up and then think about the
next step,” said the surgeon.
“You will find Jesus in my heart because my Sunday school teacher told me so.
She said it says so in the Bible. Besides that, our Sunday school songs say He
lives there,” said the boy.
The surgery took place the next day. After the surgery the surgeon began to
make notes of what he found. In his mind there was no hope and no cure. The
little boy would die within a matter of months.
The thought began to get to the doctor and all of a sudden the doctor shouted
to God, “Why did you do this to the boy? Why can’t he live a normal
life?”
God spoke to the surgeon’s heart and said, “The boy is a part of my flock
and will always be a part of my flock. When he is with me there will be no more
suffering and pain. He will have comfort and peace. One day his parents as well
as you will join him and my flock will continue to grow.”
The next day the surgeon went to the boy’s room and sat down with the parents
beside the bed.
In a moment or two, the boy opened his eyes and asked very quietly, “What
did you find in my heart?”
With tears flowing down his cheeks, the surgeon said, “I found Jesus
there.”

The boy was confident/certain that the doctor would find Jesus there.

Ordinarily, when we express hope, we are expressing uncertainty. We say things like “I hope my teams win the game.”  “I hope I get that job” , “I hope that restaurant still has my favorite dessert.”  “I hope I get that present for Christmas that I asked for.”

Hoping to get an A when you haven’t even studied for a test is wishful thinking.

Hoping that something will happen without having to expend any kind of energy is wishful thinking.

Hoping your spouse will finally get it without making any changes in yourself is wishful thinking.

Hope is not wishing something  would happen. Hope is not a finger crossed, rabbits foot rubbing, or a lip-biting gaze “hoping” your favorite team’s field goal kicker will hit the 45 yd field goal with the wind blowing in his face.  That’s wishing.

That is wishful thinking – not hope. Wishful thinking  leads to disappointment. Hope turns disappointment into a story.  

Biblical hope is  a confident assurance and desire for something good in the future.

• Look at Abraham – he had a confident assurance that God would give him a son.
• Look at Moses – he had a confident assurance that God would lead them out of Egypt and to the Promise Land.
• Look at Joseph and Mary – they had a confident assurance that God would do for them as the angel said.

Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future; it has the assurance it will happen. And it not only expects it to happen; it is confident that it will happen.

A lot followers of Christ have a wishing thinking kind of faith

• They don’t expect God’s promises to be true
• They don’t’ expect God to keep his promises
• They don’t expect God to do anything.

Wishing something will happen requires no faith.

When then angels came to the Shepherds and said in vs. 10 “. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”’

What do you think the Shepherds expected to find in the Bethlehem? They expected to find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloths lying in manger. That’s why they left all their sheep. They didn’t wish it were true.  They never would have left their sheep on a wish. They left their sheep on an expectation.  They expected to find a baby, wrapped in strips of cloths lying in a manger.  Why? Because they listen to what the angel told them.

Now take a moment to wrap your mind around this. Prior to the angels coming to the shepherds and speaking to them God had not spoken to anyone for 400 years.  After the “400 silent years,” when God did not speak through prophets, he now speaks through angels to lowly shepherds on a remote hillside outside a tiny Judean village.

God has been silent for 400 years.  No angels. No prophets. No Pastors. No nothing. God did not speak through anyone or to anyone for 400 years.

Needless to say, the shepherds were scared to death! Most shepherds were considered on a par with Gypsies, vagrants, and con men. Add to that the fact that shepherds were on the lowest rung of the economic ladder and had little or no formal education. It is entirely possible that these shepherds who heard the angels singing were illiterate. And that makes the story all the more remarkable. First, they heard and saw the spectacular angelic revelation. Then, when they went to Bethlehem, they discovered the Savior of the world in a feeding-trough in a rough, outdoor barn, perhaps a cave carved out of the rocky hillside. The birth and the revelation didn’t seem to go together. Yet there it was—all from the hand of God.

Here are some things we can learn from the shepherds:

1. They listened intently.  God had their full attention. And they went with the confident expectation of finding the Messiah, The Lord in the form of a helpless baby. Even though it didn’t make sense, they didn’t allow their fears or their uncertainty consume them.

We live in a world today that is full of noise.  Computers, cell phones, smart phones, cordless phones, regular phones, TV’s, radios, books, iPod, ipads, nooks, kindles, tablets, and every device in between.  All of these things are competing for your attention. In most cases, God generally loses our attention. Most of these devices have shortened our attention span to 20 – 30 minutes if you are lucky. God wants our full attention.  His desire is for us to seek him first (like the shepherds did) and he will take care of the rest of the details of your life. Listening intently requires time and energy.

2. They responded immediately.  They moved in the dark – they did not wait until daybreak when it would be easier and more comfortable to travel.  They didn’t just hear the Word of the Lord, they responded to it.  All the Shepherds had to go on was hope. Their hope came to fruition when they saw the baby wrapped in strips of clothes lying in a feeding trough.

We want to wait until it feels right. We want to wait until WE are sure we can do it. We want to wait until everything is perfect because when everything works out perfectly we know it’s from God.

3. They informed others about what they heard and saw. They went and told others what they had seen and heard.  When your hope comes to fruition it is hard to keep silent. They left praising and glorifying God.

How many of you parents called no one after your child was born? Look on Facebook, every mother and father claiming that they have the cutest kids.

• You wait 9 months to see and hear him/her.
• You care for and prepare for that one special birth day.
• It doesn’t make a difference if is it first or your fifth. There is an excitement and joy that cannot be contained.

What’s all the fuss – it’s just a baby. It is not just a baby ….. it is God’s way of reminding us that Hope is not dead. Whenever a baby is born – hope is born again. You can’t keep silent. You have to tell others. There is no keeping it in.  The joy and the excitement doesn’t allow you to keep it in. It is good news.

4. The shepherds learned that hope was more than just a word from God. Hope is not a
“what”. It is a “who”.

We put our hopes in the lot of “what’s” like money, family, things, and retirement plans. These things and people will disappoint us. A lot of times we become slaves to them. They rule our life and control what we do and don’t do.  We never have enough money. Are kids never turn out the way we planned for them too. We can never have enough toys to keep us entertained. We run from one device to another hoping it will simplify our life. We spend a lot of time chasing a lot of the “what’s” forgetting that the “who” will provide everything that we need. No thing and no one can give you hope. Hope can only come from a person who loved you so much that He gave his one and only son.

He is the author and perfecter of our faith, He is the reason we have hope. If you take him away, the world would be HOPE – LESS because Jesus is hope! God became human for me and for you not for himself.  That popular phrase, “Jesus is the reason for the season is not totally accurate.” This phrase totally misses  the point of WHY Jesus came.

He came for you and for me. You are the reason for the season. You are the one who needs hope. Not Him. God did not need to send His son into the world so we could celebrate the season. He came into the world to be the Hope of the world.  To give us himself.

This time of year is a good time to reflect and take inventory of our life. It is a good time to take a spiritual audit. As you allow these questions to examine your heart  I encourage you to not be TOO  hard or TOO easy on yourself. Just be honest.

On a scale of 1-10 (1 = not really  10=all the time)

Are  you listening intently? (my number is _______)

• With so many things competing for you attention Are intentionally setting aside to time to listen?

Are you responding purposefully? (my number is _________)

• Are you waiting to clean your life up before you begin a relationship with Him?
• Are you waiting to become more holy before you begin serving him?
• Are you still waiting for Him to make his  move before you make your move? (he is already moving)

Are you telling passionately? (my number is _________)

• Or are you keeping it a secret hoping someone will find out?
• Who in your sphere of influence needs to know?

Are you learning that hope is a “who”? (my number is _________)

• Hope is a person.
• No thing and no human can give you hope
• You are the reason for the season.

Psalm 23:4 (click on the pic to listen to sermon)

 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.

The Bible makes it pretty clear that Jesus is always with us.  The Bible declares emphatically that God is with us because God is for us. He’s here to make sure we’re taken care of. He’s here to hook us up and back us up.  He’s here to provide protect and empower.

He is not against us.  Why would he be against us? He created us. A lot of people think that the scriptures are about humanities love for God. We got it totally wrong. It is about God’s love for humanity. Does that not blow you away? God loves you! Because he loves you He is for you! Because He is for you He is always with you!

Romans 8:31-32 states this truth:

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

God is with us because God is for us – this is the Gospel. The Good News.

No matter what you go through, He is with you and He is for you. Even if it doesn’t make sense, He is with you and is for you. Even if I can’t cross every religious “T” and every religious “I” he is with me and for me. No matter what anybody says, he is with me and for me. No matter what my emotions tell me, no matter what bodily aches and pains tell me, no matter what my bank account tells me, He is with you and He is for you. No matter your age, no matter what you can and can’t do. He is with you and for you!

There is one myth we need to clear up. Jesus isn’t just with you when you are doing well, or full of faith or living in holiness. Aren’t those the times when we FEEL most blessed? Aren’t those the times when we FEEL close to Him?

• We get the job we always wanted…. O Thank-you Jesus
• We get the car we always wanted ….. O Thank-you Jesus
• We get the healing we always wanted – O Thank- you Jesus
• Life is going the way we planned – O Thank-you Jesus

Then when things start going bad or we get bad news or life around us  is just swallowing us up alive. We seem to get spiritual amnesia. We forget He is still there. We forget He is for us.

Jesus is with you in the crud of your life. Jesus is with you in the valleys of your life. No problem is too big, no failure too permanent, and no enemy so powerful that Jesus can’t give you the victory.  As the old hymn goes.

OH, VICTORY IN JESUS,
MY SAVIOUR FOREVER
HE SOUGHT ME
AND HE BOUGHT ME
WITH HIS REDEEMING BLOOD

HE LOVED ME
ERE I KNEW HIM
AND ALL MY LOVE
IS DUE HIM
HE PLUNGED ME TO VICTORY
BENEATH THE
CLEANSING BLOOD

You have victory and You have hope because He is with you! When you are walking through a dark valley in your life – He is close beside you. He will comfort and protect you.  In the darkest part of your life the reality of knowing He is always with us give us hope and you will have victory, you will have comfort, and He will protect you.

Jesus speaks to us today, just as he did to his disciples so long ago, BE SURE OF THIS: I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS!

No matter what you are experiencing in life –  Be sure of this: I AM WITH YOU.

No matter how good or bad Christian you are – Be sure of this: I AM WITH YOU.

No matter how good or bad my past has been – Be sure of this: I AM WITH YOU.

When you begin to grasp that He is with you, you begin to:

• Think differently
• Act differently
• View life differently
• Believe differently

When you begin to grasp that He is with you, He begins to transform the way you think. He begins to renew your mind.  He renews your confidence. He strengthens your faith. When you remember that He is with you always – things begin to happen in you.

The truth is sometimes we forget that He is always with us.

I had a not so great moment this past week. I had been standing in line to pay an electric bill  for a family here in Marion.  I had to fill out this form while standing in line and they had no pens available. I had to run out back out to my car in the rain to get a pen. When I got back in a women blacked out in line. I was irritated that I had wait a little longer in line. When I got to pay the bill. There was a $2 service fee to pay the bill. It had to be paid in cash. I told them I don’t carry cash. All I had was a credit card. She said I had to have $2 to process the transaction. I was more irritated and I said, “Really!” “Are  you kidding me?” Then Jesus showed up in a powerful way and completely humbled me. The manager of the grocery store pulled out two one bills from his wallet and paid it. I was so stunned than I ran to my bank and withdrew $5. I went back to the grocery story, found the store manager and gave him the $5, and I apologized for my rudeness. Then I ran out of the store so he couldn’t catch me to give the $3 in change.

I had forgotten that Jesus was with me.  This manager reminded through his kind act that Jesus is with me all the time. Sometimes I forget. When I get irritated. When I get upset. When I get angry. I tend to forget He exist.

When bad things are happening  to me. I tend to forget.

When life around me is confusing. I tend to forget.

When the bills come in and I don’t have enough money to pay them. I tend to forget.

When your life stinks. We tend to forget.

When we have the possibility of losing our health care – we tend to forget.

When our life is full of despair, disease, and dysfunction – we tend to forget.

If you think your life bad take a moment and look at the Apostle Paul. (find Acts 16 for the story)

Paul wrote a lot of books of the Bible in prison. In one particular prison, he was with Silas. They were thrown into prison because Paul had cast out this demon in a woman.  Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered. This woman could tell fortunes and these men were making a fortune off of her.  What ends up happening is  that these masters’ get Paul and Silas thrown into prison. Before they were thrown in to prison, they were stripped naked  and beaten with wooden rods. Then they were thrown into the inner dungeon and their feet were clamped in stocks.

They are naked. They are beaten and bruised. They are thrown in a dungeon. To make it worse, the Bible scholars tell us that this dungeon is full of sewage. They were standing in human sewage up to their waste!

Can you guess what they were doing while in human sewage up to their waste? Look at Acts 16:25  – “Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” Paul and Silas were not super spiritual guys. They were ordinary guys.  They hated to be in prison. They hated being beaten. They hated standing in sewage up to their waste. But it sounds like they were celebrating! They were singing. They were praying.

How could do they do that? Because they knew they belong to Jesus. They knew he would never abandon them. They knew Jesus was with him. The same faith and trust that Paul and Silas had is available to us.  It really is. We have access to this kind of faith!

We can get into stuff up to our waste. The world can beat us up and pin us down but at our core of being Jesus followers  there is a song praise and celebration that’s waiting to get out because we know He is with us always. When we understand that He is with us always, God will make himself known in the muck and mire of our life.

Look at Psalm 40:2

He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
    out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
    and steadied me as I walked along.  (Psalm 40:2)

When you understand that He is with you always, He will lift you out of your pit of despair, He will lift you out of the waist deep sewage you are imprisoned in called the world and He will put you on solid ground.

When we understand that Jesus is with us  we can make it through anything.  We don’t want bad things to happen to us. We don’t ask for bad things to happen to us but the reality is bad things happen to us.  Those who understand that Jesus is with them and is for them come out better and stronger people.  They become more alive than a person who was born with a silver spoon in their mouth. They have a better grip on reality on those who don’t go through  bad things in their life.

Romans 8:28 reminds us   –  ^“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Today, I want to remind you of the simple good news of the gospel:

Jesus is for you.  Jesus is with you always.

Mark 2:16-17

¹⁶ But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”

¹⁷ When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”     (click on the pic to listen)

Zack was having a tough night last night at our Hiz Kidz program,.. I (Pastor Tom), normally deal with discipline issues on Wednesday night. Zack has never been in my office since he started in our program a few months ago. Zack came into my office for the first time last night. I asked Zack what was going on and he shared his story with me. Zack told me that his 14-year-old brother, who lived in Detroit, was shot and killed a year ago trying to save a friend. This happened a year ago. Zack just found out a couple of days ago. He was angry and upset and was having a tough time processing it all. Zack’s mom lives here in Marion and his dad lives in Detroit. Zack and I talked a while. I learned that Zack has been expelled from school for about a week for disrespecting his teachers and walking out of class. Just so you know, Zack is not perfect but he does respect our Hiz Kidz staff. Our kid’s staff has never had to send Zack home or send him to my office for any reason. As Zack and I talked I shared with him that everyone gets angry. God put that emotion in all of us. It is what you do with that anger that could get you into trouble.

As I continued to share with Zack I asked him if he knew who Jesus was. He did. I asked Zack if he knew what it meant to have a personal relationship with him. He didn’t. I shared with him that we are all sinners and that Jesus died for our sin. I asked if he knew John 3:16. He recited it to me word for word. I asked him if he knew God loved him. He wasn’t sure. I explained to him that God loved  him so much that He was willing to send his one and only Son to die on the cross and those who believe in Him and believe He loves them will not perish but have everlasting life. I asked Zack if he knew what everlasting life was. He said no. I explained to him that we all die once but we don’t have to die twice. When you love God and when you are in a relationship with Him you get to live forever with Him. I asked if he would like to pray. He said yes.

Zack is born again. Zack has a Bible. Zack needs for you to pray for him.

Zack didn’t need a pastor. Zack didn’t need a lecture. Zack didn’t need a bunch of Bible verses. Zack didn’t need me to tell him what he did was wrong. Zack needed a friend.  He needed someone to care about him. Zack has a new friend now. Zack has Jesus.

When you look at this passage you learn that Jesus was different.

Jesus was and is a friend to sinners.

Typically really bad people don’t like to hang out with really good people and vice versa.

While I was in high school I was only invited to one party. Perhaps they knew I wouldn’t come, but still I was never asked to go to any party. I think it was because I looked too nerdy and too good.  I didn’t get a chance to hang out with bad people because I was too good. My reputation preceded me. So, I didn’t get a chance  to hang out with many bad people.

Jesus liked spending time with sinners. He was God and he was perfect, but he spent much of the 3 ½ years of his ministry  hanging out with bad people. He talked with them, he ate with them, cried with them, and served them. People were not just objects to Jesus. They were not just people who needed to be saved. He cared about them and listened to them. He offered them unconditional love, hope, and compassion. In fact, when you read the scriptures you will discover that Jesus was attracted to them and they were attracted to him. He didn’t look at people as interruptions – he looked at them as an opportunity to be a friend to.

He didn’t wait for them to come to church. I don’t think he ever invited anyone to church. He didn’t wait for them to come to Him.  He invited himself over to their house to eat and he wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Jesus isn’t just a friend to sinners: he is only the friend of sinners. He didn’t save them and then make them their friends.  He was their friend and then they experienced salvation.

• Look at the woman at the well in John 4 – a prostitute
• Look at the woman in John 8 – a prostitute.
• Look at the story of Zacchaeus  in Luke 19 – He was a lying, cheating tax collector.

And when Jesus was having dinner with a bunch of Pharisees it was the prostitute who came and washed Jesus feet with the most expensive perfume and she couldn’t stop kissing his feet.  The Pharisees didn’t greet with him a kiss. The Pharisees didn’t even wash his feet.  They didn’t recognize Jesus as a friend or even a guest. They looked at Him as someone they needed to get rid of.

Religious people wanted to kill Him and the sinners wanted to be with Him.

Sometimes we religious people  are outright rude when we interact with people. We meet a gay guy or a couple living together and think we have an obligation to warn them what God thinks about their sexuality on our first meeting. We are often harsher judges than God himself. The evil in others arouses our righteous anger, so we put on our robes and pound our gavels without ever taking the time to hear their stories.

If you look at the stories of Jesus and the people he interacted with – he didn’t concentrate on their sin and how bad they were. He concentrated on loving them, showing them mercy. Showing them grace.  He sat around their table and listen to their stories. His desire to be with sinners is amazing – but what is even more amazing is that sinners desired to be with Him.

There is a reason why people reject Jesus’ friendship.

1. We tend to keep them focused on their sin and not the Savior. In fact we can’t get past it many times. People do the things they do for a reason. If we would simply take the time a listen to their story we would find out that they are not much different from many believers we know.

It is simple as what I told Zack last Wednesday night. I told him that Jesus loves him and wants to have a relationship with him. But I first listen to his story. I first became his friend.

2. We tend to make sinful people are enemies and not our friend – sin is our enemy. And since we  have all fallen short of the glory of God who are we to put on the robe and pound the gavel.

3. We tend to condemn rather than encourage. When it comes to sin the only who has the right to condemn others is Jesus. God is asking to take off our robe and put down our gavel and be their friend.

When you look at the stories of Jesus – he refused to condemn. Most of us are familiar with John 3:16  but not to many people are familiar with John 3:17.

John 3:17 says this:  (NIV)

¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

If you remember God tried to condemn the world once. It was so full of evil and so full of hate and so full of sin that he destroyed it by a flood. Instead of condemning it again – He wants to save it.

Jesus refused to condemn others.  Jesus became their friend.

• Romans 5:10  (NLT)

¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

• John 15:15  (NLT)

¹⁵ I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

Only the true friend would give His life for you. Jesus is the true friend.  He is the truest friend you will ever have. Friends hurt you, disappoint you, and usually never do what you want to them to do. While you and I were yet sinners – He wanted to be our friend.  He wanted us to experience His unconditional love.

We make a lot of assumptions. Like the Pharisees we look on them like scum. O we may not call them scum but are actions and attitudes communicate that they are scum.

• We assume that they are really obstinate to Jesus the Savior and that they want nothing to do with Him
• We assume that sinners think sin is fun and God is boring.
• We assume that sinners are far from God.

The reality is they might be closer to Jesus than religious people.

Matthew 21:31&32  reminds us  (Jesus is talking to religious people)

“I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. ³² For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

No sinner is irreparable or irredeemable. No sin is so great that the blood of Jesus cannot cover it. His love  is so deep and wide that he can, in one moment of faith, forgive our past, present, and future sins. Sin is not a problem for God. He has a way of escape.

Why aren’t people more attracted to Jesus?

They haven’t experienced the true Jesus.  The True Friend.  The Jesus of the Bible.

We spend a lot of time trying to attract sinners to Jesus. The real issue is, are you attracted to the sinner you are trying to attract?

I am convinced that the people of Marion, your friends, your colleagues, would like to know the Jesus we know. Most of what people have heard about a Jesus is that he is one who glares down from the ceiling of cathedrals, He is a good man, a good religious teacher.

But do they know that Jesus is not mad at them?

Do they know He is a friend of sinners?

Do they know they that He lived on the earth and understands  what they are going through?

Do they know He wants to help them not hurt them?

When was the last time we asked someone, “Hey, can I pray for you?”

Sunday, November 10, 2013  was great day in the life of the church. We baptized 4 students who are apart of our Project 412 student ministry. Below are their stories. Each story is about 1 minute to 1.30 minute long. God is continuing to transform lives. God is good! All the time!! It was a great celebration. Just click on the pic to hear their story: