4/05/2003
4/04/2003
adressing a concern
recently, a loved one expressed concern that I write more about my son than I do my daughters. I now, [wink wink]in an incredibly defensive tone[/wink wink], justify my behavior.
Kelsi can't speak yet. Her 'charming moments' rarely translate well to the written word because they tend to be nonverbal, and consist primarily of drooling on my face, incidentally hitting me in the crotch, or displaying diva behavior in creative expressions.
Kaylyn continues to be a model of compliant enjoyability. I could brag on her excellent reports from school (reading at a third grade level), but that would be prideful. I could mention how she cried when I told her I was upset with her friend for drawing on her shirt (she's really quite sensitive), but that might paint the wrong picture. Instead, I have to find those rare moments like yesterday, when she came home with a large scrape from forehead to lip, and explained herself by informing me that she (sic) "hit the ground with her face."
I'd hate to see how the ground looks from their little tussle.
Meanwhile, Cotter continues to be a trove of concerning creative expression. Just this morning, he complained about his feet feeling pokey because he sat on the toilet too long, which was preceded by my having overheard this between the boy and his mother.
She: No, Cotter. Those pants you are wearing can be baseball pants. And they can be football pants. But you can't call them 'capris.'
He: Not capris. Right. Football pants.
Kelsi can't speak yet. Her 'charming moments' rarely translate well to the written word because they tend to be nonverbal, and consist primarily of drooling on my face, incidentally hitting me in the crotch, or displaying diva behavior in creative expressions.
Kaylyn continues to be a model of compliant enjoyability. I could brag on her excellent reports from school (reading at a third grade level), but that would be prideful. I could mention how she cried when I told her I was upset with her friend for drawing on her shirt (she's really quite sensitive), but that might paint the wrong picture. Instead, I have to find those rare moments like yesterday, when she came home with a large scrape from forehead to lip, and explained herself by informing me that she (sic) "hit the ground with her face."
I'd hate to see how the ground looks from their little tussle.
Meanwhile, Cotter continues to be a trove of concerning creative expression. Just this morning, he complained about his feet feeling pokey because he sat on the toilet too long, which was preceded by my having overheard this between the boy and his mother.
She: No, Cotter. Those pants you are wearing can be baseball pants. And they can be football pants. But you can't call them 'capris.'
He: Not capris. Right. Football pants.
when the story-getter becomes the story
Washington Post Columnist Michael Kelly has been killed in a humvee accident, the first 'embedded journalist' to die in the war.
The shoe has fallen on this inevitability.
Rest in peace, and God Bless America.
The shoe has fallen on this inevitability.
Rest in peace, and God Bless America.
the petco puppet's new gig
much buzz about the latest video of a cowardly killer. Is it really him, because he mentioned a quasi-recent war event? I'm a little speculative, since his voice didn't match his mouth and sounded frighteningly similar to Don Pardo's.
Kelli thinks he's alive, as do many others. Some, though, think this was another of his body doubles. I personally think that this is merely an animatronic Saddam relocated from HusseinWorld's Hall of Tyranny and re-wired to propigate propaganda.
4/03/2003
tomorrow, the world!
I've joined the growing ranks of bloggers who have enlisted in
this is an online diversion somewhat like fantasy football, but instead of overpriced athletes, we're swapping shares of out-of-shape dorks sitting entirely too long in front of their computers (well, the product of said dorks -- among whom I am chief, I may humbly add).
Anyway, so far I've purchased shares of the blogs for Blogs 4 God, I am always Right, and Avoiding Evil. I'm not afraid to put my fake money where my blogroll is.
Now, bloggers, go buy me.
this is an online diversion somewhat like fantasy football, but instead of overpriced athletes, we're swapping shares of out-of-shape dorks sitting entirely too long in front of their computers (well, the product of said dorks -- among whom I am chief, I may humbly add).
Anyway, so far I've purchased shares of the blogs for Blogs 4 God, I am always Right, and Avoiding Evil. I'm not afraid to put my fake money where my blogroll is.
Now, bloggers, go buy me.
speaking of animal animosity
here's a clip of two fighting felines.
This film, to me, paints the picture of the Iraqi/American conflict. Let's just say that we're the kitty to the right (as it should be).
This film, to me, paints the picture of the Iraqi/American conflict. Let's just say that we're the kitty to the right (as it should be).
Smackdown
I don't really know what this means, but its been on about ten other blogs. So, succumbing to peer pressure, I typed in my name, and this was the result.
so do you think you want a peice of me?
bring it on.
UPDATE: I'm 3-0. Undefeated. Rising in the ranks of the FEBMA. Can anybody defeat me? I think not.
UPDATE Pt. 2: I'm 7-0, having whupped everyone in my immediate family. I am Alpha Male!
so do you think you want a peice of me?
bring it on.
UPDATE: I'm 3-0. Undefeated. Rising in the ranks of the FEBMA. Can anybody defeat me? I think not.
UPDATE Pt. 2: I'm 7-0, having whupped everyone in my immediate family. I am Alpha Male!
what makes an American
though I loathe even going to Military Subversion Network Broadcasting CommunistsMSNBC, they do continue to post this handy dandy rolling death toll scroll that allows me to see the amazing success of our troops given the relatively low loss of life we are incurring for liberating an oppressed people.
anyway....
buried in this page is a great story of two men who exemplify the American ideal. Read their story:
anyway....
buried in this page is a great story of two men who exemplify the American ideal. Read their story:
CITIZEN SOLDIERS
U.S. Marine Cpl. Jose Angel Garibay and Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez became U.S. citizens posthumously on Wednesday, with the help of their families and fellow Marines. The acting director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services signed the papers Wednesday without fanfare, without the men’s families or the media to watch.
Garibay, 21, of Costa Mesa, Calif., died March 23 in Nasiriyah, south of Baghdad. He was a native of Jalisco, Mexico, whose family moved to the United States when he was a baby. Garibay joined the Marines three years ago.
Gutierrez, 22, of Lomita, Calif., died March 21 at the port city of Umm Qasr, one of the first casualties of the war.
When he was 14, Gutierrez crossed into California after taking trains from Guatemala through Mexico. The orphan found a foster family, attended high school in Southern California and then joined the Marine Corps.
prayer request update
some time ago, I requested prayer for my former high school principal, for a brain tumor and cancer. The last report I had was that he was doing well. Last night, I received news that he has taken a severe turn for the worse, and that he may have had a stroke amidst his chemotherapy treatment. His youngest daughter has moved up a wedding to this weekend, because of concerns that he wouldn't live to the date originally scheduled.
I know he was a member of the local Catholic church, but am unsure of his spiritual condition. Please pray for him, his wife, and their three adult daughters.
I know he was a member of the local Catholic church, but am unsure of his spiritual condition. Please pray for him, his wife, and their three adult daughters.
no comment
A long time ago, Britain and France were at war. During one battle, the French captured an English Major. Taking the Major to their
headquarters, the French General began to question him.
The French General asked, "Why do you English Officers all wear red coats? Don't you know the red material makes you easier targets for us to shoot at?"
In his bland English way, the Major informed the general that the reason English Officers wear red coats is so that if they are shot, the blood won't show and the men they are leading won't panic.
And that is why from that day until now all French Army Officers wear brown pants.
headquarters, the French General began to question him.
The French General asked, "Why do you English Officers all wear red coats? Don't you know the red material makes you easier targets for us to shoot at?"
In his bland English way, the Major informed the general that the reason English Officers wear red coats is so that if they are shot, the blood won't show and the men they are leading won't panic.
And that is why from that day until now all French Army Officers wear brown pants.
sometimes the truth is funny
A large group of Iraqi soldiers are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a sand dune. "One United States Marine is better than ten Iraqis!"
The Iraqi commander quickly sends 10 of his best soldiers over the dune, whereupon a gun battle breaks and continues for a few minutes, then silence.
The voice then calls out "One United States Marine is better than one hundred Iraqis!"
Furious, the Iraqi commander sends his next best 100 troops over the dune and instantly a huge firefight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again silence.
The American voice calls out again "One United States Marine is better than one thousand Iraqis!"
The enraged Iraqi Commander musters one thousand fighters and sends them across the dune. Cannons, rockets and machine guns ring out as a huge battle is fought. Then silence.
Eventually one wounded Iraqi fighter crawls back over the dune and with his dying words tells his commander,"Don't send any more men, it's a trap. There's two of them!"
The Iraqi commander quickly sends 10 of his best soldiers over the dune, whereupon a gun battle breaks and continues for a few minutes, then silence.
The voice then calls out "One United States Marine is better than one hundred Iraqis!"
Furious, the Iraqi commander sends his next best 100 troops over the dune and instantly a huge firefight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again silence.
The American voice calls out again "One United States Marine is better than one thousand Iraqis!"
The enraged Iraqi Commander musters one thousand fighters and sends them across the dune. Cannons, rockets and machine guns ring out as a huge battle is fought. Then silence.
Eventually one wounded Iraqi fighter crawls back over the dune and with his dying words tells his commander,"Don't send any more men, it's a trap. There's two of them!"
4/02/2003
a weakening regime of terror
BSPI -- US soldiers show newfound allegiance to beloved President -- Praise Allah -- Saddam Hussein, by creating original artwork portraiture and prominently displaying in highly visible locales. Here, two infidel gun-wielders apply sticky-tack in an effort to have the image of the handsomely smiling benevolent leader adhere to sand-covered brick, encouraged by the unpictured cheers of the populace of the people.
pass the bean dip, please
BSPI -- Clearly trying to capitalize on infidel propaganda, the US has realized photographs of what it claims are US soldiers preparing for impending chemical/biological attacks by the Iraqi Elite Rupublican Guard. Undercover operatives who actually spoke with the men in the photograph have discovered that this is another deception intended to tear the very fabric of unity of the Iraqi people.
These British soldiers simply explained that their battalion was known for odiferous flatulence, a common malady amongst the godless curs. The soldier in the foreground is raising his hand as part of the well known the one who smelt it delt it confessional.
captured freedom seeker
BSPI -- A terror stricken US soldier was taken hostage after escaping her tyrannical oppressors and finding sanctuary in one of Iraq's hospitals. PFC Jessica Lynch was carried away despite her cries of eternal loyalty to Iraq's brave regime, and promised to return as one honorable President Saddam Hussein's concubines, as soon as her broken limbs healed and she could again free herself from the imperialist clutches of the Satanist US government.
an assumption on my part
I must have received spam for this product because I am pro-liberty of Iraq.
Seeing Christ as He is Today
When I was a sophomore in high school, Kelli was a senior. And while our real relationship didn't begin until much later when we were both in college, during her senior year, she and I did go to Homecoming together. She thought we were going as friends, but little did she know that was merely a preliminary step in my extravagant plot to win her affection and lead her to one day accept my offer to become my wife.
A couple of years ago, we were in Denver for the holidays, at her folks' house. Kelli's brother and sister were there, along with their families. My sister-in-law Amy was looking through the photo albums, and came across a picture from our homecoming date together. Amy looked upon the photo and asked innocently, "who is that scrawny guy you went to homecoming with?"
Sitting right next to her, I could see the picture, and knew it was of our date. Sure, I had put on a few pounds since then (about 60), but scrawny? "That's me," I said.
She did a double take. "No, it isn't."
"Yes, it really is."
She sat in silence for a moment. And then said, quite profoundly, "wow."
There have been many times where I've been surprised at the appearance of a person not matching up to what I've expected or remembered. Many times, people I've spoken with on the telephone have completely surprised me when I've met them 'in real life.' A "Chris" I've talked with, and imagined to be a slim, tall blonde man, would turn out to be a short, stocky female, and Chris was short for "Christine."
Going to my ten-year reunion was a shocker. Men age less gracefully than women, at least in the first ten years following high school, I've determined. We were all fatter, balder, and altogether more unpleasant, whereas most of the women were thinner, prettier, and more refined. But half the fun of the reunion was being surprised at who looked nothing like they did just one short decade earlier.
Now, if we are so apt to incorrectly perceive other people based on what we hear, read, or know about them, how much more so are we to do the same in our perception of Jesus Christ? Let's take a moment just to explore this possibility.
Now, I'm going to ask you each to close your eyes. Don't be afraid, I'm not trying to trick you, and I'm not going to ask you to take part in anything new-age or psychic. Now, visualize the image of Jesus that is most common to you. Try to imagine His face with as much detail as possible. When you have the image of Jesus, just raise your hand. I'm not going to call on anyone, I just want to see when everyone has a mental picture of Jesus firmly drawn in their minds.
Now, compare your mental portrait of Jesus with the ones we have up here. Does what you see in your mind's eye look similar to what you see here?
Some think of him as the babe in the manger. They think of him as the infant that received the worship of the magi. There He is, wrapped in swaddling cloths, cooing softly in the night. This is a very comforting image of the Savior. Who wouldn't want to pick Him up, coddle Him, and cuddle Him? The problem is, we know that Jesus didn't stay an infant. He grew up, became a man, went to the cross. Perhaps some people like to keep this image of Jesus because He is so non-threatening in this form. It's very nice, very easy, very peaceful to have a god who can fit in a little wooden box and needs to be wrapped in blankets to keep warm. Probably most of us here would never admit to worshipping this manifestation of the Christ.
However, most of us would have little problem acknowledging that this image is the picture of Christ that comes to mind when we are called upon to imagine our Savior. This is the Christ we recognize. He is the man who walked on the shores of Galilee. He fed the masses. This is the Jesus who stripped to a loincloth. And this is the Jesus who went to the cross. And because He bears the illuminated glow, we have little problem imagining this as the resurrected Christ who made numerous appearances before being assumed up into heaven.
If this is your image of Jesus, you are in good company. This is a very common, very much-reproduced imagery of the Christ. And in many ways, it too, is a safe image that brings comfort and peace. But just for a moment, I want to tell you that I believe this image is just a bit dangerous, too. It's not dangerous because it's 'Americanized' Jesus. It's not even dangerous because it's pretty familiar to the well-known historically catholic representations of Jesus. It's dangerous because:
1. We don't know this is what Jesus looked like.
2. It's not based upon the Word of God.
3. Even if it is accurately portraying how He appeared while He looked, this doesn't adequately show how He looks today.
Now, the Bible says this about the appearance of Jesus:
When we have in accurate view of Jesus, it allows us to have an inaccurate sense of our relationship to Him. It allows us to inappropriately relate to Jesus. It allows us to live in an inaccurate manner, dishonoring Him in the process. And I believe the most dangerous aspect of all is that virtually every act of disobedience, every ungodly act of indulgence, every fleshly act of division becomes possible when we are comfortable with an inaccurate concept of the reality of Jesus Christ. Tonight, we will rely upon the Word of God to invade our incorrect perception of who Jesus is, that He may shine His light of truth upon us, so that we may walk in the light of that truth, for the glory of His name's sake.
If you turn to the book of Revelation, chapter one, we go to our final recorded instance of a moment of darkness in Scripture. In chapter one, we are reunited after a long absence, with John, the beloved apostle of Jesus. He has been exiled to the island of Patmos, to live out his remaining days in isolation. He alone of the original apostles left, having outlived each of his brothers in faith, having received the testimony of each one dying a martyr's death around the world. I'm confident that John had spent much time, many a day thinking about Jesus. He knew how Jesus appeared. He walked with Him, spent countless hours at His feet, listening to Him and talking with Him. He, certainly better than any of us, had a clear image of Jesus in his mind's eye. But, in Revelation 1, we see John give account about being surprised by the appearance of Jesus (10-17):
Let's take just a moment to take in the appearance of Jesus, as He really is. The first thing we need to know is that is how Jesus is today. Verse 19 says that Jesus commanded John to recorded the things that he has seen, the things that are, and the things that will be. The 'things that he has seen' are verses 1-18. This is the last, most current scriptural picture drawn of Jesus. He is no longer the infant, wrapped in swaddling cloths and reliant upon his mother for every need. But He is also no longer the long-haired, brown robe-wearing itinerant rabbi, with no pillow for which to lay His head. He is now wearing a white robe, girded with a golden band around His chest. His hear is white as wool His eyes burn like a flame of fire. His feet are like fine brass, refined in a furnace. His voice no longer is soft and calming, it rushes mightily like a multitude of waters. From His mouth comes only His word, which is a two-edged sword. He holds the seven stars, which verse 20 tells us, are the angels, or messengers, of the seven churches, and His appearance is like the sun shining in its strength!
Friends, this is an incredibly discomforting view of Jesus because we no longer can just picture him easily as the guy we'd sit next to at the ball game, or invite in for a cup of coffee. Now, here, Jesus looks altogether godly. And we are to make no mistake about it, this is how Jesus is today! This is what we need to understand about His appearance today:
1. He is Holy. From His countenance to His Hair robe to His feet, He radiates the holiness of God. There is no impurity to be found upon Him. There is the only bright, shining glory of God. In this presence of Jesus, there is no room for ungodliness, there is no room for sin, there is no room for anything that would stain or smudge the righteous purity of the Savior.
2. He is the Judging King. He bears the gold chest gird of royalty. There is no King above Him. He alone is Sovereign. He alone has authority. In the presence of Jesus as He truly is, there is no challenging His reign. He will judge all people, all nations, all of creation. It will be just, and it will be final, and it will be perfect.
3. He is the High Priest. He walks amongst the churches, represented by the seven lampstands. He holds the messengers in His right hand. He, even as we speak, is performing the responsibility of the Highest High Priest, which is tending to the churches. He is walking amidst the church - this church - at this very moment, evaluating it, judging it, and ministering to it.
This is how Jesus appears today, and look at the apostle John reacted. He fell at the Messiah's feet as though dead! This was a guy who probably had a lot figured out, and all he could do in the presence of Jesus as He truly is, is fall at His feet as though dead! He couldn't even stand in His presence. He couldn't face Him in His presence. He couldn't even function in His presence!
I'm worried that we have lost our awe of the Messiah. I'm afraid we've compromised our understanding of His holiness, His righteousness, His purity, His royalty, His perfection, at the expense of His friendliness, His comfort, and His tranquility. But God's word has recorded the truth that even one such as John who is a hero of faith, who was entrusted with recording testimony of His glory, couldn't even stand composed in the presence of Jesus as He is today. How much more so is that for us, now?
And though this is the true appearance of Jesus as He is today, He encourages John with this comforting assertion. He says:
Notice this: He doesn't tell John to relax. He doesn't tell John to lose His awe. He doesn't tell John to forget His true nature and appearance. Instead, He says, don't be afraid. Well, why not? Not because His judgment and holiness aren't fear-inducing. This statement to not be afraid wasn't just for this moment. It was for everything that was about to follow. John was about to be exposed to the full revelation that would take place to culminate the terminal human existence. He was about to see things He wouldn't comprehend. He would see things that would blow your mind, and that could only be communicated symbolically because they were so immense. But His statement to "not be afraid" was not permission to lose sense of the awe and wonder of Jesus as He truly is. In fact, it was just the opposite. Here, Jesus is making the assertion that John, one of the elect of Jesus Christ, should not be afraid because He (Jesus) was about to accomplish all John would witness because Jesus is the only one who was alive, died, but now is alive forevermore. Jesus alone, as the High Priest and Judging King, holds the keys to Hades and Death. And this assertion should comfort those who exist in the grace of God's Fatherhood, and should cause those who do not to tremble for their impending doom.
Remember verse 19 shows that Jesus tells John to write down that which was, that which is, and that which will be. The 'that which will be' is signified by the Greek term 'metatauta.' Interestingly, Chapter 4, verse 1 begins with the words "after these things, which is a translation of the Greek term "metatauta." So that tells us that chapter 4 is the beginning of "that which will be." Logically, then, we understand chapters 2 & 3 to be John's recording of "that which is."
In the interest of time tonight, we're not going to read chapters 2 & 3 together. But here's what you need to know about these two chapters, and hopefully, you will read further when you get home tonight. First, you need to understand that in these two chapters, Jesus makes assessments of seven churches. You need to understand that these churches were all real churches. But you also need to remember that Revelation is a very symbolic book, and, in Scripture, seven is a number that is representation of completion. In this regard, we discover that the seven letters accordingly, are a complete assessment of the church, historically. In fact, a strong argument can be made for the prophetic presentation of the history of the church because of the order of the churches listed, related to the assessments of each. Finally, there is also a personal application for each believer in each of the seven church's assessments.
So you have a local level of application, you have an admonitory level of application, you have a historical level of application, and you have a personal level of application. With each church, you find some interesting parallels. First, you find each church is named. Second, you find that Jesus has a distinct name for Himself that is related to His description in chapter 1 that is relevant to that church. Third, you find that Christ then gives the commendation of good works (except for the case of two), and then (fourth) he gives the criticism of bad works (except for two). Fifth, he offers an exhortation to the church. Sixth, he gives a promise to the overcomer, and Seventh, he provides a post-script.
What does all this mean? Several things. First, it means that Christ alone thoroughly judges the church. You find that every church has an incorrect perception of itself. Second, it means that He is assessing you, and He is assessing your church, even at this very moment. (Let he who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches). Third, it means that there is hope in overcoming what you are not doing wrong - the promise to the overcomer). Fourth, it means He takes seriously the work of judging that which belongs to Him.
This had better shape our perception of what we're doing here, tonight, and as we go. We must live in the reality that Jesus is assessing us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We must quit telling Jesus what we are going to do, and start asking Him to show us. We must look to our scriptural forebearers and recognize where we are personally & corporately in each of the seven churches. We'd all like to think that we are the church of Philadelphia, but the reality is, there is some of Thyatira, Pergamos, and Laodicea in each of us, and in each of our churches, as well. And Jesus, the Holy High King, will not let ungodliness go unjudged.
Before Jesus allows John to proceed into the events of chapter 4 and beyond, the end of the beginning, He tells John to record this advice and assurance, linked to the lukewarm church in Laodicea, but advice and an assurance to us as well (3:18-22):
He tells us to buy from Him gold refined in the fire, to be clothed in His white garments, and to anoint our eyes with His salve. Simply stated He wants us to pursue His purity, live in righteousness, and seek Him with eyes of faith. He offers it to us as a gift of grace because He loves us. He urges us today to flee from the blindness, nakedness, and filth that has come to define carnal Christianity - corporately and personally.
And if we do this, we will overcome.
I don't know if we really appreciate what it means to overcome, because we are so inclined to use this verse of Rev. 3 as an evangelistic verse. But the reality is, this verse is for the church. Jesus recognizes the church is struggling, and it needs to overcome itself. And He says, the only way to overcome your self, believer, and to overcome yourself, church, is to quit looking at your self, and begin looking at Jesus as He truly is. And if you do this, you will overcome.
This is the assurance of Jesus. He stands at the door and knocks. He knocks on the door of your heart, believer. He knocks on the door of the corporate heart of your church. If you will answer the call, open the door now, He will come in and dine with you. He will again have fellowship with you. He will again bless you. He will again grow you. He will again use you. And you will sit with Him on His throne, as He does with His Father on His throne.
Let he who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches.
I close tonight by once again asking you to close your eyes and try to comprehend Jesus as He really is. With hair as pure white as wool. With eyes burning with fire. Wearing a pure white robe, girded about the chest with a band of pure gold. His feet are blazing like burnished bronze. His voice sounds like a tumult of waters, delivering the Sword of truth. And about His entire countenance is radiance. The radiance of God Himself.
Do you see Him as He truly is? This is the Jesus who speaks to you. This is the Jesus who is calling you to repent. This is the Jesus who is calling you to be renewed in your spirit. This is the Jesus who comes to assess you, but also to reward you. It is this Jesus to whom you respond as He calls you to follow Him.
A couple of years ago, we were in Denver for the holidays, at her folks' house. Kelli's brother and sister were there, along with their families. My sister-in-law Amy was looking through the photo albums, and came across a picture from our homecoming date together. Amy looked upon the photo and asked innocently, "who is that scrawny guy you went to homecoming with?"
Sitting right next to her, I could see the picture, and knew it was of our date. Sure, I had put on a few pounds since then (about 60), but scrawny? "That's me," I said.
She did a double take. "No, it isn't."
"Yes, it really is."
She sat in silence for a moment. And then said, quite profoundly, "wow."
There have been many times where I've been surprised at the appearance of a person not matching up to what I've expected or remembered. Many times, people I've spoken with on the telephone have completely surprised me when I've met them 'in real life.' A "Chris" I've talked with, and imagined to be a slim, tall blonde man, would turn out to be a short, stocky female, and Chris was short for "Christine."
Going to my ten-year reunion was a shocker. Men age less gracefully than women, at least in the first ten years following high school, I've determined. We were all fatter, balder, and altogether more unpleasant, whereas most of the women were thinner, prettier, and more refined. But half the fun of the reunion was being surprised at who looked nothing like they did just one short decade earlier.
Now, if we are so apt to incorrectly perceive other people based on what we hear, read, or know about them, how much more so are we to do the same in our perception of Jesus Christ? Let's take a moment just to explore this possibility.
Now, I'm going to ask you each to close your eyes. Don't be afraid, I'm not trying to trick you, and I'm not going to ask you to take part in anything new-age or psychic. Now, visualize the image of Jesus that is most common to you. Try to imagine His face with as much detail as possible. When you have the image of Jesus, just raise your hand. I'm not going to call on anyone, I just want to see when everyone has a mental picture of Jesus firmly drawn in their minds.
Now, compare your mental portrait of Jesus with the ones we have up here. Does what you see in your mind's eye look similar to what you see here?
Some think of him as the babe in the manger. They think of him as the infant that received the worship of the magi. There He is, wrapped in swaddling cloths, cooing softly in the night. This is a very comforting image of the Savior. Who wouldn't want to pick Him up, coddle Him, and cuddle Him? The problem is, we know that Jesus didn't stay an infant. He grew up, became a man, went to the cross. Perhaps some people like to keep this image of Jesus because He is so non-threatening in this form. It's very nice, very easy, very peaceful to have a god who can fit in a little wooden box and needs to be wrapped in blankets to keep warm. Probably most of us here would never admit to worshipping this manifestation of the Christ.
However, most of us would have little problem acknowledging that this image is the picture of Christ that comes to mind when we are called upon to imagine our Savior. This is the Christ we recognize. He is the man who walked on the shores of Galilee. He fed the masses. This is the Jesus who stripped to a loincloth. And this is the Jesus who went to the cross. And because He bears the illuminated glow, we have little problem imagining this as the resurrected Christ who made numerous appearances before being assumed up into heaven.
If this is your image of Jesus, you are in good company. This is a very common, very much-reproduced imagery of the Christ. And in many ways, it too, is a safe image that brings comfort and peace. But just for a moment, I want to tell you that I believe this image is just a bit dangerous, too. It's not dangerous because it's 'Americanized' Jesus. It's not even dangerous because it's pretty familiar to the well-known historically catholic representations of Jesus. It's dangerous because:
1. We don't know this is what Jesus looked like.
2. It's not based upon the Word of God.
3. Even if it is accurately portraying how He appeared while He looked, this doesn't adequately show how He looks today.
Now, the Bible says this about the appearance of Jesus:
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. (Is. 53:2)
When we have in accurate view of Jesus, it allows us to have an inaccurate sense of our relationship to Him. It allows us to inappropriately relate to Jesus. It allows us to live in an inaccurate manner, dishonoring Him in the process. And I believe the most dangerous aspect of all is that virtually every act of disobedience, every ungodly act of indulgence, every fleshly act of division becomes possible when we are comfortable with an inaccurate concept of the reality of Jesus Christ. Tonight, we will rely upon the Word of God to invade our incorrect perception of who Jesus is, that He may shine His light of truth upon us, so that we may walk in the light of that truth, for the glory of His name's sake.
If you turn to the book of Revelation, chapter one, we go to our final recorded instance of a moment of darkness in Scripture. In chapter one, we are reunited after a long absence, with John, the beloved apostle of Jesus. He has been exiled to the island of Patmos, to live out his remaining days in isolation. He alone of the original apostles left, having outlived each of his brothers in faith, having received the testimony of each one dying a martyr's death around the world. I'm confident that John had spent much time, many a day thinking about Jesus. He knew how Jesus appeared. He walked with Him, spent countless hours at His feet, listening to Him and talking with Him. He, certainly better than any of us, had a clear image of Jesus in his mind's eye. But, in Revelation 1, we see John give account about being surprised by the appearance of Jesus (10-17):
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,'' and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.'' Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.
Let's take just a moment to take in the appearance of Jesus, as He really is. The first thing we need to know is that is how Jesus is today. Verse 19 says that Jesus commanded John to recorded the things that he has seen, the things that are, and the things that will be. The 'things that he has seen' are verses 1-18. This is the last, most current scriptural picture drawn of Jesus. He is no longer the infant, wrapped in swaddling cloths and reliant upon his mother for every need. But He is also no longer the long-haired, brown robe-wearing itinerant rabbi, with no pillow for which to lay His head. He is now wearing a white robe, girded with a golden band around His chest. His hear is white as wool His eyes burn like a flame of fire. His feet are like fine brass, refined in a furnace. His voice no longer is soft and calming, it rushes mightily like a multitude of waters. From His mouth comes only His word, which is a two-edged sword. He holds the seven stars, which verse 20 tells us, are the angels, or messengers, of the seven churches, and His appearance is like the sun shining in its strength!
Friends, this is an incredibly discomforting view of Jesus because we no longer can just picture him easily as the guy we'd sit next to at the ball game, or invite in for a cup of coffee. Now, here, Jesus looks altogether godly. And we are to make no mistake about it, this is how Jesus is today! This is what we need to understand about His appearance today:
1. He is Holy. From His countenance to His Hair robe to His feet, He radiates the holiness of God. There is no impurity to be found upon Him. There is the only bright, shining glory of God. In this presence of Jesus, there is no room for ungodliness, there is no room for sin, there is no room for anything that would stain or smudge the righteous purity of the Savior.
2. He is the Judging King. He bears the gold chest gird of royalty. There is no King above Him. He alone is Sovereign. He alone has authority. In the presence of Jesus as He truly is, there is no challenging His reign. He will judge all people, all nations, all of creation. It will be just, and it will be final, and it will be perfect.
3. He is the High Priest. He walks amongst the churches, represented by the seven lampstands. He holds the messengers in His right hand. He, even as we speak, is performing the responsibility of the Highest High Priest, which is tending to the churches. He is walking amidst the church - this church - at this very moment, evaluating it, judging it, and ministering to it.
This is how Jesus appears today, and look at the apostle John reacted. He fell at the Messiah's feet as though dead! This was a guy who probably had a lot figured out, and all he could do in the presence of Jesus as He truly is, is fall at His feet as though dead! He couldn't even stand in His presence. He couldn't face Him in His presence. He couldn't even function in His presence!
I'm worried that we have lost our awe of the Messiah. I'm afraid we've compromised our understanding of His holiness, His righteousness, His purity, His royalty, His perfection, at the expense of His friendliness, His comfort, and His tranquility. But God's word has recorded the truth that even one such as John who is a hero of faith, who was entrusted with recording testimony of His glory, couldn't even stand composed in the presence of Jesus as He is today. How much more so is that for us, now?
And though this is the true appearance of Jesus as He is today, He encourages John with this comforting assertion. He says:
Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Notice this: He doesn't tell John to relax. He doesn't tell John to lose His awe. He doesn't tell John to forget His true nature and appearance. Instead, He says, don't be afraid. Well, why not? Not because His judgment and holiness aren't fear-inducing. This statement to not be afraid wasn't just for this moment. It was for everything that was about to follow. John was about to be exposed to the full revelation that would take place to culminate the terminal human existence. He was about to see things He wouldn't comprehend. He would see things that would blow your mind, and that could only be communicated symbolically because they were so immense. But His statement to "not be afraid" was not permission to lose sense of the awe and wonder of Jesus as He truly is. In fact, it was just the opposite. Here, Jesus is making the assertion that John, one of the elect of Jesus Christ, should not be afraid because He (Jesus) was about to accomplish all John would witness because Jesus is the only one who was alive, died, but now is alive forevermore. Jesus alone, as the High Priest and Judging King, holds the keys to Hades and Death. And this assertion should comfort those who exist in the grace of God's Fatherhood, and should cause those who do not to tremble for their impending doom.
Remember verse 19 shows that Jesus tells John to write down that which was, that which is, and that which will be. The 'that which will be' is signified by the Greek term 'metatauta.' Interestingly, Chapter 4, verse 1 begins with the words "after these things, which is a translation of the Greek term "metatauta." So that tells us that chapter 4 is the beginning of "that which will be." Logically, then, we understand chapters 2 & 3 to be John's recording of "that which is."
In the interest of time tonight, we're not going to read chapters 2 & 3 together. But here's what you need to know about these two chapters, and hopefully, you will read further when you get home tonight. First, you need to understand that in these two chapters, Jesus makes assessments of seven churches. You need to understand that these churches were all real churches. But you also need to remember that Revelation is a very symbolic book, and, in Scripture, seven is a number that is representation of completion. In this regard, we discover that the seven letters accordingly, are a complete assessment of the church, historically. In fact, a strong argument can be made for the prophetic presentation of the history of the church because of the order of the churches listed, related to the assessments of each. Finally, there is also a personal application for each believer in each of the seven church's assessments.
So you have a local level of application, you have an admonitory level of application, you have a historical level of application, and you have a personal level of application. With each church, you find some interesting parallels. First, you find each church is named. Second, you find that Jesus has a distinct name for Himself that is related to His description in chapter 1 that is relevant to that church. Third, you find that Christ then gives the commendation of good works (except for the case of two), and then (fourth) he gives the criticism of bad works (except for two). Fifth, he offers an exhortation to the church. Sixth, he gives a promise to the overcomer, and Seventh, he provides a post-script.
What does all this mean? Several things. First, it means that Christ alone thoroughly judges the church. You find that every church has an incorrect perception of itself. Second, it means that He is assessing you, and He is assessing your church, even at this very moment. (Let he who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches). Third, it means that there is hope in overcoming what you are not doing wrong - the promise to the overcomer). Fourth, it means He takes seriously the work of judging that which belongs to Him.
This had better shape our perception of what we're doing here, tonight, and as we go. We must live in the reality that Jesus is assessing us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We must quit telling Jesus what we are going to do, and start asking Him to show us. We must look to our scriptural forebearers and recognize where we are personally & corporately in each of the seven churches. We'd all like to think that we are the church of Philadelphia, but the reality is, there is some of Thyatira, Pergamos, and Laodicea in each of us, and in each of our churches, as well. And Jesus, the Holy High King, will not let ungodliness go unjudged.
Before Jesus allows John to proceed into the events of chapter 4 and beyond, the end of the beginning, He tells John to record this advice and assurance, linked to the lukewarm church in Laodicea, but advice and an assurance to us as well (3:18-22):
I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
He tells us to buy from Him gold refined in the fire, to be clothed in His white garments, and to anoint our eyes with His salve. Simply stated He wants us to pursue His purity, live in righteousness, and seek Him with eyes of faith. He offers it to us as a gift of grace because He loves us. He urges us today to flee from the blindness, nakedness, and filth that has come to define carnal Christianity - corporately and personally.
And if we do this, we will overcome.
I don't know if we really appreciate what it means to overcome, because we are so inclined to use this verse of Rev. 3 as an evangelistic verse. But the reality is, this verse is for the church. Jesus recognizes the church is struggling, and it needs to overcome itself. And He says, the only way to overcome your self, believer, and to overcome yourself, church, is to quit looking at your self, and begin looking at Jesus as He truly is. And if you do this, you will overcome.
This is the assurance of Jesus. He stands at the door and knocks. He knocks on the door of your heart, believer. He knocks on the door of the corporate heart of your church. If you will answer the call, open the door now, He will come in and dine with you. He will again have fellowship with you. He will again bless you. He will again grow you. He will again use you. And you will sit with Him on His throne, as He does with His Father on His throne.
Let he who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches.
I close tonight by once again asking you to close your eyes and try to comprehend Jesus as He really is. With hair as pure white as wool. With eyes burning with fire. Wearing a pure white robe, girded about the chest with a band of pure gold. His feet are blazing like burnished bronze. His voice sounds like a tumult of waters, delivering the Sword of truth. And about His entire countenance is radiance. The radiance of God Himself.
Do you see Him as He truly is? This is the Jesus who speaks to you. This is the Jesus who is calling you to repent. This is the Jesus who is calling you to be renewed in your spirit. This is the Jesus who comes to assess you, but also to reward you. It is this Jesus to whom you respond as He calls you to follow Him.
a sincere question or two
why are you a democrat (if indeed, you are)?
why aren't you a republican (which indeed, you should be, if in fact, you are not)?
why aren't you a republican (which indeed, you should be, if in fact, you are not)?
factoid
from Rick Warren's weekly email newsletter;
U.S. churches are doing an inadequate job of attracting men to the pews. Although the national population is 49 percent male and 51 percent female, the congregational average is 39 percent male and 61 percent female. - www.uscongregations.org
U.S. churches are doing an inadequate job of attracting men to the pews. Although the national population is 49 percent male and 51 percent female, the congregational average is 39 percent male and 61 percent female. - www.uscongregations.org
interesting reaction
The American Family Association has initiated a petition to have Peter Arnett's passport revoked, but to allow him to stay in Iraq.
I'm not signing the petition because I do believe even idiots have the freedom of speech, and when their speech treads to the turf of treason, they'd should be able to return to the country they betrayed to be prosecuted for the offense.
I'm not signing the petition because I do believe even idiots have the freedom of speech, and when their speech treads to the turf of treason, they'd should be able to return to the country they betrayed to be prosecuted for the offense.
multiple choice
When I fly to Atlanta in three weeks (which I'm not excited about, since planes IMHO, are sealed tubes of germ transference), should I :
a) travel as normal
b) wear a surgical mask
c) start sneezing and coughing uncontrollably, hoping that will give me an isolated seat in first class
a) travel as normal
b) wear a surgical mask
c) start sneezing and coughing uncontrollably, hoping that will give me an isolated seat in first class
same song, different verse
and this, just a few moments later, via email (from my dear ol' dad)
Think of a letter between A and W.
Repeat it out loud as you scroll down.
Keep going... Don't stop...
Think of an animal that begins with that letter.
Repeat it out loud as you scroll down.
Think of either a man's/woman's name that begins with the last letter in the animal's name
Almost there........
Now count out the letters in that name on the fingers of the hand you are not using to scroll down.
Take the hand you counted with and hold it out in front of you at face level
Look at your palm very closely and notice the lines in your hand.
Do the lines take the form of the first letter in the persons name?
Of course not.......
Now smack yourself in the head, get a life, and quit playing stupid e-mail games!
Think of a letter between A and W.
Repeat it out loud as you scroll down.
Keep going... Don't stop...
Think of an animal that begins with that letter.
Repeat it out loud as you scroll down.
Think of either a man's/woman's name that begins with the last letter in the animal's name
Almost there........
Now count out the letters in that name on the fingers of the hand you are not using to scroll down.
Take the hand you counted with and hold it out in front of you at face level
Look at your palm very closely and notice the lines in your hand.
Do the lines take the form of the first letter in the persons name?
Of course not.......
Now smack yourself in the head, get a life, and quit playing stupid e-mail games!
weekend plans
I'm very excited to be going to Denver this weekend to partipate in a spiritual leadership conference sponsored partially by my employer, NAMB. It will be led by Dr. Henry Blackaby and is part of NAMB's plans for Denver to be a Strategic Focus City in a few years.
further evidence that Juan Valdez is head of a dangerous cartel
I received this in my email today (extra line breaks removed for the sake of my sanity)....
BRAIN TEST
Free will or synaptic wiring? You be the judge.
Check out the following exercise, guaranteed to raise an eyebrow. There's no trick or surprise. Just follow these instructions, and answer the questions one at a time and as quickly as you can!
Again, as quickly as you can but don't advance until you've done each of them...really.
Now, scroll down (but not too fast, you might miss something)...
What is:
1+5
2+4
3+3
4+2
5+1
Now repeat saying the number 6 to yourself as fast as you can for 15 seconds. Then scroll down.
QUICK!!! THINK OF A VEGETABLE! Then scroll down.
Keep going.
You're thinking of a carrot, right?
If not, you're among the 2% of the population whose minds are different enough to think of something else. 98% of people will answer with carrot when given this exercise. Freaky, huh?
I promise I'm not making this up. When I was SHOUTED AT to think of a vegetable, the first thing that came to my mind was....
BRAIN TEST
Free will or synaptic wiring? You be the judge.
Check out the following exercise, guaranteed to raise an eyebrow. There's no trick or surprise. Just follow these instructions, and answer the questions one at a time and as quickly as you can!
Again, as quickly as you can but don't advance until you've done each of them...really.
Now, scroll down (but not too fast, you might miss something)...
What is:
1+5
2+4
3+3
4+2
5+1
Now repeat saying the number 6 to yourself as fast as you can for 15 seconds. Then scroll down.
QUICK!!! THINK OF A VEGETABLE! Then scroll down.
Keep going.
You're thinking of a carrot, right?
If not, you're among the 2% of the population whose minds are different enough to think of something else. 98% of people will answer with carrot when given this exercise. Freaky, huh?
I promise I'm not making this up. When I was SHOUTED AT to think of a vegetable, the first thing that came to my mind was....
4/01/2003
do I still think Saddam Hussein is dead?
what do you think?
Once they realize we weren't convinced by their statement 'written by fearless leader,' I suppose they'll try to use a mustachioed sock puppet on the left hand of the Iraqi minister of Misinformation, in a further attempt at deception.
Once they realize we weren't convinced by their statement 'written by fearless leader,' I suppose they'll try to use a mustachioed sock puppet on the left hand of the Iraqi minister of Misinformation, in a further attempt at deception.
I've figured it out
while some pundits have argued that the Iraqi's are basing strategy gleaned from the movie Black Hawk Down, I've come to discover that the Hussein regime is not based upon the biopic of the US battle against Somali warlords. Rather, it was based upon the tactical genius demonstrated by the rebellion forces in Star Wars (episode 4).
proofs:
1. They battle the 'evil empire,' and call them 'the imperial death squad.'
2. Like Han Solo and Luke, they don the enemy's uniforms to gain advance.
3. Inspired by the enlistment of Princess Leia, they willingly use civilian women to attack the enemy.
4. They, too, believe they can battle successfully with simplistic technology, smaller guns, and vastly outnumbered, untrained forces.
5. There is a significant amount of desert warfare.
6. They rely upon the strength of an invisible force (see: Saddam Hussein).
If they could only figure out that lightsaber technology, then maybe we'd really be in trouble.
proofs:
1. They battle the 'evil empire,' and call them 'the imperial death squad.'
2. Like Han Solo and Luke, they don the enemy's uniforms to gain advance.
3. Inspired by the enlistment of Princess Leia, they willingly use civilian women to attack the enemy.
4. They, too, believe they can battle successfully with simplistic technology, smaller guns, and vastly outnumbered, untrained forces.
5. There is a significant amount of desert warfare.
6. They rely upon the strength of an invisible force (see: Saddam Hussein).
If they could only figure out that lightsaber technology, then maybe we'd really be in trouble.
Living beyond Failure
Have you ever had one of those days where everything just seemed to go wrong? One of those days where you could just hit the rewind button? Or even better yet, you could hit the 'reset' button and all the errors and bad experiences of the day disappeared, so you wouldn't have to relive them, even in reverse?
I've certainly had my fair share of bad days. I've had days where I felt like Elijah, who we talked about just a couple of days ago. You know, those days where you feel like you've just been about the Lord's business, but it seems like the whole world is against you. I've had those days where people that you're counting on fall through. People that you are relying upon are nowhere to be found. People that you trust deceive you. Those days are absolutely rotten.
But I've also had the other type of bad days. Days where the mistakes have been my fault. Days where I've forgotten something I was supposed to have remembered. Days where I neglected something or somebody important, and because of something stupid that I had done, they were now paying the price for it, and having a bad day themselves. Those are the days I really regret, and wish that I could rewind or reset.
Some of you here tonight may be saying, "yeah, bad days are bad, but what about bad lives?" Some of you here tonight may be feeling like your whole life is just one bad experience after another. You may feel like you wish your entire life had never had happened. Maybe it was one mistake early in your life that has changed everything ever since. Maybe it was something you did, or maybe it was something that was done to you. Either way, you feel like that event has ruined everything, and your life will never be good again, will never be worthwhile, will never be all that it could have been.
Tonight, we're going to spend our time together looking at the relationship between failure and grace. For those who have ever experienced failure, for whatever reason, you know the need for grace. And because we live in such a graceless society, perhaps this message is extremely important because we people are failing in amazingly creative ways all around us, and we are the only source of true grace that exists.
How are people failing? To quote the bard, 'let me count the ways.' Divorce is at an all-time high. Bankruptcies are at a record level. Abortions occur at a rate of over a million per year. The rate of unwed mothers is extremely high. The suicide rate is tremendous, and it doesn't even record the number of unsuccessful attempts, which would really shock us if we knew it. We are failing in our social lives, in our professional lives, in our personal lives, and in our spiritual lives. And to really prove the point - the rate of failure amongst Christians seems to meet or exceed the level of nonbelievers, almost across the board!
Last night we had the pleasure of peeking in as Peter, James, and John accompanied Jesus to the mountaintop where he prayed. They saw some pretty amazing things there. They saw the Lord Jesus Christ in His glory. They saw Moses and Elijah, the heroes of their faith! But don't forget that they also were present when the big three got together and had a pretty serious conversation. Remember what they talked about? They talked about the lord's death that Jesus was going to accomplish. So they had been given insight very early on that Jesus knew He was going to die.
The problem was, despite knowing it, and despite repeatedly being told this was to be the case, they chose to deny it and instead understand the messiahship of Jesus Christ in their own terms. Certainly they were understanding more and more about what it meant that Jesus was Messiah, but they just could not separate their own preconceived and pre-ingrained notions from the fact that they finally had someone in the flesh who was exactly who they had been waiting for, for so very long.
Well, as we are about to see, when our agenda ploughs headlong into God's agenda, its rarely pretty. One of the two agendas ends up getting derailed, and I'll give you a guess whose it is. When our agenda, our plans, our desires are thwarted, the result is failure. In fact, this is how you can define failure - when your will contradicts the will of God. Let's take time to examine failure, and to find God's word of hope amidst it.
Turn in your Bible to the book of John, chapter 18. a few chapters earlier, we witnessed the infamous 'who's the greatest' argument, where Jesus ended all arguments by washing each of the their feet. Then, over the next four chapters, Christ offers His lengthy address to the disciples, commissioning for the work that would eventually define their lives. Now, in chapter 18, the action picks up. Now, we also know from the earlier chapters that Jesus predicted some rough times for Peter, and the apostle disputed Christ's predictions. He declared that He would stand by the Christ through it all, and accordingly, prove his faithfulness to Jesus.
So now, as Jesus and the apostles enter the garden of Gethsemane, they are quickly met by a group just looking for a fight. Read verse 3 and see who was there: Judas, a detachment of troops (this means Romans), and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees (this means Jews). They were coming for Jesus, looking to initiate the conspiracy that would remove this threat to their power, authority, and religious control and manipulation over the people.
What I love about this account is that John retells it in such a way that makes it clear who is in charge here. They confront Jesus, and He's as cool as the other side of the pillow. "Who are you looking for?" But He knew. We know He knew because when He was talking with Moses and Elijah, He revealed that He was accomplishing all this. When He declared He was who they were looking for, they all fell on their faces. But, Jesus, being incredibly patient, waited for them to stand back up, and asked to have the apostles sent away.
This is where Peter develops a momentary Superman complex. Verse 10 tells us that he'll have none of this 'walking away' stuff, and he draws a sword and cuts off the ear of Malchus, the servant of Caiaphas. Perhaps Peter's ears were still ringing a bit over the prophecy of his impending failure. Perhaps he just wanted to show that he was braver than Jesus thought. But instead of this being the first blow to a Hollywood-style brawl that entrenched Peter as a superhero, Jesus says to him, "put away the sword. Do you not want me to accomplish what the Father sent me her for?" Here, Jesus goes of with the conspirators, and the apostles go in another direction.
We pick up the story in verse 15, and we'll now examine the causes of failure. Read with me:
Let's take just a moment to see the anatomy of failure here, so we can understand similar causes of failure in our own life. First of all, we need to understand that failures don't just happen. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about failure. When a person is caught in a sin, one of the first things that comes out of that person's mouth is "it just happened." That is simply not true. Look at Peter. Peter and John departed from Jesus, and stood outside the door. The door of where? The door outside of Pilate's court. How do we know that? Verse 15 says so. They were going toward the enemy! They probably wanted to stay close to hear a word on what was happening with Jesus. And the first part of the plan is to get inside the door. Verse 15 says that the high priest knew John, and that was how they were going to get in. Peter was going rely on his own plan to stay close to Jesus, and prove he'd never leave him.
It says that as John brought Peter in, the servant girl who kept the gate, looked at Peter, and said, you're not one this man's disciples, are you?" And Peter denies Jesus. Now, let's break this down. First of all, we know this isn't a heated military investigation. This was the gate-check girl. And she isn't grilling Peter here. More likely, she's asking her question the same way we get challenged about our faith all the time. She's probably asking the question like there's no way any sane person would actually follow Jesus. You're not one of THAT GUY'S disciples, are you?
You see, we get asked that question all the time, or questions very similar. Questions like, "you don't really believe all that stuff, do you?" and "You're not one of those born again, right?" And the question is asked like you'd be crazy to admit it. Now, when it can be either easy or difficult to answer that question when it's someone else. It depends on who that person is and why they're asking the question. The nearer and dearer the person asking the question, or the greater the reward for actually denying the truth, the greater the temptation. We might be tempted to deny the truth if we respect the person asking us the question, and are afraid they'll think less of us if they know we're one of those Jesus Freaks. Or, like in the case of Peter, he wanted to stay inside the gates, so it was easy to make that compromise and deny being a Christ-follower.
And one more thing before we continue. Often times, we ourselves are both the ones asking the question and denying our followship. We do it all the time. Every time we willfully disobey. Every time we willingly indulge our flesh. Every time we bring discord to the body. Every time we dishonor God, we might as well be both the person who says, "you're not really one of His, are you?" and also the person who says, "I am not" and we prove it by going against the perfect holy will of God. The first cause of failure is self-reliance. It says, my ways are good enough. I can make this work. I can accomplish my goals.
Another cause of failure is self-sufficiency, as we discover in Peter's continuing plan. He not only was going to rely on his own strategy, but he was actually convinced his strategy was sufficient to accomplish his task. From his perspective, he was in the gate, and all it had cost him was a little integrity. It was only a small compromise of the truth, right. After all, this was just the gate-keeper, she wasn't anyone important, right? Let's look again at Scripture:
And the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.
This is where we have to be careful of not committing revisionist history because we're dealing with one of our heroes of the faith. You see, we like to make excuses for Peter when he starts messing up, because we don't like our heroes to be too human. Maybe it would make our Lord appear weak if our heroes were too flawed. And on the other hand, if we're able to make excuses for our heroes, its easier for us to make excuses for ourselves when we find ourselves in a pinch. But there isn't any room for excuses here. Peter wasn't being persecuted. And while he was in the lion's den, he wasn't wearing the proverbial 'pork chop underwear.' He was able to cozy up to the fire and stand there, warming himself. He was standing right next to the guys - the servants and officers, and warming himself by the fire. Now, move past this interlude where Jesus goes to the Kangaroo court to be tried in front of Annas, and go to verse 25, where our account continues:
This is the natural progression where self-reliance moves to self-sufficiency. You determine to chart your own course, and stick to your guns. All of a sudden, you find yourself a little deeper than you thought you would be, but you're still able to see the way out of it. If you just compromise the truth just a little more, if you just continue the deception just a little longer, you can still make it through. This is exactly what Peter is doing. The stakes are little higher because now he's mingling with the very guys who confronted him just a bit earlier. But he's maybe thinking, it was dark. Surely they don't recognize me. This plan can still work. And if all I have to do to stay safe is deny following Jesus, what harm will it cause?
This self-sufficiency is no different than what we exhibit when we willfully walk the dangerous walk that ultimately leads to failure. Its like the alcoholic who says, "I can handle one drink." Its like the guy who wants to have an affair with a co-worker and says, "Its okay if we're alone together, we're just talking about what great marriages we both have." You see, any time we justify our behavior to continue in ungodly behavior, we are deceiving ourselves that the selfish plans upon which are relying are sufficient to accomplish our purposes. And when we continue down selfish paths, we are denying that we are followers of Christ.
The culmination of this progression is when our self-suffiency moves to the destructive end of self confidence. Read with me:
One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?'' Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.
You see, Peter never had to chart the course he elected. He didn't have to follow a path of deception and denial to get inside the gates. John proved that. He got in without denying being a follower of Jesus. But for some reason, Peter had it in his head that he had to go about these devious means to accomplish the same task. And look where it had got him. While he thought he was doing a great job, all that was really taking place was he was getting more and more ensnared in the web of deceit of the enemy, and ended up doing the very thing he swore to Jesus Himself that he'd never do. He found himself cozying up to the enemy, and then Malchus' cousin, said, "wait a minute! I remember you! You're the guy who hacked off Malchy's ear!" And rather than fessing up, Peter denied Jesus a third time, fulfilling the prophecy Jesus gave earlier in the face of Peter's bravado. While Jesus was facing the trial of the high priests, Peter was facing the trial of Satan's temptation.
Few of us ever really want to deny our Master's Lordship. But it really is a slippery slope. And we need to make no mistake about it, we are often in the face of Satan's temptation to go about things our own way. You see, Satan uses two basic lies, over and over again, in a variety of ways. The first lie is "go ahead and do it, it won't hurt anything." Whether it was the forbidden fruit, or lying, or stealing, or hurting, or indulging, this is the lie Satan uses to ensnare God's finest creation. Then, once he has you, he keeps you down by using the lie, "well, you've already let God down, so you might as well keep doing it." And, in the end, there is ruin.
Well, if all we do is look at the causes of failure, this time would just be rather forensic, and I fear not completely convicting. Many sins are not avoided simply because you know what causes them. In fact, much of the time, when you learn the causes, it simply causes a person to sin more, because now that they know why something happens, there is no unknown to it, and it isn't as scary. So, let's continue, and move from the causes to the costs of failure.
To fully see the costs of failure exhibited here, we have to examine some of the other texts. This account of Peter's failure, his denial of Jesus, is one of the few that is recorded in all four of the gospels. It would be like if your biggest failure in life was broadcast on all the network news casts, as wells as MSNBC, FOX News, CNN, and across the Internet. But I believe God was deliberate about this, to expose us to all possible interpretation of Peter's failure, so we can see the terrible effects when we choose to go our own way, all the way to its destructive ends.
If we look at Mark's account, we see that failure is purchased at the price of conviction. Look at chapter 14:72:
The point here is simple, and it is clear. When you pursue paths of self, they will end in failure, and God will not allow it to go unconvicted. We see that Peter called to mind what Jesus had said to him. I believe that the Holy Spirit brought this to his remembrance, because this is a spiritual event, and there is nothing in the flesh that pursues spiritual matters. But because Peter is loved by God, and had been bought for the price that was soon to be paid by the son, God brought this to Peter's mind, so he would fully understand the failure of his ways.
God does this same thing with us, for the same reason. When you belong to the Lord, there is no such thing as "a free pass" when it comes to the conviction of sin. When you fail, the Lord convicts you of it because He loves you, and because you have been bought for a price, paid for the Son on the cross.
And you need to understand that conviction is not the same thing as "condemnation." As we will see later with Peter, you are not convicted so you feel guilty and stay beaten down. That is a tool of the enemy to condemn you. But because God loves you, he will convict you of offenses that are not holy, so that you may be forgiven, and not sin again.
Continuing, if we look at Matthew's account, we see that failure is also purchased at the price of bitter regret. Matthew 26:74-75, says this:
We don't like to think of our apostles as cursing or swearing, do we? At least not the ones in Christ's "inner circle." Judas, sure, but Peter? It just goes to show what happens when a person, even a good, otherwise godly person, comes to an end of failure. Failure steals your joy. You have no peace. You have no comfort. All you have is this profound sense of failure overwhelming you. Bitterness has once been compared to a cavity. Cavities form when a little tiny bit of food - something that was originally good for you - gets wedged into a spot under your gums or between your teeth, and is forgotten. Then that food rots, and the bacteria in it infects the living material inside the tooth, killing it from the inside out. Bitterness is the same disease. It infects you from the inside out, poisoning you to the point where you become a shell of a person, rotted and ugly.
I know a few bitter Christians. They are unpleasant people. People you don't want to be around. People who, for one reason or another, are living corpses - you think they'd be happier if they were dead. They've had failure, and they've allowed that failure to shape their entire concept of who they are. Experiencing failure is not the same thing as being a failure, but the first can lead to the second. And when you let an experience of failure ruin your testimony, ruin your joy, ruin your hope, then that is when you lose your victory.
And we continue to see that you can never pay the high price of failure which is conviction and regret, without also paying the steep tax of broken fellowship. Look at Luke 22:61-62:
The end result of Peter's failure is that he found himself with nobody. John was nowhere to be found, but we know he didn't have any part of this deception and denial. And when Peter had thrice denied Jesus, each time more crudely, more angrily, not even that crowd wanted him around. It says they all stood there looking at him. Who is this crazy man, yelling and cursing. It was so bad that it drove Peter to run away and weep bitterly.
Friends, you see the same thing in the world today. All you have to do is look at our politicians to see this. President Clinton started out by saying, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it." And at the beginning, everyone on the left was sticking with him. But by the time he got to saying "well, how do you define 'is?' not even his wife stood by him. And finally, after all the denials, he found himself without any real allies, and he still denies it. And he's bitter about it.
I've seen brothers and sisters in Christ who have transgressed against God, and have accordingly experienced broken fellowship with other believers. And bitterness is quick to set in when that occurs. They tend to blame others instead of taking responsibility. They realize that everyone is looking at them because, in essence, they have denied Christ, and they don't know what else to do than run away so they can weep bitter tears of broken fellowship.
I don't have to go on and on about this, because some of you are here right now. Some of you are intimately aware of what it means to pay the high costs of failure. How many of you are fighting bitterness tonight? How many of you can count the number of friends, family, and other loved ones with whom you no longer speak because of a personal failure? How many of you are experiencing the loving rebuke of the Holy Spirit's conviction even right now as you hear the word of God?
There is good news for you tonight because God never intended for you to have to be imprisoned by your failure. Let's return to the book of John and see God's cure for failure. Turn to chapter 21. At this point in Scripture, the tomb of Jesus has already been found to be empty. The reports of His appearances have spread. But here, in the early morning by the Sea of Tiberius, Peter gets up and says, "I'm going fishing." Some others said "we're going with you."
Now, I don't want to read more into this, but I don't think its too far of a stretch to say Peter's still having a hard time with things. Remember, he was a fisherman before his grand adventure with Jesus began. And when I fail at something, I like to return to something that I know I can find success. To me, it makes sense that Peter says, I'm going fishing. And it also makes sense to me that Peter's friends don't want him to be alone, so they accompany him. While they are out there, who shows up on the shore, but the resurrected Jesus. And Peter was so excited that he dove right out of the boat and swam right to Him.
That brings us to verse 15, and where we see Jesus prescribe the cure for the failure which ails Peter. Read with me:
The first cure that we see in this passage is simply the love of Christ. Jesus was not content to leave Peter in his life's worst failure. In fact, if you really think about it, Jesus began demonstrating His love for Peter clear back when the rooster crowed. How? Because even amidst the horrible reality of denying Jesus, not once, not twice, but three times, when He heard the rooster crow, He was reminded not only that Jesus had promised this would occur, but also that He had been on Christ's mind. Now, here we are just a few short days later, and Jesus loves this man so much that He came to him, to share a meal and spend time with Him one on one.
We need to know and understand that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing. Your biggest failure did not surprise God. He had to ordain your failure for it to happen. That doesn't mean He's responsible for it - you are. But God's grace is so big, so wide, so deep that it overcomes even your biggest failure. And He keeps coming back to you, wanting to share time with you one on one, because He loves you.
The second cure for failure is honesty and repentance. We understand the honesty and repentance of Peter in two ways. First, we see it in the fact that he jumped out of the boat and swam to Jesus. He realized that nothing was more important to him than just being with Jesus. To me, this is one of the purest, most easily understood pictures of repentance in Scripture.
We also see his honesty because we have this wonderful gospel account called 'Mark.' Mark is the penman for Peter. So for the gospel of Mark to include this failure is a tremendous testimony of Peter, saying, "Of all the big, boneheaded things I did, this was the worst. But I want to tell you about it, so you know that the grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient to overcome your largest failure, too."
The third cure for failure is embodied in the simple words found at the end of verse 19. These words from Jesus are "follow me." He tells Peter that there will be days ahead where He never thought he'd be able to go, but God would carry Him through it, and now it was time to follow Him. Compare that to what took place in the failure. There, Peter told Jesus where he'd go, and Jesus promised failure. But now, just as sure as that rooster crowed, Peter could count on this promise if he'd just follow Him.
This is Jesus' way. He commissions failures to "follow Him." When the rest of Christianity looks at a failure and says, "get away from me," Jesus picks up a failure and says, "follow me." He is the Master who trusts His apprentice with the tasks in which we have previously failed. We are called to follow Jesus because we love Him, and when we do so, He will take us places we never thought imaginable. And this is grace.
And its available to you tonight, by faith, to overcome your life's greatest failure. He paid the price for you. Today, experience the blessing of being cured of failure, through a new or renewed relationship with Jesus Christ.
I've certainly had my fair share of bad days. I've had days where I felt like Elijah, who we talked about just a couple of days ago. You know, those days where you feel like you've just been about the Lord's business, but it seems like the whole world is against you. I've had those days where people that you're counting on fall through. People that you are relying upon are nowhere to be found. People that you trust deceive you. Those days are absolutely rotten.
But I've also had the other type of bad days. Days where the mistakes have been my fault. Days where I've forgotten something I was supposed to have remembered. Days where I neglected something or somebody important, and because of something stupid that I had done, they were now paying the price for it, and having a bad day themselves. Those are the days I really regret, and wish that I could rewind or reset.
Some of you here tonight may be saying, "yeah, bad days are bad, but what about bad lives?" Some of you here tonight may be feeling like your whole life is just one bad experience after another. You may feel like you wish your entire life had never had happened. Maybe it was one mistake early in your life that has changed everything ever since. Maybe it was something you did, or maybe it was something that was done to you. Either way, you feel like that event has ruined everything, and your life will never be good again, will never be worthwhile, will never be all that it could have been.
Tonight, we're going to spend our time together looking at the relationship between failure and grace. For those who have ever experienced failure, for whatever reason, you know the need for grace. And because we live in such a graceless society, perhaps this message is extremely important because we people are failing in amazingly creative ways all around us, and we are the only source of true grace that exists.
How are people failing? To quote the bard, 'let me count the ways.' Divorce is at an all-time high. Bankruptcies are at a record level. Abortions occur at a rate of over a million per year. The rate of unwed mothers is extremely high. The suicide rate is tremendous, and it doesn't even record the number of unsuccessful attempts, which would really shock us if we knew it. We are failing in our social lives, in our professional lives, in our personal lives, and in our spiritual lives. And to really prove the point - the rate of failure amongst Christians seems to meet or exceed the level of nonbelievers, almost across the board!
Last night we had the pleasure of peeking in as Peter, James, and John accompanied Jesus to the mountaintop where he prayed. They saw some pretty amazing things there. They saw the Lord Jesus Christ in His glory. They saw Moses and Elijah, the heroes of their faith! But don't forget that they also were present when the big three got together and had a pretty serious conversation. Remember what they talked about? They talked about the lord's death that Jesus was going to accomplish. So they had been given insight very early on that Jesus knew He was going to die.
The problem was, despite knowing it, and despite repeatedly being told this was to be the case, they chose to deny it and instead understand the messiahship of Jesus Christ in their own terms. Certainly they were understanding more and more about what it meant that Jesus was Messiah, but they just could not separate their own preconceived and pre-ingrained notions from the fact that they finally had someone in the flesh who was exactly who they had been waiting for, for so very long.
Well, as we are about to see, when our agenda ploughs headlong into God's agenda, its rarely pretty. One of the two agendas ends up getting derailed, and I'll give you a guess whose it is. When our agenda, our plans, our desires are thwarted, the result is failure. In fact, this is how you can define failure - when your will contradicts the will of God. Let's take time to examine failure, and to find God's word of hope amidst it.
Turn in your Bible to the book of John, chapter 18. a few chapters earlier, we witnessed the infamous 'who's the greatest' argument, where Jesus ended all arguments by washing each of the their feet. Then, over the next four chapters, Christ offers His lengthy address to the disciples, commissioning for the work that would eventually define their lives. Now, in chapter 18, the action picks up. Now, we also know from the earlier chapters that Jesus predicted some rough times for Peter, and the apostle disputed Christ's predictions. He declared that He would stand by the Christ through it all, and accordingly, prove his faithfulness to Jesus.
So now, as Jesus and the apostles enter the garden of Gethsemane, they are quickly met by a group just looking for a fight. Read verse 3 and see who was there: Judas, a detachment of troops (this means Romans), and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees (this means Jews). They were coming for Jesus, looking to initiate the conspiracy that would remove this threat to their power, authority, and religious control and manipulation over the people.
What I love about this account is that John retells it in such a way that makes it clear who is in charge here. They confront Jesus, and He's as cool as the other side of the pillow. "Who are you looking for?" But He knew. We know He knew because when He was talking with Moses and Elijah, He revealed that He was accomplishing all this. When He declared He was who they were looking for, they all fell on their faces. But, Jesus, being incredibly patient, waited for them to stand back up, and asked to have the apostles sent away.
This is where Peter develops a momentary Superman complex. Verse 10 tells us that he'll have none of this 'walking away' stuff, and he draws a sword and cuts off the ear of Malchus, the servant of Caiaphas. Perhaps Peter's ears were still ringing a bit over the prophecy of his impending failure. Perhaps he just wanted to show that he was braver than Jesus thought. But instead of this being the first blow to a Hollywood-style brawl that entrenched Peter as a superhero, Jesus says to him, "put away the sword. Do you not want me to accomplish what the Father sent me her for?" Here, Jesus goes of with the conspirators, and the apostles go in another direction.
We pick up the story in verse 15, and we'll now examine the causes of failure. Read with me:
And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?'' He said, "I am not.''
Let's take just a moment to see the anatomy of failure here, so we can understand similar causes of failure in our own life. First of all, we need to understand that failures don't just happen. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about failure. When a person is caught in a sin, one of the first things that comes out of that person's mouth is "it just happened." That is simply not true. Look at Peter. Peter and John departed from Jesus, and stood outside the door. The door of where? The door outside of Pilate's court. How do we know that? Verse 15 says so. They were going toward the enemy! They probably wanted to stay close to hear a word on what was happening with Jesus. And the first part of the plan is to get inside the door. Verse 15 says that the high priest knew John, and that was how they were going to get in. Peter was going rely on his own plan to stay close to Jesus, and prove he'd never leave him.
It says that as John brought Peter in, the servant girl who kept the gate, looked at Peter, and said, you're not one this man's disciples, are you?" And Peter denies Jesus. Now, let's break this down. First of all, we know this isn't a heated military investigation. This was the gate-check girl. And she isn't grilling Peter here. More likely, she's asking her question the same way we get challenged about our faith all the time. She's probably asking the question like there's no way any sane person would actually follow Jesus. You're not one of THAT GUY'S disciples, are you?
You see, we get asked that question all the time, or questions very similar. Questions like, "you don't really believe all that stuff, do you?" and "You're not one of those born again, right?" And the question is asked like you'd be crazy to admit it. Now, when it can be either easy or difficult to answer that question when it's someone else. It depends on who that person is and why they're asking the question. The nearer and dearer the person asking the question, or the greater the reward for actually denying the truth, the greater the temptation. We might be tempted to deny the truth if we respect the person asking us the question, and are afraid they'll think less of us if they know we're one of those Jesus Freaks. Or, like in the case of Peter, he wanted to stay inside the gates, so it was easy to make that compromise and deny being a Christ-follower.
And one more thing before we continue. Often times, we ourselves are both the ones asking the question and denying our followship. We do it all the time. Every time we willfully disobey. Every time we willingly indulge our flesh. Every time we bring discord to the body. Every time we dishonor God, we might as well be both the person who says, "you're not really one of His, are you?" and also the person who says, "I am not" and we prove it by going against the perfect holy will of God. The first cause of failure is self-reliance. It says, my ways are good enough. I can make this work. I can accomplish my goals.
Another cause of failure is self-sufficiency, as we discover in Peter's continuing plan. He not only was going to rely on his own strategy, but he was actually convinced his strategy was sufficient to accomplish his task. From his perspective, he was in the gate, and all it had cost him was a little integrity. It was only a small compromise of the truth, right. After all, this was just the gate-keeper, she wasn't anyone important, right? Let's look again at Scripture:
And the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.
This is where we have to be careful of not committing revisionist history because we're dealing with one of our heroes of the faith. You see, we like to make excuses for Peter when he starts messing up, because we don't like our heroes to be too human. Maybe it would make our Lord appear weak if our heroes were too flawed. And on the other hand, if we're able to make excuses for our heroes, its easier for us to make excuses for ourselves when we find ourselves in a pinch. But there isn't any room for excuses here. Peter wasn't being persecuted. And while he was in the lion's den, he wasn't wearing the proverbial 'pork chop underwear.' He was able to cozy up to the fire and stand there, warming himself. He was standing right next to the guys - the servants and officers, and warming himself by the fire. Now, move past this interlude where Jesus goes to the Kangaroo court to be tried in front of Annas, and go to verse 25, where our account continues:
Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?'' He denied it and said, "I am not!''
This is the natural progression where self-reliance moves to self-sufficiency. You determine to chart your own course, and stick to your guns. All of a sudden, you find yourself a little deeper than you thought you would be, but you're still able to see the way out of it. If you just compromise the truth just a little more, if you just continue the deception just a little longer, you can still make it through. This is exactly what Peter is doing. The stakes are little higher because now he's mingling with the very guys who confronted him just a bit earlier. But he's maybe thinking, it was dark. Surely they don't recognize me. This plan can still work. And if all I have to do to stay safe is deny following Jesus, what harm will it cause?
This self-sufficiency is no different than what we exhibit when we willfully walk the dangerous walk that ultimately leads to failure. Its like the alcoholic who says, "I can handle one drink." Its like the guy who wants to have an affair with a co-worker and says, "Its okay if we're alone together, we're just talking about what great marriages we both have." You see, any time we justify our behavior to continue in ungodly behavior, we are deceiving ourselves that the selfish plans upon which are relying are sufficient to accomplish our purposes. And when we continue down selfish paths, we are denying that we are followers of Christ.
The culmination of this progression is when our self-suffiency moves to the destructive end of self confidence. Read with me:
One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?'' Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.
You see, Peter never had to chart the course he elected. He didn't have to follow a path of deception and denial to get inside the gates. John proved that. He got in without denying being a follower of Jesus. But for some reason, Peter had it in his head that he had to go about these devious means to accomplish the same task. And look where it had got him. While he thought he was doing a great job, all that was really taking place was he was getting more and more ensnared in the web of deceit of the enemy, and ended up doing the very thing he swore to Jesus Himself that he'd never do. He found himself cozying up to the enemy, and then Malchus' cousin, said, "wait a minute! I remember you! You're the guy who hacked off Malchy's ear!" And rather than fessing up, Peter denied Jesus a third time, fulfilling the prophecy Jesus gave earlier in the face of Peter's bravado. While Jesus was facing the trial of the high priests, Peter was facing the trial of Satan's temptation.
Few of us ever really want to deny our Master's Lordship. But it really is a slippery slope. And we need to make no mistake about it, we are often in the face of Satan's temptation to go about things our own way. You see, Satan uses two basic lies, over and over again, in a variety of ways. The first lie is "go ahead and do it, it won't hurt anything." Whether it was the forbidden fruit, or lying, or stealing, or hurting, or indulging, this is the lie Satan uses to ensnare God's finest creation. Then, once he has you, he keeps you down by using the lie, "well, you've already let God down, so you might as well keep doing it." And, in the end, there is ruin.
Well, if all we do is look at the causes of failure, this time would just be rather forensic, and I fear not completely convicting. Many sins are not avoided simply because you know what causes them. In fact, much of the time, when you learn the causes, it simply causes a person to sin more, because now that they know why something happens, there is no unknown to it, and it isn't as scary. So, let's continue, and move from the causes to the costs of failure.
To fully see the costs of failure exhibited here, we have to examine some of the other texts. This account of Peter's failure, his denial of Jesus, is one of the few that is recorded in all four of the gospels. It would be like if your biggest failure in life was broadcast on all the network news casts, as wells as MSNBC, FOX News, CNN, and across the Internet. But I believe God was deliberate about this, to expose us to all possible interpretation of Peter's failure, so we can see the terrible effects when we choose to go our own way, all the way to its destructive ends.
If we look at Mark's account, we see that failure is purchased at the price of conviction. Look at chapter 14:72:
And a second time the rooster crowed. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.'' And when he thought about it, he wept.
The point here is simple, and it is clear. When you pursue paths of self, they will end in failure, and God will not allow it to go unconvicted. We see that Peter called to mind what Jesus had said to him. I believe that the Holy Spirit brought this to his remembrance, because this is a spiritual event, and there is nothing in the flesh that pursues spiritual matters. But because Peter is loved by God, and had been bought for the price that was soon to be paid by the son, God brought this to Peter's mind, so he would fully understand the failure of his ways.
God does this same thing with us, for the same reason. When you belong to the Lord, there is no such thing as "a free pass" when it comes to the conviction of sin. When you fail, the Lord convicts you of it because He loves you, and because you have been bought for a price, paid for the Son on the cross.
And you need to understand that conviction is not the same thing as "condemnation." As we will see later with Peter, you are not convicted so you feel guilty and stay beaten down. That is a tool of the enemy to condemn you. But because God loves you, he will convict you of offenses that are not holy, so that you may be forgiven, and not sin again.
Continuing, if we look at Matthew's account, we see that failure is also purchased at the price of bitter regret. Matthew 26:74-75, says this:
Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!'' And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.'' Then he went out and wept bitterly.
We don't like to think of our apostles as cursing or swearing, do we? At least not the ones in Christ's "inner circle." Judas, sure, but Peter? It just goes to show what happens when a person, even a good, otherwise godly person, comes to an end of failure. Failure steals your joy. You have no peace. You have no comfort. All you have is this profound sense of failure overwhelming you. Bitterness has once been compared to a cavity. Cavities form when a little tiny bit of food - something that was originally good for you - gets wedged into a spot under your gums or between your teeth, and is forgotten. Then that food rots, and the bacteria in it infects the living material inside the tooth, killing it from the inside out. Bitterness is the same disease. It infects you from the inside out, poisoning you to the point where you become a shell of a person, rotted and ugly.
I know a few bitter Christians. They are unpleasant people. People you don't want to be around. People who, for one reason or another, are living corpses - you think they'd be happier if they were dead. They've had failure, and they've allowed that failure to shape their entire concept of who they are. Experiencing failure is not the same thing as being a failure, but the first can lead to the second. And when you let an experience of failure ruin your testimony, ruin your joy, ruin your hope, then that is when you lose your victory.
And we continue to see that you can never pay the high price of failure which is conviction and regret, without also paying the steep tax of broken fellowship. Look at Luke 22:61-62:
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.'' Then Peter went out and wept bitterly.
The end result of Peter's failure is that he found himself with nobody. John was nowhere to be found, but we know he didn't have any part of this deception and denial. And when Peter had thrice denied Jesus, each time more crudely, more angrily, not even that crowd wanted him around. It says they all stood there looking at him. Who is this crazy man, yelling and cursing. It was so bad that it drove Peter to run away and weep bitterly.
Friends, you see the same thing in the world today. All you have to do is look at our politicians to see this. President Clinton started out by saying, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it." And at the beginning, everyone on the left was sticking with him. But by the time he got to saying "well, how do you define 'is?' not even his wife stood by him. And finally, after all the denials, he found himself without any real allies, and he still denies it. And he's bitter about it.
I've seen brothers and sisters in Christ who have transgressed against God, and have accordingly experienced broken fellowship with other believers. And bitterness is quick to set in when that occurs. They tend to blame others instead of taking responsibility. They realize that everyone is looking at them because, in essence, they have denied Christ, and they don't know what else to do than run away so they can weep bitter tears of broken fellowship.
I don't have to go on and on about this, because some of you are here right now. Some of you are intimately aware of what it means to pay the high costs of failure. How many of you are fighting bitterness tonight? How many of you can count the number of friends, family, and other loved ones with whom you no longer speak because of a personal failure? How many of you are experiencing the loving rebuke of the Holy Spirit's conviction even right now as you hear the word of God?
There is good news for you tonight because God never intended for you to have to be imprisoned by your failure. Let's return to the book of John and see God's cure for failure. Turn to chapter 21. At this point in Scripture, the tomb of Jesus has already been found to be empty. The reports of His appearances have spread. But here, in the early morning by the Sea of Tiberius, Peter gets up and says, "I'm going fishing." Some others said "we're going with you."
Now, I don't want to read more into this, but I don't think its too far of a stretch to say Peter's still having a hard time with things. Remember, he was a fisherman before his grand adventure with Jesus began. And when I fail at something, I like to return to something that I know I can find success. To me, it makes sense that Peter says, I'm going fishing. And it also makes sense to me that Peter's friends don't want him to be alone, so they accompany him. While they are out there, who shows up on the shore, but the resurrected Jesus. And Peter was so excited that he dove right out of the boat and swam right to Him.
That brings us to verse 15, and where we see Jesus prescribe the cure for the failure which ails Peter. Read with me:
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?'' He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.'' He said to him, "Feed My lambs.'' He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?'' He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.'' He said to him, "Tend My sheep.'' He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?'' Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?'' And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.'' Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.'' This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me.''
The first cure that we see in this passage is simply the love of Christ. Jesus was not content to leave Peter in his life's worst failure. In fact, if you really think about it, Jesus began demonstrating His love for Peter clear back when the rooster crowed. How? Because even amidst the horrible reality of denying Jesus, not once, not twice, but three times, when He heard the rooster crow, He was reminded not only that Jesus had promised this would occur, but also that He had been on Christ's mind. Now, here we are just a few short days later, and Jesus loves this man so much that He came to him, to share a meal and spend time with Him one on one.
We need to know and understand that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing. Your biggest failure did not surprise God. He had to ordain your failure for it to happen. That doesn't mean He's responsible for it - you are. But God's grace is so big, so wide, so deep that it overcomes even your biggest failure. And He keeps coming back to you, wanting to share time with you one on one, because He loves you.
The second cure for failure is honesty and repentance. We understand the honesty and repentance of Peter in two ways. First, we see it in the fact that he jumped out of the boat and swam to Jesus. He realized that nothing was more important to him than just being with Jesus. To me, this is one of the purest, most easily understood pictures of repentance in Scripture.
We also see his honesty because we have this wonderful gospel account called 'Mark.' Mark is the penman for Peter. So for the gospel of Mark to include this failure is a tremendous testimony of Peter, saying, "Of all the big, boneheaded things I did, this was the worst. But I want to tell you about it, so you know that the grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient to overcome your largest failure, too."
The third cure for failure is embodied in the simple words found at the end of verse 19. These words from Jesus are "follow me." He tells Peter that there will be days ahead where He never thought he'd be able to go, but God would carry Him through it, and now it was time to follow Him. Compare that to what took place in the failure. There, Peter told Jesus where he'd go, and Jesus promised failure. But now, just as sure as that rooster crowed, Peter could count on this promise if he'd just follow Him.
This is Jesus' way. He commissions failures to "follow Him." When the rest of Christianity looks at a failure and says, "get away from me," Jesus picks up a failure and says, "follow me." He is the Master who trusts His apprentice with the tasks in which we have previously failed. We are called to follow Jesus because we love Him, and when we do so, He will take us places we never thought imaginable. And this is grace.
And its available to you tonight, by faith, to overcome your life's greatest failure. He paid the price for you. Today, experience the blessing of being cured of failure, through a new or renewed relationship with Jesus Christ.
who knew snakes had nine lives?
Peter Arnett has been hired by Britain's Daily Mirror, a leftist publication known for being a home for wayward traitors unpopular comb-overs.
evidence of a stall
BSPI -- Despite all claims to the contrary, BSPI photographers have captured evidence of the denied 'military pause,' as naval officers are shown playing their own mult-million dollar version of 'whack the pinata.' Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld refused to comment on the allegations, stating that an investigation was underway.
proud to be
United States Of America -
The most well-renouned country in modern day times.
The militaristic superpower, the United States
of America are also known as the bossiest
nation.
Positives:
Known Worldwide.
A Beacon to Others.
Powerful.
Fast Food.
Bossy.
Despised by Most Others.
Elitest.
Negatives:
none known
Which Country of the World are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
note: I modified the display of characteristics a bit. unapologetically. I was actually nervous when I took this, that it wouldn't come out USA. Thanks to Time to Believe.
they're multiplying
spent a little time at time to believe. It appears that he's a cohort of Avoiding Evil and What in Tarnation (see the blogroll). So far, a triumvirate of readability.
answering G'Dad's question
I'm proud to say that I am a BFS.
That stands for Brain Freeze Survivor.
Last night at Wendy's, I suffered a crippling Brain Freeze after my third successive spoonful of Frosty.
This traumatic event led my dad-in-law Sam to inquire about the biology behind the phenomenom.
Once my synapses reconnected, I pledged to have an answer before they got home.
Well, I'm a bit tardy on the rebound, but it takes time to fully recover. But, as promised, your answer is given here.
That stands for Brain Freeze Survivor.
Last night at Wendy's, I suffered a crippling Brain Freeze after my third successive spoonful of Frosty.
This traumatic event led my dad-in-law Sam to inquire about the biology behind the phenomenom.
Once my synapses reconnected, I pledged to have an answer before they got home.
Well, I'm a bit tardy on the rebound, but it takes time to fully recover. But, as promised, your answer is given here.
3/31/2003
clarification
BSPI stands for Bryan's Sarcastic Press, International.
so get your mind out of the gutter.
so get your mind out of the gutter.
the cannibals advance
BSPI -- over growing concern over vanishing resources and imperiled supply lines, Coalition troops have resorted to the barbaric act of eating helpless Iraqi citizens wounded upon the wartime theater. Pictured above, an unnamed victim is being carted off to feed the 101st airborne in what the soulless dogs are calling "Baghdad Broth." While Coalition leaders claim such actions are merely 'humanitarian actions,' the resistant Iraqi minister of information is calling upon the Muslim world to condemn such obviously blatant injustices against the religion of Islam.
the smoking gun
BSPI -- upon the news that Iraq has detonated dozens of bombs from within the confines of Baghdad as coalition forces neared within five miles of the city boundaries, NASA has released photos of what the agency claims is 'irrefutable proof of the relese of chemical agents into the atmosphere.' According to General Tommy Franks, coalition troops would surely have perished in the explosion, were it not for the chemical suits they were wearing as they engaged the brave Iraqi freedom fighters.
When Hans Blix, chief UN weapons inspector, was shown the photograph, he remained unconvinced. "This is not proof that Saddam Hussein's regime was in possession of or using biological or chemical warfare. This is likely just the multimillion dollar laser show extravaganza Hussein was preparing as a gift to his people following the war, featuring the Toy Story Dancers in DustCapades."
despite popular belief
this is not a reason to become a Christian.
I love the disclaimer at the bottom, except that it should include:
as such, this certificate not redeemable to avoid a lifetime of weeping & gnashing of teeth, eternally separated from the God who lovingly created you in His image for the purpose of spending eternally with Him, but you foolishly rejected instead trying to earn heaven on your own merit. We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but hope you enjoyed the gag.
I love the disclaimer at the bottom, except that it should include:
as such, this certificate not redeemable to avoid a lifetime of weeping & gnashing of teeth, eternally separated from the God who lovingly created you in His image for the purpose of spending eternally with Him, but you foolishly rejected instead trying to earn heaven on your own merit. We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but hope you enjoyed the gag.
basic principles of being a Christ-follower
One of Christianity's most popular mantras right now is "we are to be in the world and not of the world." This 'marching order' is also understood under the snooty theological term 'separation.' The problem is that much of Christendom is having a difficult time putting this theological aim into practical application. We really struggle with what it means to live in this world while not being tainted or stained by it.
For many Christians, this aim of separation has best been attempted by taking what John Fischer calls "the three monkey approach," which is a lifestyle defined by "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." Unfortunately, this is a eastern philosophy that hearkens back to Confucius, not a Christian philosophy stemming from Jesus. We've become a people that has equated separation and isolation. Accordingly, we've created an entire sub-culture of Christianity that has little or nothing to do with the world at all.
We've got people who are walking around wearing their tee shirts with the Christian sayings on them. They're driving their minivans with the fish on them - one for each family member. They read only Christian books that tells them how to be a better Christian. They listen to only Christian music that keeps telling them how to get saved. They watch only Christian television that seems to be so far from the real world it doesn't even resemble the planet I affectionately call earth. They only attend Christian meetings, Christian concerts, Christian gatherings. And the most condemnable thing of all, they only have Christian friends. We have taken scriptures like 2 Corinthians 6:17 (Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.'') and 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (abstain from all appearances of evil) completely out of context to justify a lifestyle that never engages the culture, that never confronts evil, that never enters the world. As a result we have a widespread Christian movement that is not truly "in the world."
Compounding matters, we have this sterile Christianity being practiced by a populace of people who are addicted to pornography, alcohol, drugs, and materialism, who are concerned only with themselves, and who act worse than those who we're claiming 'need the good news of Jesus Christ." What has developed is a malformed manifestation of Christianity that is "of the world but not in the world." This is the direct opposite of what we're supposed to do, and who we're supposed to be.
It's really not hard to understand why such separatist "sterile Chrisitianity" exists. If you think about it, it's just easier. If we just create a whole culture that looks Christian, smells Christian, feels, Christian, then it must be Christian, right? If we just create a world that seems safe, would earn the WWJD seal of approval, then everything within that world is good, and everything outside of that world is bad. Right?
The problem is, that's just bad theology. Jesus said it wasn't what enters a person that defiles, him, it was flows forth from a person that can show defilement, because it flows from the heart. Jesus was a carpenter. Peter was a fisherman. Paul was a tentmaker. They were unconcerned with adding religious adjectives to their titles. Jesus wasn't a Christian carpenter, a Jewish carpenter, or even a Messianic carpenter. Peter wasn't a Christian fisherman. What does that mean? He only caught Christian fish? Paul wasn't a Christian tentmaker. There is no such thing as a Christian tent. But in this day and age, we have Christian coffeehouses, Christian accounting firms, Christian schools, Christian daycare, Christian counseling centers, and so on, ad nauseam. We've determined that if we put this term 'Christian' in front of our occupation, in front of our business, then we're telling the world that God has sanctioned or blessed it, and that we're holy and the rest of the world is rotten and hellbound and can't be trusted. Unfortunately, it is in these very same environments raising the Christian banner, or with some of these very same people who wear the Christian badge, who demonstrate some of the most un-Christlike behavior and commit some of the most ungodly behavior. And in these cases, we find brands of Christianity that range from being "in the world and of the world" to being "neither in the world nor of the world."
And not only is 'sterile Christianity' just bad theology, its also horribly pharisaical. If we have a cut-and-dried list of what's good and bad, then I can be good if I just follow the list, and you will be bad if you don't do what you're supposed to. What can I watch on TV tonight? Seventh Heaven? Yep. On the list. Whew. The Sopranos. Not on the list. Uh oh. What can I listen to on the radio? Sean Hannity? Yes, he's catholic, but still on the list. Goody. Eminem? Definitely not on the list! Amy Grant? Umm, she used to be on the list, but now I'm not sure. I better not.
Do you see the problem here? We're becoming slave to some imaginary list. How many ear piercings is okay? Is a tattoo okay if says "Jesus Saves" in some cool-looking Oriental symbol? Who's writing the list? Who's editing it? What a mess! The reality is, grace plus anything is legalism. Grace minus anything is heresy. There is no such thing as a "yeah but" when you talk about grace. But we have taken this issue of living the Christian life and we have made it so externalized, so convoluted, so confusing that its enough to make you want to just go climb up on a mountain and sing hymns.
Unless they're not on the list any more, in which case you'd just sing praise choruses.
Tonight, we're joining three of our brothers in faith as they followed Jesus and took part in a very important meeting. We're going to be observers of that meeting, and recognize that this struggle isn't new to us, and we're going to learn some principles about what it truly means to be a Christ-follower. And for many of us tonight, this excerpt of God's Word is going to be exactly what He has prepared for us in the spirit of revival, because He is going to use this passage to lead us to repent of any false, pharisaic, externalized Christianity that has enslaved us in the past, so we will be freed and empowered to live grace-filled, internal Christianity that truly impacts our lost and dying world.
Our focus Scripture begins tonight in Luke chapter 9. This chapter of the physician's account of the life of Christ is actually pretty action-packed. In many ways, it is really the point in the earthly ministry of Jesus where things really start rolling. It is in this chapter where Jesus sends out the twelve apostles to preach the gospel, to cure diseases, and to have authority over demons. It is in this chapter where Jesus feeds the multitude of 5,000. This is the chapter where Jesus, for the first time, predicts his death and his resurrection. And it is also in this chapter where his apostle Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God. And our focus tonight in chapter nine is where Jesus reveals fully what it means that He is Messiah, and what it means to us to be followers of Messiah. Read with me the account, beginning in verse 28:
Here, we join Peter, James, and his brother John actively doing what we all are striving to do. Here, they are literally being followers of the Christ. I'm hopeful and expectant that this is your desire, too. You are here tonight because you consider yourself a follower of Christ. I hope you are a Christ-follower more than you are a Southern Baptist. I hope you are a follower of Christ more than you are a conservative, moderate, or liberal. I hope that your greatest desire in life is to follow behind the footsteps of Jesus, no matter where He leads. I hope nothing is more important to you that walking behind Jesus, in the path that He has set for you. Tonight, we look at the principles exhibited here that define such a walk. For some of us, this will be new, revolutionary news, and will serve to commission you on your journey. For others, it will be news that you know, but haven't followed for some time. And for you, tonight is truly a time for renewal, to reset your path, and to once again let Jesus assume the Lordship He rightfully possesses over you.
The first principle we see here is the principle of relationship. Peter, James, and John were invited to accompany Jesus as he went to pray. This is one of those verses that just slides off the tongue and is easily dismissed. But don't you dare do that! Don't you see what's going on here? Jesus has invited and intentionally included the three of these men as He goes to meet the Creator of the Universe, the Author of Life and Death, the Master Director of humanity's epic drama. Jesus has determined that these three guys were important enough to take home to meet His Dad.
Growing up, one of my good friends was a guy whose dad was the vice president of our local coal mine. They lived in one of the nicest homes. They had some of the nicest furnishings. But even more than that, the dad was one of the coolest dads because he treated you like a real person even though you weren't an adult. When I got to meet him, I felt special because I knew that meant I was a good friend, and because I just got to meet him.
Well, this is what Jesus was inviting these guys to be a part of, only exponentially more so. Jesus had determined that these three guys were good enough friends, that he had a close enough relationship with them that He was taking them to spend time with dad. But they didn't get it. They thought they were just climbing a mountain to pray.
You see, an externally-based religion is concerned with matters of prayer. It is worried about the logistics, the location, the legalities of prayer. But an internally-based relationship with God is based upon meeting the Father through the Son. It wasn't about what was said, when it was said, where it was said, or how it was said. What matters with a relationship is that time is being spent with God. It was about growing together. It was about learning more about God, and learning more about yourself through knowing more about Him.
And you know what, we don't have any more of a clue than these guys did. Roughly 2000 years after these guys said, "Jesus, teach us how to pray," we seem to be having the same troubles they did. We all recognize prayer is important, we'd all like to think that we're people of prayer, but statistics show that the average prayer lasts less than 5 minutes. We treat prayer like it is something we have to do rather than something we are privileged to do. We act like prayer is being made to go to the front of the class and write an answer on the chalkboard, than the treat and joy that it is because God thinks we're somebody special.
You see, until we grasp on to the truth that prayer is the means by which our relationship with the Father is most fruitfully developed, we will struggle with a myriad of lesser-important details. Until we prodigals recognize that we are in the proverbial pigpen and fall upon our faces in prayer and repent of our evil, wicked ways, we will toil. But if we seek the Father's face, we will see Him. If we strain our ears to hear His voice, we will find that still, small voice. If we turn our hearts toward a genuine, ongoing relationship with God, He will hear our prayers and heal our land.
Our prayer must become strategic and it must become pervasive. It must become the overriding priority of the church upon which every other priority is established. Prayer must not only become our priority, it must become our passion. We must get excited about prayer. We must do away with the "ughh, I've got to get up and go to the 6 AM prayer meeting" and replace it with the "Praise God, I get to go be with my brothers and sisters by faith and spend time with the Father!" Prayer must become our most well-attended, well-participated, most-sincere, most-sacrificial time of our individual and corporate lives. Not only must our prayer be our priority, and not only must it be passionate, it also must be pervasive. It must permeate every aspect of who we are. We need to develop the discipline of living in the Spirit through prayer. It means living in the reality of Romans 12:2, where every thought is taken captive and renewed as it passes through the filter of God's Holy Spirit of truth, accessed through prayer.
It's just this simple, and you can understand this if you are a parent. If the only time you heard from your children was when they wanted something, you'd be concerned. You likely would be hurt. And you likely would be reluctant to give them what they were asking, not because you don't love them, but because your relationship with them isn't what it should be and you don't trust that they even know what they're asking for, or if they understand why they're asking for it. And because the relationship is strained, if you don't give them what they ask for, they very likely will respond poorly because they don't understand you, much less your rationale. The same thing is true with us and our relationship with our heavenly Father. We know Him and understand Him better and better through prayer, and we can only really learn what it means to pray the will of God by spending time with Him developing that relationship with Him. The first principle of being a Christ-follower is the principle of relationship, and that relationship is best understood through the expression of prayer.
The second principle of being a Christ-follower is the principle of revelation. Listen to the Scripture:
One of the difficulties of an externally-important religion is this list that we've already talked about. We never know when the latest copy of the list is coming out. It's like going and buying a new computer with Windows XP, and going home to see a commercial of the new release of Windows XPIF (which stands for 'in your face!), and totally makes XP seem like an Model T in the age of Ferraris. You cannot live a victorious life according to religion because you will always be victim to the whims of an ever-changing culture. But when you are focused on a relationship with God as a follower of Christ, you will be privy to the wonderful blessing of revelation.
Just eight days earlier, Peter confessed Jesus was the Christ, the anointed and appointed Messiah of God. It wasn't until he followed Jesus to the top of mountain to pray that he saw the revelation of what that meant. Prior to this experience, Peter thought "messiah" simply meant the one God picked to overthrow the Romans and rule over Israel. So it was pretty easy to hitch his wagon to this rising star, if you get my drift. But on the mountain, the truth was revealed. Only now did Peter receive the blessing of being shown who Jesus really is, in His fullness.
And do you want to know the key to revelation? It's right here. It's prayer. As Jesus prayed, the appearance of His face was altered. His robe became white and glistening. Moses and Elijah (remember them) showed up, appearing in glory, and the three of them talked of his impending death which He was about to accomplish.
Man, this Scripture gets me excited because it shows us the potential of prayer! Prayer is where we leave the carnal and enter the divine. Prayer is where we see things as they really are. Prayer is where the things of this world pass away, and we are in the presence of our High and Holy God. Prayer is where our terminal vision gives way to an eternal perspective.
Does this encounter describe your prayer life? It should. Prayer is designed not to change God, but to change us. It isn't meant to strongarm God, it is designed to align us to Him. Prayer - communion with God - occurs only in the throne room of God, no matter where you are on this earth. When you are in prayer, you are in glory! Live in that reality! When you are in prayer, you are at His throne of grace! Live in that reality! When you are in prayer, your short term wants are reshaped and conformed to God's eternal plan! Live in that reality!
Prayer was never designed to be an experience where you just walk away feeling like you did before you began. It is impossible to pray in the Spirit of God and leave feeling like you knocked on the door and nobody answered. But too many of us avoid our Wednesday prayer meetings or spend less than five minutes a day because we are ritualistically, mechanically, carnally, going through the law of prayer. There is no revelation because there is no relationship.
Friends, we need to let prayer consume us, so we may receive the revelation of God. Prayer is the dwelling place of faith. Prayer is where you see with eyes not made for this world. Prayer is where you receive the will of God and believe the ways of God. Prayer is where you connect with the Almighty, the Omniscient, the Omnipresent. It's not done in committee meetings. It's not done in council meetings. Its' not done in deacons meetings. It's not done anywhere else except on your knees and on your faces. When you pray don't be too proud to fall to your knees. Don't be too tough to fall upon your face. Don't be too macho to cry. Prayer is not about how well you speak. Prayer is not about how you appear. Prayer is where you enter the presence of God Himself. Holy. Radiant. Eternal. And He in His majesty is graceful enough to allow you to be with Him. This is the revelation offered to those who are true followers of the Christ.
The third principle of being a Christ-follower is that of refinement. Continue reading with me:
Despite all that Christ had allowed Peter, James, and John to be a part of, they really hadn't put it all together. It was as though they didn't appreciate what they were witnessing. They had just been invited by God in the Flesh to enter the throne room of heaven. Yawn! They had just seen Christ in His glory, talking with the two biggest heroes of their faith, and their response was alarmingly…human!
You see, what we read about Peter's reaction is entirely common to what we do all the time. Peter has just witnessed a tremendously spiritual event. He was in the glory of God, seeing Christ stripped of the human restraints. He observed the ultimate power meeting where Jesus was talking with the long dead patriarch Moses and the long dead prophet Elijah about His plan to sacrificially die for all of humanity. Upon this, Peter did what most Christians today would do. He tried to take a spiritual experience and make it religious.
He said, "this is great. Let's set up three tents here. One for you, because you're obviously important, with all the shining radiance. But one, too, each for Moses and Elijah. Then we can all just camp here, away from the world and just bask in this good time."
There are all kinds of guesses on why Peter made this suggestion. I guess one day, we'll know, if the Lord determines it was important. But until then, I'll just share a bit of what I believe about the matter. I think one reason why he suggested it was because he was trying to earn points with the 'big guy.' Peter knew about the religious power system of his day. He wanted to be a part of the power structure when Jesus assumed leadership. Remember, he was one of those ones just a little later who would be arguing about who was the greatest. But now, it just made sense to throw out a statement like, "boy, I'd sure like to pitch a tent for you three, so we three can worship you three. Wouldn't that be great? Yeah, that'd definitely be great. Just remember it was my idea."
We're guilty of the same things. We, just like Peter, think that there are things we can do to impress Jesus. Some people come to church because they are convinced, though they'd never admit it, that Jesus will somehow be impressed with their great attendance record. Some people get involved with a particular ministry not because they are called to it, but because religion says "that's what a good Christian is supposed to do." Some people, over time, end up creating or worshipping things that are somewhat about Jesus, but aren't Jesus. Things like order of worship end up getting worshipped (how could they have the offering at the end of worship? It's supposed to be right after the second song. Everybody knows that). Things like apostles end up getting worshipped (how dare I say Peter had greedy ambitions?!?). Things like programs getting worshipped (I can't believe we're not doing a passion play this year. We've done a passion play for 22 years!). Things like organization gets worshipped (there's no way we're going to split this class, we've been in the same class for 22 years, and we ain't changing now!).
Another reason why Peter made this request is because he really wanted it. You see, this is how that religious subculture gets started. Peter was in the presence of the three most important spiritual figures of his life. Wouldn't it be great just to make a dwelling there and never leave it. If people cared enough, they'd find it. And if they didn't, so what - at least he had!
And we do the same thing. We create this super structure in a church and we fall in love with it and it becomes our culture. And it feels so good because we have lots of studies about Jesus. We sing songs about Jesus. When we eat food, we're eating with people who believe in Jesus. And this manifestation of church is so close to the real thing that we convince ourselves that is the real thing and we are amazingly content about it because it is so wonderfully….religious. Admit it. It's a pretty powerful, righteousness-inducing feeling when you know that people recognize you as a 'religious person.' Your neighbors all know you'll be getting up and going to church on Sunday evening. They know you'll be heading out on Wednesday night. They know that if there's a question about Christian conflict, you'd be able to give your two cents on the matter.
But see, here's the catch. God takes the time to refine Peter of his errors. God took this wonderfully spiritual moment that Peter was unwittingly trying to make religious, and He overshadowed them with a cloud. What this says to me is that God took this matter quite seriously and dealt with it incredibly severely. He induced the fear of Him into them and then He spoke. And when He spoke He made two points amazingly clear:
He said, "This is my beloved Son, hear Him." He's making clear is that a relationship with God is all about Jesus. It's not about church. Church is a gift to facilitate your relationship with Jesus. When church begins to replace your relationship with Jesus, it's important to know that God will not bless nor tolerate that idolatry. It's not about traditions, either. Tradition is just a justifying word for ritual, and ritual is just a justifying word for idolatry. When the ritual or tradition becomes more important that the object of that tradition, it has replaced it. I was just with a group of men who were talking about some neat things going on in their church. One man started sharing about how men from his clown ministry led their church through the Lord's supper, while in their clown outfits. Others in that group were aghast, because they felt like it was sacrilegious to wear a read nose while handing out the bread. But as the man shared, he talked not just about the mechanics of the ceremony, but of the prayer that preceded it, and the general tone of authentic worship that defined it. Then he talked about how in the first time of 45 years of being a believer, he had seen a person - actually seven persons - get saved during the Lord's supper!
God also says "hear Him." If it's all about Jesus, then listen to Him. Obey Him. Elsewhere in Scripture Jesus asks, "why do you call me Lord, and not do what I say?" We do such a good job of complicating a very simple procedure. Do you want to live the faith life? Focus on Jesus. And obey Him. All these other matters will take care of themselves. It's not about church attendance, or tithing, or serving, or anything else, in and of itself in each of those matters. It's about Jesus. If you focus on Him and obey Him, everything will take care of itself. Peter needed that refinement. And so do we. Some people might call it being rebuked. Okay. God rebukes us because He loves us. The Bible says so. I'd like to think of it as refining, though. God caring enough to strip away the impurities in my life that keep me away from the simple faith tasks of focusing on Jesus and obeying Him. The third principle of being a Christ-follower is the principle of refinement.
Finally, the fourth principle is the principle of responsibility. Read these last words with me:
We don't have to spend much time here, because the point is simple. Being a Christ-follower means having to come off the mountaintop. When Peter, James, and John came off the mountain, following Jesus, what did they find? A great multitude waiting for Him. A relationship with Jesus was never meant to be experienced apart from this multitude of humanity that waits for Him.
The book of Luke continues for another 15 chapters. And most scholars agree that it is really just part one of two, and is completed with the book of Acts. And the reality is that the book of Acts is really just the beginning of the work that continues today. If you are a Christ-follower, you have a responsibility to meet the needs of this multitude that is waiting on the miraculous, ministering touch of Jesus Christ. You are not allowed to live your Christianity secluded behind these walls. You are not allowed to experience the fullness of this relationship by never leaving your pew. Remember, Jesus said that whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me. Christianity is not a subculture designed to be separated from this world. Christianity must no longer describe you. It must begin to define you.
Now is the time to assess this label "Christian" you're wearing. Is it just a label to justify self-righteousness? Is it an expression of your religiosity? Is it hindering you from experiencing the true relationship God has planned for you with His Son, Jesus the Christ?
Now is the time to live the life of the Christ-follower, according to the principles He set forth. Principles of relationship. Of Revelation. Of Refinement. Of Responsibility. May this be so, that you may begin living the abundant life promised to you by God Himself.
For many Christians, this aim of separation has best been attempted by taking what John Fischer calls "the three monkey approach," which is a lifestyle defined by "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." Unfortunately, this is a eastern philosophy that hearkens back to Confucius, not a Christian philosophy stemming from Jesus. We've become a people that has equated separation and isolation. Accordingly, we've created an entire sub-culture of Christianity that has little or nothing to do with the world at all.
We've got people who are walking around wearing their tee shirts with the Christian sayings on them. They're driving their minivans with the fish on them - one for each family member. They read only Christian books that tells them how to be a better Christian. They listen to only Christian music that keeps telling them how to get saved. They watch only Christian television that seems to be so far from the real world it doesn't even resemble the planet I affectionately call earth. They only attend Christian meetings, Christian concerts, Christian gatherings. And the most condemnable thing of all, they only have Christian friends. We have taken scriptures like 2 Corinthians 6:17 (Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.'') and 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (abstain from all appearances of evil) completely out of context to justify a lifestyle that never engages the culture, that never confronts evil, that never enters the world. As a result we have a widespread Christian movement that is not truly "in the world."
Compounding matters, we have this sterile Christianity being practiced by a populace of people who are addicted to pornography, alcohol, drugs, and materialism, who are concerned only with themselves, and who act worse than those who we're claiming 'need the good news of Jesus Christ." What has developed is a malformed manifestation of Christianity that is "of the world but not in the world." This is the direct opposite of what we're supposed to do, and who we're supposed to be.
It's really not hard to understand why such separatist "sterile Chrisitianity" exists. If you think about it, it's just easier. If we just create a whole culture that looks Christian, smells Christian, feels, Christian, then it must be Christian, right? If we just create a world that seems safe, would earn the WWJD seal of approval, then everything within that world is good, and everything outside of that world is bad. Right?
The problem is, that's just bad theology. Jesus said it wasn't what enters a person that defiles, him, it was flows forth from a person that can show defilement, because it flows from the heart. Jesus was a carpenter. Peter was a fisherman. Paul was a tentmaker. They were unconcerned with adding religious adjectives to their titles. Jesus wasn't a Christian carpenter, a Jewish carpenter, or even a Messianic carpenter. Peter wasn't a Christian fisherman. What does that mean? He only caught Christian fish? Paul wasn't a Christian tentmaker. There is no such thing as a Christian tent. But in this day and age, we have Christian coffeehouses, Christian accounting firms, Christian schools, Christian daycare, Christian counseling centers, and so on, ad nauseam. We've determined that if we put this term 'Christian' in front of our occupation, in front of our business, then we're telling the world that God has sanctioned or blessed it, and that we're holy and the rest of the world is rotten and hellbound and can't be trusted. Unfortunately, it is in these very same environments raising the Christian banner, or with some of these very same people who wear the Christian badge, who demonstrate some of the most un-Christlike behavior and commit some of the most ungodly behavior. And in these cases, we find brands of Christianity that range from being "in the world and of the world" to being "neither in the world nor of the world."
And not only is 'sterile Christianity' just bad theology, its also horribly pharisaical. If we have a cut-and-dried list of what's good and bad, then I can be good if I just follow the list, and you will be bad if you don't do what you're supposed to. What can I watch on TV tonight? Seventh Heaven? Yep. On the list. Whew. The Sopranos. Not on the list. Uh oh. What can I listen to on the radio? Sean Hannity? Yes, he's catholic, but still on the list. Goody. Eminem? Definitely not on the list! Amy Grant? Umm, she used to be on the list, but now I'm not sure. I better not.
Do you see the problem here? We're becoming slave to some imaginary list. How many ear piercings is okay? Is a tattoo okay if says "Jesus Saves" in some cool-looking Oriental symbol? Who's writing the list? Who's editing it? What a mess! The reality is, grace plus anything is legalism. Grace minus anything is heresy. There is no such thing as a "yeah but" when you talk about grace. But we have taken this issue of living the Christian life and we have made it so externalized, so convoluted, so confusing that its enough to make you want to just go climb up on a mountain and sing hymns.
Unless they're not on the list any more, in which case you'd just sing praise choruses.
Tonight, we're joining three of our brothers in faith as they followed Jesus and took part in a very important meeting. We're going to be observers of that meeting, and recognize that this struggle isn't new to us, and we're going to learn some principles about what it truly means to be a Christ-follower. And for many of us tonight, this excerpt of God's Word is going to be exactly what He has prepared for us in the spirit of revival, because He is going to use this passage to lead us to repent of any false, pharisaic, externalized Christianity that has enslaved us in the past, so we will be freed and empowered to live grace-filled, internal Christianity that truly impacts our lost and dying world.
Our focus Scripture begins tonight in Luke chapter 9. This chapter of the physician's account of the life of Christ is actually pretty action-packed. In many ways, it is really the point in the earthly ministry of Jesus where things really start rolling. It is in this chapter where Jesus sends out the twelve apostles to preach the gospel, to cure diseases, and to have authority over demons. It is in this chapter where Jesus feeds the multitude of 5,000. This is the chapter where Jesus, for the first time, predicts his death and his resurrection. And it is also in this chapter where his apostle Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God. And our focus tonight in chapter nine is where Jesus reveals fully what it means that He is Messiah, and what it means to us to be followers of Messiah. Read with me the account, beginning in verse 28:
And it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. Then behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. And it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah'' not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!'' And when the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.
Here, we join Peter, James, and his brother John actively doing what we all are striving to do. Here, they are literally being followers of the Christ. I'm hopeful and expectant that this is your desire, too. You are here tonight because you consider yourself a follower of Christ. I hope you are a Christ-follower more than you are a Southern Baptist. I hope you are a follower of Christ more than you are a conservative, moderate, or liberal. I hope that your greatest desire in life is to follow behind the footsteps of Jesus, no matter where He leads. I hope nothing is more important to you that walking behind Jesus, in the path that He has set for you. Tonight, we look at the principles exhibited here that define such a walk. For some of us, this will be new, revolutionary news, and will serve to commission you on your journey. For others, it will be news that you know, but haven't followed for some time. And for you, tonight is truly a time for renewal, to reset your path, and to once again let Jesus assume the Lordship He rightfully possesses over you.
The first principle we see here is the principle of relationship. Peter, James, and John were invited to accompany Jesus as he went to pray. This is one of those verses that just slides off the tongue and is easily dismissed. But don't you dare do that! Don't you see what's going on here? Jesus has invited and intentionally included the three of these men as He goes to meet the Creator of the Universe, the Author of Life and Death, the Master Director of humanity's epic drama. Jesus has determined that these three guys were important enough to take home to meet His Dad.
Growing up, one of my good friends was a guy whose dad was the vice president of our local coal mine. They lived in one of the nicest homes. They had some of the nicest furnishings. But even more than that, the dad was one of the coolest dads because he treated you like a real person even though you weren't an adult. When I got to meet him, I felt special because I knew that meant I was a good friend, and because I just got to meet him.
Well, this is what Jesus was inviting these guys to be a part of, only exponentially more so. Jesus had determined that these three guys were good enough friends, that he had a close enough relationship with them that He was taking them to spend time with dad. But they didn't get it. They thought they were just climbing a mountain to pray.
You see, an externally-based religion is concerned with matters of prayer. It is worried about the logistics, the location, the legalities of prayer. But an internally-based relationship with God is based upon meeting the Father through the Son. It wasn't about what was said, when it was said, where it was said, or how it was said. What matters with a relationship is that time is being spent with God. It was about growing together. It was about learning more about God, and learning more about yourself through knowing more about Him.
And you know what, we don't have any more of a clue than these guys did. Roughly 2000 years after these guys said, "Jesus, teach us how to pray," we seem to be having the same troubles they did. We all recognize prayer is important, we'd all like to think that we're people of prayer, but statistics show that the average prayer lasts less than 5 minutes. We treat prayer like it is something we have to do rather than something we are privileged to do. We act like prayer is being made to go to the front of the class and write an answer on the chalkboard, than the treat and joy that it is because God thinks we're somebody special.
You see, until we grasp on to the truth that prayer is the means by which our relationship with the Father is most fruitfully developed, we will struggle with a myriad of lesser-important details. Until we prodigals recognize that we are in the proverbial pigpen and fall upon our faces in prayer and repent of our evil, wicked ways, we will toil. But if we seek the Father's face, we will see Him. If we strain our ears to hear His voice, we will find that still, small voice. If we turn our hearts toward a genuine, ongoing relationship with God, He will hear our prayers and heal our land.
Our prayer must become strategic and it must become pervasive. It must become the overriding priority of the church upon which every other priority is established. Prayer must not only become our priority, it must become our passion. We must get excited about prayer. We must do away with the "ughh, I've got to get up and go to the 6 AM prayer meeting" and replace it with the "Praise God, I get to go be with my brothers and sisters by faith and spend time with the Father!" Prayer must become our most well-attended, well-participated, most-sincere, most-sacrificial time of our individual and corporate lives. Not only must our prayer be our priority, and not only must it be passionate, it also must be pervasive. It must permeate every aspect of who we are. We need to develop the discipline of living in the Spirit through prayer. It means living in the reality of Romans 12:2, where every thought is taken captive and renewed as it passes through the filter of God's Holy Spirit of truth, accessed through prayer.
It's just this simple, and you can understand this if you are a parent. If the only time you heard from your children was when they wanted something, you'd be concerned. You likely would be hurt. And you likely would be reluctant to give them what they were asking, not because you don't love them, but because your relationship with them isn't what it should be and you don't trust that they even know what they're asking for, or if they understand why they're asking for it. And because the relationship is strained, if you don't give them what they ask for, they very likely will respond poorly because they don't understand you, much less your rationale. The same thing is true with us and our relationship with our heavenly Father. We know Him and understand Him better and better through prayer, and we can only really learn what it means to pray the will of God by spending time with Him developing that relationship with Him. The first principle of being a Christ-follower is the principle of relationship, and that relationship is best understood through the expression of prayer.
The second principle of being a Christ-follower is the principle of revelation. Listen to the Scripture:
And as He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. Then behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
One of the difficulties of an externally-important religion is this list that we've already talked about. We never know when the latest copy of the list is coming out. It's like going and buying a new computer with Windows XP, and going home to see a commercial of the new release of Windows XPIF (which stands for 'in your face!), and totally makes XP seem like an Model T in the age of Ferraris. You cannot live a victorious life according to religion because you will always be victim to the whims of an ever-changing culture. But when you are focused on a relationship with God as a follower of Christ, you will be privy to the wonderful blessing of revelation.
Just eight days earlier, Peter confessed Jesus was the Christ, the anointed and appointed Messiah of God. It wasn't until he followed Jesus to the top of mountain to pray that he saw the revelation of what that meant. Prior to this experience, Peter thought "messiah" simply meant the one God picked to overthrow the Romans and rule over Israel. So it was pretty easy to hitch his wagon to this rising star, if you get my drift. But on the mountain, the truth was revealed. Only now did Peter receive the blessing of being shown who Jesus really is, in His fullness.
And do you want to know the key to revelation? It's right here. It's prayer. As Jesus prayed, the appearance of His face was altered. His robe became white and glistening. Moses and Elijah (remember them) showed up, appearing in glory, and the three of them talked of his impending death which He was about to accomplish.
Man, this Scripture gets me excited because it shows us the potential of prayer! Prayer is where we leave the carnal and enter the divine. Prayer is where we see things as they really are. Prayer is where the things of this world pass away, and we are in the presence of our High and Holy God. Prayer is where our terminal vision gives way to an eternal perspective.
Does this encounter describe your prayer life? It should. Prayer is designed not to change God, but to change us. It isn't meant to strongarm God, it is designed to align us to Him. Prayer - communion with God - occurs only in the throne room of God, no matter where you are on this earth. When you are in prayer, you are in glory! Live in that reality! When you are in prayer, you are at His throne of grace! Live in that reality! When you are in prayer, your short term wants are reshaped and conformed to God's eternal plan! Live in that reality!
Prayer was never designed to be an experience where you just walk away feeling like you did before you began. It is impossible to pray in the Spirit of God and leave feeling like you knocked on the door and nobody answered. But too many of us avoid our Wednesday prayer meetings or spend less than five minutes a day because we are ritualistically, mechanically, carnally, going through the law of prayer. There is no revelation because there is no relationship.
Friends, we need to let prayer consume us, so we may receive the revelation of God. Prayer is the dwelling place of faith. Prayer is where you see with eyes not made for this world. Prayer is where you receive the will of God and believe the ways of God. Prayer is where you connect with the Almighty, the Omniscient, the Omnipresent. It's not done in committee meetings. It's not done in council meetings. Its' not done in deacons meetings. It's not done anywhere else except on your knees and on your faces. When you pray don't be too proud to fall to your knees. Don't be too tough to fall upon your face. Don't be too macho to cry. Prayer is not about how well you speak. Prayer is not about how you appear. Prayer is where you enter the presence of God Himself. Holy. Radiant. Eternal. And He in His majesty is graceful enough to allow you to be with Him. This is the revelation offered to those who are true followers of the Christ.
The third principle of being a Christ-follower is that of refinement. Continue reading with me:
But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. And it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah'' not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!'' And when the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.
Despite all that Christ had allowed Peter, James, and John to be a part of, they really hadn't put it all together. It was as though they didn't appreciate what they were witnessing. They had just been invited by God in the Flesh to enter the throne room of heaven. Yawn! They had just seen Christ in His glory, talking with the two biggest heroes of their faith, and their response was alarmingly…human!
You see, what we read about Peter's reaction is entirely common to what we do all the time. Peter has just witnessed a tremendously spiritual event. He was in the glory of God, seeing Christ stripped of the human restraints. He observed the ultimate power meeting where Jesus was talking with the long dead patriarch Moses and the long dead prophet Elijah about His plan to sacrificially die for all of humanity. Upon this, Peter did what most Christians today would do. He tried to take a spiritual experience and make it religious.
He said, "this is great. Let's set up three tents here. One for you, because you're obviously important, with all the shining radiance. But one, too, each for Moses and Elijah. Then we can all just camp here, away from the world and just bask in this good time."
There are all kinds of guesses on why Peter made this suggestion. I guess one day, we'll know, if the Lord determines it was important. But until then, I'll just share a bit of what I believe about the matter. I think one reason why he suggested it was because he was trying to earn points with the 'big guy.' Peter knew about the religious power system of his day. He wanted to be a part of the power structure when Jesus assumed leadership. Remember, he was one of those ones just a little later who would be arguing about who was the greatest. But now, it just made sense to throw out a statement like, "boy, I'd sure like to pitch a tent for you three, so we three can worship you three. Wouldn't that be great? Yeah, that'd definitely be great. Just remember it was my idea."
We're guilty of the same things. We, just like Peter, think that there are things we can do to impress Jesus. Some people come to church because they are convinced, though they'd never admit it, that Jesus will somehow be impressed with their great attendance record. Some people get involved with a particular ministry not because they are called to it, but because religion says "that's what a good Christian is supposed to do." Some people, over time, end up creating or worshipping things that are somewhat about Jesus, but aren't Jesus. Things like order of worship end up getting worshipped (how could they have the offering at the end of worship? It's supposed to be right after the second song. Everybody knows that). Things like apostles end up getting worshipped (how dare I say Peter had greedy ambitions?!?). Things like programs getting worshipped (I can't believe we're not doing a passion play this year. We've done a passion play for 22 years!). Things like organization gets worshipped (there's no way we're going to split this class, we've been in the same class for 22 years, and we ain't changing now!).
Another reason why Peter made this request is because he really wanted it. You see, this is how that religious subculture gets started. Peter was in the presence of the three most important spiritual figures of his life. Wouldn't it be great just to make a dwelling there and never leave it. If people cared enough, they'd find it. And if they didn't, so what - at least he had!
And we do the same thing. We create this super structure in a church and we fall in love with it and it becomes our culture. And it feels so good because we have lots of studies about Jesus. We sing songs about Jesus. When we eat food, we're eating with people who believe in Jesus. And this manifestation of church is so close to the real thing that we convince ourselves that is the real thing and we are amazingly content about it because it is so wonderfully….religious. Admit it. It's a pretty powerful, righteousness-inducing feeling when you know that people recognize you as a 'religious person.' Your neighbors all know you'll be getting up and going to church on Sunday evening. They know you'll be heading out on Wednesday night. They know that if there's a question about Christian conflict, you'd be able to give your two cents on the matter.
But see, here's the catch. God takes the time to refine Peter of his errors. God took this wonderfully spiritual moment that Peter was unwittingly trying to make religious, and He overshadowed them with a cloud. What this says to me is that God took this matter quite seriously and dealt with it incredibly severely. He induced the fear of Him into them and then He spoke. And when He spoke He made two points amazingly clear:
He said, "This is my beloved Son, hear Him." He's making clear is that a relationship with God is all about Jesus. It's not about church. Church is a gift to facilitate your relationship with Jesus. When church begins to replace your relationship with Jesus, it's important to know that God will not bless nor tolerate that idolatry. It's not about traditions, either. Tradition is just a justifying word for ritual, and ritual is just a justifying word for idolatry. When the ritual or tradition becomes more important that the object of that tradition, it has replaced it. I was just with a group of men who were talking about some neat things going on in their church. One man started sharing about how men from his clown ministry led their church through the Lord's supper, while in their clown outfits. Others in that group were aghast, because they felt like it was sacrilegious to wear a read nose while handing out the bread. But as the man shared, he talked not just about the mechanics of the ceremony, but of the prayer that preceded it, and the general tone of authentic worship that defined it. Then he talked about how in the first time of 45 years of being a believer, he had seen a person - actually seven persons - get saved during the Lord's supper!
God also says "hear Him." If it's all about Jesus, then listen to Him. Obey Him. Elsewhere in Scripture Jesus asks, "why do you call me Lord, and not do what I say?" We do such a good job of complicating a very simple procedure. Do you want to live the faith life? Focus on Jesus. And obey Him. All these other matters will take care of themselves. It's not about church attendance, or tithing, or serving, or anything else, in and of itself in each of those matters. It's about Jesus. If you focus on Him and obey Him, everything will take care of itself. Peter needed that refinement. And so do we. Some people might call it being rebuked. Okay. God rebukes us because He loves us. The Bible says so. I'd like to think of it as refining, though. God caring enough to strip away the impurities in my life that keep me away from the simple faith tasks of focusing on Jesus and obeying Him. The third principle of being a Christ-follower is the principle of refinement.
Finally, the fourth principle is the principle of responsibility. Read these last words with me:
But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.
We don't have to spend much time here, because the point is simple. Being a Christ-follower means having to come off the mountaintop. When Peter, James, and John came off the mountain, following Jesus, what did they find? A great multitude waiting for Him. A relationship with Jesus was never meant to be experienced apart from this multitude of humanity that waits for Him.
The book of Luke continues for another 15 chapters. And most scholars agree that it is really just part one of two, and is completed with the book of Acts. And the reality is that the book of Acts is really just the beginning of the work that continues today. If you are a Christ-follower, you have a responsibility to meet the needs of this multitude that is waiting on the miraculous, ministering touch of Jesus Christ. You are not allowed to live your Christianity secluded behind these walls. You are not allowed to experience the fullness of this relationship by never leaving your pew. Remember, Jesus said that whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me. Christianity is not a subculture designed to be separated from this world. Christianity must no longer describe you. It must begin to define you.
Now is the time to assess this label "Christian" you're wearing. Is it just a label to justify self-righteousness? Is it an expression of your religiosity? Is it hindering you from experiencing the true relationship God has planned for you with His Son, Jesus the Christ?
Now is the time to live the life of the Christ-follower, according to the principles He set forth. Principles of relationship. Of Revelation. Of Refinement. Of Responsibility. May this be so, that you may begin living the abundant life promised to you by God Himself.
big brother
following the presurfer's announcement, I went to google and began typing in random phone numbers in the ***-***-**** format. Using my known prefix and area code from growing up, I located the phone number of a former high school English teacher, a former classmate, and learned who was assigned Kelli's old phone number.
ain't technology grand?
ain't technology grand?
a thousand words
I first saw this picture in the Atlanta Journal Constitution a couple weeks ago, and wanted to find it for blogdom.
and am now pleased to share it via blogs4god. text reads: God is still at work, as depicted in the picture to the left where Private First Class David Kurns being baptized by Task Force Chaplain Captain Ron Cooper, left, and 1st Lieutenant Brian Case, right, in the desert north of Kuwait City,Wednesday, March 12.
God Bless America!
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