Meeting Jesus - Happy Hearts

In this passage of scripture, Jesus heals 10 lepers, but only one of those lepers returned to demonstrate how grateful and thankful he was. If you are a follower of Jesus, you realize we have so much to be thankful for…but even if you are not a follower of Jesus – you still have so much to be thankful for.

Did you know that you are among the wealthiest 25% on the planet?  I know that with inflation, rising interest rates, cost of housing…you may not feel like the wealthiest people on the planet…

I read an article that said the cost of food had risen 18% in most of the USA since 2020. Most of us don’t feel like we are. Often, we focus and zero in on what we do not have and fail to truly appreciate what we do have. I believe the passage today will speak to us and help us develop Happy Hearts.

Let’s Read:

Luke 17:11-19 (NLT2) 

11  As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12  As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13  crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14  He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. 15  One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16  He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. 17  Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18  Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19  And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.” 

Leprosy was a terrible disease. The moment it was discovered a person had leprosy, their clothes, bedding, and possessions were destroyed in a fire. A lepers family and community would disown and shun them for the rest of their lives. To survive, they would often join a group of lepers, huddle together for warmth during the cold nights, and beg for food. As they hobbled along the road they would ring a bell and yell, “Unclean!  Unclean!”  to warn people to stay clear of them. And their condition grew worse and worse they grew a bit more grotesque and diseased every day.  

In their leper colonies, they watched each other literally rot away, losing fingers, toes, limbs. Lose their eyesight, go deaf and eventually they would watch each other die.

Can you imagine what it was like for them to be shunned by their own family and children, and watch families interact with each other?   

• To see mothers caring for their babies. 

• Father and sons walking back home after a hard days work in the fields or on the boats. 

• To watch families walking to the synagogue to worship.

As those lepers watched families interact with one another, I imagine they longed for what they once had:

To again hear the words, “Daddy!” at the end of the day. To feel their children’s arms, hug their legs, and cling on longer for a ride. To sit down for a meal with their family…or to just hear the words,  “I love you.”  

Together we see them standing at a distance as Jesus entered the village. Grotesque. Smelly. Hobbling. In unison they raised their weakened voices in the air and cried: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

So Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests at the temple. (The Priests at the temple were the only ones who could declare a Leper healed and their declaration would allow them to return to their families and society.) Maybe one by one as they were walking they realized they had been healed. Maybe one was able to walk without pain. Maybe one of their stumpy legs grew a foot. Maybe one was able to hear his feet shuffling down the rock path. They must have dreamed of waking up one day to find that they were no longer, UNCLEAN but CLEAN!

Now, they would be able to reunite with their family, their spouses, their children. Now, they would be able to rejoin society and begin to work with their hands. They would be able to walk the streets and make eye-contact with strangers again without the stranger turning away or gagging at their appearance and smell. They were ready to hold their families and celebrate!

As a forgiven follower of Jesus, you understood the pain of your sin and how your sin separated you from God, and prevented you from enjoying relationships with others.

So,

REFLECT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH GRATITUDE

Luke 17:16 (NLT2) 

16  He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. 

So far in the Gospel of Luke, every time somebody was healed by Jesus…they celebrate! They fall at his feet, they leap and dance, they shout out loud…but nine of these men failed to return even to say, “Thank you.”  

So the reminder for us, as God blesses you in your everyday life: 

Whether God blesses you through a meal with your family, hugs around your legs, a paycheck, leftovers in the refrigerator…Simply be thankful. God has blessed you more than 75-92% of the population of the world. Before you ask him for something else…tell Him thank you.  

If you have received forgiveness for your sins…try to imagine what your life would have been like had it not been for Jesus changing you. What direction would your life have taken if you had never surrendered your life to Jesus?

Think about that for a moment. When you are forgiven for your sins, you were given a new direction in your life. Jesus changed the direction of these men, and he changed the direction of your life as well.

Through the forgiveness of sins, Jesus made you a new person. He gave you new desires, new hopes, new dreams, new passions, new determination. New power. So, live this new life with gratitude because…

A LACK OF GRATITUDE IS DESTRUCTIVE AND SELFISH

Luke 17:17-18 (NLT) 

17  Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18  Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

These nine men had spent years focused on their disease. When their disease disappeared, they focused on their healing. They did not focus on the one who healed them.  And that is what Jesus found disappointing. We have a tendency to do the same thing. We focus on the BLESSING God provides, but we do not focus on GOD. Followers of Jesus ought to live with a spirit of THANKFULNESS and GRATITUDE to GOD.

The apostle Paul wrote a letter to followers of Jesus in Rome, and in his letter he described why some people rejected the truth about Jesus.

Romans 1:21-22, 24(NLT) 

21  Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired…

Living with gratitude toward God is a path toward blessing. Living with ingratitude is a path toward destruction. Because of ingratitude God abandoned these people. Because of ingratitude their minds became dark and confused.

As a parent, we teach our kids to be polite and to say “Thank you.” We try to show them what it means to live with gratitude. And we understand that gratitude is a HEART thing. Just because my kids say, “Thank you.” it doesn’t mean they really are. 

If you want to destroy a relationship with a spouse, family member, coworker…Never say “Thank You.”  

Never show GRATITUDE.  

NEVER show appreciation for what they do.  Let them feel unloved.  

A lack of gratitude in your life is selfish and destructive and will come back to destroy you.

And even if you have nothing. No material possessions. No money in your checking account. No food on the table…

Remember:

FORGIVENESS IS ENOUGH REASON TO LIVE THANKFULLY

Jesus said, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?” Then Jesus told the one that had returned to get up and begin his journey to the temple. So, what did Jesus do the other nine? 

Did he say, “Fine, you aren’t going to thank me?  I’ll give you LEPROSY again.”

He didn’t take away the toes he had returned. He didn’t take the foot back.

Jesus did not return to the Leprosy to the nine ungrateful men.

This should remind us that even when we are at our worst after salvation – Jesus does not take away our salvation.  Once you have surrendered your life to Jesus, you are always forgiven for your sins!

The apostle Paul writes about God’s Grace in our lives even when we are at our worst:

Romans 8:38-39 (NLT) 

38  And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NOTHING can ever separate you from God. God’s grace is a LIFE-CHANGING LOVE. You can’t be bad enough to shake it. You can’t be good enough to earn it.  If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, nothing in all of creation will ever separate you from God’s love. 

Even when you and I are at our worst, God still loves. So live thankfully. Live with gratitude.

In the few moments after  Kristy and I said “I DO” and were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Donahue…

Kristy and I exited the Worship Center, turned the corner, and we were alone, I looked at her, pulled her tight and close, and began to sob. I was overwhelmed that she married me! I didn’t feel lovable.  

Yet she loved me and had just committed to remain at my side for better or worse, in sickness and in health, until the day we are separated by death.  She could have married anybody else, but she chose me. Her love humbled me and created a debt of gratitude in my heart.  

With these nine men, Jesus loved them so much that even though the nine did not return to give thanks, they still lived under the influence of grace and mercy for the remainder of their days.

You can experience that type of grace and mercy today.  Just as the 10 Lepers were changed on the outside, you can be forgiven for your sins and transformed on the inside.

Meeting Jesus - Lessons From The Dead

We will be examining the story of a homeless man in Luke 16, and I am reminded about a man I met several years ago.

He had long shaggy hair, a crazy long beard, and loose camouflage clothes. Almost daily, I would drive past him walking along the highway on the edge, typically in the grass, and picking up aluminum cans.  I went to Sonic to grab lunch, and he was sitting at one of the outdoor tables and counting his change. I pressed the red Sonic button to order then asked him what he would like to eat, because lunch was on me. His face lit up.  He walked over, leaned into the voice on the speaker, and ordered a double cheeseburger with onion rings and a sweet tea.

I sat with him at one of the picnic tables and we ate lunch and talked together.

Here are some of the surprising details I recall about him:

-His name is Joseph.  (His name was most likely the only thing he told me that was rooted in reality.)

-Next, he told me he was Fidel Castro’s brother. And, during the Cuban Missel crisis, he sided with the USA, so Fidel stopped speaking to him. 

-He told me he was a soldier. He fought in WW1, WW2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Afghanistan.

-He told me he lived in an apartment with his girlfriend.  He collects cans, but sometimes he gets cheated by the recycling place. He doesn’t cuss at them…but he gets very angry.

-He told me he was going to be a Priest.  

-Then he told me that all of his sons are Priests…and he told me all of his daughters are Priests.

His words were difficult to understand.  In the 90-degree heat, his odor was …uncomfortable. But he was really glad that I had noticed him…and really happy to have a conversation with somebody. At the end of our lunch, I told him he was the youngest-looking WW1 veteran I had ever seen!

Joseph never asked for money.

He never asked for help.

He never threatened me. 

But as he talked, I gathered that he had some type of mental illness. I couldn’t solve Joseph’s major struggles that morning. I couldn’t take away his confused mental state. I gave him some food and listened to his story. I laughed when he tried to be funny.  

And as I was driving away, the Spirit of God whispered into my heart:

“You noticed him.”  

He didn’t blend in with the landscape.  He was a person.  God created him and God cared for him deeply. In Luke 16, we see a man a lot like Joseph.

Luke 16:19-31 (NLT2) 

19  Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20  At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21  As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. 22  “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 23  and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. 24  “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ 25  “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26  And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’ 27  “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28  For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’ 29  “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’ 30  “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’ 31  “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’” 

Real quick: Jesus was not teaching that to go to heaven; you have to be poor with dogs licking your wounds. And he was not teaching that rich people go to hell. However, I believe the rich man had a few sins that you and I should to avoid in our lives to ensure we do not turn out like him.

The first sin we should learn to avoid is:

The absence of compassion when need was clear

“As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. 25  “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing…”

This man was extremely wealthy. He had a large house that had its own courtyard and a gate. He feasted on massive meals every day. 

And Lazarus had nothing.  

No home.  

No family. 

No table.  

No food.  

He was so weak that he didn’t stop the dogs from licking his sores.  Lazarus was a pitiful picture of humanity. He longed for the scraps of food from the rich man’s table.

Context, 2,000 years ago, people ate with their hands. Forks, knives, and spoons did not exist, so they ate everything with their hands.  My kids would have loved that! When their hands would get messy they wiped their hands on bread, then they threw the bread onto the floor. The “scrap” that fell from the table that Lazarus longed for was the bread used as napkins to clean gravy, potatoes, grease, and crumbs from the fingers of the rich. 

But Lazarus was too weak to collect bread. Day after day, Lazarus lay at the gate, malnourished, covered in sores, and alone. The rich man stepped over Lazarus on his way in and out of the courtyard of his house. He never noticed Lazarus. For him, Lazarus simply blended into the background. Sadly, sometimes people around us blend into the landscape to and go unnoticed. 

Maybe they blend in at work. Coworkers you pass every day. They blend into their office, the hallway, their cubicle.

Or, maybe you have family that blend into the landscape at home. You don’t speak to them. You don’t talk to them. They blend in.

If you are a follower of Jesus, meaning you believe that Jesus paid the price for your sin on the cross, and you surrendered your life to God by trusting Jesus as your Savior.  You have been forgiven for your sins, and you now have a relationship with God, then, you are God’s chosen one.  As God's chosen people, we are called to show heartfelt compassion to others.

The rich man had an absence of compassion when the need of Lazarus was clear. So, grow in compassion. Ask God to help you see more clearly the people in your home, workplace, and family. Demonstrate to them that they are more than scenery; show them compassion.

The second sin of the rich man for us to avoid is this:

He wanted pity yet never apologized.

We see in this passage that even in death, the Rich man believed that Lazarus was inferior to him in every way. Out of respect for Abraham, he said “Father Abraham”. Look again at the conversation, and look at the way he spoke to Abraham, and the way he talked “around” Lazarus:

Luke 16:24 (NLT2) 

24  “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’

Luke 16:27 (NLT2) 

27  “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home.

Luke 16:30 (NLT2) 

30  “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’ 

The rich man respected and honored Abraham, and still treated Lazarus like a beggar or a servant.

Send Lazarus.

Send him.

If someone is sent.

He didn’t speak to Lazarus to apologize for overlooking him. He didn’t address Lazarus as a man.  Rather, to the rich man, Lazarus was still a nobody. He was a nobody to the Rich Man in life, and he was a nobody to the rich man in death. Even while the Rich man burned in eternal life – he clung to his sin of pride. He wanted pity, but he never apologized.

Do you have somebody at your work, in school, or home?

Don’t be like the rich man. See them.

Be genuinely sorry for the way you have treated them.  

Ask for their forgiveness and apologize.

And the final sin we observe of the rich man:

He knew the truth but made no application

Look at Luke 16:30 again. 

Luke 16:30 (NLT2) 

30  “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’ 

The rich man knew that the only way to heaven was for a person to repent of his sins and turn to God. Yet, while he lived, he chose to ignore the truth and make no application to his life. He refused to accept the life-changing truth of God’s Word.  He refused to read and apply God’s word to his life. This is the kind of man you would carry a Bible to church but never applied what it said. And then, it was too late. 

Do you struggle with obeying God’s Word?  

Do you apply what the bible says about Eternal Life?  

Do you apply what the bible says about forgiveness?  

Do you apply what the bible teaches about compassion?

If you want to experience JOY in this life and for all eternity, read and apply what Moses wrote!  Obey the Life-Changing truth of God’s Word.

Heaven is very real.  Hell is very real. Don’t be fooled by your wealth, and don’t be fooled by your poverty. Rich and poor will only get to Heaven by accepting Jesus as their Savior. 

About Eternal Life and Forgiveness, God’s Word says this:

John 14:6 (NLT2) 

6  Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Romans 10:9 (NLT2) 

9  If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

If you are ready to surrender your life to Jesus, you can do it right now. Here is a prayer to help guide you. There is nothing magical about these words, but can help you start a conversation with God about your salvation.

Dear God, I am ready to surrender my life to you.  

I believe Jesus paid the price for my sin on the cross, 

that he died, was buried, rose from the dead, and one day he will return.

I surrender my life to you and accept Jesus as my Savior. 

Help me to follow you every day of my life.

Amen.

Meeting Jesus - Faithful In All Things

Out of all the parables, out of all the stories that Jesus tells – the story we are going to take a look at today has the highest likelihood that as we read it, you ask yourself – “What?”  It sounds confusing at the first read, and the tenth read. But Jesus point is clear, and it is my hope and prayer that you will be challenged by this passage as I have been. I am the main cook in the house.  Almost daily, I cook breakfast – Kristy packs the girls their lunches for school, and I cook dinner.  That is a rhythm that we have found works great for our family.  I like to smoke and grill foods, bake in the oven…

And for a family of six, I have to cook quite a bit of food, and I love to be creative and invent new dishes to introduce to our kids.  For instance, in one week I introduced them to spicy baked chicken thighs which went well, and smothered pork chops in rice that did not go so well.

When the new dish does not go so well, inevitably I will hear, “I’m not hungry…”  or “yuk.”

If I had sat down at the table with my grandmother and complained about the meal she had prepared, she would have jumped up, cleared the table, and told me, “Well, I guess you don’t get any food then…”

My Nana lived during the Great Depression. She not only learned the value of a dollar, but she also learned how to reinvent leftovers.  She would turn today’s fried chicken, green beans, and rolls into tomorrow’s casserole. As much as I would like to say, “That’s what I do.”  It’s not.  We store the leftovers in the refrigerator…and shuffle things around…then forget what’s in there…and eventually throw it away.

Sometimes it feels like we throw away more food than we eat!

Jesus told a story about a man fired for wasting resources that did not belong to him.  Let’s read this account in Luke 16

Luke 16:1-13 (NLT2) 

1  Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. 2  So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’ 3  “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. 4  Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’ 5  “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ 6  The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’ 7  “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’ 8  “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9  Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. 10  “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11  And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12  And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? 13  “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 

This parable is difficult to understand fully.  In most of the other Parables or stories that Jesus told, God is represented by one of the characters: 

God is the shepherd searching for his lost sheep. God is the Father waiting for his son to return.

Or – the lost coin represents a relationship with God.

But in this parable – everyone is bad. It might be helpful to think of the rich man like the Godfather. If a person needs a little help? They go to the Godfather. They need more olive oil for their business? They go to the Godfather. They need more wheat for their bakery? They go to the Godfather…

But he doesn’t help just to be nice.  He lends to get paid back with a high interest.

But the Godfather can’t do it alone, so he hires somebody to help manage, but the manager starts wasting money.  And when he learns he is going to be fired, he makes back-room deals to protect himself. You owe the Godfather 800 gallons of olive oil?  Now it's 400. You owe 1,000 bushels of wheat?  Now it’s 800.

The manager makes deals with those who owe the Godfather money so that after he loses his job, they will owe him and take care of him.  The manager was setting himself up as a Godfather! He was dishonestly using money that did not belong to him to make friends so that when he was fired, he would have places to live.

The Godfather – admires the actions of his manager – because that is precisely what he would have done in that situation. This parable was not being directed toward the Pharisees and religious leaders. Jesus was telling this story to his disciples.

And the first point I want you to understand is that followers of Jesus are to…

Use earthly possessions to bless others temporarily and eternally (v. 9)

Luke 16:9 (NLT2) 

9  Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. 

Jesus is not teaching that we can buy our way into heaven.  We know that forgiveness for sins only comes through faith.  Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” And, you cannot pay for other people to get into heaven. But – you can use your resources to give you an open door to share the good news of Jesus with others.

If you choose to tip your server $100 for a $15 meal and tell them about Jesus or invite them to church – they may be more prone to listen to you…

See, there are ways that you can use your resources to bless others in this world temporarily and there are ways you can bless others eternally. The term resources indicate more than “money”. It is everything you have at your fingertips that you can manage. Use your resources from a big picture perspective.  

Use your extra room to bless people who need a place to stay.

Use your spare vehicle to bless families who need transportation.

Use a portion of your business to bless others who could use some help.

And – as you live out your faith in Jesus through giving generously of your resources, God will use your generosity to point to his generosity toward forgiveness and a relationship with Him. So, understanding that God can use your resources to lead others to a life-changing relationship with Jesus, I have to ask you a question:

Do you live with an open hand or a clutched fist?

Luke 16:10-12 (NLT2) 

10  “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11  And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12  And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

Do you cling tightly to the worldly wealth that God has given you?  Do you turn a blind eye to those around you who are hurting and in need?

As a follower of Jesus, if you truly want God to use you to “love your neighbor as yourself,” then consider they ways he has positioned you to use your resources to bless others. I am part of an online community that builds and teaches others to build “artificial pancreas systems” for people with Type One Diabetes.  

Developers who are gifted with knowing how to write and develop code have hacked the technology in insulin pumps and rewrites the code so that Insulin pumps read blood sugar levels directly from a Glucose Monitoring System and increases or decreases the amount of insulin needed to control the blood sugar levels all by itself.

If the blood sugar is predicted to go low, the pump stops giving insulin.

If the blood sugar is predicted to go high, the pump gives more insulin.

These developers voluntarily spend hours developing this technology for FREE.  No Charge.  They choose to use their resources to bless other people. How they choose to use their resources may not matter to you, but for my family, their use of resources has changed our lives. And now, in my spare time, I voluntarily help other families hack their insulin pumps and rewrite the code so that their kiddos can live a healthier life. Living life clutching your resources is going to stress you out – so choose to live with an open hand. Give to others, help others as you can, and use whatever resources God has entrusted to you, to bless and help the world around you.

Because,

Your management reflects your relationship with God

Luke 16:13 (NLT2) 

13  “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Jesus is teaching you and I that how we manage the resources God has entrusted us directly reflects our relationship with God. It is clear that the manager had been unfaithful in the little things of the Rich Man’s business, and then he was unfaithful in the large, backroom deals too. If God matters more in our lives than our resources, people around us are going to see God’s love flowing out of our lives. If we are faithful in the little things, God is going to trust us with more responsibility.  

So, strive to be faithful in all things.

Meeting Jesus - Returning to God

The witness protection program fascinates me:  A key informant that is aware of terrible crimes of others (and perhaps themselves) is given a new identity for cooperating with federal authorities.  They are given a:

• New occupation.   

• New address.  

• New name.  

• New background.   

• New birth certificate.  

• New Social security number.  

• And in rare instances, a new family. 

Yet – many of those individuals are not just key witnesses: most of them are CRIMINALS who eventually use their new identity to set-up a new life of crime!  For instance;

Henry Hill was in the program. Because he refused to continue to commit crimes. He and his family were relocated 10 times. And was eventually busted for selling two pounds of cocaine to undercover DEA agents. 

Joseph Barboza was a mobster who turned on his crime family and cooperated with the Government.  In the Witness Protection program, he was relocated to Santa Rosa, California where he enrolled in a culinary arts school, killed more people and was sentenced to Folsom Prison.

Some people can be handed a new life – but they cannot leave their old life behind… 

Today, we are going to look at the story of the Prodigal Son – but rather than focusing on the returning’s son past – we are going to look at the New Identity he was given and its application for you and I. In Luke 15:1, the religious leaders were complaining about Jesus spending time with ‘tax collectors and sinners” so, in response, Jesus told them this story about the Prodigal son. 

Luke 15:11-23 (NLT2) 

11  To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12  The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 13  “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14  About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15  He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16  The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. 17  “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18  I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19  and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ 20  “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21  His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ 22  “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23  And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast…

First, we must understand…

THE STORY ILLUSTRATES OUR RETURN TO GOD.

The SON was EVERYTHING the RELIGIOUS people hated about the type of people Jesus spent time with.   

He was a DRUNK.

He threw wild parties. 

He squandered his money.

He rejected his family.

He rejected his community.

Towards the end of his wild living, he was homeless and poor.

He returned home empty-handed.

RELIGIOUS PEOPLE THOUGHT: “Why would a HOLY GOD want ANYTHING to do with this type of person?” 

 But the Father in this story, was so happy that his son returned.  He CELEBRATED by throwing a party with feasting, loud music, and dancing.   

And, if you have already returned to God…by that I mean, if like the son, you had a moment where you realized that God loved you after you rejected His path for your life, and you understood his plans are not to harm but to help you and give you a great future. You believed God proved his love for you through Jesus paying the price for your sins on the cross, that Jesus died, rose from the dead, and one day he is going to return, and you surrendered your life to Jesus…God is HAPPY you have returned to Him! 

You may have been a drunk, had dozens of sexual partners, wasted your money, rejected your family, had a long season of wild living, and hurt other people… But now because of God’s unconditional love, you have returned to God and have been changed.

God is happy you have returned home to him! 

If you relate more to the son that walked away from his father, than the son that stayed at home. Welcome to the club.

God unconditionally loves all of those who have wandered away. And God celebrated when you returned home. But before the party began, the Father gave the son significant gifts that helped establish the son’s identity, and God wants you to understand the new identity He has given to you. We see in this passage that the father gave his returning son:

A robe, a ring, sandals, and a calf. 

And…

THE GIFTS ILLUSTRATE LIFE-CHANGE

There is no doubt that son left his father’s house in fancy clothes, but his fancy clothes were now nothing but rags that smelled like manure from the pig farm. He stunk!   (Dad runs to meet his son, embraces him, and catches a whiff of manure all over him!). Wouldn’t a nice bath, and some fresh clothes be just as good and make more sense than ruining the finest robe in the house? A bath would make sense, but that is not what the father wanted to communicate.   

You see, 

THE ROBE RESTORED IDENTITY & INHERITENCE 

In Hebrew Culture – the finest ROBE in the house belonged to the father. The only person that would ever wear the father’s robe IS the Father.  The robe belonged to the head of the household. But, when the dad died, the firstborn son would receive the Father’s robe.

In this story, there was an older son, and a younger son. The youngest son is the son that left. By placing the robe on his youngest son, the father communicated that his identity and inheritance had been restored. No questions asked! All the neighbors and the community knew how the son had rejected his father and brought shame to the family. It was a betrayal.  As far as the family and friends knew, the son would be shunned. But by the time they arrived and saw the son, what did they see?  Would they see the son in filthy smelling rags?  

NOT IF THE DAD had anything to do with it!   

The dad communicated that going forward, his son’s identity would not be formed through his  rejection of his father.  From now on whenever people would see the son in the robe, it was as though they were seeing the father! His past would not be his identity. If you are a follower of Jesus, God does not define you by your past sins. God sees you through the lens of forgiveness. You are heirs to His throne!

Romans 8:17 (NLT2)

17  And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Galatians 4:7 (NLT2) 

7  Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Then, the father then gave him a RING for his finger. And…

THE RING RESTORED AUTHORITY

In the Hebrew Culture, presenting a ring to someone was a sign of great affection and symbolic of receiving great authority. In Genesis, Joseph, as a reward for interpreting Pharaoh's dream, was made his second-in-command. Signaling to all of Egypt that Joseph had authority over Egypt, Pharaoh gave Joseph his ring.  (Genesis 41:42 (NLT2))

The Hebrew culture understood the significance of a RING… 

After squandering what the dad had worked for, dad gave him authority over the household by giving him his ring! 

This was not because the son was trustworthy. It was not because the son had proven himself.  It was only because his father chose to demonstrate genuine forgiveness. With the gift of the ring the father was telling the servants:  

“He has AUTHORITY over you.  If he asks you to do something, do it as though I was asking you.  

The father was not going to doubt the son’s repentance.  His forgiveness was complete, immediate, and total. He treated his son as though he had never sinned!

As a follower of Jesus, God has restored your authority to be involved with the family business. You have authority to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. You have authority to defeat the demonic powers at work in this world that seek to keep people trapped in isolation, loneliness, confusion, and despair.

You have authority to pick up the sword of life-changing truth of God’s Word, apply it to your life, live in freedom, and lead others to freedom. And the third gift the father gave to his son, was a pair of sandals for his feet. 

THE SANDALS RESTORED RESPONSIBILITY

The son returned to his daddy – with no shoes on his feet.  

Slaves did not have sandals. 

Servants did not have sandals. 

Going barefoot was often a sign of shame or poverty. 

So before anybody saw his son in this shameful state, the father immediately ordered that his son receive a pair of sandals on his feet. His father was not going to let people treat him like a slave. He was not HOMELESS. He was a MEMBER of the FAMILY and like every member of a FAMILY – he had RESPONSIBILITY!  The father was communicating for the third and final time that his son was NOT a second-class family member.  HE HAD A RESPONSIBILITY to the FAMILY. And with the shoes, son, it is time for you to be responsible.

As a follower of Jesus, you are part of God’s family, and you have a responsibility.

I want to mention one of the ministries of our church that you may have a responsibility to fulfill.  Our church is unique in that every Sunday morning, children with special needs are lovingly served by amazing adults. Moms and Dads of children with special needs are able to come to our worship services and enjoy worship and connection with other people and know that their children with special needs are being cared for.  

If you are interested in being approved and getting involved with that ministry, please stop by Guest Central, complete a connect card, and let them know you want to serve with BEACH BUDDIES!

And finally,

THE CALF ILLUSTRATES CELEBRATION

Just as his dad was happy to welcome his son back home…when you read this passage in the future, I want you to remember that It made God HAPPY to bring you into his family!

Ephesians 1:5 (NLT) 

5  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.  

If you have trusted in Jesus and have become a follower of Jesus, God did not accept you into his family begrudgingly. He does not have one hesitant thought like…Maybe not him…Maybe not her…They have been really, really, bad. In this story, we see God’s attitude toward all those who have turned away from the world and turned to God. 

He celebrates. Angel’s dance. God sings. And God’s people rejoice.

Meeting Jesus - Celebrating Forgiveness

Today, we are going to look at the story Jesus told about a man who went out searching for one of his lost sheep. If you remember getting lost as a child, you probably remember being a bit scared. 

Once my family was camping in a state park and at night, I got lost. I had spent all day swimming in the lake…and I stayed too long in the water…I left after it had started to get dark, and I got disoriented because nothing looked the same. The lights, campfires, camper lights through me off. I wandered from site to site trying to find my family.  Eventually, one of the Park workers helped me find my way back to our site. 

I knew I was in the campground. 

I knew I was near the lake. 

I knew I was along the road…

but I still didn’t know where I was because nothing seemed familiar. Being LOST stinks.  It is a terrible feeling. Keep that feeling in mind as we look at this passage of scripture.

Luke 15:1-7 (NLT2) 

1  Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2  This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3  So Jesus told them this story: 4  “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5  And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6  When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7  In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! 

Did you see WHY Jesus told this story to teachers of Religious Law?

Look at verse 1-3 again.

Luke 15:1-3 (NLT2) 

1  Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2  This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3  So Jesus told them this story: 

People with questionable character were the ones filling the “rows of chairs” around Jesus.  But rather than celebrating that these people with “faults” were listening to the words of Jesus, the Pharisees chose to complain and focus on their faults.

RELIGIOUS PEOPLE FOCUS ON FAULTS NOT FORGIVENESS 

Jesus told the story to respond to the complaints the religious people were making about the type of people Jesus spent time with. The PHARISEES felt as though they had “cornered the market” on what God wanted.  The Religious leaders believed that if more people were just like them, the Jewish world would be a far better place.

And – they had a slang phrase that they used to classify the types of people who lived among the Jews but did not seek to follow the religious law.  They called them, “People of the Land.”  It was a derogatory term similar to ones we often hear today.

They were earthly people. People with no spiritual thoughts. They were low, ungodly, people of the land. They did not trust these people with money, they would not accept his eye-witness testimony, they would not trust him with a secret, travel with them along the road, or allow them to be a foster parent and take care of orphans. The Pharisees did their very best to NEVER be associated with the PEOPLE OF THE LAND.  So Jesus told them the story of a man who owned 100 sheep.

The man in this story owned 100 sheep.

He fed them daily.  

He led them daily.  

He protected them from thieves.  From cliffs.  From bad weather…

He was a SHEPHERD and that is what SHEPHERDS DO.

In our world today, we have a variety of values that people have:

 We have different political views…

We have different views on mask mandates, Student Loans, Government, and immigration.

We have different types of families…

We have different worldviews…

We turn on the News and guests are yelling at one another, instead of listening to each other. We live in a world that highlights the FAULTS with one another, rather than focus on what we agree on. If you are a follower of Jesus, you understand how divisive the world can be…you understand how divisive Christianity can be…when we choose to focus on the faults of other’s rather than the forgiveness Jesus offers. There are followers of Jesus who have a different view on controversial topics. In a world that BLASTS social media videos about “Karen’s” we need followers of Jesus to CELEBRATE FORGIVENESS.

When the Apostle Paul was writing to followers of Jesus in the letter to the Colossians, he said: 

Colossians 3:13 (NLT2) 

13  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

The easiest way to live with an attitude of grace and forgiveness to others…is to remember one simple truth:

ALL PEOPLE BELONG TO GOD, BUT WANDER

I am not saying that all people are followers of Jesus – I am saying that all people BELONG to God.  

All people are His Sheep:

The stubborn ones.  

The scared ones. 

The lonely ones.  

The white ones. 

The black ones.  

The brown ones.

The conservative ones.  

The liberal ones.  

The terrorists.

The murderers.

THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS ones. 

The people you agree with and the people you avoid.  We all belong to God.  All 7 billion people on the planet.  Every person who has ever lived, and ever will live belongs to God.  

So if we ALL belong to GOD – why is the world in such a mess?  

Why are children abused? 

Why do some marriages end in divorce?  

Why is there cancer, childhood diseases, sickness, and death?  

Why do we struggle with loneliness, isolation, hurt feelings, pride and sadness?  

Why do we have division in politics, churches, and families?

The answer is simple and it is found in this story.

WE all BELONG TO GOD – but – we all wander. Even your sweet old grannie that read her bible every day, went to church, served in her community, and prayed for you daily – even she – wandered from God.

I grew up hearing stories of Mother Theresa.  She poured out her whole life feeding and taking care of the poor in Kolkata, India. 

Guess what she is? A Sinner. A Wanderer.

I grew up watching the evangelist, Billy Graham. He preached Jesus in over 185 countries and to over two hundred million people. 

Guess what he is? A sinner.  A Wanderer.

Joe Donahue? Sinner.

In fact, God described our WANDERING WAYS exactly like sheep in Isaiah 53:6 when he said 

6  All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.”

I gave my life to Jesus in 1991…but I did not stop sinning in 1991. I did not stop sinning when I accepted Jesus. I still have negative thoughts. I still have thoughts of lust. I sometimes say the right thing, the wrong way. I sometimes struggle to not say the things I want to say, and often fail to say the things the Spirit wants me to say.

A couple of years ago, Kristy and I were on an airplane flying back from Hawaii, I reclined my seat to rest.

So, I had my seat reclined the whole two inches, and I had my tablet out and I was going over the sermon that I was going to be preaching in a few hours, I was in my happy place. Nothing was wrong with my world.  I was going over the message – praying – experiencing the joy of God in my heart…with my seat reclined. After about an hour, a man seated behind me grabbed the top of my seat, pulled it back further and began yelling at me.  

Through his choice of vocabulary, He let me know that I was the rudest, meanest, most hateful person in the world.  He was repulsed that I had reclined my seat. He had his angry eyes on. You know how Mr. Potato Head has the ANGRY eyes you can pop in? That was him…along with his frowny face.  All I could think about was Mr. Potato Head. He had his angry face on, he was loud, and standing over me.

What I WANTED to say to Him and what I ACTUALLY said to him were two totally different things.  I won’t tell you what I wanted to say to him…but I will tell you what I said, “I am so sorry.  I wish you would have said something earlier.  My wife and I will raise our seats and we will not recline back any further.”

I could tell he was not expecting me to be kind.  It caught him off guard and he was still angry! He yelled another ten seconds or so, which felt like an eternity on the plane… and then he pointed at my tablet and the words on the screen and said, “And you’re reading that CHRISTIAN CRAP.”

I did not reply.  We raised our seats to straight up.  FOR.THE.NEXT.FOUR.HOURS.  and said nothing else to him. At the end of the flight, when I stood up, in a very meek voice the old man said, “Sir.  I am sorry for the way I spoke to you. I didn’t have to speak that way and I am sorry.”

I stuck out my hand, shook his, and said, “Don’t worry about it.  I forgive you.”

But what I wanted to say was – “Potato Head!” Then Ninja-poke him in the eye. I have not stopped sinning since I gave my life to Jesus – but I am forgiven.  My life has changed – I do GOOD works now.  I tell others about Jesus now. I try to sin less – but the reality is – I still sin.

If followers of Jesus were honest, we each would admit that we WANDER from God’s path as well.  Even if we consistently spend time with the Lord in the morning, we still wander away from Him during the day. There is a reason the old hymn contains the words, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it…”  Because we DO!

And IF followers of Jesus drift away from God’s paths – is it any wonder that the world is a messed up as it is? We are all colliding into one another like a wreck at NASCAR.  Some people get dinged, others get totaled.  

Sometimes, the church stops following Jesus in searching for the lost and begins to focus on petting the sheep.

BUT GOD NEVER STOPS SEARCHING FOR THE LOST! 

So…

LOWER THIRDS:

JOIN THE SEARCH PARTY TO CELEBRATE FORGIVENESS

This SHEPHERD represents GOD.  God loves PEOPLE. 

God loves the LOST.

God loves the BROKEN.

AND God puts his love into action and searches for PEOPLE to show his kindness to.  The reason Jesus often hung out with the outcasts of society is because he was searching for his LOST sheep. It was not to make a point; it was to make a difference and change lives. 

YOU and I must be intentional about joining God to search for lost people.  

Since followers of Jesus still sin, that even means sometimes we get evangelism and life-change wrong. We do not SHAME people to become a follower of Jesus. We do not try to CORRECT their rude behavior. That is the attitude that turns people away from the church and from God.  On that PLANE ride I could have jumped up and lectured the man behind me.  But the bible tells me to speak respectfully to older men as Fathers.

It is the HOLY SPIRIT that convicts lost people of sin.  When Jesus was speaking to his disciples about the job of HOLY SPIRIT after Jesus left, he said:

John 16:7-11 (NLT2) 

And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 

The HOLY SPIRIT convicts the world of sin.  

Not preachers.

Not Pastors.

Not followers of Jesus.

We don’t grab picket signs and shame people because of their behavior. 

It is our mission here at Beach Church to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Be KIND. Show Grace and JOY.

FORGIVE quickly.

ACCEPT ALL.

You can accept others without compromising what you believe.  God accepted you and I and we were the worst of sinners! We must build relationships with those who have never received forgiveness for sins.  We laugh with them. We cry with them.  We hang out with them…so that we can LOVE them to Jesus, not to convict them of their sin.  

Join the search party as we celebrate the forgiveness of sins through our relationship with Jesus. 

Meeting Jesus - The Most Important Person In The Room

In 1998, I was in my final year and a half of school at Austin Peay State University.

During my college days, I was involved in multiple ministries. I was involved with FCA, the Navigators, and the Baptist Student Center. I was a volunteer at the church where I had surrendered my life to Jesus. I was leading the student ministry on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. Back on the college campus, I was investing and discipling other younger men to help them to follow Jesus.

On top of all of this, I was still a college student and at one point I was working three jobs. The Baptist Student Center invited me to run for President of the Baptist Student Center. Since I was already involved in many ways on our campus I thought, “Why not? The title “President” would look good on a future resume. During my interview with the Campus Pastor and the other “officers” of the BSC. 

The Campus Pastor asked me, “Would you be willing to serve in a lower position if you were not selected to be President?” 

I stuttered for a moment and said “No.”  

The moment I said “No” I knew I was wrong. I knew it did not reflect the words that Jesus taught on leadership. But I refused to backtrack. I wanted the title of “President” because I wanted to be the most important person in the room. I was already ready serving in a variety of way on campus, and in my mind, the title of President would somehow give validation to what I had been doing and could impress other people in the future.

The rest of the story: I was not selected to be President.

For many followers of Jesus, we need to learn to tame the beast within us that growls, grumbles, and yearns for recognition. In today’s passage, Jesus tells us exactly who the most important person in the room always is and how we need to treat them to keep our relationship with him strong. Let’s read Luke 14.

Luke 14:7-14 (NLT2) 

7  When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8  “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 9  The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! 10  “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11  For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 12  Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13  Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14  Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” 

The very first lesson I want us to draw out from this passage is extremely practical when it comes to our relationship with God and with people. Remember, Jesus communicated the two greatest things we could ever do is to Love the Lord with all of our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. And one of the ways we can love our neighbor as ourselves “in life” is:

JOYFULLY GIVE OTHERS YOUR FAVORITE SEAT

This passage begins with a very comical scene.  A Pharisee threw a party and invited other religious leaders to attend. The chairs around the banquet table indicated how important the person was. The nearer you sat to the Head of the Table, the more prestigious and important you were.  The seats further away lost their significance. Each of the religious leaders wanted to get the most important seats near the head of the table. As I read it, I imagine all the guests are behaving like the three-stooges fighting over a chair. Poking others in the eyes, bonking others on the head, shoving one another…

It wasn’t just a few of these Pharisees who were fighting for the seats of honor look at verse 7…it was ALL the guests! Everybody wanted the best seat in the house. They all wanted to be “the most important person in the room.”

So, Jesus gave them some simple advice that we would do well to practice in life. Joyfully give others your favorite seat. In church, in life, at the movie theaters, in the grocery lines, in traffic, at sporting events…choose to allow others the “best seats” in the house.

If you have ever been a victim of a seat-bully in church, I am sorry. A seat-bully walks over to somebody and says, “You can’t sit there. That’s my seat.” I know I don’t have to say it about Beach Church, but I will.  Its okay to sit in another seat.  Our purpose is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.  Everybody is always welcome to sit wherever they would like.

Joyfully, let other people sit in your seat. In life, that means:

Hold the door open for other people.

Spontaneously, volunteer to help carry heavy loads for others.

Wash the dishes.

Fold the laundry.

Fill the car up with gas.

Joyfully give up your time, your preferences, and your schedule for other people.

Wherever you go, develop the attitude that other people are always more important than you are. You don’t mind serving and sacrificing for others, because they are always more important than you are. Now, I am not talking about having a “low view” of yourself.  I am not talking about having a poor self-image or a low self-esteem.

If you are a follower of a Jesus, meaning you have come to a moment in which have a surrendered your life to Jesus because you believed that he died on the cross to pay the price for your sins, that he rose from the dead, and one day he will return, then you know who you really are.

You know you have been created by God.

You know you have been chosen by God.

You know you have been adopted into the family of God.

You know God has given you a gift to use to strengthen God’s family.

You know you are protected by God and the evil one cannot touch you.

You know you are blessed and highly favored.

You know God promises to provide for your every need…

And since your value and worth is not derived from what other people say to you or think about you…since you find your value through what God’s Word says about you. Then you know you can give up your “favorite seats” in life, because you do not need fame, recognition, or notoriety because you… have got JESUS!

This banquet was a party thrown by a religious leader and the invited guests were religious leaders.  This was a leadership event and they were all scrambling to get the best seats. If you are recognized as a leader in our community – please don’t lead like these Pharisees did.

THE BEST LEADERS EAT LAST

Not only did those closer to the head of the table receive honor and recognition, they also were the first people served food first and ate first. A few years ago, a leadership book hit the New York Times best sellers list and the title of the book was, “Leader’s Eat Last.”  The author described that in the military at mealtime, the higher your rank, the later you ate. And the commanding officers always ate last to make sure the people under their command were taken care of.

In verse 10, when Jesus said: 

“…take the lowest place at the foot of the table.”

He flipped the script on what the religious leaders perceived a leader to be.

• The religious leaders believed the best leaders took the best seats in the synagogues and at banquets. 

• The religious leaders believed the best leaders received recognition and greetings when they were in a crowd.

• The religious leaders believed that wherever they went, they were the most important person in the room. 

They would be served before anybody else. They would eat before anybody else would eat. They would be greeted first. So, Jesus used this banquet to teach them what real leadership looked like. Taking from others is not leadership. Leadership is measured by how you make people feel. Do you make people feel like they are the most important person in the room by the way you treat them?

Since you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, let the fruit of the Spirit flow out of you:

Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT2) 

22  … the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23  gentleness, and self-control…

Lead others with love.

Lead others with peace.

Lead others with patience.

Lead others with kindness.

Lead others with goodness.

Lead others with gentleness.

Lead others with self-control.

Like many of you, our family has been under a great deal of stress. We have a lot of changes, a lot of madness we call life…and I blew it in some higher moments of stress.  Rather than responding with love, peace, gentleness, and kindness…I acted more like a selfish brat that didn’t get my way. And, I had to apologize.

Hey dads, remember that as you eat last and lead your family, you are going to blow it at times.  Show yourself grace and lead by apologizing.

We have talked about joyfully giving others your favorite seat, the best leaders eat last, and finally as followers of Jesus…Remember to:

BLESS THOSE WHO CANNOT BLESS BACK

Luke 14:12-14 (NLT2) 

12  Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13  Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14  Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

Not only did Jesus challenge the religious leaders to view leadership differently, Jesus challenged them to party differently as well. If you were invited to a banquet, and you attended the banquet, it was expected that one day in the future you would reciprocate, throw a party, and invite the person that invited you. Now, the entire community – including the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind could attend as well.  If they showed up, they wouldn’t be turned away, but they were never invited.

Jesus now tells the leaders; stop only inviting people who can pay you back. Intentionally invite people who could never pay you back in a million years. If you want to receive reward from God, show kindness to those who can’t show it back.

A few years ago I received a call from a person in my family that was having a difficult time making ends meet and their electricity was going to be cut off.  I gladly got them caught up on their bill, and I set up auto-pay to pay their electric bill every month until they were able to take care of it themselves.

But I had one caveat.

I said, “I do not want to be paid back. This is not a loan. If you insist on paying me back, I am not going to do it.  I never want the expectation of being paid back to grow into a divisive wedge. So, that agreement lasted over six months until one day they called and said, “We are okay now. Thanks for being a blessing to us.”

As you follow Jesus, follow Jesus’ teaching in your life about kindness. 

Bless those who cannot bless you back.

Joyfully give others your favorite seat.

And remember, the best leaders eat last.

Meeting Jesus - Breaking Rules & Changing Lives

In the 10 Commandments, God provided a pattern he desired the Nation of Israel to follow. Work six days but stop on the 7th.  God wanted the Israelites to set aside a day of the week to focus exclusively on him as a sign of trust. For six days, work the cattle, the crops, and labor. But on the 7th day – trust me. 

“I have got it.”

“Set aside the 7th day to worship me, I will take care of everything.”

Doesn’t the idea of “ceasing from all work” sound appealing?

We rush to get home after school. Rush to get homework done. Rush to the soccer fields, baseball games, the basketball games, the softball games! Rush to get the kids supper, showered, and to bed. Rush to school the next morning to get the kids there on time, then we rush to work so we are not late. God said – be busy, not go crazy! Work hard from sun-up till sun-down. But on the 7th day, stop! The idea a Sabbath day with no work, just prayer, worship, family, laughter sounds incredible to me! But the religious leaders went overboard with God’s command to stop work.

They felt God’s command to stop wasn’t explained enough, so the religious leaders developed over 39 rules to describe what it meant to work or not work on the Sabbath.  

They argued it was work if:

• a tailor went out with a needle in his robe

• a woman wore a clip in her hair

• a person wore false teeth 

• if a man picked up his child on the Sabbath Day

The Pharisees and religious leaders NITPICKED God’s people to death! If you have ever belonged to a church that focused on rules instead of relationship with God, you understand how the Jewish people felt. They could never do enough “right” to please the religious leaders. And then this great teacher and miracle worker came along and turned the religious leaders world upside down.  Jesus challenged them on how they taught the Word of God – and he challenged them with their rules about the Sabbath. Now that we understand the rules for the Sabbath, let’s read together from Luke 13.

Luke 13:10-17 (NLT2) 

10  One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11  he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12  When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13  Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God! 14  But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.” 15  But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? 16  This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?” 17  This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did. 

So, Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath – and in shuffles this woman whose back was so crooked she was doubled over, she could not straighten herself out, and she had lived like that for almost two decades! I have seen older men and older woman just like that. Even though it was the Sabbath, the moment Jesus saw her, he called her to come to him, and he said, “You are healed from your sickness.”

But instead of celebrating her healing, the ruler of the synagogue continued to beat the same annoying drum. Instead of being happy for the freedom this woman had been given, he complained because Jesus had “worked” on the Sabbath. Think about this…for eighteen years, this woman suffered, unable to stand, walk, or sleep well. The religious leader did not care that she had suffered for so long. 

But for Jesus – he saw her suffering and said, “This dear woman,has suffered for so long, isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?””  

This makes sense. 

Shouldn’t a person be freed on a day of worship?

Her suffering should remind us that…

SOMETIMES, PAIN LASTS A LONG TIME

For eighteen years, this woman could not straighten herself out.  For 936 weeks, 216 months, 6,570 days, this woman could not stand up.  She walked from place to place, doubled over, straining her neck to be able to see where she was going. This was somebody’s mother, grandmother, sister. Imagine this was your mom or grandmother. This wasn’t a few days of darkness. She faced pain every single day. When she woke up in the morning, the pain was there. When she went to bed at night, the pain was there. At breakfast, at lunch, at dinner, the pain was there. 

Her disfigurement was there. It never went away with time…it only became worse. I know some of you might understand by experience that some pain lasts a long time. 

Spiritual pain can last a long time.

Mental pain can last a long time.

Physical pain can last a long time.

Emotional pain can last a long time.

You wake up in the morning and the very first sensation you have is that of pain. Maybe you are haunted by pain from your past. Maybe you caused hurt to those you loved. Maybe they caused pain to you.

You have faced pain in your marriage, pain in your relationships with your children, or maybe daily you struggle under the weight of mental pain and mental darkness.  

Maybe you feel overwhelmed because dark thoughts continue to linger in your mind for weeks at a time. You can’t exercise them away, you can’t pray them away, you can’t seem to shake them off. There is pain that lasts for moments, and there is other pain that lasts too long. Sometimes, people get swallowed up by pain.

Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States.  In 2022, just over 49,369 Americans ended their lives. If you struggle with dark thoughts because of lasting pain in your life, please seek professional help. If you don’t know where to begin, I will help you know where to begin right now.

I understand that sometimes people feel like the only way to escape from the pain that is lingering in their lives is by ending their life.

9.8.8 is a National Hotline for Suicide Prevention. Today, if you struggle in this area, please call that number to begin down a path toward healing. I want you to know you are not alone.  If you have suffered a long time (physically, emotionally, spiritually, or mentally) like this elderly woman, keep dragging yourself to church. 

Keep getting out of bed. Keep moving forward, even though it hurts. We have a ministry called Celebrate Recovery. They meet every Friday night at 6:00PM in Adventure Beach.  If you struggle with hurts, habits, or hang ups, come check out CR and see if it is a place for you to recover.

We are for you. God loves you deeply. And, I invite you to cling to the hope found in Jesus, because…

CONSISTENTLY, JESUS CHANGES LIVES OF HURTING PEOPLE

We have been walking through the Gospel of Luke since the beginning of the year. I want to briefly point out to you how Jesus has changed the lives of hurting people:

In Luke 4:35 Jesus healed a man possessed by an evil spirit.

In Luke 4:39 Jesus healed a woman with a high fever.

In Luke 4:40, Jesus healed those brought to him from an entire village: sickness, disease, and those possessed by evil spirits.

In Luke 5:13, Jesus healed a man with an advanced case of leprosy.

In Luke 5:24, Jesus healed a paralyzed man.

In Luke 6:10, Jesus healed a man with a deformed hand.

In Luke 7:10, Jesus healed an officers’ servant.

In Luke 7:14, Jesus walked over to a grieving woman’s’ dead son and raised her boy to life.

In Luke 7:21, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and blindness.

In Luke 8:24, Jesus stopped the wind and waves from flipping over the boat of the disciples.

In Luke 8:33, Jesus healed a man filled with many demons.

In Luke 8:43, Jesus healed a woman who had reached out and touched the hem of his robe as he was passing by.

In Luke 8:50, Jesus gave life back to a young twelve-year-old girl.

In Luke 9:6, Jesus sent his disciples out into villages and healed the sick.

In Luke 9:10, Jesus fed over 5,000 people because they were hungry.

In Luke 9:42, Jesus healed a boy with seizures.

In Luke 10, Jesus sent out 72 more people to heal others.

In Luke 11:14, Jesus healed a man who could not speak.

And here in this passage in Luke 13, Jesus healed a woman who had been bent doubled over for 18 years. Chapter after chapter, day after day, we see Jesus changing the lives of hurting people.  He rescued people from disease, death, deformity, demons, and darkness. You might say, “Jesus had to heal people to fulfill the prophecy about him.”

Ok. But Jesus did not have to heal every person that came to him, he could have gotten away with healing only a few people to fulfill the OT prophecy.  He could have changed only a handful of people’s lives. Instead, every single broken or hurting person who reached out to Jesus for healing was changed forever.  He chose to pour his life out to meet the needs of those who were living in pain and without hope.

That’s because Jesus really does LOVE mankind and Jesus really is concerned about you. Your life matters to Him. Your joy matters to Him. Your pain and darkness does not go unnoticed. Your obedience to him matters to him – because he knows if you apply his word to your life, if you apply his teachings to your marriage, your children, to your own character, your life is going to change for the better.

You are important. You have significance. You DO matter.

So, please remember:

MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN; GOD IS NOT BOUND BY RULES

The greatest miracle that has happened in my life is when I surrendered my life to Jesus and received forgiveness for my sin. I came to a point in my life where I understood that God created mankind in his image. He had a relationship with Adam and Eve, but they chose to rebel against God. And since then, all humans have lived in rebellion against God.

We hurt others. We lie. We are selfish.

We lust. We live content with the world to revolve around us.

We call it “doing what I want.”  God calls it sin and disobedience.

And just like every loving parent has consequences when their child acts rebellious, God has punishment for our sin. The punishment for our sin is eternal separation from God.

Romans 6:23 (NLT2) 

23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

In 1991, I understood that even though I chose to sin and rebel against God, God chose to demonstrate his love toward me. 

Romans 5:8 (NLT2) 

8  But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Just like Jesus demonstrated his love for this crippled, bent in half, broken woman, Jesus demonstrated his love for you and I by being willing to be put to death on the cross.  In that moment, he gave up his life, paid the penalty for our sin, to bring you and I close to God.

1 Peter 3:18 (NLT2) 

18  Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. 

The greatest miracle that you will ever experience is the miracle of enjoying a relationship with your Creator that came through the death and resurrection of Jesus. If you would like to surrender your life to Jesus and experience this great miracle, our prayer team will be here at the close of the service.  They would love to lead you to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Hebrews 13:8 (NLT2) 

8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

If Jesus cared for the hurting two thousand years ago, he cares for the hurting today.

Meeting Jesus - You Can Trust God and Others (again)

Worry. 

It seems that today we worry about everything.

We worry about our finances:

Do we have enough money to pay the bills?

Do we have enough money to get the car fixed?

Do we have enough money to pay the orthodontist? 

Am I ever going to be able to retire?

We worry about our health: 

If I get sick, who will take care of my children?

Do I have enough insurance? 

I need to exercise, I need to get healthier.

I have been sick so long, am I ever going to get better?

We worry about our children, our grandchildren. We worry about their future, their success, their happiness.

Have we done enough as parents to point them to trust in Jesus and live in faith?

We worry about the future of the country. We worry about political decisions. We worry about who is sitting in the Whitehouse, who is making decisions, and who is voting for them…

WE WORRY!

So, let’s read our passage of scripture to see how Jesus teaches us how to deal with worry.

Let’s read: 

Luke 12:22-31 (NLT2) 

22  Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23  For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 24  Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 25  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26  And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? 27  “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28  And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? 29  “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. 

In the preceding passage, Jesus had just finished teaching the parable of the Rich fool. He spoke about how a man had  so much stuff that he decided to build a bigger barn to store it all up…and God called him a fool to be rich in the world, but not have a rich relationship with God. And now, Jesus teaches the same crowd how they can develop a rich relationship with God, through living a life that genuinely TRUSTS God.

The first thing we can understand from this passage is that you can…

TRUST GOD BECAUSE HE CARES & PROVIDES FOR YOU. 

The crowd that Jesus spoke to were people who were unsure what they would eat every single day.  They were farmers, gatherers, and hunters. They could not stop off at the local Publix grocery store for a sushi roll and fried chicken wings. They didn’t drive by Chick-fil-A on the way to work for a coffee and chicken minis.

Because people were dependent on a good harvest, parents were unsure of how they would provide for their children each day. Would their family go to bed hungry this season? They would if the harvest season was slim and they had to stretch the crops out to get through the season. Families often worried about how they would get through the season, the week, and the day.

When Jesus spoke to them, he was looking into the eyes of those who had gone without, those who had eaten less so their kids could have proper nourishment, and those who often went to bed hungry.

The people worried because they knew hunger. The people worried because they knew what it was like to sleep through cold hard nights without enough clothing. The people worried because they had experienced hardship in the past.

That is often why we worry as well.

We worry about our children because we walked through hard and we do not want them to experience what we did. 

We worry about our future because we have scraped by in the past, and we do not want to experience it again.

We worry about relationships with other believers, because we have been burned, betrayed, and wounded by people who were followers of Jesus.

We worry about the things in life because we have gone though valleys of brokenness, hurt, betrayal, and pain.

For six years, as a follower of Jesus and as a Pastor, I worried that God wasn’t allowing Kristy and I to have children because we were going to somehow screw them up. I worried that God believed I would be a bad dad and wasn’t going to bless me with kids. Even though I was a follower of Jesus, a youth pastor, and seeking to walk with Jesus, I worried that God saw something wrong with me that I could not see. 

Sometimes, we worry about the future because of scars from our past experiences. We fail to truly trust God, because even since you became a follower of Jesus, you have been hurt.

So, pay very close attention to the root cause of our worry. The reason why we worry about the future is found in verse 28.

“Why do you have so little faith?”

See, according to Jesus…

WORRY IS ROOTED IN UNBELIEF; REMEMBER HIS FAITHFULNESS TO YOU!

Worry is rooted in unbelief. We worry today because our memories from our past battles are saturated with unbelief. We remember the wounds and how much something hurt us rather than remembering how God was working the bad stuff out for our good. I want to challenge you to reframe your bad memories so you can trust again and worry less.

For instance, I have shared before about my teenage years. I can either choose to recall my past experiences with unbelief or through the lens of faith and belief.

For the next paragraph, I will recall an event with unbelief:

As a child, I was in a Psychiatric Hospital for three months. I had been sexually abused by my dad. I had mood swings and had bursts of anger and rage when things didn’t go my way. I threatened my mom, I threatened my brothers and sisters. After three months, my mom said she didn’t want me, so I was sent to live with my grandmother through my High School years.

Or I could frame this event in a way that remembers God’s faithfulness can remember it through belief.

Even before I was a follower of Jesus, God was working in my life to help me recover from the impact of growing up with an abusive father. God used a network of people to place me in a Psychiatric Hospital for therapy and help. It was the first time I opened up about the abuse, and the first time I was able to trust people with my secret shame. After three months, God sovereignly allowed me to move in with my grandmother through my high school years where I would meet the girl that invited me to the church where I surrendered my life to Jesus and eventually would meet my future wife.

You can do the same thing!

If you struggle with trusting God because of past experiences that were hard, revisit your memories and look for ways God was faithful to you in the midst of the hard.

Grab a notebook or a journal.  Write down the experience through the lens of unbelief and pain…then rewrite the experience through a lens of faith.  Look at the way God led you and took care of you and provided for you and moved in your life.

There was an older man in the Old Testament, that had spent time reflecting on painful experiences from his past. His childhood and young adult years was filled with betrayals, and lies that others told about him. His name was Joseph. His brothers (who were going to kill him) sold him off as a slave into Egyptians traders. He grew up as a slave. He was accused of rape and thrown into prison. He grew up without his father. Without his family. Alone.

Yet, God used every situation in his life, including his brother’s evil actions and the false accusation of rape, for good. Toward the end of his life, Joseph was able to say without bitterness to his brothers:

Genesis 50:20-21 (NLT2) 

20  You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 

Joseph was able to trust in the sovereign plan of God. He was able to trust and live believing that God can turn any situation around.

If you believed that God created you to have a relationship with Him, but you sinned and were separated from that relationship with God, and you believe that Jesus paid the price for your sin on the cross, that you have been forgiven and you surrendered your life to Jesus received Jesus as your Savior, and you are now a follower of Jesus, then the promise and the principle that God can work all things out for good, that God can take the bad and redeem it for good, is true for you, too!

Romans 8:28 (NLT2) 

28  And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

So, reflect back on your hurt, your pain, your times of need, and see the thread of God’s Sovereign care weaved through the tapestry of the pain. Look for the way’s he has redeemed the pain and blessed you today.

And remember,

WORRY CAN BE TAMED THROUGH BABY STEPS OF TRUST.

Luke 12:31 (NLT2) 

31  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. 

The worry that you have CAN be tamed! If you have been diagnosed with anxiety and are on medication, please continue to take your prescribed meds and course of therapy. Anxiety is persistent. Worry is temporary. So tame worry through baby steps of trust.

Keep attending Worship services.  God didn’t speak to you today? Believe He will. Keep on coming back.

Sign Up for Our Next Steps Event on August 27

Volunteer to serve in some capacity in our church.

Begin to give generously to the Lord through the church or to other people.

Sign up to be Baptized. Let your world know that Jesus has forgiven you and changed your life.

Invite a friend to church…God is moving in this place. Invite others to experience the movement of God.

Begin listen to Christian podcasts or Christ centered music.

We can trust God and other’s again because God will use our pain for GOOD. Maybe you have been in so much pain you don’t even want to talk about it.  That only means you need to learn to manage your worry. Understand this, your greatest impact on this world could come through reframing your past and seeing God’s faithful guidance. 

Your greatest ministry to others could come from your deepest darkest pain. 

Mine has. So can yours.

So, live today without worry because you genuinely trust Jesus.

Trust in his guidance.

Trust that God will never leave you or forsake you.

Trust that Jesus prays for you.

Trust that despite the pain, God has been working in your past.

Trust in God’s complete and total forgiveness.

Trust in God’s unending grace.

Trust in his everlasting kindness.

Trust in his overwhelming wisdom.

Trust him as your Prince of Peace.

Trust in his magnificent greatness.

Trust in Jesus. 

Meeting Jesus - The Danger Of Greed

Today, our passage of scripture addresses one of the ugliest and most obnoxious characteristics that a person can display.

Greed.

Not Creed as in the Apollo Creed. Greed as in the Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, or Walter White from Breaking Bad. We see Greed on display in almost every song, television show, or video made today. Some videos go viral when they demonstrate the generosity of an individual, and other videos go viral that highlight the gold digging, greedy hearts of people.  

Today, we want to examine our own hearts – not the heart of the person beside us – and ask ourselves if Greed is a common characteristic in our life. As Jesus was teaching about hypocrisy and how to respond when people experience persecution, somebody from the crowd interrupted Jesus with a question…

Luke 12:13-21

13  Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” 14  Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15  Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” 16  Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17  He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18  Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19  And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20  “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21  “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” 

The man that interrupted Jesus had a very specific agenda.  He wanted what belonged to his brother. To understand the context better – we need to know that when the father of a household passed away, it was up to the oldest son to decide how to divide the estate among his family.  

If the son wanted to, he could keep it all to himself.  

If the son wanted to, he could distribute it among his brothers.

For some reason, the oldest son had not yet divided his estate with his brother.  The older brother may have been dragging his feet, he may have been lazy, or…he simply may not have wanted to give anything to his brother. 

When my dad passed away, his six children did not have a problem dividing up his estate – because he didn’t have one!  

When dad died, he was penniless.  The floor of his camper was rotted. His old truck didn’t start. Even his pack of cigarettes was empty. But, as a Pastor, I know I that ESTATE issues after a loved one has died, can really cause division among families today.  Families fight for years over houses, land, bank accounts, and property.

So, maybe you understand how these two brothers felt. The oldest had no obligation to share the estate…and the youngest had no right to claim the estate. We don’t really know who was being greedy in this passage, but we do know this:

GREEDY PEOPLE TAKE FROM OTHERS

One of these two brothers was being greedy – maybe they both were.  Jesus’ response to the man must have left him a little stunned.  Jesus responded to the younger and perhaps to the older brother and said, “Guard against every kind of greed.”

If you are searching for a proper definition for the word “greed” you could call it a “strong desire to have what is not yours.” Jesus is warning about a type of “inner compulsion” a person has, when they desire what other people have…and then, they attempt to take it.

It might be the type of greed or coveting that desires another person’s spouse. 

Or their family.

Or their children.

Or their home.

Or their toys.

Or their title. 

Or their popularity.

Or their recognition.

“Coveting” is this inner compulsion that desires anything that belongs to others – and a greedy heart means you want it so bad, you will lie, steal, or resort to violence to get it. When we struggle with greed we look like kids fighting over a ball on the playground…

Or…Monkeys.  

Sometimes I get lost watching monkey videos on YouTube or Facebook.

I may be lying in bed trying to fall asleep, and I’ll start scrolling through video after video of monkeys fighting over food, snatching things that don’t belong to them, grabbing things from people, or just irritating one another. Confessionally, I have probably watched several hundred videos of monkeys – but I have never seen a generous monkey.  

They are mean to each other. 

They fight over food and shiny objects.  

They slap, pinch, punch, poke, and scream until they get what they want.

They are greedy, selfish, and fun to watch. 

But – it’s not so funny when people who have been created in the image of God, act like a greedy monkey.

So, Jesus then shared a story of a rich man who had so much land and crops, he didn’t have room for it all.  The man “said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18  Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19  And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

This story that Jesus tells us provides a little bit of insight into the heart of greedy people. 

Jesus reveals to us that:

GREEDY PEOPLE ARE BLIND TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS

This rich man did not try to discover the needs of the community.  He didn’t say, “I have plenty for myself but other people go to bed hungry. So, I will keep my barn full, and give the extra away.”

No.  

He only wanted to make sure he had plenty of food for today, tomorrow and for his future. He lived focused solely on himself. His FUTURE mattered more than the future of other people. His COMFORT mattered more than the comfort of other people. Growing his real estate portfolio mattered more than growing relationships with PEOPLE.

Greedy people are blind to the needs of other people. And since you are not greedy…How can you and God take care of the people around you right now?

Do you know of a single parent struggling with bills? Write down their name and demonstrate generosity. Write them a check, or hand them an envelope with cash. Be generous with your cash. Do you know of a neighbor with a car that is always breaking down? Write down their name and give them one of the cars that won’t fit in your garage. Be generous with your property.

Or maybe, somebody you know needs some encouragement.  Maybe they are alone, tired, and discouraged by life and they need to know you are praying for them… Write down their name, send them a text right now. Invite them for a cup of coffee and for 60 minutes, let them pour out their heart to you. Be generous with your time,and if people keep coming to your mind, thank God that you are not blind to the needs of others – and seek to love your neighbor through your actions. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have been a recipient of the greatest generosity ever demonstrated.  If you have surrendered your life to Jesus and trusted in Christ as your Savior, God has generously given you forgiveness through Jesus.

God has restored his relationship with you through Jesus.  There is nothing more than God could give than his son. God was not blind to our need for him, so let’s make sure we keep seeing the needs of those around us. If you have grown blind, ask God to open up your eyes to see the needs of others. Then, Jesus shares a hard truth about what God thinks about Greedy people. In the story, the man was patting himself on his back, congratulating himself for amassing and hoarding his property, buildings, and possessions…

He even called himself, “Friend” and perhaps he was his only friend. But God wants us to understand that…

GREEDY PEOPLE ARE FOOLS NOT FRIENDS. 

“My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20  “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

We might be tempted to think this man was being wise; he was storing up for a rainy day…he was saving for the future…

He was practicing, “a penny saved is a penny earned.”

Why did God call this man a fool?

God called this man a fool because this man refused to be generous.

He wasn’t being a friend to himself. He wasn’t being a friend to others.

If you truly love and care for yourself, you are going to love and care for others…and that means you will see their needs, talk about their needs, and try to meet their needs. This man was not being a friend to himself by storing up his wealth instead of practicing generosity. When we practice saving, whether it is saving money, or saving stuff in our garage, without practicing generosity, we demonstrate greed. When we live lives filled with greed and focused on ourselves, God calls that foolish.

And, if you have lived up until this moment like a selfish, greedy person, you can change. You can be transformed today. You can experience the extravagant generosity of God’s love. You can surrender your life to Jesus, receive forgiveness for your selfishness and your sin, and be made a brand-new person.

A RICH RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD PREVENTS GREED

So in the story, God called the man a fool.  But as Jesus wrapped up this story, he said to the crowd that was listening, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

You and I are fools to live our lives with the ability to have a rich relationship with God, and never develop it. We have developed a one hour class called “Grow” that will help you develop a quiet time and “grow” in your relationship with God. It’s a great class for new believers and for old crusty believers. 😊 The class will be offered this fall as part of our Next Steps Ministry.  Pay attention and make sure you sign up for it.

If the words that God spoke to the rich man kind of have kind of poked you in the heart, and you see yourself in that story living as a fool…and, if you would like to begin to live an unselfish life; it begins by dying to your own needs, your own desires, your own life, and acknowledging to God that up until this moment, you have rejected God and lived sinfully and selfishly.  

You can surrender your life to Jesus, receive forgiveness for your sins, and begin to live a brand-new life. If you would like to surrender your life to Jesus, our prayer team will be here at the front of the stage after the close of the last worship song. If you are ready to surrender your life to Jesus, they would love to lead you to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Meeting Jesus - faith over fear

Fear is tough subject. When I say the word fear it usually brings to mind that one thing that you may be fearful of.

2nd Timothy 1:7

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but power, love and self-discipline”

Throughout scripture we are told not to fear. 

To not fear circumstances.

To not fear people

To not fear death.

Then when we read this scripture in Luke 12, in the first few verses, we read about a group of religious leaders that consider themselves the most spiritual, the holiest, and they would absolutely live by the most legalistic regiment possible. At times they would beat people down and consider themselves better than all the “Sinners” based not on their Savior, but on their good works.

The Bible is clear on our state:

Romans 3:23

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

We know what the wages of those sins are but what is the gift of God?

Romans 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord”

We know that Jesus changes everything. Not our works. The religious leaders were banking on their works but also condemned the “sinners”. 

Jesus constantly confronted their hypocrisy.

Let’s pick up in Luke 12:4-12

Luke 12: 4-12

4 “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. 5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear. 6 “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. 8 “I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. 9 But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels. 10 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 “And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”

The Disciples were probably feeling the pressure and the threats from the crowds led by the religious leaders. Jesus is telling them not to live in fear. Live knowing the One who has saved you is the one who dwells within in, the helper, the spirit, God Himself.

You are confronted with 2 categories: Sinner or Saint

The religious leaders felt they were Saints but because of their works. Jesus Shows us we are Saints not because of us, or our works but because of Him.

Yes, we are sinners. 

BUT

Ephesians 2:8-9

8 “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

God loves you regardless of what you have done, regardless of what choices you have made. He loves you and paid for you with his son’s death on the cross.

Therefore:

YOU ARE NOT MERELY A SINNER, YOU ARE A SAINT WITH SIGNIFICANCE

You have significance!! Once you have surrendered your life to follow God, He looks upon you regardless of what happened in your past and sees His son.

1st Peter 1:15-16 

15“But now you must be Holy in everything you do, just as God chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say “you must be holy because I am holy.”

God Saved you, He loves you, even though you are a sinner.

Psalm 103:12 says “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west”

You go from a sinner to a saint by God’s redemptive work on the cross. He forgives us our sin and does not continue to throw it in our face but sometimes people who feel they are saints because of the good they do, will throw it in our face.

When God saves us, we become His child, we receive His inheritance, but sometimes we are so guilt ridden that we cannot get past our sin and who we were either by our own thoughts or what others may think about us that we cannot see how significant we are. We have been forgiven but maybe some of us are still working through that healing. We have a great Celebrate Recovery here at Beach Church that help people experience healing. I have seen healing in the seats of this auditorium. I have seen healing in the dorms, at Youth Camp. I have seen healing in parking lots, in pools, at the beach, I expect to see it Sunday mornings. Last week I saw it first hand at the Beach during our Beach Baptisms. Healing Comes when we become truthful with God and with ourselves.

LIFE-CHANGING TRUTH IS REFLECTED BY TRANSPARENT LIVING EVERYWHERE

When we experience life change. When we meet Jesus, it changes everything! We realize that we are sinners saved by His Grace. The truth is we are the sinner. We are guilty of the sins we committed!!

BUT

God loves us anyways. He loves us, despite the wrong we have done, the sins we have committed. The truth is when we experience life change and we recognize the significance of who we are in Christ. We accept that He saved us and people see the life change because we start to live a life that is different than who we were. We become transparent.  People see a change in us. Our vocabulary changes. Our desires change. People start to see our hearts. Love changes a person. You talk about what you love the most everywhere!! It just comes out.

When you’re in love people can see it.

Maybe today, you haven’t experienced the life changing power of Jesus. You feel like you are just a sinner that will be forever separated from God. Your sins are too much for God to forgive God saved him. There is Hope! There is forgiveness there is life. Maybe that’s where you are.  You are stuck and God is calling you today. Give up. Give it to Him. Turn your life over to him today!

Pastor Joe said Last week. WHY NOT TODAY?

Maybe you are a follower of Christ and have experienced life change but have fallen. You’ve stumbled. You feel like you are merely just a sinner and you are not significant. You have forgotten that you are Saint by his work not your own. You have sinned. You’ve done things you never thought you would. You have questioned your transformation. You have struggled with what you done. 

I did things that I would’ve never imagined I would do, to my wife, to my family, to God. There are people today in this auditorium that can say the same thing. There are followers of God right now that are struggling with sin. There are countless men and women dealing with self-worth, marital issues. There are men and women who are dealing with Pornography. You have turned back to addiction. You think I have messed up and God doesn’t love me anymore. 5 years ago, I was there. I fell, I stumbled. I stepped away from Ministry, I stepped away from the calling God gave me. 

A STUMBLING FAITH SHOULD REMAIN CONFIDENT OF ETERNAL LIFE

You may have fallen, you maybe stumbling through your faith now but remember:

Romans 8: 38-39

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below- indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Have confidence know that He has saved you! Regardless, of what you have done or what people say about you or what you may say about yourself. Remember that if you have had a life changing encounter with God. You are a son or daughter of the most high God. You are not who anyone says you are. You are a child of God.

Live as though you are a sinner saved by his grace, Living as a saint with significance because of His holiness and not your own. Live a transparent life because you have experienced the life changing truth of his love and your identity is found in him and not of your own works. Be confident in your citizenship even if you have stumbled. Have confidence know that you are His Child and He loves you.

Meeting Jesus - Spontaneous Baptism

I have been baptized twice in my life.

I was born into a Catholic family, and I was baptized as a baby. Almost 19 years later, after I surrendered my life to Jesus and committed my life to him, I was baptized as a follower of Jesus.  

In Luke 3 we read about the Baptism of Jesus. When Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened up, the holy spirit descended on Him like a dove, and God spoke from Heaven.

Luke 3:21-22 (NLT2) 

21  One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, 22  and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” 

Imagine you were there witnessing this event:

Jesus came out from the water.

The sky ripped open.

The Holy Spirit descended.

God spoke “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

JESUS’ BAPTISM IS AN EXAMPLE FOR BELIEVERS.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT2) 

19  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

From the time Jesus left the earth, he taught that all believers, all followers of Jesus, all disciples, should be baptized. Baptism is not a requirement for forgiveness of sins. While dying on the cross, Jesus turned to the thief and said, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”

Years later, in Acts 16: 30 the apostle Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and singing hymns in a prison. Seeing their joy, the jailer asked, what must I do to be saved, and they replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” After they believed and surrendered, they were baptized.

Baptism is an outward expression of the inner change that occurs when a person surrenders their life to Jesus. About three months after I had surrendered my life to Jesus and was forgiven for my sins, as a hymn of invitation was being sung, I walked down the center aisle, took the Pastor’s hand, and told him I had surrendered my life to Jesus and I wanted to be baptized. A few weeks later, I was in a line of other teenagers on a Sunday morning, waiting to be baptized.

Two friends were in front of me. Mikey and Kim.  Mikey had surrendered his life to Jesus about a week before I did, and Kim was the Pastor’s daughter, and my wife’s twin sister. Kim came out of the water and climbed out of the baptistry. Mikey went down the steps to be baptized and while he was going under the water, Kim whispered into my ear, “I peed in the water.” Seriously.

The Pastor brings Mikey up out of the water, and Mikey climbs the step up. I go down, turn and face Mikey, and his nose is bleeding and had run down the white baptismal robe and red blood is everywhere. That was the last thing I saw before the Pastor dunked me under the water. As soon as I went under the water, I burst out laughing. I was being baptized in pee, blood, and water…and I thought it was funny.

Maybe your baptism story is much more reverent than mine. But that’s my story. No booming voice from heaven, just pee.

Let’s read about a man, who after he surrendered his life to Jesus, spontaneously got baptized from Acts 8:26-39.

Acts 8:26-36 (NLT2)

26  As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27  So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28  and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29  The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” 30  Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31  The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. 32  The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. 33  He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” 34  The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35  So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus. 36  As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”  38  He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39  When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 

As we see in this example of Phillip and the Ethiopian:

FOLLOWING JESUS SOMETIMES REQUIRES SPONTANEITY. 

We love self-control. We love having plans. We love having clear expectations.  Even in our worship services – we intentionally go into every weekend service with a plan.

We have the songs timed. We have the message timed. 

We have the announcements timed so that we can get out in exactly one hour because we have multiple worship services and we want your friends to know what to expect if you invite them to church. Plans are good.  Self-control is good.  

But as we see in the example of Phillip – following Jesus sometimes requires spontaneity. If Jesus is the Lord of our lives, we should live more spontaneously. We should be listening to the internal prompting of the Holy Spirit and we should live being led by the Spirit. That means we live doing things that are unexpected.

Be careful that you do not confuse the internal prompting of your own sinful desires with the internal prompting of the Holy Spirit. If you lose your temper, that is not in response to an internal promoting of the Holy Spirit.  That is in response to your sinful nature. While it is spontaneous and unexpected, it is not because you were being led by the Spirit.

It is clear to me, that Phillips' first step of obedience resulted in more communication from the Holy Spirit. As Phillip is walking along the road as the Lord had instructed him to do, the Holy Spirit spoke to him again, and Phillip responded in obedience to him, again.

Following Jesus sometimes requires SPONTANEITY.  Don’t be afraid to live on the edge of your faith and confidently step into the unknown where the Holy Spirit is prompting you to go. The continual NEXT STEPS of obedience by Phillip led to a LIFE-CHANGING conversation with the Ethiopian. If you are already a follower of Jesus, and you have not yet been baptized, your next step is to let your world know you are a follower of Jesus by being baptized.

But first, it is crucial to understand this:

BAPTISM FOLLOWS SURRENDER TO JESUS

Phillip caught up with the Ethiopian and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading.” The passage of Scripture that Phillip explained was Isaiah 53.  It is the explanation of the death of Jesus 400 years before it happened. 

In case you do not know Isaiah 53 – these are some of the things it say about Jesus.

• It was our weakness Jesus carried

• It was our sorrows that weighed Jesus down

• Jesus was pierced for our rebellion

• Jesus was crushed for our sins

• Jesus was beaten so we could be whole

• Jesus was whipped so we could be healed

And Isaiah wrote about you and I as well.  About us he said,

“All of us like sheep have strayed away, we have left God’s path to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.” Isaiah 53:6

• The Spirit of God led Phillip spontaneously to the desert, 

• to spontaneously catch up with a chariot, 

• and to spontaneously have a life-changing conversation about how that Ethiopian could become a follower of Jesus and receive Christ as his savior.

And now – I want to invite you to spontaneously become a follower of Jesus.  

Right now – if you believe but have not yet received Jesus – God has sent me to tell you today how to receive Jesus.

Take a look at this Prayer of Surrender:

God, today I admit to you that I am a sinner and deserve death.  I believe that Jesus paid the penalty for my sins through his death on the cross. I believe you have forgiven my sins. Jesus, I surrender my life to you and commit to following you. Amen.

That’s what happened in the conversation with Phillip and the Ethiopian!  After Phillip explained how a person could become a follower of Jesus – he told him that HIS NEXT STEP was to be baptized to let everybody know he was now a follower of Jesus and changed from the inside out.

So then they saw some water and he said, in v.36 "“Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”

The Ethiopian received Jesus as his Savior and was immediately baptized.  That is what you can do today.

WHY NOT TODAY?

Meeting Jesus - keep on asking

You know, I have been in ministry for just about 26 years, and regardless of whether I am in a room filled with men, women, children, pastors, deacons, parents, volunteers, or staff – everybody can be chatting, laughing, cutting up…but the moment the words are said, “who wants to open us up in prayer?” the room grows quiet.

People look down at the floor to avoid eye contact.

Some people have been followers of Jesus for a long time, yet they have never prayed in public.  If that sounds like you, its ok!  You don’t have to pray out loud in front of other people to experience a life-changing relationship with God.

According to research, the number one fear in America is “Speaking in Public.”

The second fear in America is death.

This means some people would rather die than speak in public!

Just a couple of months after I had surrendered to Jesus, in the fall of 1991, I was sitting in church on a Sunday night. I had been clowning around with one of my buddies during the message and closing, and when the Pastor had a “Sunday night routine” of asking somebody to pray.  That night, because I was not paying attention, I thought he said my name!  My heart raced.  My breathing went shallow.  Searching for the churchy words, I prayed out loud for the first time…but the Pastor did not call on me! He asked the person behind me! To make my prayer even more awkward, people came up to me afterward and congratulated me on such a wonderful prayer. That was weird.

In today’s passage, the disciples had recognized that Jesus had a different prayer life than anybody else they had come across.  Jesus was often going out to quiet places by himself to pray. Sometimes he took along his disciples, sometimes he went by himself.  On this occasion, after Jesus had been praying to God, the disciples turned to Jesus and said, “Lord teach us to pray.” Then – Jesus gave them what is known today as “The Lord’s Prayer”  - or if you are Catholic or former Catholic, you know it is as the bead that comes after the 10 Hail Mary’s on a Rosary bead.

Jesus did not just teach them how to model their prayer – but then he taught them some crucial principals about prayer that we all need to apply to our lives. If your prayer life has felt empty recently, my prayer is that today, the empty prayer life will change.

Luke 11:1-13

1  Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2  Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. 3  Give us each day the food we need, 4  and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.” 5  Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6  ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7  And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8  But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. 9  “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11  “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12  Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13  So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” 

It sounds to me like Jesus had been waiting for years for his disciples to ask Him to teach them to pray. He gave them powerful life changing advice. He didn’t tell them to “fold their hands, close their eyes, bow their heads…”  Every evening when we give God thanks for dinner, I wait for the girls to bow their heads, close their eyes, sit down at the table, and stop teasing each other…but Jesus did not focus on the external, Jesus addressed the inward attitude. He emphasized the heart, not the action. He emphasized the “experience of prayer” he was not focused on “kneeling down, lifting hands, closing eyes, or bowing heads.” He wasn’t focused on the loudness of prayer, he focused on the heart.

One of the ways he emphasizes the heart in this passage is that…

THE HEART OF PRAYER IS UNCOMFORTABLE GRACE 

Take a look again at verse 4.  

Luke 11:4

4  and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. 

Jesus taught that at the very core of our conversation with God – is an attitude that offers UNCOMFORTABLE GRACE to those around us. When we pray and ask God to forgive us of our sins, we must be willing to forgive those who have offended us. That means friends who betrayed us, wounded us, and hurt us deeply, are the first ones on our minds when we pray. Have you ever noticed it usually is not strangers that bother us, hurt us, or offend us when they sin against us? Strangers may sin against us, but they don’t hurt us like those that we trust. It is our friends, our family, and those we love who hurt us the deepest. It is not the people that cut us off in traffic or call us repeatedly on our cell phones that we can hold a grudge against.  

But the people we love, trust, admire, and hold in high regard – when they sin against us, they usually hurt and wound us deeply. When trust is broken, it can wound us for a long time if we let it. But here is the beautiful thing! It is only when we are wounded and broken that we get to join Jesus in demonstrating GRACE to those who don’t deserve it. It is only when we are hurt that we can radiate the beautiful, overwhelming kindness of God. So, when was the last time you demonstrated uncomfortable grace in your prayer life?  When was the last time, alone in the presence of God, you released your hurt, anger, and grudge against those who hurt you?  

Do they deserve to be forgiven?

No.

But neither do you.  

See, you and I – we cannot earn forgiveness from God, and we do not deserve his forgiveness for our rebellion.  Each of us in this room have thought evil thoughts, we have lied, we have cheated, we have lusted, we have lived in open rebellion against our Creator God and because of our rebellion, we deserve to be separated from God forever.  

1 Peter 3:18

18  Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

If you are a believer in Jesus and you have surrendered your life to Him, you have been brought safely home to God.  You are wrapped up in his presence in prayer…and bring that attitude of uncomfortable grace with you. As God wraps you up in his presence as you pray, make sure that you aren’t sticking your tongue out at somebody else that needs you to show them uncomfortable grace.

And, if you have not yet surrendered your life to Jesus, our prayer team will be at the front of the stage after the last worship song is sung.  They will be here to answer any questions you may have about how to surrender your life to Jesus and be forgiven for your sins.

A second thing we learn about prayer from this passage is that…

PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER DEMONSTRATES FAITH

Persistence in prayer demonstrates faith. Sometimes people say things like, “Well, I asked God to set me free from this addiction…” He never did, so he must not love me enough to answer my prayers or maybe, “I asked God to help me in my marriage, but He hasn’t.  He must not love me.” If you want to be rescued from addictions in your life, then you must be persistent in your ask. Be persistent in your request.  Is it really important to you? Do you really want to experience God’s power in your life? 

Look at the story Jesus told:  “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6  ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7  And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8  But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. 

One man did not want to get out of bed. The other man refused to go away. He was obnoxious. It was midnight. He kept knocking! Can you imagine a neighbor knocking on your door at midnight and refusing to go away? If that happened today, we would call the police.  Jesus is teaching us that it is okay to be obnoxious in prayer! Every day, I am reminded by persistence in prayer because my children refuse to take “no” for an answer.  “Dad, can I have this? Dad, can I please have this? Dad, please, oh please can I have that?”

If you understand what I’m talking about, say, “Help me, Jesus!” Persistence in prayer is a sign of faith and finally, we understand this third principle:

GOD IS GOOD AND WANTS TO BLESS YOU, SO ASK, SEEK, AND KNOCK!

Luke 11:13

13  So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

And God wants to bless you first by giving you His Holy Spirit.  When you surrender your life to Jesus and receive forgiveness for your sins, you are made NEW and you receive the Holy Spirit. So how will you demonstrate your faith? What is a need in your life that is screaming for you to ask and knock until God meets that need? Be obnoxious and keep asking God. Keep knocking on his door. Be persistent. Jesus said you have the freedom to ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK at the house of God anytime!

Keep on asking God for healing in your marriage.

Keep on asking God to set you free from addiction.

Keep on asking God to heal relationships with your children.

Keep on asking God to set you free from insecurity.

Keep on asking God to set you free from doubt.

Keep on asking God to heal your cancer.

Keep on asking God for that job.

Keep on asking God to help you forgive.

Keep on asking God to set you free from a grudge.

Keep on asking, keep on knocking.

If it sounds obnoxious to you, then you are learning the principle Jesus wants us to practice.

Persistence in ASKING means we continue to TRUST that He is Good.  

Meeting Jesus - Worship and Serving

As we will discover in our message today from Luke 10, leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus requires worship and service.

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus with siblings and friends of Jesus.  When Martha heard that Jesus was in town, she invited him into her home and planned a massive banquet for him as a guest of honor.

Anytime a person had a banquet, the entire town could attend and celebrate.  

This required much work from Martha.

Luke 10:38-42

38  As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. 39  Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40  But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41  But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42  There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” 

Since many of you have served or volunteered in some capacity in the church world, you may be able to relate to how Martha felt in this passage. Martha invited Jesus into her home to celebrate him as the guest of honor, but she could not spend any time with him because of all the work she had to do to have a big feast. During Thanksgiving, when the family comes into town, I love preparing the feast. I often get so caught up in making sure the food is cooked close to perfection that I often fail to connect with the family that has driven hours to spend time with us. I spend more time with the deep-fried turkey than the turkeys running around in my living room.

Well, that is precisely what happened with Martha. From this passage, it is essential for us to understand:

SERVING WITHOUT WORSHIP RISKS RESENTMENT

Luke 10:40 

Martha said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 

Can you see Martha working hard?  Running back and forth. Checking the temperature of the food. Tasting it to make sure the right amount of seasoning is in each dish. Making sure they had enough clean utensils and dishes. Getting the table set right for the guest of honor. Filling the wine glasses repeatedly. I am willing to bet she began preparing this feast with a happy heart…humming a song and feeling honored that she could have her friend and the great miracle worker Jesus in her home. 

Then...as she hustles around the home, her eye falls on her sister.  Sitting on her butt. Talking to Jesus. Laughing with him. Listening to him. Not helping.  Not serving.  Just sitting.

So, Martha begins to show signs of resentment.

Working as a construction worker, I would get so aggravated when a co-worker was lazy! Maybe you have experienced that frustration before as well.  When somebody does not pull their weight, when somebody is not working alongside you.  

Martha must have kept one eye on her work and the other on her sister. Growing more and more angry and steamed with every second that passed, until she couldn't take it any longer and blurted out:  It's not fair! Have you been there?

Maybe initially, serving others sounded like a good idea…but you felt like you have to do everything and nobody was helping you. It could be at church. It could be at home. It could be at work.

SO REST TO SERVE SELFLESSLY

As a follower of Jesus, when we serve others and fail to rest in the presence of Jesus on a regular basis, our attitude becomes stale and crusty. Look how quickly it happened to Martha. One moment she extended an invitation to Jesus and welcomed Jesus into her home.  The next moment - she wants to yank her sister up by the hair and make her help.  

If you are serving inside the walls of Beach Church or outside the walls of Beach Church and you feel frustrated with others, remember to rest in the presence of Jesus and cling to the promise of this verse:

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT2) 

58  So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Nothing you have done or ever will do for the Lord is useless.  Be encouraged. Rest in his presence in worship, and keep on going. Another truth we can draw out from this passage of scripture is this:

NEGLECTING JESUS STRAINS OUR RELATIONSHIPS

As a follower of Jesus, we want to live for him. We get in the word; we understand how he wants us to live, whom he wants us to become, and what he wants us to do…but if we stay focused on the “becoming” and neglect spending time with Jesus, our relationships with other people will become strained. Without resting in the presence of Jesus, acts of service and kindness become a religion. Without spending time with Jesus, we attempt to “love our neighbor as ourselves’ without loving God with all our heart. We get caught up in the doing, and we neglect worship.

When we neglect spending time in worship with Jesus, our relationships get strained, and we may blurt out something that we regret later. We may understand what Martha was thinking about because - we have all been there.

Please remember this:

SERVING IS GREAT, BUT WORSHIP IS GREATER

Martha must have been stunned by the gentle rebuke of Jesus and the words,

Luke 10:42

42  There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The story of Mary and Martha illustrates what it looks like to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.” In the passage of scripture that we looked at last week, Jesus taught that the Good Samaritan showed us what it was like to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Luke 10:25-28 

25  One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26  Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27  The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28  “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” 

When we love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we are serving them. Serving is GREAT! Martha is serving others in this passage. She is going above and beyond. She is going the extra mile. She is treating others how she would want to be treated. But, she was missing the mark when it came to “loving God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

Serving others walks hand in hand with loving God with all our heart soul, mind and strength. 

It is impossible to love God and NOT serve others truly, and we can’t love our neighbor as ourselves for long without becoming resentful and straining our relationship if we are not worshiping and loving God first. That is the lesson for all of us from the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus is not telling Martha that she should not be serving. He is telling Martha that as she serves, she must do it from the source of the only thing greater than serving.

Worship

The only thing that is greater than serving is worship. Worshiping Jesus is the most important, thrilling, extraordinary thing a human can experience…I love experiencing life-changing worship with hands lifted high, tears flowing from thankful hearts, and being joined together as followers of Christ as we pursue a more meaningful relationship with God. Serving others is almost equally as amazing of an experience! When you choose to bless other people, it is a fantastic feeling. You will feel good. You will be humbled. You will enjoy going the extra mile. If you serve out of the overflow of your relationship with God.

So keep following Jesus. Keep loving others. And make sure you do all you can to do BOTH together.

Meeting Jesus - The Good Samaritan

In 1993, two and a half years after I became a follower of Jesus, I sensed God was leading me to move 7 hours away to Columbus, OH, and serve at a new church that was meeting in a middle school. Everything I owned in life I stuffed into two large black trash bags. I had a 1986 Buick Regal with a bad thermostat, four bald tires, and a transmission that was stuck in one-gear, drive. Along the interstate, I replaced the water pump, changed a flat tire, and made it to Columbus with $60 left in my wallet. I arrived on a Sunday morning as worship was beginning, dropped $20 into the offering plate, and thanked God for getting me there safely. Now I had $40, no job, and no place to sleep, but I was following GOD! I had peace in my heart because I knew God would provide.  

Sunday afternoon, the Pastor of the church plant made a few phone calls, and later that day, I drove my car to one of the nicest neighborhoods I had ever seen. Blowing white smoke out of the exhaust, I parked my car on the curb of a beautiful five-bedroom home with a perfectly manicured lawn and a water fountain near the front door entrance. I had been living in the rented basement of a run-down house. Dark low ceilings, musty, broken plumbing pipes, barely getting by…

The Moser family welcomed me into their home and treated me as if I were one of the family. I had my own bedroom, bathroom and lived rent-free for the next year and a half. I ate meals with them and participated in everything the family did. Games, birthday celebrations…I was welcomed into their home not as a guest but as a stranger who became part of their family.

My entire life changed because of their willingness to take care of a stranger. When I moved back to Tennessee, I enrolled in college and later went on to Seminary. Had God not put this family in my life, at a critical time after I had surrendered my life to Jesus, I do not think I would be married or in ministry. Maybe you have experienced somebody who went out of their way to help you.  And they helped you in such a way that it changed your life. 

If you have ever been the recipient of selfless service like I have, this passage of scripture will speak to you today. Let’s read:

Luke 10:25-37 (NLT2) 

25  One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26  Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27  The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28  “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” 29  The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30  Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31  “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32  A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. 33  “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34  Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35  The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ 36  “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37  The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” 

Throughout the Gospel of Luke, the Religious Leaders are often seen trying to trick Jesus, kill Jesus, or accuse Jesus of sin. This religious lawyer had memorized the Old Testament and was an expert on how Jewish people were supposed to live. Every religious leader had summed up the entire Old Testament commands in one sentence:

To love God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

And, like every good lawyer who searches for loopholes, this religious lawyer was interested in discovering the loopholes in the command to “love his neighbor as Himself.” He wanted to define his neighbor so did not have to love ALL people.

Who was His Neighbor?

• Was it just those that lived near his home? 

• Maybe just the people he attended synagogue with? 

• Maybe just the people he saw on the way to work?  

• What about people outside the Jewish faith? Are they his neighbor, too?

This man reminds us that…

RELIGIOUS EXPERTS CAN FAIL AT RELATIONSHIPS

Sometimes people become such experts at knowing what the Bible says about right and wrong that they fail to have genuine connections with others. They become the authority about living correctly for followers of Jesus. They desire to control others through the commands of Jesus…and they love the grey areas of scripture:

Like:

If you are a real follower of Jesus, you should not drink alcohol.

If you are a real follower of Jesus, you should not smoke or vape.

If you are a real follower of Jesus, you should wear nicer clothes to church.

If you are a real follower of Jesus, you should be like me.

Then, when others do not meet their expectations, the relationship is over, until or unless the other person’s behavior changes. 

Some families are like that.

Some marriages are like that. 

Some churches are like that…

I am grateful, we are not. And If we have been in the past, that is not who we are now. Attempting to “control the behavior of others” will never deepen your relationships. The more we expect others to follow the rules, the more disappointed we will be in them because we all are sinners! We are all going to miss the mark. Don’t look for loopholes in relationships. Love all people as you love yourself and recognize that meaningful relationships are built through difficult seasons.

PEOPLE MAKE BAD DECISIONS; HELP THEM ANYWAY

Jesus was intentional about the road he included in this story. If you wanted to travel from Jerusalem to Jericho, you could only take one road. The “road” was more like a trail or a path, cut through hills and valleys and twisted and turned for about 25 miles. If you traveled the road, you would put your life at risk. Dehydration, Wild animals, and Thieves and bandits would hide along the trail, steal your money, beat you up, and leave you for dead.

The traveling man thought he could travel the road alone, but he was beat-up and left for dead. He made a bad decision. He didn’t think he needed people with him. He thought he was immune to all the bad things that would happen to him along the route. This man thought he could walk the road alone. Often, we do the same thing. Pride tells us that we do not need others. God designed us for relationships. God created us to do life with people who sin and make bad decisions. When people get in trouble because of the poor decisions they have made in life, help them anyway. You get that if you are a follower of Jesus. You understand that you made poor decisions in life, yet God helped you anyway.

Jesus did not allow our mistakes to keep us separated from him.

If you have come to a point where you understood God created you and loved you, that on the cross, Jesus paid the price for your sin, and that God wants a relationship with you through the forgiveness of sin, and you have surrendered your life to God and trusted Jesus as your Savior. Then you understand that God did not allow our failure to prevent him from helping us. So don’t allow other people’s bad decisions to prevent you from helping them. The religious people walked on past this man. 

Maybe they thought as they walked by: 

“Actions have consequences.” 

“You play with fire, and you will get burned.”

All these sayings are true…but I have made bad decisions before, and I needed help. 

You have made bad decisions before, and you needed help. So show others mercy, and help them even when they have really messed their lives up. Remember,

SELFLESS SERVICE REQUESTS NOTHING IN RETURN

“Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35  The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

This man selflessly served and asked for nothing in return:

• He used his emergency kit.

• He walked the rest of the journey while the wounded man rode his donkey.

• He paid the medical bill of a stranger.

Beach Church has a pattern of Serving selflessly. We serve with a “no strings attached” mentality, expecting and asking for nothing in return.

Some examples:

• Gift Cards for Families at Christmas

• Parent’s Night out

• Whenever you purchase a drink in the Cove, all of that money goes directly to local missions.

• We have provided breakfast for local schools

• Clothing drives for Fostering Hope and Homeless shelters

• Annual food Drives for local food pantries

• Monthly food distributions

I could go on and on…

When we are serving, we serve with no strings attached. We do not try to coax people into becoming a follower of Jesus before we help them. We serve selflessly.

And remember, 

A NEIGHBOR’S NEED IS A CALL TO ACTION, NOT PITY

After this story, Jesus asked, “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” 37  The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”  In today’s culture, when we see somebody in danger, we are more prone to record it than to help them. But, because Jesus tells us to go and do the same, a neighbor’s need is a call to action…and feeling sorry for people is not what God wants. God wants you and I to be light in a dark world.

He wants us to make a difference to those who are hurting. 

To those in need. 

To those at the end of their rope. 

To those who feel beat up by life and left for dead. 

To those who think they do not matter and nobody cares for them.

God does not want us to feel pity for them. He wants us to go out of our way, to serve selflessly, and to take action. So, if you have established a pattern of walking past those in need, change your pattern. Make a decision today that you will never walk past a person in need without helping them. Let’s be a people here at Beach Church that serve selflessly and make a difference in our community.

Meeting Jesus - Extraordinary Encounters

I was in my second year of college in 1996 when the comet named Hyakutake (ya-koo-ta-kee) filled the night sky.  Around 10 o’clock at night, my friend and I hopped in my car to get away from the city lights to get a good look at it.  Outside the city limits, we made lefts and rights down some backroads until we finally were far enough away from the city lights to get a good view. We were surrounded by thick trees, the sky was black, and once we found a little clearance at the top of a hill, I pulled my car into a dirt road. My headlights hit a house with boarded windows and doors…

We jumped out of the car, left the doors open, the headlights on pointing toward the woods across the road, and the engine running (because my car usually didn’t start the first time I turned the key) and turned to look at the comet.  

It was stunning.  The huge ball of fire, the streaming brilliant tail that went on for thousands of miles….it was incredible.

But…something felt off.  It felt like I was being watched.  Something did not feel right. It felt like that the moment I jumped out of the car…and it built up.  I couldn’t shake it. After driving 45 minutes to get out of town, I spent less than a minute looking at the comet. As awesome and brilliant as the comet was – something didn’t feel right. I turned to my friend and asked him if he wanted to go.  Quickly, he said “yep.”  

I turned to get in the car, and in the headlights just at the edge of the road, a man was walking directly toward me! He had on dark clothes, a hat pulled down over his head, and was moving silently through the leaves toward me. I jumped into the driver’s seat. Yelled to my friend, “Get in the car!” He saw the guy, jumped in. We slammed the doors, put the car in drive…and as I pulled out past the man, he glared at me through the driver side window and KICKED the back of my car as hard as he could.

I did not stop at one stop sign or red light until I pulled back onto campus.  Once on campus, we both leaped out of the car and quickly looked underneath to make sure this guy wasn’t hanging on. That was the strangest encounter of my life! We had questions like, “Why couldn’t we hear him?”  “Why was he coming toward me?” “If we were trespassing, why didn’t he just yell at us?”  I had no answers.  It was a bizarre, strange, and weird encounter.

Sometimes we encounter things in life that we are unable to explain. Maybe you have had a bizarre experience in your life as well. Some people make claims that they have seen Bigfoot. Or abducted by aliens… 

It’s crazy that in light of all the technology that we carry around in our pocket on our cell phones, most of these strange encounters are blurry and out of frame. Luke recorded a very strange encounter that the disciples had with Jesus.  Two dead prophets and Jesus would hang out together on a hill, and Jesus clothes and appearance would turn to radiant white.  It was strange and bizarre, but I believe there are some great take-aways in the passage for us.

Luke 9:28-36 (NLT2) 

28  About eight days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain to pray. 29  And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30  Then two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31  They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. 32  Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. 33  As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 34  But even as he was saying this, a cloud came over them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them. 35  Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” 36  When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen. 

This was a bizarre and strange encounter.  Men who had died hundreds of years before…Jesus appearance being changed.  The voice of God booming from within a cloud. For Jesus, this was a public affirmation from God that he was going to save the World from our sins…that he was the chosen son of God…and that we should all listen to him and do what he says to do.

And It is interesting that in this moment, 

JESUS DID NOT SEEK VALIDATION FROM INFLUENCERS

This was the most significant moment in his life to date...yet he did not bring in the heavy hitters with political or religious influence to see it. Jesus did not contact the local news team. He didn’t gather together the heads of the tribes of Israel, He did not invite Kings, scholars, philosophers to observe this moment of validation. He didn’t invite people from different arenas who would tell others about what they saw, and about who He was. He did not seek out the popular people among the Israelites. So many people in our culture today seek out validation from INFLUENCERS in social media.  

We have many Social Media Influencers in our church.  Let me ask you to use your influence to shine the light on Jesus and to point others to Jesus.

Be informative. Be witty and clever. Be funny. But periodically, point them to something greater than you.

The greatest influence you could ever have is to lead somebody to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Many people today want to be recognized on social media – they want their opinion to matter more than others. They want the recognition. They build revenue through LIKES and HEARTS and COMMENTS.  If enough people like them – sponsors will pick them up.

But some people who want to be an influencer have it wrong. They want to be important and they want to matter.  Some people who try to be an influencer aren’t seeking revenue or cash, they are building their view of self.  They think, “The more people that like my posts, the more important I will be.” 

And, “If people do not like my posts, apparently I do not matter.”

Let me say this right now – you are important. You do matter.  Your self-worth is not found online. If you seek out validation from other people to feel important, stop it.

Jesus has given his life for you – you matter. There may be absolutely nothing exciting or incredible about you. You may not have any talents whatsoever. Your checking account may make a homeless person feel rich…

You may be absolutely NORMAL, like Jesus demonstrates in this passage:

GOD INVITES NORMAL PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCE THE ABNORMAL

Jesus took regular ordinary people to the top of this mountain to experience something abnormal. Something unexpected. Something unheard of. Peter, James and John were all regular uneducated, untrained, fishermen.  They were mediocre fishermen at best.  When Jesus first called them, they had been fishing all night and did not catch one fish.  They weren’t the best or most skilled in their line of work.

They were ok. They were adequate. They were normal, everyday people that he called to experience the abnormal. That is what God continues to do today. If you want to experience the abnormal in a life-changing relationship with Jesus – you can be wealthy, or poor, you can be be attractive, or ugly. You can be a nobody or a somebody. You can be married. Divorced. You can be single.  

You can bring all your flaws, all your faults, they way you are, surrender your life to Jesus, and experience an abnormal life. I know normal quite well, because I am normal. In many ways, I consider myself below average. God has gifted me as a teacher.  I love teaching his word and helping people experience the abundant life He has for them…

On the stage, I teach pretty transparently.  In fact, one of my core values is to live transparently…I often share my own struggles with applying God’s Word to my life…and often my own failures.  

I acknowledge that I am a guarded individual.  I am very guarded when it comes to who I let in my life.  I have experienced a lot of hurt in my childhood, and a lot of hurt in ministry. Because I am guarded, I may come across as uncaring. Normal people have problems – but we should not let our problems stand in the way of experiencing the abnormal.  

So – what are your barriers to growth?  What are the areas of your life that needs to experience healing? Besides Jesus, Peter is the only other man that speaks in this passage of scripture – and essentially he is a blubbering idiot.  He doesn’t know what to say, so he rambles.  

33  …Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

In the presence of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah – Peter felt a need to say something – so he just blurted something out. That was Peter’s personality.  He often did or said things that were dumb things to say.  

He jumped out of the boat to walk on water and sank. He rebuked Jesus and told him he was wrong. He blurts something out here just to say something. Like you and I, Peter was a normal ordinary guy. He had a lot of rough edges. He had to make a lot of apologies…

But Jesus knew that…

GOD TRANSFORMS ORDINARY INTO EXTRAORDINARY 

After Jesus rose from the dead, God took this man named Peter, a normal ordinary man and transformed him into a preacher and leader. In the Book of Acts, under Peter’s preaching – thousands and thousands of people surrendered their lives to Jesus and experienced forgiveness of sins and were made brand spanking new. God took the man that smelled like fish and made him a fisher of men.

God took the man with no communication skills, and transformed him into one of the most gifted and honest speakers of his time.

Acts 4:13 (NLT2) 

13  The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

Both Peter and John were Ordinary until God grabbed ahold of their lives. So, how can you let God transform you?  How can you as a follower of Jesus, become extraordinary. At Beach Church, our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. We not only lead people to Jesus…we lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. That means, all those in Jesus continue to be changed by Jesus. Let me give you a little glimpse of what we will be incorporating into our Next Steps classes.

Our Next Step classes are designed to help people learn more about our church, and to help followers of Jesus transform into people who become more like the person God created them to be. I have developed 7 Questions called Anchor Points that will be incorporated into our Next Steps course, but for now, I want you to have these questions that you can ask yourself on a regular basis. These Anchor Points are questions designed to help an “ordinary” follower of Jesus become an “extraordinary” follower of Jesus:

Here are the Seven Anchor Points for a follower of Jesus to ask themselves on a daily basis:

ANCHOR POINTS

LOVING: How am I showing others kindness and respect?

GROWING: How am I deepening my relationship with God?

CONNECTING: Who am I getting real with?

FORGIVING: Who am I forgiving and extending grace to?

SERVING: How am I selflessly meeting the needs of others?

INVITING: Who am I encouraging to follow Jesus?

GIVING: How am I trusting God with my finances?

God wants to take your ordinary and make it extra-ordinary. Will you let him?

Meeting Jesus - Overcoming Roadblocks to obedience

This week – the college world series started, with the regionals. Coastal Carolina even hosted one of the tournaments. They are now playing the super regionals and next is the College World Series. Baseball can be a fun sport to watch. The young men are throwing baseballs at 90-98 MPH. I watched one game, where the pitcher hit 100 mph.

Do you know how difficult it is to hit a baseball traveling 90-98MPH?  I tried, 80 MPH at a batting cage once and played against some guys that could throw the ball that hard, so I can tell you that it is very difficult especially the older I get. Pitches traveling at 95-100 mph take just 400 ms to travel from the pitcher to the hitter. Since the typical reaction time is 200 ms, and it takes 100 ms to swing the bat, this leaves just 100 ms of observation time on which the hitter can base his swing.

There is NO ROOM for HESITATION when you are at bat.  You must make a RAPID decision and begin to swing IMMEDIATELY if you want to make contact with the ball. When it comes to following Jesus, believers in Christ can sometimes get caught up in hesitating before applying God’s Word to our lives. Think about it.  A follower of Jesus reads God’s word and KNOW a CHANGE needs to occur in their life. They understand that God has called them to Love God and Love people…to forgive, show kindness and compassion, and grace…

 …But we hesitate.  

Let’s read the words of Jesus from Luke 9:18-27 to see what Jesus has to say to his followers about living in obedience to Him.

Luke 9:18-27 (NLT2) 

18  One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 19  “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.” 20  Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!” 21  Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. 22  “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” 23  Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? 26  If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. 27  I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God.” 

This passage of scripture is Jesus challenge for his followers to die to themselves. He isn’t sharing this with the crowds.  He shared this with only those who were his disciples.  They believed that Jesus was sent from God and that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus took this small group to a deeper level and challenge them to APPLY what he had been teaching them.

BUT, when you hear “take up your Cross” it can stir up some hesitation.

A COMMON ROADBLOCK TO LIFE CHANGE IS HESITATION. 

For Instance, I remember when I first surrendered my life to Christ. My life began to change, but I was still dealing with some hesitation especially about going public with what was happening. Of course, I told my family, but I hesitated when it come to telling others, especially my friends about what Jesus had done. I was afraid that if I told them, that they would no longer be my friends. I remember on one occasion, I had a friend named Michael that point blank asked me what was different about me. As I thought I hesitated to tell him that Jesus had turned my world upside down. I wanted to tell him that I now know what Love is, I have peace, I have hope, I have joy. I wanted to tell him that he could have the same. 

BUT, I didn’t! 

I hesitated because I was afraid of what it might cost me.

“Take up Your Cross”??? that means I have to give up something. I did not want to lose one of my best friends.

Luke 9:23 (NLT) 

23  Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 

At this point in the life of Jesus – everybody wanted to be his follower.  Life-Change was happening all around.  People were being healed.  He was turning the entire religious system upside down.  He was showing compassion, grace, forgiveness.  Crowds were following him at no risk to themselves.  It cost them nothing.  In fact, it was a rather popular position to be in.  

Jesus had already called those HE now called APOSTLES to give up their lives and follow him.  Now Jesus turned to the crowd and said, before you can follow me – you have to do two things before you can be my follower. 

TURN from your selfish ways

TAKE up your cross daily

Let’s think back to the Garden of Eden.  At the root of ADAM and EVE’S sin was SELFISHNESS. The Fruit was desirable. James 1:15 Says “These desires give birth to Sinful Actions” Adam and Eve WANTED to please themselves by giving into their desires. Pleasing their creator was important – (we know it was important to them because they HID from God after they had sinned) but PLEASING themselves MATTERED more.  Pleasing themselves mattered more than anything.  God said not to eat the FRUIT but they wanted to satisfy and gratify themselves

WE HESITATE BECAUSE WE ARE SELIFSH

Lucifer was kicked out of Heaven because of SELFISHNESS. ADAM and EVE were kicked out of the Garden of Eden because of SELFISHNESS. From the time our children are able grasp the concept – we teach them not to be selfish but to share.

Every sin is rooted in selfish desires.  

Selfish attitudes.  

Selfish ways.  

If you struggle with temptations and give in often to sin – it is because you are a selfish, selfish person.  You may not be selfish in all areas – but you are selfish in some.  You struggle with sin because you want to PLEASE your flesh.

If you fight often with your spouse – it is because you are being selfish.  You didn’t like something they did.  You don’t like that they left something for you to do… Most of the time, when my wife and I argue it’s because one of us being selfish. Let me rephrase that: It’s because I’m being selfish.

If you gossip it is because you deep down – you want to appear wiser, smarter, and better than the person you are talking about. 

So JESUS says the very first step, the very first thing we must be willing to do to follow him is to TURN AWAY from our SELFISHNESS.  

We need to tell ourselves “NO” 

NO I will not say that.

NO I will not think that.

NO I will not go there with my words.

NO I will not look at that.

NO I will not get mad at all Walmart Employees because only one line is open.

We TURN away from our SELFISHNESS.

BUT we limit the MEANING of the words of Jesus spoken in Luke 9:23 if we only focus on SELF-DENIAL.  Self-DENIAL is only part of the equation.  

Let’s look at Luke 9:23 again

Luke 9:23 (NLT) 

23  Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 

In order to be a FOLLOWER of Jesus – we must “Deny ourselves” and “Take up our cross daily.”

The Cross was a symbol of Death. The crowd would have known what carrying a cross meant. The disciples knew. We know how brutal it was because of what we have read and know. We know that when a man carried a cross it was not a round trip ticket. We know if a man carried a cross, HE WAS GOING TO DIE.

Denying ourselves is one thing – but taking up a cross is a whole deeper level of commitment.  You can not be a follower of Jesus without committing to not only DENYING self, but SACRIFICING self as well. This is something that we do daily!! We are selfish people and so we have to take up that cross and deny our selfish desires.

You have heard the expression, “It’s not about me.”  

The most selfless thing we can do is to SELFLESSLY SACRIFICE for others.  Serving in the NURSERY is a SACRIFICE.  Serving in our Children’s ministry is a SACRIFICE. Serving in the student Ministry is a SACRIFICE.  Serving in the church, on a mission team, on any of our teams here at Beach Church is a SACRIFICE. If I can be honest, if we are truly sacrificing self for others church’s wouldn’t have to beg for volunteers. Jesus EQUATED TAKING the CROSS of SUFFERING with what it means to FOLLOW him.

CARRYING a CROSS is LIVING with PURPOSE.  

CARRYING a CROSS is a lifestyle of ACTION.  

CARRYING a CROSS is being a SERVANT to ALL.

CARRYING a CROSS is GIVING so much we feel it.

CARRYING a CROSS is HUMILIATING.

CARRYING a CROSS is giving up all SELFISHNESS and EMBRACING SACRIFICE.

One of the things I have NEVER understood since I became a Christian is how people can be SO PREFERENCE DRIVEN in the church when Jesus calls us to DIE to OURSELVES. 

They think CORPORATE WORSHIP should be the songs THEY LIKE.

They think MISSIONS OF THE CHURCH should be where they DESIRE to go. 

And on and on and on…they fight for their colors, their ministries, their turf, their worship, their preaching style, their SELFISH DESIRES!

When the CHRISTIAN chooses to FOLLOW JESUS they have abandoned their PREFERENCE way of DOING things and PICKED up a CROSS with a ONE-WAY ticket to HEAVEN. This is when we truly understand “It’s not about me”

We were not SAVED merely to STOP doing things – we were saved to “CARRY a CROSS.”  We were saved FROM something FOR SOMETHING!

Paul illustrates what it means to carry a CROSS beautifully in Ephesians.

Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT) 

21  Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22  throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24  Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 

The way Paul describes TURNING FROM OUR SELFISHNESS and CARRYING a CROSS is by THROWING OFF OUR OLD MAN and PUTTING ON THE NEW MAN…just as we would throw off nasty dirty clothes and put on new ones.

Paul then provides illustration after illustration of what that looks like:

Ephesians 4:25-29 (NLT)

25  So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26  And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27  for anger gives a foothold to the devil. 28  If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29  Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 

This has always been a fascinating passage to me because it illustrates the LIFESTYLE of a FOLLOWER of JESUS who has turned from his selfishness and is carrying a cross.

A LIAR is transformed to a person who can be TRUSTED by OTHERS.

A HOT-TEMPERED person is transformed into a person controlled by FORGIVENESS to OTHERS.

A THIEF is transformed into a person who WORKS HARD to give GENEROUSLY to OTHERS.

A FOUL-MOUTHED PERSON is transformed into an ENCOURAGER of OTHERS.

THIS IS NOT A HARD CONCEPT TO UNDERSTAND BUT IT IS SOMETHING WE MUST APPLY

There is a radical transformation that has occurred!  Something uncommon has happened to an individual who DENIES SELF.  Something amazing.  Something beautiful…SOMETHING that has forever changed the habits of his life!  That something is REPENTANCE.  

True repentance alters a person’s life!  Truly turning from our selfish ways is a result of GENUINE REPENTANCE.

DYING TO SELF HELPS US BECOME THE PERSON WE WERE CREATED TO BE

When we are humbly seeking the Lord, and seeking his face to do what is right, we will take up our cross on a regular basis.  We become the person God has created us to be – we begin the journey of becoming an unselfish person who sacrifices for others.

That first step of REPENTENCE is simply this, rejecting your selfish ways and turning yourself toward God’s ways through Jesus. If you’d like to do that right now, pray this prayer.

Dear God,  

I want to be a follower of Jesus.  Therefore, right now I reject my selfish way of living and turn to you.  I believe that Jesus has paid the penalty for my sin on the cross, and ask you to forgive me of my sin and I receive your one and only Son as my Savior.  Through your strength, I ask you now to help me carry my cross and live out this repentance through my actions.  Thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me.  I receive Jesus as my Savior and Ultimate example of everything I should strive to be like. 

In Jesus name, Amen.

Meeting Jesus - Spontaneous Generosity

Are you a generous person? On a regular basis, do you demonstrate generosity in your life?

Now, before you roll your eyes and say to yourself, “Here we go. The Pastor is talking about money.” I am not.

Would your family, friends, and neighbors consider you to be a generous person? 

Are you generous with your time? 

Are you generous with food?  

Here is a story about how I made a decision to be greedy with my time instead of living generously.

On Friday morning around 8:30, I put on my bike helmet and hopped on my bike to ride from my house to the beach. As I was passing the church, I saw cars and tables in the parking lot and remembered that it was “Food Distribution” day. I felt the compulsion, the desire in me to stay…then I heard the voice that said, “Its your day off. Keep riding your Bike.” So I pedaled off on my bike. I rode down to the beach, and up the coast to 48th. I used Google Maps to discover bike paths to ride to River Oaks Elementary.

But instead of taking me down nice, smooth, paved bike paths, my friend Google took me to Mountain Bike trails, with jumps, sudden down hill bursts, tight twists and turns…this was a trail for seasoned Mountain Bike riders, of which I am not!

My hands slipped off the handlebars a few times, I almost crashed. 

I kept peddling, kept pushing, and kept pressing into my near death experience. I was exhausted. Cut through the underbrush and pedaled down the highway that had no bike trail…and you know how crazy the drivers are. By the time I made it to the school, my 50 year old body was worn out. My butt hurt. My legs hurt. My feet hurt. My eyelids hurt.

And I thought, “I sure wish I had been generous with my time and stayed at the church to help out.” 

Today, all of my lower body is in pain! Greed can hurt! In more ways than one. Sometimes, when a loved one passes away, greed steps in and families fight over the property left behind, and relationships are strained or destroyed.

We can all learn lessons from a boy in Luke 9 that demonstrated generosity.

Luke 9:10-13a 

10  When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. 11  But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick. 12  Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.” 13  But Jesus said, “You feed them.” John 6:8-9 (NLT2) 8  Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9  “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” Luke 9:13b-17 (NLT2) “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” 14  For there were about 5,000 men there. Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15  So the people all sat down. 16  Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. 17  They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! 

We see in the first few verses that Jesus did not plan on spending his day with this crowd of 5,000. Jesus wanted to spend time alone with his disciples talking with them about what they had just experienced. In the first few verses of chapter 9, Jesus gave his disciples the authority to heal diseases and cast out demons, then he sent them into neighboring towns and village. The disciples came back and they were so excited about what they had been able to do. They cast out demons, they healed people, they were excited, so Jesus pulled them aside to spend time listening to their joy and excitement. But the crowd found out where Jesus was going and followed him. So Jesus, gave generously of His time. 

Jesus WELCOMED them and taught them about the Kingdom of God. While Jesus walked on the planet, his mission was to tell people about God’s love for them. The people were HUNGRY for the words of truth about God.  Everywhere Jesus went, the crowds pressed in around him and followed him. People are still spiritually hungry to hear about God’s Kingdom of Love, forgiveness, hope and peace. Despite what we see on social media, I believe people are hungry to know God and the truth. People are hungry for church to focus on the mission of leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

LIVING GENEROUSLY SUPPORTS THE MISSION OF JESUS

The mission of Jesus was to teach people about God’s Kingdom and communicate God’s love for them. If it had not been for this young boy willing to be generous with his food, some would not have experienced the mission of Jesus being unfolded in their lives.

Luke 9:12-13 (NLT2) 

12  Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.” 13  But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” 

If the disciples had their way, they would have allowed their limited resources to end the dramatic life-change that was happening to the people in the crowd. Like parents of screaming toddlers, it was the end of the day and they were ready for their kids to be in bed. The crowd was tired and hungry. The Disciples were tired and hungry. Maybe they were all “hangry.” Hangry is when you get hungry and angry because there ain’t no food yet.

So, because everybody was hangry and there was no food, the disciples thought “send them away to find food and rest.” The crowd was tired and hungry, but it never dawned on the disciples that the crowd did not need Jesus permission to leave. Each person could have left anytime to go eat and rest.

They chose to stay because they were hearing about God’s Kingdom in a way that made sense. They were being fed spiritually, so they lingered in the presence of Jesus. I am so grateful that when Beach Church walked through the hard a couple of years ago with Covid and division, that the staff stuck it out because the mission of Jesus mattered!

Despite resources being limited, peoples lives were changed, baptisms increased, and the mission of Jesus continued. Similarly, this boy takes his lunch, his limited resources, gives it to Jesus, and the mission of Jesus continued. He could have been greedy, found a shady spot under a tree and stuffed his face. But somehow, this boy knew that if he was generous with his food, Jesus would be able to do something great with it.

Are you living generously like this?

Do you live generously in your home?

Are you generous in your time with your spouse? 

Do you put down the remote, turn away from the television? 

Do you put down your cell phone and live generously with your attention on your children?

You may think, “My time is limited. I do not have time to be generous.”

Let me say this, “You do NOT have time to NOT be generous.”

LIVING GENEROUSLY PROVIDES FOR YOU AND OTHERS

Luke 9:17 (NLT2) 

17  They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!

The boy, the one had had given away everything, ate as much as he wanted, too. When we live generously, God provides for our needs as well. When we seek to bless those around us, God provides for us as well. Feeding the 5,000 is an example of what Jesus taught in Luke 6:38 about generosity.

Luke 6:38 (NLT2) 

38  Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

This boy’s generosity is a clear example of God’s promise to bless those who are generous. He gave away his food. He put it in the hands of Jesus. And Jesus did far more with it than the boy ever could. The boy was fed. The crowd was fed and the mission of Jesus continued.

When we choose to live generously, we are choosing to trust God with our resources. 

So, live generously.

If you have ever received bad service at a restaurant.

If a driver behind you at a light blew their horn when you did not accelerate immediately when the light turned green.

Live generously. 

Bless the servers at your restaurant today with a generous tip, even if your food and service is bad.

Bless other drivers with a generous amount of patience. Instead of tooting your horn because the driver in front of you does not accelerate the second the light turns green, give them 5 seconds. Bless your family with generosity. 

Leave the last slice of pizza for somebody else. 

Do the laundry. Wash the dishes. Practice living generously because…

GENEROUS LIVING OFFSETS OUR INCLINATION TOWARD GREED.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 

6  Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7  You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

When we are generous, we radiate God’s character.  Think about how God has been generous to you.

God GAVE you life.

God GAVE you family. 

God GAVE up his own son to die on the cross for you.  

God GIVES you blessing after blessing after blessing.

When we are GENEROUS it allows God to BLESS US more.

Generosity says: I will bless others and trust God to bless me.

Greed lies and says: When I have enough, Ill bless others.

Generosity helps fulfill our mission to lead people to Jesus and aligns our heart with God.

Greed is never satisfied and always desires more. The only way to overcome the temptation to live out greediness is to practice generosity.

When we are generous on a regular basis – it opens the door to more of God’s blessings. Whoever sows BOUNTIFULLY will REEP BOUNTIFULLY. WHEN your HAND is OPENED and EMPTY GOD is going to put MORE in it to give to others. BUT there is a CAVEAT. YOU have to WANT to GIVE! God blesses CHEERFUL givers. God is not going to BLESS sour puss givers.  He is not going to bless SCROOGE like givers.  God is going to BLESS GIVERS who GIVE JOYFULLY.  Not out of obligation.  Not out of necessity.

Give joyfully because when we give we are reflecting the character of God.

Meeting Jesus - No Longer Alone

In the late 1980’s and early 90’s there was a boy band known as the New Kids on the Block.  All teen girls LOVED New Kids.  Girls had their pictures on their folders, their trapper keepers, their t-shirts…

To be honest, I never learned the New Kids names.  Like most guys, we didn’t like them!  They were a boy band!

BUT! 

My wife and her twin sister LOVED the NEW KIDS on the BLOCK. When Kristy and I started dating, her dorm room rocked NEW KIDS posters, pillows, sheets, comforters and towels.  We still have one of the towels and, when laundry gets low, sometimes I have to dry off with this towel…😊

Kristy loved the NK so much that one day, this NEW KIDS commercial came on TV featuring a number you could call and hear all about what the NEW KIDS members were up to.

So, what did Kristy do after watching that commercial?  She picked up the phone and dialed that number! ($2 for the first minute and .45 cents for each additional minute.) All was fine until – her dad opened the telephone bill. Kristy heard her dad start yelling – “What in the world?”  

He dialed the 900 number to see who it was… slammed the phone down, grabbed the “spanking spoon” and headed to the back bedroom.  Kristy hid in the closet. Her twin sister Kim was no help.  She said, “It was Kristy!”

Kristy was busted.  She was ashamed.  She was embarrassed.  And she was in hiding. Kristy wasn’t hiding from her dad EXCLUSIVELY.  She was hiding from the punishment that was going to come from her dad. She loved her dad…but she was afraid of the punishment.

Isn’t that the way we sometimes act toward God? We get beat up by sin.  We get beat up in life because life is DIFFICULT.  We make poor choices and sin.  Or we get weighed down by things that are beyond our control.

And instead of turning to God to ask for help, we feel ashamed, dirty, and worthless and HIDE from God. We want to turn to God for help because we know he loves us, but we are so ashamed at the same time. Today, we will read about a woman who tried to hide from Jesus and receive healing from Jesus at the same time.

Luke 8:43-48 (NLT2) 

43  A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. 

Mark 5:26-27 (NLT2) 

26  She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27  She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 

Luke 8:44-48 (NLT2)

44  Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. 45  “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” 46  But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47  When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees before him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48  “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” 

All of us would acknowledge that whether we are believers in Jesus or not, none of us are promised an easy life.  We are not promised lives that are free from heartache, free from pain, or free from problems. This woman had led a hard life. For twelve years she suffered. Maybe you have suffered with a long battle with a disease for a long time as well. 

My dad suffered with battles of cancer for 17 years.  From cancer in his lymph nodes, skin cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer…

Many have seen friends and family walk through difficult years of health, divorce, family troubles…In fact, life will kick us at times, it will be difficult and overwhelming.

When you experience the hard of life…

DON’T LET FEELINGS BE AN OBSTACLE TO SEEK THE RIGHT HELP.

This woman had been seeking help from one doctor after another. The Gospel writer MARK tells us that she had tried EVERYTHING to be cured.  She had gone to Doctors numerous times whose medical treatments hurt her more than helped her:

Mark 5:26 (NLT) 

26  She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse.

For twelve years, she suffered from a rather embarrassing, gynecological condition of constant hemorrhaging and bleeding. So, she bounced from one doctor to the next – all hoping that the treatment they would give her would cure her.

Nothing fixed her. In fact, the doctors she had turned to only made her suffering grow greater and made her condition worse.

One Doctor promised a cure. And caused more harm.

The another Doctor…and caused more harm…

Then another and another and another and another and another…

Until finally she spent every penny she had trying to find a cure for her condition! 

And now – she was too ashamed to ask Jesus for help.  

When we turn to everything else without the help of Jesus for healing, we only make things worse. 

You may be on a journey bouncing from one relationship to the next, convinced that the next man or the next woman is going to be able to love you and make you feel worthy of being loved. You may have an addiction to drugs, alcohol, prescription drugs, and you bounce around from one doctor to the next, hoping the next doctor is going to tell you what you want to hear.

Like this woman, my dad spent his entire adult life trying to heal from the wounds of the abuse from his dad as a kid. 

My dad abused me.

And He had been abused by HIS dad.

He tried to find healing for his childhood in bottle after bottle of liquor, beer after beer in the bar, one pack of cigarettes after another. He tried to hide his shame and run from his hurt and trauma through pornographic magazines and movies. He wanted to numb the pain of his past. He wanted to forget the hurt he had experienced and he wanted to forget the hurt he had caused. 

Sadly, my dad, like the woman in the story, wasted every penny he had seeking healing in the wrong places. He tried to get relief from his pain in alcohol and pornography. Things that only made his life worse. My dad passed away at the age of 54. Cancer had ravaged his body, but it was the things he chased after for healing that had destroyed his life.

So, please, don’t let your feelings of shame or embarrassment prevent you from seeking out the right help.  Whether you have been hurt as a child, hurt by the death or trauma of a loved one, hurt by addiction, sin, and mistakes, seek help from Jesus.

Jesus can help you and heal you.

Now, look at the reason WHY this woman sought out healing from Jesus. 

Mark 5:27 (NLT) 

27  She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe.

Please, never forget that your faith in Jesus, is not a private thing. Your faith belongs in the PUBLIC.

Because,

CELEBRATING YOUR FAITH CAN IGNITE FAITH IN OTHERS

This woman sought healing from Jesus based on what she had heard OTHER people say. Jesus was radically changing peoples lives and people were talking about him! She bounced from doctor to doctor, until FINALLY she heard about Jesus! She had HEARD that Jesus had already been doing things NOBODY had ever done or seen before.  

Let’s take a look at some of those healings already mentioned in the Gospel of Luke:

JESUS HEALED PETER’S MOTHER-IN-LAW FROM HIGH FEVER

Luke 4:39 (NLT) 

39  Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them. 

JESUS HEALED ALL THE SICK IN A VILLAGE.

Luke 4:40 (NLT) 

40  As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.

JESUS HEALED A MAN WITH AN ADVANCED CASE OF LEPROSY.

Luke 5:13 (NLT) 

13  Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

JESUS HEALED A PARALYZED MAN.

Luke 5:25 (NLT) 

25  And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.

JESUS HEALED A MAN WITH A DEFORMED HAND.

Luke 6:10 (NLT) 

10  He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

HE HEALED ALL THOSE WHO WERE SICK BY THE THOUSANDS.

Luke 6:19 (NLT) 

19  Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

HE HEALED THE SLAVE OF A ROMAN OFFICER.

Luke 7:10 (NLT) 

10  And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

HE RESURECTED A WIDOW’S SON.

Luke 7:14 (NLT) 

14  Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.”

HE HEALED VARIOUS DISEASES AND THE BLIND.

Luke 7:21 (NLT) 

21  At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases and illnesses, and he cast out evil spirits and restored sight to many who were blind.

This woman had HEARD these things about Jesus.  She had heard that Jesus was restoring hope to those who had given up hope. The Celebration of others ignited a fire of faith in the community and in this woman.  

Your celebration can ignite faith in other people, too.

So – celebrate what Jesus has been doing in your life so that others can come to Jesus. If you have not yet told your story of how God has restored your marriage, your friendships, your life, begin to tell your story! If you have not yet made it clear about the changed life Jesus has brought to you…

STEP OUT OF HIDING AND INTO THE PRESENCE OF JESUS

Today, I want to offer you the chance to step out of hiding and into a relationship with Jesus. I want to invite you to confront the struggles of sin you have faced and find true healing and freedom in Him. The same power that flowed from Jesus 2,000 years ago is the same power that can flow to you and bring you a second chance at life. Her twelve year battle of suffering was over!  

No more suffering at the hands of medieval Doctors.  

No more suffering in isolation.  

No more suffering with this constant shame! 

SHE HAD BEEN HEALED!

You no longer have to remain UN-NAMED and HIDDEN in the CROWD.  Just like Jesus stopped the crowds and called out to this woman, Jesus has stopped the crowds and the flow of this service and he is inviting you to reach out and turn your life over to Him.

Meeting Jesus - Live In Freedom

As a child, there were many times I experienced  being afraid of the dark.  It wasn’t a common thing.  It wasn’t an everyday thing.

But at night sometimes, my imagination would wander, and fear would override my common sense. The faces of Freddy Kruger. Jason Vorhees. Mike Myers…and Norman Bates…they scared the crap out of me as a kid! And sometimes the darkness would paralyze me to the point I barely breathed. Dark shapes of trees, or shrubs, or things in my room, would transform into the faces of the characters that Hollywood had created and I believed that they were going to leap out at me and kill me.

Any other children of the 70’s and 80’s that want to admit to being scared of the dark and thinking about those guys? Today’s passage of scripture can read like a Stephen King novel…

Demonic possession.  A cemetery. Chains and shackles. Self-harm and howling at the moon.

It is from Luke 8:26-39, and the Gospel writer Mark also provides an account of this crazy story, and I am going to add one of the verses from Mark, to this passage to help with the context. 

Let’s read together:

Luke 8:26-27 (NLT2) 

26  So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. 27  As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in a cemetery outside the town. 

Mark 5:5 (NLT2) 

5  Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. 

Luke 8:28-39 (NLT2) 

28  As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29  For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power. 30  Jesus demanded, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, for he was filled with many demons. 31  The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit. 32  There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission. 33  Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned. 34  When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. 35  People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. 36  Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37  And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. 38  The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying, 39  “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him. 

Bizarre story, right? In case it is not obvious, let me point out everything that this man had going against him:

• He was Demon possessed, naked, homeless, and lived in a cemetery. (v. 27)

• He wandered around the cemetery day and night, howling and cutting himself with sharp rocks. (Mark 5:5)

• The people that he knew CHAINED and SHACKLED him to the rocks (v. 29)

Regardless of the difficulties you are facing and the hopelessness you may feel in life – this man has you beat!   You can at least read this passage of scripture and say, “I have problems – but not like him.”

If you feel chained down. 

If you feel like you cannot get over your past. 

If your struggles continue to resurface day and night.  

If you just don’t feel like you can overcome your past…

Like this demon possessed man, I want you to know, you can be freed. I understand that this passage is a bit unsettling.  This man was demon possessed.  He was controlled by the Devil and was filled with demons. I do not believe that a follower of Jesus can be possessed by the Devil…

Once a person has become a follower of Jesus, once they have surrendered their life to Jesus, received Jesus as their savior, and have committed their lives to Him, they have been made NEW. They are born AGAIN.  

They have the Holy Spirit living inside of them. 

So, I do not believe that a follower of Jesus can become DEMON possessed, because the Holy Spirit of God already possesses them.

BUT

I do believe that a follower of Jesus can begin to believe the lies of the devil and live as confused, and feel as isolated and powerless as this man.

As we looked at last week, the devil hates God and the devil hates followers of Jesus. 

And…

KEEPING PEOPLE IN BONDAGE IS A PRIORITY FOR THE DEVIL

In verse 30, Jesus asked the man a very simple question.

“What is your name?”

I could answer that question. You could answer that question. But the man had lived under the influence of the devil for so long, he could not answer the question correctly. 

His name was NOT Legion. His real name was a good Jewish name.  Thomas, Matthew, Peter, or John…LEGION was not the man’s name.  

But he had lived in darkness, confusion, and hurt for so long, he had forgotten his name. He had forgotten who he really was. He had forgotten his identity. He had given up.  He had quit the fight and BELIEVED the lies.  

Jesus characterized the Devil in John 8. Jesus said:

John 8:44 (NLT) 

…He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

As a follower of Jesus, you cannot be demon possessed, but you CAN BE FILLED WITH LIES. You should not believe the discouragement and despair that CREEPS into your thought life.  

You should not believe the harsh words that others speak into your lives.  

You should not believe the whispers of hopelessness when you are trapped and bound by your own sin…

BELIEVE the TRUTH that just like this demon possessed man – Jesus can SET YOU FREE!  

He can free you from the deception of abusive criticism, lies that you have begun to believe about yourself, Pessimism, doubt, and despair…He can set you free, but only if you want to be free.

Lot’s of people who profess to be followers of Jesus, choose to live in darkness every single day.  They have been set free from the penalty of sin, but they make choices to live imprisoned every single day.

Do you do that?

JESUS MADE YOUR FREEDOM A PRIORITY, DO YOU?

Jesus went out of his way to encounter this man and set him free.  The night before Jesus landed the boat in front of this man, he and his disciples had fought the storm in the middle of the lake. In verse 37 – Jesus gets back into the boat to leave. THE only reason why JESUS had made the journey across the water was to rescue this man.  This moment.  Getting across the water wasn’t easy.  Jesus made the freedom of the Gerasene Demoniac a priority and…

Jesus has made your freedom a priority too! He went to great lengths to set you free from SIN.  

Paying the penalty for our sin – he was arrested, beaten, whipped, scourged, mocked, and savagely murdered on a cross.  His blood and broken body paid the penalty for our sins.  

Jesus made your freedom a PRIORITY although it came at GREAT personal cost.  

Does your freedom matter to you as much as it matters to Jesus?

Do you make your freedom a priority? 

Every single Friday night at 6:30, Celebrate Recovery meets here at Adventure Beach.  Anybody with HURTS, HABITS, or HANGUPS are welcome to get involved and invited to discover freedom.  

And, if you are a Veteran, or you know a veteran, that has been scarred and damaged from service in the military, we have a special CR small group just for you. Other Veterans, gathered together to help one another recover and heal…

Many men and women have never recovered from a childhood of abuse, so they chase “what they knew” as a child through one bad relationship after another. Many men and women have been set free from the chains of sin, but they keep holding on to the chains because they don’t know how to live free.  Their more comfortable with shackles than freedom.

Make your freedom a priority.  

Jesus offers abundant life.  He offers honesty, love, and hope. Love yourself enough to choose freedom. And understand,

JESUS HAS THE AUTHORITY TO SET YOU FREE, WILL YOU LET HIM?

Maybe like this man… you are overcome with evil in this world. Maybe you are overwhelmed with an addiction to anxiety. Maybe your relationship with your spouse is crumbling and you feel like you will never experience a HEALTHY relationship with them.  

Maybe you have a hidden addiction to drugs…an addiction to alcohol…or hopelessness.

Throughout the Gospel of Luke, the Son of God, JESUS demonstrates he has the AUTHORITY to set people free.

He demonstrates AUTHORITY over finances (coin in the mouth of the fish), over demonic oppression, and the evil one himself.  

He demonstrates AUTHORITY over nature by calming the wind  & rain.

He demonstrates AUTHORITY over the human body by fasting for 40 Days in the wilderness.  

He demonstrates AUTHORITY over temptation by living 33 years on this earth and refusing to yield to temptation.  

He demonstrates AUTHORITY over the Laws of Physics by walking on Water, turning WATER into WINE, and multiplying the loaves and fish.

He demonstrates AUTHORITY over DEATH and LIFE by raising people from the dead.

He demonstrates AUTHORITY over the Law of Gravity by ascending into heaven. 

He demonstrates AUTHORITY over sin by paying the penalty for sin through Jesus death and rising from the dead.  

THERE IS NOTHING THAT MY JESUS CANNOT DO!

Your freedom is a PRIORITY for JESUS and he CAN SET YOU FREE.  

Like this man – perhaps of you have been cowering and hiding in the darkness so long you have forgotten who you really are and who you belong to.  

You are not a child of the evil one  - you have been born again and you are a child of the most high God!

Live like it! Step out of the shadows of shame and darkness.  

John 8:36 (NLT) 

36  So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 

Romans 8:2 (NLT)

 2  And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

Romans 6:22 (NLT) 

22  But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

And once you have been set free – then do what this man did.  

Jesus cast the demon out of the man, people who witnessed it ran to the town and told everybody and when they all came running back, the man was clothed, sitting calmly and in his right mind.  He wanted to follow Jesus at this point, but Jesus had something greater for him to do.

He told everybody about what Jesus had done for him.

You can too. On July 16, we will have Beach Baptisms.  Join us and let your world know that you have been set free from sin, and you are a follower of Jesus.

Evil grows in isolation.  God grows in community. 

Meeting Jesus - Jesus, Storms, & Faith

I know it is a bit “elementary” but do you remember playing the game FOLLOW the LEADER when you were young? A line of people follow the leader, and they are supposed to copy everything that the leader does…

Week after week, I share that our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.  Ultimately what we want to do is help people do the exact same thing that people did in Jesus day.  

We want to help people follow Jesus. Before we begin the message today, I think it is crucial that it is said plainly that…

A FOLLOWER OF JESUS, FOLLOWS JESUS.  

Sounds profound right? 😊 If I am a Jesus follower – that means I FOLLOW Jesus.  I have trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  I have turned away from my old life of sin and made the decision to FOLLOW JESUS. That means I try to LIVE the way Jesus says to live.  I try to become more like Jesus, and if you have committed your life to Jesus, so do you. Together, we try to follow Jesus through the challenges, joys, frustrations, and storms of life. By this point in Jesus ministry in Luke 8, 12 men had decided they were give up everything and follow Jesus. 

Jesus is going to sound a little frustrated with his FOLLOWERS because they were not FOLLOWING him.

Luke 8:22-25 (NLT2)

22  One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. 23  As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. 24  The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. The storm stopped and all was calm! 25  Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!” 

Storms were something that fishermen often faced.  In this region, storms appeared suddenly and could be incredibly fierce.  In this moment, the disciples faced a storm and they were actually convinced they were going to die from it! If this storm had popped up and they were safe on the shore, they would not have been afraid.  They could have been in the same storm, on dry land, and they would not have had to face any fear of death. They did not have life jackets or lifeguards.  If the boat filled with water and sunk, they would have had to swim for the shore. But the waves were so big…they believed they would never make it to the shore. 

They were convinced they were going to die…BUT their FEAR only existed because of the game of “What If” that their mind was playing with them.

What if the storm keeps going…

What if the waves get larger…

What if the boat fills up too much…

What if we have to swim to shore…

What if we die…

There is no question that the storm was fierce…but part of the fear the disciples had over the storm was rooted in “What if?”

I struggle with that.

While you and I may never be in a storm on a lake or the ocean like this – we all know we have been through many storms that have been scary…and it is made much worse because of  “What if Roulette”. We walk through a difficult storm and we make it harder on ourselves by imagining the worst case scenarios. For instance, Kristy and I experienced a storm of 6 years of infertility, followed by a miscarriage. Part of the fear we had was rooted in “What if we never have children…?” 

My family experienced a storm when I was suddenly fired from a church in Virginia in 2014 when I learned about financial corruption in the church. “What if” roulette started in my head.  

What if I have to get a job outside of ministry? 

What if people think I was fired for something I did?  

What if my ministry is over…?

I know that many of you are in a storm. Is there a storm you are going through that is shaking you to the core?  

Maybe it is your marriage.

Maybe you just learned that once again, your spouse has been unfaithful.

Maybe you have received a difficult health diagnosis. 

Maybe your doctor has mentioned that you might have Cancer and wants to blood work just in case.

Whatever storm or hardship you are facing right now, I want you to be convinced that…

STORMS ARE PAINFUL EXPERIENCES THAT WILL END.

Storms of life have the ability to rip into our hearts and shred our lives.  Storms of life can cause deep pain that changes the way we think and how we act. In my college days, a tornado went through our college campus and wrecked it. Classrooms buildings collapsed. Art was destroyed.  The entire landscape of the campus changed…but when it was rebuilt – it was better than ever.  

I know it feels like your storm has been dragging on and on – but it will end.  

It has been painful – but it will end. Now, it may not end the way we hope it would. The “health storm” a loved one faces may not end the way we would like it to. Maybe your spouse has already walked away and left you hurt and devastated. Maybe the impact of the storm you have faced has left your life in pieces. If that is the case, I am sorry. I hate that you are experiencing this type of pain. But I know God is able to rebuild our lives better than we can after a storm, if we keep on following Him. When people do face a storm or a tragedy, they often ask the question, “Where is God? Why didn’t he do something?”

Have you ever noticed that we often take credit for the good that happens in our lives and blame God for the storm? Storms and tragedies happen in our lives for three main reasons. 

BROKEN WORLD

Some of the storms we face in our lives come from the reality that we live in a broken world.  We live in a world that sin, broke. We have viruses, diseases, infertility, cancers, accidents, injuries, heart attacks, strokes, high cholesterol, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes, because we live in a world that sin, broke. It was not supposed to be like this.  After God created the world, he looked around and said it was all GOOD.

Then Adam and Eve sinned and the good world, went bad. Because Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God, sin was born and sin brought death…and all of nature was impacted. When earthquakes and diseases happen, it is not God’s fault, it is because the Adam and Even did not choose to follow God, sin was born, and the Good world went bad.

That leads to the second cause of storms in our lives, 

OUR SINFUL NATURE

Some of the storms I face in my life are brought about by me.  I am a sinner.  I have done stupid things that have caused storms in my life.  The first 2 and ½ years of my marriage was a storm because I was selfish.  I wanted my own way.  I caused the storm. I created the storm. My sinful nature can create storms. So can yours. If we do not follow Jesus, we are going to create more storms in our lives. Our sinful nature can really mess things up. The third root cause of storms that we face in life is…

SPIRITUAL ATTACK

If you are a follower of Jesus, God loves you unconditionally. He is for you. He wants you to prosper, to be blessed, and rejoices over you. He loved you enough to send his son to die on the cross for you – and since God is FOR you. Since God LOVES you… you can be sure, the Devil (Satan) hates you. He hates you because he is a God Hater.  He wants to DESTROY all that God loves.

He wants to try to destroy the work of God in your life. 

He wants to ruin your story of life-change.  

He wants to destroy your faith in God.

He wants to ruin your trust and turn your story of faith and trust into a story of doubt and fear.

Sometimes when storms come it is through a spiritual attack.  

If you are making an impact and leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus…

If you are strengthening the church through serving. 

If you are bringing words of encouragement to other believers and making the Church stronger…

Satan is going to spiritually attack you, because you are for God.

So, storms come through a broken world, our own sinful nature, and through spiritual attack…

What can we learn from the disciples?

They were in the boat.

The storm came.

Fear overwhelmed the disciples…they woke Jesus up…he stopped the storm and the waves.

Jesus SHOWED his faith in God by rebuking the storm…and then he asked the disciples the question… “Where is YOUR faith?”

Why didn’t you do something about it?  Why didn’t YOU take action? Building up to this story, Jesus emphasized repeatedly that a FOLLOWER of Jesus DOES what he tells them to do:

Luke 6:46 (NLT)

46  “Why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

Luke 6:49 (NLT)

49  But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation…

Luke 8:18 (NLT)

18  “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given…

Luke 8:21 (NLT)

21   “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

All along, Jesus had been CONNECTING FAITH with ACTION.  With OBEDIENCE.  Jesus had personally been teaching his disciples to demonstrate their faith. This storm was their moment to put into practice all the things that Jesus had been teaching them.  This was their moment to face their storm by faith! This was their moment to demonstrate faith, stand up in the boat, and rebuke the wind and the waves. But instead, they chose to be controlled by fear. I want to invite you to do what the disciples did not do…

DURING THE STORM, SHOW OTHERS YOUR FAITH

That is called TRANSPARENT LIVING. Other people need you to practice your faith. In Luke Chapter 9 and Luke Chapter 10 – Jesus sent out his disciples to heal other people. To heal people of diseases. To cast out demons.  And they went out – and they worked miracles by faith – FOR OTHERS!

Not one time throughout all of scripture do we see a follower of Jesus work a miracle for themselves.  

When you and I walk through storms, AND when we don’t try to hide the storm, but we live transparently and our faith REMAINS ACTIVE, other people will be inspired, encouraged, and challenged about what they really believe about Jesus.

When you are walking through a storm, keep following Jesus! Keep living transparently. Keep serving other people. When you are walking through a storm, the last thing you need to do is stop attending worship, stop serving, and stop blessing others. You have a place to demonstrate your faith every week! From celebrate recovery, serving in local missions, children’s ministry, student ministry. Choose FAITH over FEAR and live transparently so others can see it and even when you are not in a storm – followers of Jesus practice our faith for OTHERS. 

I encourage you to read Luke chapter 9 and 10 and watch what the followers of Jesus did by faith.

Jesus taught that FAITH was POWERFUL.

Matthew 17:20b (NLT)

“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

So – WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? Can others see your faith when you walk through the storms?