Experiencing the Presence of God

When did living a ‘Christian Life’ get so complicated? How many times must one attend church services each week? How much money is one to give? How many volunteer hours are required? How much of the Bible needs to be read each day - just as Dr’s and others have determined a normal number of calories per day, is there a normal number or verses or chapters read?

Are there different levels of being a Christian? Week after week some people seem to always be given an opportunity to be on the platform. Some people appear to have more influence in the decisions a church makes than others.

Often we share phrases such as, ‘God spoke clearly to me…,’ or, ‘as I was reading my Bible God impressed upon me to....’ Maybe you have never heard God speak. Maybe you have never had an impression from God as you read His Word. Is it ‘normal’ to ‘hear from God?’

So, what does a ‘Christian life’ really look like?

Begin at the Beginning

Matthew 4:18–20 (HCSB)

As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew.

They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen.

“Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for people!”

Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

If you have read all four gospels you know that these two had already heard of Jesus (see Luke 4:14, 4:31-5:15, & John 1:29-51.)

Follow Me...

On this day, though, something was different. Certainly the call of Jesus was unexpected. Their reaction tells us that these words - ‘Follow Me’ - were powerful enough to induce them to a radical new kind of life.

In the original language of the NT, what Andrew and Peter heard was, ‘come after me.’

Dallas Willard, a philosopher and Southern Baptist pastor of the late 20th century notes

“In the heart of a disciple there is a desire and there is a decision....”

The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teaching on Discipleship (San Francisco, CA.: Harper San Francisco, 2006), 7.

The Desire

The era of Jesus’ birth (now defined as about 4-6 BC) was radically different than ours in many ways. Yet, there are some similarities.

The Jewish people were weary of being under the oppressive rule and taxation of the Roman Empire. Symbols of the Roman Empire were everywhere. Roman soldiers were a regular sight on the roads - particularly near Jerusalem.

In most towns Romans had tax collectors (often Jewish men) who enforced the collection of a variety of taxes that were needed to support the empire’s broad reach across the Mediterranean world.

Jews all across the area were forming groups that plotted against the Romans. One of the twelve original followers of Jesus was part of such a group: Simon, the Zealot (Matt 10:4).

John the Baptist had drawn attention with his challenges to Judaism in general:

Matthew 3:7–12 (HCSB)

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the place of his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove His sandals.

He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn.

But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out.”

The desire…to restore a world where God’s rule was recognized in every way; to return to a culture that encouraged and facilitated genuine worship of God as the OT commanded - a heart worship and not merely an external obedience.

In some ways we are in a similar historical context. The world in which we grew up no longer exists. Symbols of oppression are visible all around us - no, not the United States Flag - but the crass symbols of consumerism and the constant jockeying for political and cultural power and position.

Here comes Jesus - fulfilling what Isaiah had prophesied centuries before and what John the Baptist claimed to be all about:

Matthew 3:1–3 (HCSB)

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea and saying,

“Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make His paths straight!

Peter and Andrew had a desire to see their world made right, a desire to experience the fulness of God’s promises to those who obey Him. Perhaps Peter and Andrew prayed - as others would have - as Psalm 1 could have us pray:

Lord, may we be blessed because we seek not to walk in the way of the wicked or go along with those who are clearly wrongdoers;

Lord, we desire to be those who delight in Your words, those who are free to meditate on Your words daily;

Lord, may we and our families be like flourishing trees, firmly rooted near a steady stream of water, producing the fruit of righteousness....

Living in the midst of a world that often chooses to disregard wisdom, a world that celebrates sinners, and a world that offers those who mock God a public platform can ignite such a desire.

The Decision

Every one of us in this place has expressed a desire to see change - a change in the culture of our world, a change in the direction we seem to be headed.

Here is where learning to be a disciple of Jesus begins:

Follow Me

Jesus makes no promise about overthrowing the current governmental system. Jesus also makes no mention of reforming Judaism, or returning to the biblical roots of the faith.

He simply issues an invitation: FOLLOW ME.

Peter and Andrew - later James and John, and then Matthew himself - all decide ON THE SPOT to follow Jesus.

They choose to act on the desire for something different. They choose to do instead of just talk.

So, what then does it mean for us - living more than 2,000 years later - to follow Jesus?

We can’t do as those earliest followers did. However, we can decide to act on our desires.

What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus - without His physical presence?

For those earliest followers, Matthew explains what was next:

Matthew 4:23 HCSB

Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

But what about you and me?

A. A New Pattern of Life

Dallas Willard writes,

…there is still a decision to be made: the decision to devote oneself to becoming like Christ. The disciple is one who, intent on becoming Christ-like and so dwelling in his ‘faith and practice,’ systematically and progressively rearranges his affairs to that end.

(The Great Omission, p.7.

Perhaps the clearest explanation of what this decision looks like in found in Acts 2:42:

Acts 2:42 HCSB

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.

The ‘they’ in this verse were those who responded to Peter’s message on the Day of Pentecost.

This pattern occured daily:

Acts 2:46 HCSB

Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude,

Tracing out the growth of the number of believers in the Mediterranean world we see a similar pattern of people gathering often for teaching, prayer, fellowship - including meals. The pattern in no way suggests these people left their jobs in order to focus on the teachings of Jesus. Rather, the pattern is that these believers would gather before their jobs required them to show up or after their daily responsibilities were concluded.

What happened to that pattern?

I want to dive a little more deeply into this question for a few moments.

At one point in Jesus’ traveling ministry a crowd of 5,000 men and their families were gathered around Him. According to Luke’s account, toward the end of the day the disciples were concerned about the lack of provisions for that many people. Luke (and the other gospel writers) record how Jesus took just a few loaves of bread and a few fish and fed the entire crowd - and provided leftovers!

After this momentous event, Jesus challenged His closest followers with a passage most of us can recite be heart:

Luke 9:23 HCSB

Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Look at this statement closely. What word describes how often these actions are to occur?

DAILY

How regularly did the original twelve follow Jesus - monthly? Weekly? or Daily?

How often did the first followers - from the day of Pentecost forward meet? Daily.

Now, relax. I’m not about to institute daily activities at the church building.

I am suggesting, thought, that there just might be a difference between Jesus’ expectations and our activities.

The evening prior to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion Jesus spoke with his closest followers. One of the promises He made is often glossed over:

John 14:15–17 (HCSB)

“If you love Me, you will keep My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.

He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him.

But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you.

Passion

If you ‘love’ me....

How does ‘love’ grow? We hear others say, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.’ In my experience, the longer the absence the less likely of a deep and abiding love that lasts!

The story is told of a small church pastor who noticed an older member had stopped attending. this older person was known as a person of few words. One day on a cool fall day the pastor stopped by. After exchanging pleasantries the fell into a companionable silence.

After a bit the pastor without a word walked over to the fire place, took a fireplace tool and removed a small piece of burning wood. The pastor laid that piece of wood a safe distance away from the fire and returned to his seat and silence. After a few moments of silence the wood removed from the fire burned itself out.

Shortly after the fire had died, the elderly person stood and spoke to the pastor. ‘I get it. I’ll be there Sunday.’

What happened? The fire went out when the wood was removed from the bed of the fire.

Passion - loving the Lord - is not simply about showing up every week. But let’s be honest. How many marriages -apart from some massive disaster - would survive in neither spouse was near one another?

Passion leads to Promise

What evidence of love/passion did Jesus note:

“If you love Me, you will ________ My commandments.”

To those whose love is expressed in obedience, Jesus makes a powerful promise:

I will ask the Father AND HE WILL GIVE YOU another Counselor (one just like Me, sharing My attributes, my characteristics, my nature…) to be with you.

Promise leads to Power

A statement I heard Henry Blackaby make decades ago sticks with me.

He said something along these lines:

What do people see when they drive by your church on any given Sunday morning?

They typically see cars representing individuals and families doing good things for God.

Blackaby then asked, what if instead of seeing good people doing good things for God, they saw God doing powerful things for broken and hurting people?

Which parking lot would they be tempted to turn towards?