Touching the Holy

Seniors Breakfast

What I want to share with you today is a meditation that I have been thinking about for a while.

It steams from something I read from the amazing Watchman Nee. If you don’t know who that is let me give you the quick biography of his life.

As soon as Watchman Nee Accepted Christ at age 17 in 1920 China, he began writing.

In 1952 he was imprisoned for his faith and he died in Jail in 1972.

He has written over 70 volumes of work and honestly I am a Nee Novice. I have not read much just a couple of books. But what Nee has is an incredible way of doing is writing to give advice to help people navigate Christian Life.

So what I want to meditate on with you today is the way that we approach God. and I want to lay some things out that I hope are not offensive to any of us but convicting....Because it was convicting to me.

So The question that I want to start with is what is the source of true life?

It is obviously God. and here in the church we have no dispute about that. God is the source and whatever God is doing in our world today the means by which he is doing it is the Holy Spirit.

Usually in the church this is undisputed in this.

So before I get to the watchman nee stuff I want to show you this little video clip

Clip 3min

So this clip is from the chosen…It shows the account of the women bleeding for 12 years and working through the crowd to touch the hem of his garment...

And as a result she is healed...

Now the reason why I want to show you this clip is not just to plug the chosen which by the way if you haven’t watched it yet…Its probably the only TV worth watching right now

It is the obvious thing that the Bible, the disciples pointed it out

Mark 5:30–31 NIV

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

There is a massive crowd of people around Jesus pressing up against him

so what is the difference here?

Mark 5:32–34 NIV

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

The clear difference was faith. This woman believed that Jesus could heal her because Jesus is the source of all healing.

Now I don’t know why the rest of the crowd was there but we do know that the crowd followed him everywhere just because of all of the miracles

There is this question: What were the motives

I have this double edged sword about being a pastor.

I love the intellectual.

I could go to theological lectures all day…and then critique them...

I love a new book

My life is often times spent in the first century

I love this knowledge because hey I have to teach, week in and week out.

And when you have to teach as much as me you better be reading and interacting with other theologians...

This better be your life’s work

and I have tools! Massive tools at my disposal..

I have logos Bible study software with over 2000 resources that I can find information on

The older I get the more I realize how much I just don’t know!

Have you ever said that...

But it is a deceptive road

Don’t get me wrong, wisdom and knowledge is impotrant we absolutely need it...

But the mistake we make is that we believe it is the source of our lives at times!

But what I am realizing more and more is that I need the faith of this woman more than anything...

All she knew was that Jesus was the source of life

2 Corinthians 4:7–11 NIV

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.

This all surpassing power is from God not us

We always cary around in our body the death of Jesus

When the death of Jesus can fully operate in us, then the life of Jesus can operate in others

When the death of Jesus is in us then we can be fully alive…because we can die to ourselves as well.

The death of Jesus has to be in us so that his life can be alive in our mortal bodies

Watchman Nee:

“ But if our words merely provide others with clear thoughts and more knowledge, we will only have the fruits of the knowledge of the tree of life; only the supply of life can be food to the church. The question is not what we can give to others, but what we have already given to the church. what have we contributed to the real church? what can we say is our contribution when we stand before that church? If we have not touched reality, we will have nothing to supply to others. Spiritual things and the reality behind the words supply the church”

-Watchman Nee

Ok so with everything I have said this morning...

I want to go back to the woman who was going for Jesus

Now we want to be careful with speculating on a bunch of stuff but go with me here on something

What if this woman saw Jesus for who he really was.

The tree of life

and what if everyone else come to Jesus in that crowd and they just want another blessing from Jesus and they treat him just like the tree of knowledge of Good and evil...

Jesus give us some more of those good words

Jesus give us some more of that good teaching

Jesus give us some more of that good wisdom

Now track with me here. In the garden man was never intended to know evil…But the tree wasn’t just a tree of evil…It was the tree of the knowledge of good too!

I think with that old adage is true…the more I get older and learn the more I realize I don’t know...

But I think that it is also true at times that Knowledge can become an idol and lacks the very source of life

Without knowledge the people perish…yes thats true..

But knowledge of what?

The source of life

I wonder if that woman who was bleeding for 12 years knew what she was doing...

She didn’t need or want any more knowledge, traditional doctors…She just wanted to touch the source

Pastor Evan and I were at theology lectures yesterday in Seattle WA.

And I love it…I can go to a good theological symposium on a regular basis...

And on the car ride back to the airport from the lectures, we tore one of the lectures apart…what we liked, what we disagreed with…Where we think the lecturer was missing it

and don’t get me wrong it was a really good lecture

but my point is that if we are not careful the christian life can become more about becoming peddlers of knowledge then touching the source.

So why do I give this reflection to a group of seniors. Because I truly believe that you are spiritually tall and people look up to you

People will imitate your faith because you have been around longer

So my reflection to you today is to let the death of christ Rein in your mortal body so that the life of Christ can reign in others