Exposed - Audio

Exposed - Video Message - Week 2 – March 29, 2020 Welcome to Church – 2020 style. It seems strange to be sitting at home trying to picture my audience. I can imagine where each of you are sitting, but it is definitely not the same. I trust things are going well and that you are keeping well in this new environment. We will keep praying that this does not last too much longer, however we also know God is still in control and what is occurring in our world is a reminder of that. He is not caught off guard by this. He is in the midst of what is taking place. We continue to trust and be faithful to Him in this time of uncertainty and panic. In the past few weeks, a mad scramble has taken place to continue to be the church without physically meeting together. It has made Pastors take crash courses to become instant experts and users of live streaming, podcasts, blogs and so many other tools in an attempt to keep connected to their flocks. Providers of these services are offering significant savings to help churches in this moment, likely aware that once you use certain tools it is hard to stop. Hopefully this tool is helpful for you. However, I cannot help but think how this time is doing something else. It is exposing the church to the state of its heart and what really is important. I talked with my best friend this week about how he was doing. As a pastor he is also trying to figure out how best to minister to people during this unprecedented time in our lifetimes. It is not unprecedented in history, but in our lifetimes. We discussed how this moment causes us as the church to figure out what really matters. What is most important as we keep connected to each other without physically being in the same place. In many ways this moment in time exposes us to our own priorities, to what we think matters, to whether what is on Jesus’ heart is on ours, to whether we struggle or thrive in spite of our present reality. Jesus made a powerful statement in Luke 12 where we read, Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy. 2 The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! 1 The implication of Jesus is that all will be revealed, all with come to light. I am not sure how this strikes you. I would look around to see, but I can’t. I can imagine. I have heard these words used to scare people into doing the right things. Toe the line or else. The only problem is forcing behaviour does not always work. In fact, it seldom does. All we need to do is look at how telling people they need to stay home, even threatening them with laws and fines to do so, and still people do what they are ordered not to do. People rebel. It is who we are. Instead of causing me or us to alter our behaviour, to be holy or perfect because all will be made known, we have a different response. Other than openly rebelling, we can do something else. The other response is to bury the truth about who I really am. Bury it so deep no one will ever know the real me. Go into hiding. Do my best to avoid what Jesus says here – having my life laid bare. That is not the intended response. But rarely has preaching this passage caused the intended response – to change behaviour. Living within the lines, being holy in our own strength, even with this threat of exposure, is it hard – impossible. When we realize that, our pride pushes us to this secondary response of hiding. Only, it will get revealed. At some point it will surface and come to light. In the decades I spent speaking weekly at the Roblin Care Home, I saw hundreds of people who came to their last earthly residence. I met many family members of these residents and had the opportunity to minister to them. What I discovered is that who we are does get revealed. I have seen people who you thought were pretty solid believers in Jesus become grumpy angry people, people without any demonstration of grace, and in some cases, they were so very different from what they had previously tried to portray themselves as. I have seen others who demonstrated grace right until the end – even to the point where they were over 100 years old. Actually, at one time there were five residents who were over a hundred living there. Some were gracious others, not so much. What this showed me is what is within comes out. Jesus said, Luke 6:45 (NLT) 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. 2 No matter how hard we try and protect or maintain a certain image – who we really are will be revealed. This does not just speak to the end of our lives; it can be much earlier. Who we are, will be exposed, under varying circumstances. Under normal circumstances or what we think is normal can suddenly no longer be normal. Things can shift quickly. We see that right now. But we also see it in other ways. Success comes. Things start going our way, we start getting to know people who have influence and it goes to our head, we try to be something. We start throwing our position or power around and pride becomes so evident to everyone, except maybe us. It is not very pretty. Or it shifts in another way. It can surface when the opposite occurs and we lose much or large amounts of stress, strain or pressure comes and our reaction to these circumstances causes our nature to come to the surface. I have seen both of these happen. In my time within the political world, where making a name for yourself is often sought after. Some try to be something and the spotlight comes. Others try to be something and the light does not shine. They are exposed for who they are. While Jesus’ statement about life being revealed for all to see, can scare us into certain behaviour, or cause us to portray a certain image, neither is necessarily what it was intended for. What is your reaction? Is it to run and hide or to try and look great? I don’t believe the intention of Jesus was either. I believe what He reveals is because everything will be brought to light, we should not be so concerned about comparing ourselves to others, we should simply look at ourselves in light of Him. Jesus operated in this context. He revealed, exposed to us who He really is. Jesus uses a term to describe who He is, He is the way, the truth and the life. The term “I AM” is not a question – guess who I am. Rather, He reveals who He was, is, and will be. He is the past, present and the future. He reveals He is always present. He is always the same. In other words, what you see is what you get. As I mentioned recently, Jesus uses this term in a number of different ways to describe who He is. He identifies Himself as the bread of life, the gate, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, and the vine. We could expand on each of these, however, in John 14 Jesus reveals to His disciples that not only was He going to leave them, but He made clear to them that He was the way, the truth and the life. He then added this, John 14:7 (NLT) 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” 3 It sounds simple enough. Except for Philip it required some clarification. This statement caused Philip to ask for clarity. He says in the next verse - John 14:8 (NLT) 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 4 Somehow, in the midst of the three plus years of Philip spending time with Jesus, the connection was not made. Philip was one of the twelve disciples. He was not as close to the action as Peter, James and John were but he was part of the twelve. It is true that these three had moment the other nine did not experience. However, Philip was there for some significant moments. He was there when Peter made this dramatic statement of the identity of Jesus. In Matthew 16:16 we read, 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 5 This was in front of the other disciples. Perhaps, Philip had not arrived at this same place or had the same understanding that Peter had come to. Whatever the reason, Philip struggled to realize who Jesus is. Thus, the question – show us the Father. What we do not know is whether Philip is the only one to feel this way. He is the only one who had the courage to say it, whether others were wondering it or not we do not know. He asks Jesus to reveal God to him. Jesus responds immediately. You have heard the statement before, but maybe it is more revealing this time. He says, John 14:9 (NLT) 9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 6 Jesus is clear, if you have seen me you have seen God the Father. In other words, if you are looking for God – look at me. I am God in the flesh. What you see in Me is who God is - what you see is what you get. There were several opinions about who Jesus is – a good teacher, a prophet, someone sent from God, a heretic and blasphemer. These were based on what He did, but also based on the degree to which those forming an opinion looked at His actions. Jesus taught others – that was clear. Whether His teaching was life changing or blasphemy was a matter of opinion. However, Jesus also did things that said much more about who He is. He calmed the wind and waves in a storm, He caused the blind to see, He even raised people from the dead. He challenged norms. He called people to abundant life. He set captives free. Philip was around for all of these events, just like the other disciples were. Jesus went into places where the “righteous, religious” folks would not go. He brought freedom to people trapped in destructive cycles – a couple of women come to mind. Jesus made Himself known. He did amazing things and said amazing things. He was out there. At the same time, He often told His followers not to tell anyone. It was trying to hide, He did this so He could continue doing what He came to do, until this moment – this final moment. Throughout this process Jesus reveals that He demonstrated the very nature of God. He showed God’s heart toward this fallen creation, toward us. Jesus exposed for Philip, the disciples and for us the very heart and nature of God so we could see it. He reveals God for us. We do not need to wonder what God is like. Jesus shows us God, fully completely, perfectly. Let me leave you with a few key thoughts. First of all, 1) God is never hiding Sometimes it feels like God is distant – He is off somewhere playing hide and seek with us, not wanting us to even discover where He is or might be. But nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus reveals God to us. If we wonder what God thinks – look at Jesus. If we wonder how God sees us – look at exhibit 1 - Jesus. If we wonder whether there is grace for me – see Jesus demonstrations of grace. If we wonder whether we measure up to God’s expectations – look to the One who set the standard. God is not in hiding. He is providing us with full disclosure to His nature and character and heart. It is not some mountain we have to climb in order to get to a place where we can see God clearly. It is not some journey to nirvana where we will finally find God in a perfect place. God has made Himself known to us. He has completely revealed His nature in Jesus. That brings us to the second key we discover. 2) God wants to be seen God wants us to find Him. He wants to be discovered. He wants us to open the door and find Him. Jesus said in Revelations 3 Revelation 3:20 (NLT) 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 7 He wants us to find Him. Lastly, 3) We are to reveal Him That is really the point. Too much of our thinking about our lives being revealed is that we want to appear positively before the people around us. We want to look good to our friends, our families, who probably already know who we really are. At the very least we don’t want to be seen negatively to someone out there somewhere – we want to be a good witness. Ever think that? Except we forget that it is not about how someone else may view us. When our lives are revealed they will show – no matter who we are that we don’t measure up – we come up short. We are weak. We need a hand because we are not Jesus. When we discover that, we can then begin to realize that not only are others in need of grace but we too, and maybe even more so, need grace. Being exposed means we come to the realization that more than anything people need to see Jesus – they do not need to see me; they need to see Him. After all, He shows us the nature and heart of God. Let’s pray.