Don't Miss the Promise!
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This week.... yesterday actually.... some of us completed a 1600 mile motorcycle ride from here to the Hill Country, and around that area....
I gotta tell you, it was a lot of fun!
There is just something about getting away.... unplugging from our busy lives, and just getting away.... escaping into God’s country....
You see..... that’s why I challenged you with a fast..... that’s why I challenged you with “unplugging from the media”… to get away from the silliness and distractions of the world and allow God to speak to you.....
Can I tell you? — God will not shout! When things are too noisy in our lives.... We CANNOT hear Him.
And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”
I think we all realized just how important it is to unplug…be still, and just let God speak to us.....
There is one thing that I am certain of this week..... God was speaking to us!
In fact — There is one message I think we all heard God reminding us — “You will hear My Voice, when you get away.... You will be refreshed by my presence.... You will strengthen your walk…your relationships…your spirit..... BUT..... You will always be waiting for the white bike!!!!!
(Lol!!!!!)
Seriously.... This week has been great! It has been awesome!
There was one stop in particular that we made where God spoke to me pretty seriously....
(Baby Head cemetery, insert slide)
Baby Head Cemetery is the only remaining reminder of Baby Head, TX.
This is one of the Grave markers there.... This one happens to be the oldest recorded death in the cemetery.... But, that is not what God spoke with me about....
You see.... as I walked around that cemetery, reading the grave stones, I began to take note of the ages of the people. There were some that lived long lives.... 40,50,60, 70 years, or more.....
But one particular one caught my eye..... It was the grave of a little baby girl, who only lived two months… How horrible is that?!
You see… That’s what caught me.... I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child. Especially, that young..... As I stood there thinking about that.... contemplating how difficult that would be to endure.... Contemplating the many people I know who have endured such a loss.... Remembering how scared I was in Korea, when I thought I was going to lose our daughter.....
God spoke to me.....
This is what He said: “That is how I feel about my children.... I am losing them…everyday…”
Church.... We are losing God’s children everyday to a gospel that has been watered down....diluted....misused…mistreated for generations!
I know that is a statement that is “hard to swallow”, but.....
Would you agree with me that we “get in the way” of God’s work.... of God’s power in our lives.... because He is telling us something we don’t want to hear?!
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”
But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.
Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Now..... I want you to get the “full picture” of what is going on here.....
Jesus has just come to the region of Caesarea Philippi, and has asked the disciples that “BIG” question.....
“Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
This is the statement....the truth....upon which Christ proclaims that His Church will be built upon…amen?
It is important that we acknowledge that. There are many who say that it is about Peter, since his name means “the rock.” There are others who say that it is Christ proclaiming the apostles to be the foundation on which Christ builds the church.... But....
That doesn’t align itself well with the context....
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
Jesus is still “teaching” — training — them.... After their “confession,” He begins to teach them about the true nature of the Kingdom and what it means to be His disciples.... But Peter couldn’t hear it!
Look at Peter’s reaction.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”
Peter hears Christ’s words..... He listens intently to what Christ is teaching them, but.....
When He hears Jesus speak about His suffering and death.... He’s had enough!
He can’t handle it! There’s no way He is going to lose Jesus! That’s not acceptable!
So..... He takes it upon himself..... He pulls Jesus aside, away from the others, and “rebukes” him..... Can you imagine?! Peter has the audacity to “rebuke” Jesus, just like we would a child who has misbehaved!!!!
Do you see what happened?! (don’t worry about Christ’s response yet....)
Peter heard Jesus’s words..... He heard Jesus talk about what must happen.... about His suffering.... and His death...... But, Peter did not hear about the resurrection!
Interesting.....
Peter couldn’t get past the message of suffering… of pain… of death… of loss… and it blinded him to the joy of the resurrection!
I wonder..... How often do we hear Christ speak, but.... something He says “stops us in our tracks”.... and we miss the rest?
How often do we miss out on the joy…the passion…the peace in our lives, because the message was something we didn’t want to hear? Or aren’t willing to endure?
Look at Jesus’s response to Peter —
But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
“Get behind me satan!”
How would you like to hear that come from God!?!
Seems harsh, doesn’t it?
Consider this.... These are the same words Jesus spoke to satan during His temptation....
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Why? Why would Jesus say the same thing to Peter that He said to satan?
The temptation was the same..... Both satan, then,.... and Peter, now, were tempting Him to do it in a way other than directed by God the Father.....
The Wesleyan Bible Commentary says this about the situation:
“The Master must face the Cross, so must His disciples.” — Wesleyan Bible Commentary
Look at what Jesus says to ALL the disciples next.....
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.
Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Jesus had a Cross to bear..... So do we....
But..... What is that Cross?
What is the Cross that we must face?
Christ gives us three “directives” to be disciples.... He tells us to: “Deny ourselves”..... “Take up our cross”..... and “follow Him.”
Can I tell you that these are not as “simple” and “easy” as the Church has made them out to be?
If we truly understand what Christ is saying hear, we must face the FACT that this is a “scandalous” message.....
You see....
....to “deny ourselves” means “denial of self”.... denial of our ideas, our motivations, our ambitions, our plans, our dreams, our desires, ...... “Denial of self” is not physical, it is spiritual.....
To “deny themselves” meant to completely “disown” their personal desires....
…to “take up their Cross” means to “embrace God’s will regardless of ANY possible suffering it might cause....” It means to live by the motto “God’s will be done, not mine.”
“[It means the] surrender of our will (life) to His Will.” — Bonhoeffer
“Taking up out Cross” means that our lives are to be lived just as Jesus prayed in the garden....
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.”
When God’s Will means “suffering” — giving things up…leaving things we know....removing activities and practices from our lives.... giving up time....etc… — in our lives, God’s will must come first!
That is our Cross to bear.
“Crucifying self” means “all of us,” not just the “old sinful self.” We are meant to totally submit to God’s will in our lives, regardless of the physical cost!
Are you getting a picture of why this message is so difficult....so scandalous....so hard to preach and to hear?
Brothers and Sisters.... This is why the Church has struggled to share this message!
Just like Peter....We do not like to hear messages that don’t make us “feel” good.... that don’t give us the “warm and fuzzies”.... That is why we water it down!
We tell ourselves, we have to make it sound “warm and fuzzy” or people will not “want” to follow Jesus.....
But.... Look at the third thing Jesus tells the disciples —
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
“....and follow me.”
Both “deny” and “take up” are in the Aorist tense, which is a past tense form in Greek. It means it happened in the past, and continues to happen..... This tense has to do with “Consecration and Conversion”....
to “be holy because I am holy” requires continued focus.... it started in the past, but continues in our lives....
But “Follow me” is present tense..... Present tense is active… NOW!
“Follow Me” is a life long task! It requires that we align ourselves with Christ’s journey!
Christ’s mission.... Christ’s journey.... is not ours....amen?!
When we plan our lives, none of us look at Christ’s life....Christ’s passion…Christ’s journey, and say, “I want to do the same…to suffer the same…to spend my life in the same way” Do we?!
You see..... To be a disciple is to do something that even the Church does not like to teach.....
To be a disciple....
We must walk HIS walk.... even if it means suffering for the sake of others......
Now, understand this...... I am not talking about a little financial “uneasiness” in our giving...... I’m not talking about “uncomfortableness” in our “works”...... I am talking about what Christ is sharing here.....
Suffering as He suffered!
Christ was teaching the disciples what the “true nature” of discipleship....of His Church....of the Kingdom is.....
If we desire to be a part of the Kingdom of God....to inherit eternal life…as He promised.... then we must deny ourselves completely.....we must embrace His Cross.... and we must follow Him on His journey, not ours!
But....I wonder, is this a message we cannot hear?
Do we hear: “You must suffer” and shut down, just like Peter did?
Do we miss the rest?!
Do we miss the Promise?!!!?
Jesus said, “I must suffer and die, but.....”
BUT......
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
“…and on the third day be raised to life.”
Do we miss that?!
Christ was resurrected! So will we be!!
Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Suffering as Christ suffered brings the BIGGEST PRIZE!!!!
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
Suffering produces Glory.
But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.
Are we missing the promise because we don’t like the message?
We are called to “give up our lives,” just as Christ “gave up” His… to “take up our Cross” and be willing to suffer just as He suffered.... and to “follow Him.”
Can I tell you this — If your focus is on your life — here and now — then you are missing the point!
It is not about the “here and now,” it is about eternity....
It’s not about “quantity” in life.... It’s about “Quality” of life!
“Salvation of the soul [life] refers to deliverance from a wasted life to a life of heightened satisfaction, enjoyment, usefulness, victory, status, authority, and rest...” (Grace Bible Commentary)
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
Don’t miss the promise because you don’t “like” the message!
For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
(prayer)