To Be, or Not To Be? pt9
Notes
Transcript
Prayer:
God, show me the way to the cross.
It is still hard to understand why the Son of God would let mortal men condemn Him to such a horrible death.
But what love you demonstrated in that act!
Lord, Show me how to demonstrate that same love to the world’s needy.
Give me your power…to do your work…as I set out on your mission.
Help me to understand who you are.
Help me to be and do what you want me to do.
Father, Give me eyes to see the world…to see people…as you see them.
I commit myself totally to you.
I will take up my cross and follow you…even into death. Amen.
To Be, or Not To Be?
To Be, or Not To Be?
To Be Children of God, or Not To Be?
You see, that is the question we are truly facing!
To answer the call of God on our lives or not to?
Luke: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition Chapter 11: Choosing What Is Best (Luke 9:51–10:42)
Choices have consequences and carry costs, and each of us makes choices that carry huge consequences. When we choose a direction, we choose a destination. When we choose a master, we choose that master’s values, which become the governing principles of our lives. We may try to avoid the cost and consequences of particular choices we make, but we cannot escape them; they come with the privilege of making choices.
I was reminded this week of the Call God has placed on my life.... on all of our lives!
Some would say that that call is to “teach and preach” the word of God… to help others grow in their relationship with God.... After all, Paul said that God called some to “be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” (Eph 4:11)
But, that is not what I was called to.....
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
In Gen. 12:1, we find the narrative of God’s calling of Abraham....
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
Abraham was not simply called to leave his country… his home… his family, and to continue to have ties with them… NO!
Abraham was called by God to leave everything that made him who he was! God called him to leave his family identity… his religious identity… his work identity… his very existence....
All so that God could make him into something great!
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God had a plan for Abraham, but first… Abram had to let go of His identity....
Abraham is not the only place we see this.
In Jacob’s story, we see a man born into this world with self-desire in his heart.... We see his mother train him from early on to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, or feels he deserves....
His very name is a source of his identity… Jacob — “the Trickster” — Jacob, for most of his life lived up to this identity.... Until one day — one day — he met God!
Gen 32:22-32, tells us the story.... Jacob wrestled with God… all night long Jacob wrestled… refusing to let go… knowing that this man, had something he needed… something he had to have… something he could not leave that place without!
Look at verse 27-28
So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.”
God didn’t just change his name… He changed his very identity!
No longer would he be Jacob, the “trickster,” now he was Israel, “one who struggles with God, and prevails”. And we see that in the rest of his life!
Like Abraham, Israel is fully committed to the will of God, his identity is no longer wrapped up in the misgivings of this world....
Like Abraham, God had a plan for Jacob’s life, and He has a plan for ours as well… Amen?
But… If we are going to experience that plan, then our lives… our identity has to change as well!
You see, God does not just call us to leave behind our sinful self… He calls us to completely change what makes us… us!
“God calls us to leave our identity” — Dr. Filimao Chambo, Gen. Sup. Church of the Nazarene
God called Abraham to leave behind his identity… his identity as a member of that nation… as a member of that family… as a member of that religion (whatever it was), and to become identified with Him…
God called Jacob to leave behind his identity as a trickster…a cheat…a liar…and to become identified with Him....
God calls us toto do the same! To leave behind our identity in this world, as broken… hurting… messed up… lost people, and to step into the identity that He has for us!
Look at Rev. 2:17
Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Let me assure you — God has a new identity for you!!! He has a new life, a new direction, a new glory.... for us all!
The question is: Will we step out in faith and receive it?
To Be, or Not To Be?
To Be His Children, or Not To Be?
Being God’s Children means finding our identity in Him, in who He says we are, ...
m.p. — A Commitment to the Cross is a commitment to revealing to the World the same love and devotion that Christ has revealed to us.
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him;
but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
But he turned and rebuked them.
Then they went on to another village.
Christ was devoted to us — to His mission on this earth FOR US!!!
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
The time was near.... His time… He would soon return to the Father.... Jesus knew!!!
This is important.... Jesus knew! And because of that, He set His heart on completing His work.
That phrase, “He set His face...” means that it has become His “fixed purpose,” His one and only task, and nothing… no power in hell or on earth is going to stop Him!
Christ was on His way to Jerusalem… to be tortured and murdered… for the disciples and for us!!!! And nothing…absolutely nothing… was going to prevent Him from completing that task!
That’s devotion, amen?!
I wonder… Are we that devoted to the task He has called us to? Are we that devoted as Christians? As parents? As preachers? Teachers? Ministers?
Ask yourself, “Am I that devoted to the task He has called me to?” (I almost fear the answer…)
You see, Jesus was completely…totally…100% devoted to His task on this earth… to us!!!
And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him;
but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
Now, why did He go to Samaria? He didn’t need to… He could have gone around, and still made it to Jerusalem...
So, why did Jesus choose to go through Samaria?
Some say, “Well… He was ready to complete the work, so He chose the shortest route to Jerusalem.” Seems reasonable, but ....
Why would He be in a hurry when there are so many left who need to here His message?
No… I think He went through Samaria for different reasons....
Throughout the Gospel we find several instances of Jesus dealing with the Samaritans, sharing the good news with them… even though the Jews and Samaritans had prejudices against each other.
He told the woman at the well:
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
He told the parable of the “Good Samaritan” intentionally making the Samaritan the “hero” in order to teach the Jews an important lesson: “God’s love and devotion is for ALL people.” We are not to withhold it!
I think this is “one last chance,” one last opportunity for Jesus to share His message of love, devotion, and hope with the Samaritans on His way to Jerusalem, and He is not going to waste it!
But.... They refuse Him… They would not receive Him....
I wonder — How often do we do the same? How often we hear God calling us, inviting us to hear His voice… to follow Him… to step out of our lives, and into His arms… and we refuse to receive Him?
Why do we do that? Why did the Samaritans in this village?
Not everyone will receive Him.... Jesus warned the disciples of this....
Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
Some people will not receive Jesus because He doesn’t give honor to their works… to the things they take pride in....
The Samaritans had built their own Temple, fashioned their own religious practices, established their own gospel.... Jesus was headed to Jerusalem, so He couldn’t possibly accept and approve of their “good works.”
The self-righteous devise their own plans…their own ways of worshipping and determining faithfulness… if Christ will not agree with them, and praise their ideas, then they will not receive Him.
Besides, He seems to favor those who they don’t like!
Sound familiar? “He eats with sinners?” “He doesn’t follow our ways....” “He ignores the Temple-tax...” “That’s not the Jesus I want...”
The Samaritans rejected what they saw in Jesus...
but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
How often do we fall into that way of thinking? How often do we reject Christ, just because we don’t like the message, or the thing He is inviting us to do?
Can I tell you this — Christ’s dedication to us can be a “turn off” for some, especially when He is asking us to do something we do not want to do, because it demands a change in our lives!
Look at the disciples’ reaction:
When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
The disciples’ wanted to “punish” the Samaritans!!!
They had forgotten everything Jesus had taught them and shown them, and wanted Him to give them permission to destroy them for not receiving Him!!!!
How crazy is that?!?!
Talk about Christ like!
Look at Jesus’s response:
But he turned and rebuked them.
Then they went on to another village.
He REBUKED them!!!!
They didn’t understand who He was.... They didn’t understand what His Kingdom was..... Their minds were not in the right place..... The disciples were not thinking with His mind.... And they didn’t even know it!!!!!
Sound familiar?
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.”
Jesus rebukes them! He rebukes them in the same way that He rebuked Peter… in the same way that He rebuked the demons… in the same way that He rebuked them and told them not to tell people who He was…
You see… that is not what His Kingdom is… that is not what He came to do… Christ came, not to “destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” (NKJV)
Then, He moved on to the next village!
Can I tell you this — Christ will not force Himself on anyone.
He invites us, and then waits for us to respond.
Jesus did not “bully” and force Himself on the Samaritans — and He certainly could have — and He will not force Himself on you.
He simply invites..... invites us to answer the call to change our lives… to pick up a new identity… to take on a new challenge… to experience a new life… in following Him.
What is He asking you to do? Perhaps it is just simply to come to Him… to trust Him? Maybe He is asking you to truly meet Him for the first time?
Is He asking you to take that step…to move to a deeper level in your walk with Him?
Whatever it is, do not let that moment pass...
Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Rev 3:20)
To Be, or Not To Be?
If we do not open the door, then Jesus will move on to the next....
Don’t miss the opportunity… Don’t be like those Samaritans... Say “Yes” to Christ! Open the door! Step into that relationship… that journey… that new thing with Him!
I promise you will not regret it!
I. Communion
Today, we are going to receive communion. Here at Bonham Community, we practice “open communion.” That means that we celebrate this holy sacrament with ALL who would come to the table, without reservation....
The Communion table is Christ’s table. It is one place where we meet with our Lord… where we receive from our Lord, and we enter into our new identity in Him.
The communion table is the reason Christ came to this earth. Amen?
It is the place where we express our commitment, love, and devotion to Him, just as He has expressed it to us.
When I look at the Communion table…when I look to the Cross… I realize more and more, just how much I need Him…
“The first and chief thing for my soul’s good is that I must have Christ....” — Charles Spurgeon
I don’t know about you, but that is the one thing I find about myself as well....
So, I invite you to come to the table… to receive the gift of Grace that Christ has provided… and to join with me, as brothers and sisters, in receiving from our Lord.
(Brother Carl, would you help me serve today?)
I invite you to come and receive the elements of our Lord’s Communion.... Please exits row by row to the center and return to the outside.... and hold the elements till we have all been served and we will receive them together.