5-25-14 Good fences make more than just good neighbors

Scripture:   John 7

          In Georgian Heights, EVERY yard had a fence. I used to love climbing them and jumping them - sometimes even trying to walk them.

In John 7 Fences make a dividing line which no one can walk. A fence is a dividing line. A fence is designed to keep something in or something out.  The phrase (SLIDE) “Good fences make good neighbors” is because the fence shows where your property ends and mine begins - no question.  It also keeps you out of my yard if I don’t want you in it.  It keeps my pets in if I don’t want them to get out - for their own protection. (NEW ALBANY STORY)

          Everyone everywhere understands the concept “Good fences make good neighbors”: There are references to this quote in German, Norwegian, Russian, Japanese, Hindi and more.  Even Benjamin Franklin is known to have said, “Love thy neighbor, yet don’t pull down your hedge.” Given how many different cultures have versions of this non-biblical proverb, it represents a very common sentiment among neighbors everywhere.

Not everyone believes Good fences make good neighbors - some think the opposite.  Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall,” reiterates the confusion that the proverb suggests. In the poem, two neighbors walk the length of their dividing wall each spring to mend whatever has fallen off. The speaker does not understand the purpose of the fence; however, his neighbor merely repeats the phrase, “Good fences make good neighbors.” The speaker has no alternative but to continue this ritual with his neighbor each year despite his own belief that mending the wall is a waste of time.

  

          The fence means you are in or you are out - there is NO middle ground. Rev 3:15-17

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

          Matt 12:30-32  "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

          Acts 4:8 & 12     Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking about Jesus, said: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

John 7 is not just about salvation and who is in and who is out, but the difference being in makes: Jesus is asked 3 questions  by those who oppose him -

1)    Jn 7:15  Where did Jesus get his learning? - HEAVEN (Jesus has teaching greater than those who are ordained.)

2)    Jn 7:27  Where is Jesus from? - HEAVEN - (Jesus can’t be the Messiah, we won’t know what town he will come from and he will come from Bethlehem)

3)    Jn 7:35  Where is Jesus going? = HEAVEN - (Jesus says “where I go you cannot come” This is where a divine reversal will take place.  Up to this point, Jesus has been at work in the world, searching for those who would believe.  Once he departs, they will do the seeking, trying to find what they tragically missed.

John 7 isn’t just about who is in and who I s out.  John 7 isn’t just about Jesus identity completely tied to Heaven.  John 7 is about the feast of tabernacles. Jesus has come to Jerusalem for this 3^rd feast of the year and will not return to Galilee, but will remain for 6 months until the next Passover - the time he will live out his passion - death and resurrection.  Jesus has arrived for this feast at a time of excessive spiritual drought.

 

Are you suffering a spiritual drought?  A new pastor once found himself neglecting his study in order to meet other needs. One Sunday following the worship service a dear lady — a person who loved and cared for her pastor—said, "Pastor, I can hear the dipper banging against the bottom of the bucket." She knew his water pitcher was empty.

John 7:37-38  On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

These words were spo­ken by Jesus to people who were spiritually dry, empty and defeated. They are like many people of our day, going through religious ritual and ceremony but finding no real meaning, life and victory.

The apostle John includes the commentary on the words of Jesus. John 7:39 tells us that Jesus' statement about "rivers of living water" is a reference to the Holy Spirit. When it comes to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, it is possible to go to extremes. Baptists have typically feared the extreme, and because of that have often gone to the other extreme and been devoid of the person and power of the Holy Spirit. Herein lies the power for life and ministry. The Holy Spirit is our power source.

The 21st century church needs to be reminded of the purpose and power of the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. The setting of our Lord's words amplify their meaning. The occasion was the Feast of Tabernacles, the third in a series of Jewish Feasts. In the Old Testament, the Feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days. In the New Testament the Feast of Tabernacles lasted eight days. It was a Thanksgiving Feast.

The guidelines for the Feast are found in Leviticus 23. The people were required to leave their permanent residences and build booths of willows and palm branch­es. During the Feast of Tabernacles they would live in these booths made of branches as a reminder of their nomadic days in the wilderness. It was a time of remembering God's wonderful provision. During the Feast of Tabernacles, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple area were filled with booths made from branches.

      At the heart of the Feast was a daily pro­cession. Priests carrying Golden Pitchers would lead a parade or procession through the city to the pool of Siloam singing the words of Isaiah 12:3, "Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salva­tion." The great crowd of people would parade back to the Temple and the Priests would pour the water from the pool of Siloam down upon the Altar and the peo­ple would shout and wave palm branches.

This procedure went on for seven days, but on the last day the procedure was repeated with two significant exceptions. First, when the parade of people returned from the pool of Siloam, the Priests would march around the Altar seven times com­memorating Joshua's victory at Jericho. Secondly, the Priests would raise the gold­en pitcher over the silver funnels as they had done each day previously, but this time there was no water — only an empty pitch­er. This signified the disobedient genera­tion that died in the Wilderness. Instead of a shout and the waving of palm branches as the people had done each day, they now stood in silence.

It was in the moment of silence — this moment of bewilderment, emptiness and meaninglessness — that Jesus cried out. You must get the picture. Our Lord had been watching the people go through the motions, perfectly following the order of service, but there was no meaning, no power, no life. They found themselves right where they had started. Nothing in them, or about them, or for them, was different.

I often think of the great crowd of peo­ple who gathered annually for this obser­vation of the Feast of Tabernacles. I think about their lives, their homes, their jobs, their communities and their synagogues. I think about what they brought with them to the great Feast: their hopes, their dreams and their expectations. I think about what they took away when they returned to their homes. Were they any different? Or did they just go through the same old motions only to conclude with an empty pitcher?

What happened to that crowd over two thousand years ago still happens to people in our world every Sunday. People go to church filled with hopes and dreams and expectations. And all too often they go away unfulfilled and empty.

I ask, praise team and church staff and leaders: are we sending our people away empty? Do they come to the House of God in search for the Water of Life only to hear the clanging of an empty pitcher? Do they hear the dipper banging against the bottom of your bucket?

E.M. Bounds wrote this statement regarding the anointing of the Holy Spirit: "This unction comes to the preacher not in the study, but in the closet. It is heaven's distillation in answer to prayer. It is the sweetest exaltation of the Holy Spirit. It impregnates, suffuses, softens, percolates, cuts and soothes. It carries the Word like dynamite, like salt, like sugar; Makes the Word a soother, an arraigner, a revealer, a searcher; Makes the hearers a culprit or a saint, makes him weep like a child and live like a giant; Opens his heart and his purse as gently, yet as strongly as spring opens leaves. This Unction is not a gift of genius. It is not found in the halls of learning. No eloquence can woo it, no industry can win it. No prelactical hands can confer it. It is the gift of God—a signet set to His own messengers…It is given to those who have sought this anointed honor through many an hour of tearful, wrestling prayer."

      Look at the text and notice first of all, The Condition Described (v. 37) Jesus said, "If anyone thirsts…" Thirst is a consciousness of an unsatisfied need. Thirst expresses desperation. Thirst will kill faster than hunger. One can go weeks without food, but only days without water.

Are you thirsty? Are you thirsty for God? Years ago Stuart Briscoe said, "God will meet man on the level of his desire, man can have as much of God as he wants."  Eric Alexander, the former pastor of St. George's Tron, Church of Scotland, in Glasgow once said, "We need to learn that the blessing of God is not a cheap com­modity lightly dispensed."  The Psalmist 42:1-2 said, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God, my soul thirsts for God—for the Living God"

Do you have an unsatisfied need for God in your heart? Are you thirsty?

The text also reveals, The Invitation that was Given (John 7:37  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”  We are reminded here that Jesus stood to extend this invitation to the crowd. This is significant because no Jewish teacher ever stood to speak. Those who stood to make announcements were Imperial Heralds who represented a King or a Caesar. We have before us an imperial kingly invitation.

Notice that the invitation was not to attend church or a program or a meeting or a Bible study. It was an invitation to come to a Person!

Lastly we see, The Promise Jesus Made (John 7:38) “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”  Jesus did not promise a trickle or a drip, or even a flow…He promised a river. Can you get your mind around this? The Holy Spirit is like a mighty rushing river…a life-giving river. He is like the mighty river found in Ezekiel 47:1-12 that produces life wherever it flows.

          Ezek 47:1-12   The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east. The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.

          As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in — a river that no one could cross. He asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?"

          Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh.  Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds — like the fish of the Great Sea.   But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing."

          The mighty Amazon River finds its origin above the freeze line of the Andes Mountains in South America. There, little trickles of water emerge from the frozen ground and flow down the mountain. One little stream flowing into another little stream until a majestic river is formed. As the river flows it picks up speed and power. It flows for 3,600 miles before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean, where it hits the ocean at a rate of 1.4 million gallons of water per sec­ond and with such force that it pushes fresh water some 60 miles out into the Atlantic ocean. What power!

Jesus said, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).  Jesus did not promise a trickle or a drip or a flow… He promised a river.

CONCLUSION

          There is a fence!  Which side are you on? - are you in or are you out?  There is a feast where Jews are reminded about the water God provided in the wilderness from a rock.  To the church Paul said: 1 Cor 10:4 …for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. There was a fence and a feast and a furious river - and that river is the Holy Spirit who wants to invigorate your life!

5-18-14 The miracle of the little boy

Scripture:   John 6:8-9, 27, 43-45, 51, 66-69

Look Who Asks for Your Help

John 6:8-9  Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, But they will certainly not be enough for all these people."

A picture of a Farmer’s bank and a child’s bank with coins.

          The 12 disciples had a problem. Thousands of people had come for lunch. Can you imagine trying to feed 5,000 people? The disciples knew they needed help. They did what we should do when we have a problem. They went to Jesus and explained the situation. Jesus asked the disciples what they could do to help the 5,000 people. They didn’t have enough money to buy food for everyone. But they did find a boy who had his own lunch – five loaves of bread and two fish.

          You know how the story turns out. Jesus takes the bread and fish from the boy and blesses it. Then He feeds the 5,000 people. They all had enough to eat, and they collected 12 baskets of leftovers.

          Did you ever wonder why Jesus bothered with the boy’s few pieces of bread and fish? If He could make that much food out of so little, why did He need the little? An example from today; If you 5,000 people coming for dinner, you would worry. If the only money you had was in this bank (shake it), you know you couldn’t buy enough food. But if the owner of this bank (show the picture) said you could have all the money you wanted, you’d have no problem. In fact, you wouldn’t even bother opening this little bank. Why fool around with dimes and quarters when you need thousands of dollars? Especially if the thousands are available.

          But Jesus didn’t think that way. He could have fed the 5,000 without using the boy’s bread and fish. But He asked for the boy’s help. Jesus and the boy were hosts for the dinner. Sometimes we call this story the miracle of the five loaves and the two fish. But we should call it the miracle of a little boy and Jesus. They shared together and a miracle happened.

          Jesus still works the same way today – and miracles still happen. Though His power and love are like this bank and our power and love are like this kid’s bank, He still lets us work with Him. He asks us to be His partners.

          Jesus asks us to help Him save the world. He died to pay for everyone’s sins and rose to give us all a new life that lasts forever. And He asks us to tell others. We can receive His forgiveness and share it by forgiving others. We have His love; so we can love others.

          He asks us to be His partners in many other ways too. He gives us food and asks us to share with others. He gives us time and abilities and asks us to share with others. He gives us time and abilities and asks us to use them to help others.

          We may wonder why Jesus doesn’t do everything Himself. He could do a better job. But He loves us. He wants to work with us. He wants us to share in His joy of loving others.

 Plan for a Life That Lasts

John 6:27   "Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put His mark of approval on Him."

A sandwich and a credit card.

          When you are hungry, you want something to eat. You don’t want a promise of something to eat later. Suppose you asked for food and I gave you a choice. You could have this sandwich. Or you could have this credit card. Which would you take?

          Of course, the sandwich is food. The credit card isn’t. You couldn’t eat this plastic card. So for hunger, you should take the sandwich. But before you decide, you’d better think about it.

          First of all, if you eat the sandwich now, you’ll be hungry again in a few hours. Even if the sandwich were big enough to eat some now and keep some for later, it would soon spoil. Then you’d have nothing to eat.

          On the other hand you could use the credit card to buy food. You could get what you needed today – and tomorrow and next week. The food wouldn’t spoil because you could get what you needed each day. But you have to depend on the credit card. You have to trust that whoever’s name is on it will pay your bill. If the card is no good, you’ll have nothing to eat but a piece of plastic.

          Before you decide listen to what Jesus has to say. “Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put His mark of approval on Him.”

          Jesus says we should forget the sandwich. Reach for something that lasts. Of course He is not talking about food and credit cards. But He is telling us how to plan our lives.

          Often we have two choices. We must choose what we want right now and what is better for our total life. It is easy to choose what we want now because we think about today’s needs first. But sometimes what we want for now hurts us later. Or at least it does us no good later. Instead we should pick those things which will last – the things that help us not now and later. Jesus is not talking about insurance policies, investments, or houses. Those things will last only as long as we live on earth.

          But Jesus wants us to have a life that lasts forever. Sure, God wants us to have the food and other things we need for today and as long as we live on earth. But He wants us to have more than that. He tells us to live on His credit card, to depend on Him for a life that will never end. Jesus tells you that you can trust in Him because God the Father has put His mark of approval on Him. That mark of approval is the resurrection from the dead. Jesus died and rose again to give us eternal life.

          Plan your life knowing that you will live forever. Don’t let the problems of today destroy your hope for the future. Don’t let the joys of today make you forget that even greater joys await you in heaven.

Look at Both Sides

John 6:43-45        "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. 44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me."

A large poster with the words “This Way” and an arrow pointing left on one side and the same words with an arrow pointing right on the other.

          Suppose you ordered a sign made to point the way to that door. When the sign arrived, you put it up. But look… (Show the side that points the wrong way.) You wanted to direct people toward the door, but this arrow points the wrong way. You could turn the sign upside down. (Do it.) Then the arrow is right, but the words can’t be read.

          You might complain to the person who painted the sign. But the sign-maker would tell you the sign is correct. See. (Turn the sign over.) It is made to point either way.

          Some people who listened to Jesus grumbled about what He said. He had told them He was the Bread of Life. They thought He was like the sign – that He pointed the wrong way. They wanted Him to show them the way of God. Instead He showed them the way to Himself. They didn’t like that.

          But Jesus told them to stop grumbling. He reminded them that the prophets told them, ‘Everyone will be taught by God.” The people knew they had not always listened to God when He taught them. God seemed too holy, too far away, and too difficult to understand.

          But Jesus came as a person – like the people He was teaching. When He pointed toward Himself, ads He often did, He was pointing to something they could see and understand. As the people got to know Him, they discovered He was God also. Jesus is like this sign. Because He is a human being, He points to us – He is the way God came to us. Because He is God, He also points to our Father in heaven. He is the way we go to God. He tells us, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him to Me.” And, “Anyone who hears the Father and learns from, Him comes to Me.”

          Sometimes we also grumble if we see only half of Jesus. IF we see Him only as God, we grumble that He is far away, and we can’t understand Him. If we see Him only as a person, we grumble that He has no power to help us. But if we look at both sides of Jesus we have no reason to grumble. Jesus points us to Himself; so He can point us to God.

          When we see Jesus as a person, we know He has shared in our lives. He is a part of us. When we see Him as God, we know that what He has done has power to save us forever. He tells you that when you believe in Him He will raise you up on the last day.

Eat Your Cake and Have It Too

John 6:51  

Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

 Two decorated cupcakes, each on a serving plate.

          Have you ever heard anyone say, “You can’t eat your cake and have it too”? Some people want two things when they have to choose one or the other. For example, a student may want good grades and also want to watch TV or play instead of studying. Or you might want to save your allowance for a vacation but also want to spend it for treats this week. In either case someone might say, “You can’t eat your cake and have it too.”

          Here there are two cupcakes. See how pretty they are. I’ll give one to Sherry and one to Will. Will, you look at yours and think how good it will taste. So you eat it.

          Sherry, you look at yours and think how pretty it is. You want to show it to your friends. You want to think how nice it will be to eat it sometime; so you keep yours.

          Will and Sherry each had a choice to make. He ate his cake. She kept hers. Will has already enjoyed his cake. Sherry wants to enjoy hers later.

          In our Bible reading for today Jesus calls Himself bread not cake. People in His day didn’t eat cake. They were glad to have bread. Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eat this bread, he will live forever. The bread that I will give him is My flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”

          Let’s compare Jesus as the living bread to the two pieces of cake. Jesus is like bread because we need Him to live. Just as we must have food for our bodies we must also have food for our spiritual lives. Jesus is that food. First, we can say that Jesus is like the cupcake that was on Wills plate. Jesus was here. He lived for us. He gave His life when He died on the cross to pay for our sins. Because Jesus gave His life for us, we can no longer see Him. (Show the empty plate.) He is like the cupcake that was eaten. Jesus’ life was taken from Him.

But Jesus is also like this cupcake that we can still see. He gave His life when He died for us. Yet He returned to live with us, He is a living bread. He is with us today.

          We do not have to make a choice between a Savior who will die for us and one who will live for us. Jesus does both. In Him, and only in Him, we can have our cake and eat it too. In fact, we cannot choose one or the other. We need to know Him as the Savior who dies for us. We also need to know Him as the Savior who lives for us. In Him we find the living bread that gives us life that lasts forever.

Give and Take

John 6:66-69        From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.   So Jesus asked the Twelve disciples, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

Six 3 x 5 cards (messages in text below) and a sack of candy.

          I’ve asked Carol to play a game of Put and Take with me. For the game I have this sack of candy and a stack of cards. Carol will take the top card and do what it says. Then the next card and the next. She may quit at any time she wants. Before we start I want to show her what the bottom card says. See, I will tell you, “take all the candy.”

          Now we start the game. Take the first card and read it. (The cards in order say, “Take five pieces of candy,” “Take three pieces of candy.” “Give four pieces of candy to a friend.” “Put two pieces of candy back in the sack.” “Eat one piece of candy.” “Take all of the candy.” As the child plays the game give her the opportunity to quit after each card. If she considers stopping, remind her of the bottom card which she has seen.)

          During the game of Put and Take you gained some and you lost some. But as long as you knew what the bottom card was, you knew that you should continue the game. In some ways being a Christian is like a game of Put and Take. The life of a Christian always starts by God giving the first gifts. First we take. But God also asks us to put. He asks us to use the gifts He has given us. Some people want to quit the game when God asks them to give away what He has given to them. However, we should always remember that God has shown us the last card. It is God’s invitation for us to go to heaven with him.

          For example, in today’s Bible reading we hear about some people who quit the game before it was over – and some who refused to quit. First, Jesus gave many gifts to a large crowd of 5,000 people. He fed them all they needed to eat. Some have been healed. All heard the message of love and forgiveness. Then Jesus told the people that they must share in His life, that they must eat His body and drink His blood. Many of them didn’t like that; so they left Him.

          Jesus then asked His disciples, ‘Would you also like to leave?” Peter remembered the last card. He answered for all the disciples when he said, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. And now we believe and know that You are the Holy One who has come from God.”

          But we have to answer for ourselves. Think of all the things that God has given to us. Starting with our baptisms, He has given us His love and mercy. Each day He forgives our sins. He also asks us to give – to give love, money, attention, forgiveness to others. Sometimes we are like the people in the Bible reading who did not understand what Jesus was saying. At such times we must always remember the bottom card. Jesus who asks us to give to other is also the One who has eternal life for us. Stay with Him.

5-11-14 My mother was a teacher

Scripture:   John 5 (vs 39-44)

A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the “MAGNET” and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: "My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?" When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word Mother.  (picture of a magnet MAGNET on screen then add MOTHER under MAGNET picture of a mother picking things up)

A 5^th grade teacher asked this question: "Suppose your mother baked a pie and there were seven of you--your parents and five children. What part of the pie would you get?" A boy replied "A sixth." "I'm afraid you don't know your fractions," said the teacher. "Remember, there are seven of you." The boy said, "Yes, teacher, but you don't know my mother. Mother would say she didn't want any pie."

MOTHERS AND TEACHER SEEM TO GO HAND IN HAND

My mom: She felt that in the era and circumstances she grew up in she had two occupational choices - Nurse or Teacher.  Taught Health and phys ed. Directed the HS plays at Pleasantview and the faculty plays at Westland where she taught OWE.  The most important thing my mother taught me was that getting along with people is more valuable than knowledge or skills.  By her life she taught me to be the best me I can be. My mom had no issues with people knowing who she was.  I don’t either.

 

Verneta Wisecaver’s mother and grandmother were teachers.  She told Teresa that her mom and my mom were teachers and divorced single moms - we had that in common. I asked what was the most important thing your mom taught you? After much thought, the most important thing her mother taught her was to be “sassy” and “duty”

          Of the four things taught by our mother/teachers 3 of them are Christian values: 1) getting along with others 2) being the best version of ourselves 3) living out our duty (not sure about the sassy part) 

Getting along with others to Jesus was most important - Matt 22:34-40  Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'   All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." 

Duty - Come follow me!  Go out two by two.

Be the best you that you can be.  That is the questioning Jesus was answering in John 5 - He claimed to be God and the Pharisees couldn’t grasp that concept so Jesus taught them.

John the Baptist was teaching Jews to be the best Jews they could be:

Luke 3:9-17

The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." 10 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. 11 John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher, what should we do?" "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely — be content with your pay." 15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.   John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

          He took the law of Moses and said put in into practice.

4)     Sassy - 1 Peter 2:9 KJV says we are a peculiar people. Matt 10:16  I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

John 5:1-47                                (vs 1-16 paraphrased)

Invalid for 38 years at the healing pools of Bethesda. Jesus showed up and healed him on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off.  That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, "It's the Sabbath. You can't carry your bedroll around. It's against the rules." That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus — because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath.

17 But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I. (Faithful doing his duty)"  Now they wanted to kill him for claiming to be God.

So Jesus explained himself at length. "I'm telling you this straight. The Son can't independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing.  "But you haven't seen the half of it yet, for in the same way that the Father raises the dead and creates life, so does the Son. The Son gives life to anyone he chooses. Neither he nor the Father shuts anyone out. The Father handed all authority to judge over to the Son so that the Son will be honored equally with the Father. Anyone who dishonors the Son, dishonors the Father, for it was the Father's decision to put the Son in the place of honor.

24 "It's urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living. "It's urgent that you get this right: The time has arrived — I mean right now! — when dead men and women will hear the voice of the Son of God and, hearing, will come alive. Just as the Father has life in himself, he has conferred on the Son life in himself. And he has given him the authority, simply because he is the Son of Man, to decide and carry out matters of Judgment.

28 "Don't act so surprised at all this. The time is coming when everyone dead and buried will hear his voice. Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life; those who have lived the wrong way, into a resurrection Judgment. "I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders. (DUTY) 31 If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness. But an independent witness confirms me, the most reliable Witness of all. Furthermore, you all saw and heard John, and he gave expert and reliable testimony about me, didn't he? "But my purpose is not to get your vote, and not to appeal to mere human testimony. I'm speaking to you this way so that you will be saved. John was a torch, blazing and bright, (his best self) and you were glad enough to dance for an hour or so in his bright light. But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John's witness. It's the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me. The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously.

          39 "You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me!  And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive

from me the life you say you want. "I'm not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God's love, is not on your working agenda. I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God?

45 "But don't think I'm going to accuse you before my Father. Moses, in whom you put so much stock, is your accuser. If you believed, really believed, what Moses said, you would believe me. He wrote of me. If you won't take seriously what he taught, how can I expect you to take seriously what I teach?"

          Jesus is a teacher - My mom was a teacher.  It is good to learn to get along with others, to do our duty and to be the best version of our selves.  But because the Father loves His children so much, through the life, death, resurrection, ascension and imminent return of Jesus in John chapter 5 he has taught us how much he loves us and that His love has everything to do with us going from death to life - a life that is what life was meant to be a life that will never ever end!

          So, what should we teach others? Life!  How should we teach it? Through love!  This is our duty, as we get along with others, to show people our best selves in Christ!

Matt 28:19-20

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

When Robert Ingersoll, the notorious skeptic, was in his heyday, two college students went to hear him teach at a lecture. As they walked down the street after the lecture, one said to the other, “Well, I guess he knocked the props out from under Christianity, didn’t he?” The other said, “No, I don’t think he did. Ingersoll did not explain my mother’s life, and until he can explain my mother’s life I will stand by my mother’s God.”

5-4-14 Conversation at the water cooler

Scripture:    John 4:1-42

The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

It was called Sychar; probably the same as Shechem. Shechem yielded the first proselyte

that ever came into the church of Israel (Gen 34:24) All the men who went out of the city

gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"  8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." 11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." 17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."

19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."  21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." 25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."

27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?" 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. 31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something." 32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." 33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?" 34 Jesus said, "My food, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.  They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

 

It was a happy day for Samaria that it lay in Christ's way.

It begins with a water cooler conversation with a Samaritan woman, what about his conversation nearby on Mt. Tabor with Moses and Elijah? What was that conversation? It is buried in silence. But this conversation with an individual - SINNER is given much real estate in scripture.

Jesus preached to the crowds, yet here he teaches a single person, a woman, a poor woman, a stranger-NOT, a Samaritan; that is how Christ is most effectively shared.  With someone who we know - as Jesus knew her.  With someone who we can call by name.

John 17:25-26

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

Matt 10:29-33

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

Ex 33:17

And the Lord said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

Matthew 25:1-13               THE 10 VIRGINS         (“I don’t know you”)

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  ‘At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'  Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'  'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

 John 10:2-4

The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.  The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

By name Jesus calls Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot / and sends them out 2 x 2.

          Jesus calls Martha by name.  He tells her that she is worried and bothered by so many things.

          Jesus calls Simon the Pharisee by name.  He asks, “Who loves more?” The greater sinner.

          Jesus calls Saul by name ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

          Jesus calls Mary Magdalene by name at the empty tomb and asked who are you looking for?

          Jesus calls Lazarus by name; “Come forth” aka “Come back to life!”

          He knew Nathaniel had been sitting under a fig tree and that the woman at the well have been married 5 times.

          What is He saying to you as He calls your name?  Is it that you are worried and bothered by so many things.  Is He asking, “Who loves more?”  Is He wondering, “Why are you persecuting Me?”  Is He sending you out to preach?  Is He asking you to be a rock?  Is He telling you that you are blessed?  Is He telling you that you should put out into deep water to find a catch?  Is He warning you that Satan has asked to sift you like wheat?  Is He asking whether you love Him?  Is He asking, “Why are you weeping?” or “Who are you seeking?”

Zaccheus

          In Jericho there was a man trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, so he ran on ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree in order to see Him. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said, ‘Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’  And he hurried and came down, and received Him gladly.  And Zaccheus said to the Lord, ‘Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.’  And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’”

          Jesus is calling us by name.  He is calling us to be saved.  He is calling us to drink from the well of Living water.

NOTE:

My water cooler conversation with a dear friend:

Hope you don't mind me sharing our friend’s daughter's post regarding her funeral arrangements. It's just so very sad. She had such faith and felt God had cured her, which is what she told me last year. I thought she had it licked too especially after looking at her pictures on FB how pretty and healthy she looked. I hate seeing classmates pass away. Just makes me feel that much closer to my own mortality. I wish I had your faith and belief in life hereafter, but I don't. Maybe I should read some books to help me believe. I like to think that I live my life with good morals and values, but I'm just not a religious person...but I'm a person who is trying to find the faith. Sorry to get so heavy with you, but after all you're a pastor and should be use to this - right?? Take care my friend and thanks for listening to my message here.

Julia, thank you for your beautiful note and your heartfelt thoughts. Yes as a pastor, but more as your friend I am thrilled that you would even bring up the subject of faith and talk so candidly about it - you are awesome. I am not going to give you everything I know about faith and eternal life but would love to share a few things that might be helpful.

1) go here on you tube: http://youtu.be/Ymfh6RJezQ4 and after you watch it maybe more than once - tell me what you think about it.

2) if you don't have a modern translation (I use the NIV New International Version) of the bible laying around - I would be glad to get you one or you can download a really cool one online that you can use on your pc or phone. Go to www.bible.com and download this free bible app. It has awesome reading plans - you can add your own notes as you read and it has a thing called live events that I provide for my church every Sunday as aids to my sermon. I always suggest the first part to read is the book of John (which I happen to be preaching on right now) It tells all about Jesus and how how much God loves us. Then the book of Ephesians really describes what a Christian is.

3) I am not religious either - never have been. I have a personal relationship with God's son - Jesus. He forgave my sins (we all have them) and guarantees me eternal life in heaven one day. Do you remember walking into West on Monday Nov 4 of our sophomore year? You don't! I don't either, but I remember the next day. Because on the evening of Nov 4 I went with Bryan Hitch, Pat McClaskey and a couple others to Zanesville to a Christian Concert where Christ became real to me. Heaven has NOTHING to do with us being good enough - we can't be. It only has to do with trust in the only one who could be good enough that died in our place for our sins - Jesus. That is it - sounds simple - it is. There is a song that says it this way: Not because of who I am, But because of what Jesus has done. Not because of what I've done but because of who He is. Here is the song on you tube: http://youtu.be/mBcqria2wmg

OK that was maybe more than I thought I would write but I really would be curious what you think after you consider some of this. So glad you connected with our friend some - I did as well recently - glad I did.  (…other conversations about faith…)

Jeff,

You make some very interesting points for me to ponder. I’ve not looked at faith and believing in the way that you describe it. I realize there is no way to prove there is a God… that’s my problem… my issue with always needing proof to believe in something. Maybe you have to be raised from childhood to believe and that’s my problem. You know I did try to find faith back in High School when I was in Young Life. I found that experience to be a fun and easy way to understand the bible.

Again, I truly appreciate your efforts in trying to help me find God. I may be a lost cause, but lately I’ve been discovering I want to try and believe. Guess that’s what happens when we get older and closer to death.