03-29-15 Jesus’ Journey on a Donkey

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Scripture:   John 12:9-11

      This is the attitude we would like Jesus to have as he is about to begin his parade – After all HE is the King of kings.  VIDEO: GLEE “Don’t rain on my parade.”

Tom Barnard writes, "The crowd was clueless. They never got it right. They shouted praises. He wept. They looked for a warrior-king riding a white stallion. They got a carpenter riding a donkey. They wanted hype. They got a healer. They wanted a prophet. They got one who fulfilled prophecy. They wanted a scepter. They got a Savior. They got nothing they asked for but everything they needed. Only they never got it. They were clueless. Jesus was the only One there who really knew what was happening on that first Palm Sunday.

It's so easy to become like those people in Jerusalem. We think we know what's going on, but we really don't have a clue. We have a bad week, and we blame God. Our kids act out, and we blame the school. We work two jobs and wonder why things aren't better at home. Jesus comes to our town, and He wants to help; but we don't recognize Him for who He is. We think He will be impressed with our houses and our businesses and our stuff. He is not. He wants our hearts. That's what Palm Sunday is all about."

The only way Jesus gets our heart is if we humble ourselves – get down from the high horse of our own life – and ride a donkey in HIS parade.   So ALMIGHTY God wants us to humble ourselves?  Let’s see – we are told in James 4:10  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.    There are benefits to being humble: Psalm 149:4  For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.    The benefits go beyond our salvation: Psalm 147:6  The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.       So BIG authoritative God wants to sit on his high horse and watch us squirm in humility before him?  In fact, he is the one who has humbled himself and shows us how it looks:  Psalm 25:9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Jesus’s journey on a donkey showed how consistent Jesus was – once again it showed his humility. Birth in a manger, obedient to his parents, died in humiliation on a cross. Even while being proclaimed king – entered the city on a donkey – a young donkey – a donkey never ridden before.  Just before that, according to Mark – he healed a blind man that the disciples tried pushing to the side so Jesus wouldn’t be bothered. /  Before you proudly begin to think “Well, I am humble” look at what happened just before healing the blind man as Jesus is on his way up to Jerusalem:  Mark 10:32-45   They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid.

Here is how they see Jesus marching toward his certain death at the hands of the Jerusalem religious leaders.  [I gotta fly once / I gotta try once / Only can die once, right, sir / Oh, life is juicy, juicy and you see / I gotta have my bite, sir

Get ready for me, love / Cause I'm a "comer" / I simply gotta march / My heart's a drummer / Don't bring around a cloud / To rain on my parade

I'm gonna live and live now / Get what I want, I know how / One roll for the whole shebang / One throw that bell will go clang! / Eye on the target and wham! / One shot, one gun shot and bam! / Hey Heavenly Father, here I am!] This is Sunday, and they don’t see Thursday with Jesus in a garden pleading for his life, yet humbly submitting to the will of God!

Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."

It can’t be any plainer or more horrifying than that – and at that moment the disciples must have bowed for a prayer meeting to protect Jesus.  They probably humbled themselves before God, tore their clothes put on sack cloth and threw ashes in the air and started fasting. That would show their humility right after Jesus made it plain he was about to SUFFER and DIE!!!  Not so much, instead, this takes place [James, John & Salome]:

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask." "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared." When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus was humbly ready to go up to Jerusalem, but what were the people in that moment looking for?

John 12:9-11

Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.  The crowd wanted to see the miracle worker – The chief priests wanted to kill the miracle worker and the miracle recipient.  The crowd kept growing and ALL wanted to see Jesus the King who would over throw Roman oppression.

John 12:12-19

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!"

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Blessed is the King of Israel!"

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15 "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."  (Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.) 16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.  17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"

          Though Humble Jesus knows God will receive this praise no matter what:

Luke 19:39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"  40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

          Humble doesn’t mean not standing for righteousness.  Once he arrived at the temple:

          Matthew 21:12-17     12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"  14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant. 16 "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read," 'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'?" 17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

          What does your journey look like as a result of Jesus’ journey on a donkey on Palm Sunday?

Phil 2:3,5-8

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:   Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

 The result gives us His eternal position and our current position:

Phil 2:9-11

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord”, to the glory of God the Father.

03-22-15 UR to take the first step

Scripture:    Genesis 5-9

          What will your last step be?  My parents had great last steps.  Abraham, at the end of his unique journey had great last steps.  Genesis 25:7-8 Altogether, Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.

          Abraham was gathered to his people – who were his people?  How did he end up with a “people”?        Genesis 15:2-6   But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?  You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."  Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." God took Abram outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.  So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the Lord, and God credited it to Abram as righteousness.  Faith was the guiding principal of his unique journey.  If you want your last steps to end well make sure the first step and each one after are steps of faith.

          The Bible shifts its focus in Genesis 12 from the history of the entire human race to a man named Abram, the first Hebrew, and he lived in Ur of the Chaldees. Later God appeared to Abram and promised him that if he would leave his country and journey to a land that he has never seen, God would make of his descendants a great nation and through them the Savior of the world would come, through his "seed." Later God changed his name to Abraham which means "father of many nations" and he obeyed God and took a unique journey to the land of Canaan-the land of Promise.

Genesis 12:1-5     The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.  He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

          Interesting – how old was Abraham when he died? How old when God called him?  How many years did Abraham’s Unique journey last? 100 years. How many years did it take Noah to build the ark?  100 years.  What are the maximum number of years you have to live out your unique journey? 100 years – probably less.

Let’s look at the 17 places Abraham went on his Unique Journey of Faith.

The Journey (Abraham Visits 17 Locations)

On his journey to Canaan there were seventeen places that Abraham visited important in the history of Israel.

1. Sometime around 1900 BC the Lord told Abram to leave his home and country and go to a land that He would show him. He obeyed and departed from Ur of the Chaldees with his father Terah and his nephew Lot. (Gen. 11:31; Acts 7:2-4).

2. Haran in Mesopotamia was the first stop. They dwelt here until after the death of his father Terah, and in Haran the Lord called Abram again (Gen. 12:1-4; Acts 7:4).

3. They moved southward and passed by the city of Damascus. (Gen. 15:2).

4. Shechem was the first place where Abram came to in Canaan. The Lord appeared to Abram again and confirmed his promises, and it was here at Shechem that Abram built the first altar to the Lord (Gen. 12:6, 7).

5. Abram continued his journey southward and came to a mountain near Bethel, where he built a second altar (Genesis 12:8).

6. Abram and his family journeyed southward through the land of Canaan and a major famine hit they migrated to Egypt. In Egypt Abram deceived the King in order to save his own life (Gen. 12:9-20). The king of Egypt feared Abram because of a dream and allowed him to leave with all of his possessions.

7. Abram and his nephew Lot returned to their former home at Bethel, but on account of strife between their herdsmen they parted each other’s company as friends. (Gen. 13:1-9).
8. Lot chose the warm climate and lush plains of the Jordan Valley toward Sodom, and Abram went to Hebron in Mamre where he heard again from the Lord and built an altar (Gen. 13:10-18).

9. Four kings of the east came to Canaan and made war against the five kings of Canaan. In their conquest of the Jordan Valley they captured Lot as a prisoner of war, and when Abram heard of it he pursued the four kings and overtook them at Dan and defeated them with the help of the Lord (Gen. 14:1-4), Abram had assembled an army of 318 men. The city of Dan was located in the north between Hazor and Damascus.

10. Abram and his army of servants smote the army of the 4 kings and chased them to Hobah, which was located near Damascus. Lot and all the people with them were rescued including their belongings (Gen. 14:15, 16).

11. On his return Abram passed through Salem (Jerusalem) and was met by a man named Melchizedek whose name means "king of righteousness". Melchizedek was a mysterious man regarded in the Bible as the priest and king of Salem, and he gave to Abram bread and wine. The Bible also mentions that Abram paid him 1/10th of all his spoils from the war as a "tithe".

12. When Abram finally returned to Hebron God reminded him of his covenant with him and changed his name from Abram to Abraham (Gen. 15:1-21; 17:1-27). While in Hebron Ishmael was born (Gen. 16: 1-16) and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (Gen. 18:1 - 19:38)

13. Abraham left Hebron and for a time journeyed among the Philistines in Gerar which was in southern Canaan west of Beersheba. It was in Gerar that Abraham deceived King Abimelech (Gen. 20:1-18).

14. Abraham remained at Beersheba for some time. During this time he made a covenant with king Abimelech. It was here, Sarah, in her old age, gave birth to his son, Isaac.  When Isaac was born Ishmael was expelled with his mother Hagar (Gen. 21:1-34).

15. It was in Beersheba that Abraham received the command from the Lord to take his only son Isaac to Mount Moriah, a mountain of Salem, to offer Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:1-18).

16. Abraham returned to Beersheba and dwelt there for some time.

17. Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah in Hebron as the family sepulcher and buried his wife Sarah there (Gen. 23: 1-20). At the age of 175 Abraham died, and, with Sarah, was also buried in the cave at Machpelah.

          Now that you have seen how God was working almost 4000 years ago, let me assure you His steps are faithful and He continues to walk with us in our unique journeys in a similar fashion. And requires of us the same thing – Perfection? No! Faith? Yes! Just like Abraham, our journey begins with the first step.  What if you never take that first step of faith?...

You would not be here if your parents had not taken the first step of dating. This church would not be here is Mrs. I.B. Perrine had not initiated spiritual gatherings for Baptists.

APPLICATION

     If the first step would not have been taken the Israelites would not have crossed the Red Sea, or the Jordan river, the walls of Jericho would not have fallen, Peter would not have walked on water, the 12 would not have become disciples if they had not dropped their nets, left their tax books or gotten out from under that tree; and taken that first step when Jesus said “Follow Me”.  Jesus said “FOLLOW ME” which indicates he is calling the disciples to follow him on what? A unique journey.  Imagine if they had not followed. They could have lived peaceful lives and we would not even know their names. Did everyone who was called by Jesus follow him? No? What was the name of the person who didn’t follow him?  What became of their life? 

 Matt 19:16-22   Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"  Jesus said, "Why do you question me about what's good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you."  The man asked, "What in particular?"  Jesus said, "Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, 19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself."  The young man said, "I've done all that. What's left?"  Jesus replied, "If you want to give it all you've got, go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven.  Then  come  follow  me."   That  was  the  last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go.

Following Jesus is costly – not for the faint of heart or those looking for an easy road: Luke 9:57-62   As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."  Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."  He said to another man, "Follow me."  But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."   Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."  Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."    Luke 14:27   And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

03-15-15 A Unique Journey on the water

Scripture:   Genesis 5-9

     Noah’s ark is one of the most recognizable stories in all of scripture.  Why?  It is a story of faith, of romance, of nature, of destruction, of sin, of redemption, of hope, of promise, of miracles. It is beloved by Children and adults and it is debated by scientists and geologists and theologians.  It was even famously made into a comedy sketch 50 years ago and will be familiar to many of you; and never heard by others.  (PLAY VIDEO: Bill Cosby – Noah and the Ark. https://youtu.be/bputeFGXEjA)

          What do you believe about the flood and the ark, and even Noah?  Did he really exist and did it really happen or was it just a kind of an Old Testament parable or metaphor?  There are those who say the ark has been discovered in modern day Turkey and people like Bill Nye the science guy who argue, how then did the kangaroo get from Turkey across an ocean to live only in Australia?

You really can’t argue that God said it and I believe it and that settles it for me. (song)

Faith is the essence of things unseen
The substance of things hoped for
God's word has said it and I believe it
For the miracle has happened to me
God said it and I believe it
and that settles it for me
God said it and I believe it
and that settles it for me
Though some may doubt that His word is true
I've chosen to believe it, now how about you?
God said it and I believe it
And that settles it for me

I cannot prove how kangaroos got to Australia any more than someone can convince me that carbon dating something to millions of years ago is accurate.  The only way to prove that is for someone to have an object, live for a couple million years and never letting the object out of your site and then use the dating technique.  Besides which, even if there are things on earth that are millions of years old does not mean they have been here for more than several thousand years?  WHAT?  Absolutely, the creation story answers the question – which came first the chicken or the egg? – the chicken did. God created the animals of the field – not embryos that require parentage in many cases to bring about the birth even for an egg to keep it warm and feed the baby chick once hatched.

          Here is how we answer most any question related to creation, flood, or anything that requires a date – “God created things with TIME in them”  In other words – a 6 thousand year old rock can be dated 6 million years because just like Adam being created as a man – not a fetus, so to, the rocks and trees and hills and oceans were all created with time in them – as much time as determined by God.  If I can believe that God created things with time in them, I certainly can believe that in the aftermath of the flood the same God made a way for a kangaroo to find its way down under.  Were the two animals of each kind (actually 7 of each clean animal) a sign of Noah’s faithfulness?...but God also silently replenished the earth after the flood. Certainly a possibility.

Gen 6:5-22

The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.  The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them."  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

9 This is the account of Noah.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.   Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.   Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark — you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

THE MESSAGE

Gen 6:5-13
God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil — evil, evil, evil from morning to night.  God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart.  God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people,  animals,  snakes  and  bugs,  birds  —  the  works.  I'm  sorry  I  made  them."   But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.  This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere.  God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting — life itself corrupt to the core.  God said to Noah, "It's all over. It's the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I'm making a clean sweep.
     Genesis 6:22      Noah did everything God commanded him to do.

Noah’s unique journey has similarities to ours - it is a journey of faith.

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

          Like Abraham with Isaac, Joseph with his brothers, Elijah with the prophets of Baal, these were all great acts of faith. Though we similarly have a journey of faith, Noah’s journey stands out unique in an overlooked often missed way.  It took Noah 120 years to build the ark.

          Funny how the storms of life hit and people blame God or don’t feel God is with them through it, but God had called them years earlier to study his word, to learn to pray, to be part of a local church.  The reason they aren’t equipped to handle it, isn’t God’s fault, they simply failed to put hammer to nail and build the ark over the past decades.

          It is like taking Xango.  Xango Juice is a blend of mangosteen with juice concentrates of eight other fruits: and has been shown to be rich in anti-oxidants.  You take an ounce a day and more when a cold is coming on - in every case I have not gotten the cold. However, when I am not taking it daily and start taking it when a cold is coming on - all bets are off. Why - the effects are from regular usage not a lot all at once. - Like prayer and bible reading and church life. You may have an event 10 years from now in which you will need God greatly and wonder where he is when he invited you to participate in life with him more starting today and every day but you failed to do so.

          For 120 years Noah and his family received ridicule but he was undeterred.  There may have been days of wondering - we don’t know if this was a single conversation in a day or over those years - it may have been that one conversation and Noah never stopped believing and acting on that belief, and God counted him righteous because of that kind of faith.  A living faith. A faith that acts on who God is / not on who we are - and that creates a unique journey in life.

CONCLUSION

1 Peter 3:10-22
For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.  He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." 

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened."   But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.   It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

03-08-15 Our UNIQUE JOURNEY begins in a garden

Scripture                                                  Luke 23:39-43    

We begin in Paradise – a garden

Where does our unique journey begin?  In paradise. No pain or crying or mourning or death.

PARADISE = a very beautiful, pleasant, or peaceful place that seems to be perfect: a place that is perfect for a particular activity or for a person who enjoys that activity: a state of complete happiness. Paradise = (parádeisos παράδεισος, translating Hebrew gan "garden" in reference to the Garden of Eden) is a religious term for a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and eternal. The Abrahamic faiths associate paradise with the Garden of Eden, that is, the perfect state of the world prior to the fall from grace.

God’s View on Lawns & Gardens

GOD:    Frank, you know all about gardens and nature, what in the world is going on down there in the U.S.? What in the world happened to the dandelions, violets, thistles and the stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attract butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of color by now. All I see are patches of green.

ST. FRANCIS:  It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. They are called the Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers “weeds” and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD:    Grass? But it is so boring, it’s not colorful. It doesn’t attract butterflies, bees or birds, only grubs and sod worms. It’s temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS:  Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing it and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD:    The spring rains and the warm weather probably make the grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites very happy.

ST. FRANCIS:  Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it has grown a little, they cut it – sometimes two times a week.

GOD:    They cut it? Do they bale it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS:  Not exactly Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD:    They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS:  No sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD:    Now let me get this straight: They fertilize it to make it grow and when it does grow they cut if off and pay to throw it away?

ST. FRANCIS:  Yes, sir.

GOD:    These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

ST. FRANCIS:  You aren’t going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD:    What nonsense! At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep the moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves become compost to enhance the soil. It’s a natural cycle of life.

ST. FRANCIS:  You’d better sit down, Lord. As soon as the leaves fall, the Suburbanites rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD:    No way!! What do they do to protect the shrubs and tree roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS:  After throwing the leaves away they go out and buy something called mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD:    And where do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS:  They cut down the trees and grind them up to make mulch.

GOD:    Enough!! I don’t want to think about this anymore. Saint Catherine, you’re in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

ST. CATHERINE:   “Dumb and Dumber,” Lord. It’s a real stupid movie about . . .

GOD:    Never mind – I think Saint Francis just told me the whole story!

             That is a fun story – but the real story of God and the garden is recorded in the beginning of the bible in Genesis.

             Genesis 2:8   Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.     Genesis 2:16-17   And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."   Genesis 3:6   When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:23-24   So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

God’s original plan for our unique journey was to live with God forever in a beautiful garden – in paradise.  We messed that up; – not God.  We want to blame God when bad things happen – we released the knowledge of good and evil into the world – evil was unknown prior to that moment of disobedience. We betrayed God’s one request in the garden.  In a relatively short time in this garden the history of mankind was altered forever.

Since we messed up paradise, we should do something to make it right. Let’s just turn around and go back – WAIT – we can’t flaming swords are blocking the entrance.  WE CANNOT GET BACK IN!  There has to be another way. Let’s continue our unique journey to another garden just outside Jerusalem – in fact, overlooking the Kidron Valley in sight of Jerusalem.  The garden’s name is Gethsemane. 

Our journey continues in an Olive Tree Paradise – a garden

The garden of gethsemane

Gethsemane, literally means “oil press,” A garden of ancient olive trees stands there to this day. Jesus frequently went to Gethsemane with His disciples to pray.  One of those times, after Jesus and His disciples had celebrated the Passover, they came to the garden.

He separated 3 from the rest then himself from the 3 of them. He asked them to stay awake and pray with him – each time he checked in with them they were sleeping in the garden. After he asked God to take away the cup of wrath, but submitting to His will, Judas showed up with Roman soldiers to betray and arrest him. The soldiers fell to the ground upon seeing Jesus until Judas betrayed him, then Peter cut off the ear of one of the soldiers and Jesus performed a miracle be reattaching it.  As he was taken out of the garden, the disciples scattered.

In a relatively short time in this garden the history of mankind was altered forever.

Our journey continues so close to Paradise – a garden

Within a few hours after Jesus had been tried, convicted and sentenced to death, he was taken to an awful place but very close to a beautiful garden of a wealthy person with the same name as his own earthly father – Joseph who was from Arimathea.

Matt 27:59-60   Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.       John 19:38-42   Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.   Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

That was Friday, but on Sunday, Jesus got up and after a brief conversation with Mary, who thought he was the gardener, Jesus left that garden to return to heaven – an eternal garden – the paradise of God.

In a relatively short time in this garden the history of mankind was altered forever.

Jesus is God – but how can we get to the paradise God intended form the beginning. Just before Jesus death, as he was hanging on the cross. There were two men being crucified with Jesus. There unique journey’s involved becoming thieves and too were sentenced to death.  Luke 23:39-43    One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."  Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

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Our unique journey ends the same place it began – in paradise – a garden – in this case – heaven – more importantly it begins and ends – with God. 

Ephesians 4:4-6   “Of, Over, Through and In all”

There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Revelation 21:6    He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”

Revelation 22:13  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

03-01-15 UNIQUE JOURNEY: Theme Introduction

John 14:1-6

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

The Christian Life is a UNIQUE JOURNEY

You have a UNIQUE JOURNEY

We have a UNIQUE JOURNEY

Jesus has THE UNIQUE JOURNEY

          Notice what is not unique in those statements – the theme itself – UNIQUE JOURNEY! But something else was the same – each statement is present tense. You HAVE a… We have a… Jesus HAS the…

Journey implies past present and future and we will absolutely look at journeys past present and future, but I don’t want us to miss the point that the only reason to look back or forward is to make this present moment in our journey the very best.  Someone asks, “When was the best day of your life?” I say – “Today; because if it weren’t for today I could not rejoice in my yesterdays or look forward to my future.” Even though this moment may not be the most monumental, I choose to see it as the most important day yet on my unique journey with Jesus Christ! And I will wake, and do it again tomorrow.

Do you ever feel like you are living the same day over and over – that nothing ever changes very much?  The only way to make today really unique is for you to make it that way…like Bill Murray in Ground Hog day.  MOVIE TRAILER

When we start our journey as a baby, everything about us changes drastically every day. One day we only move, the next we crawl and the next we walk and talk. Somewhere along the line we settle for things staying the same. Until 60-70 years pass then things really begin to change again and usually not for the better – we stop walking and crawling and moving.  It seems that the Christian journey for many parallels the physical journey – we are reborn babies and grow and crawl and walk then plateau and for some even decline.  This should not be!  The Christian journey should always be on an upward trajectory.

I am blown away when a children’s director or youth director or adult ministry director seeks volunteers to teach a Sunday school class or Bible study and people who have been in SS classes and Bible studies for 50+ years say; “Well, I could never teach!” “WHAT?”

Could you imagine a grandmother who has cooked her entire life – and her granddaughter comes to her and says, “Grandma, could you teach me to cook?” Grandma says, “Oh no, I could never do that!”  Where is the difference? The difference is that cooking only matters for the next meal – feeding the word of God lasts for eternity.  In its simplest form, teaching is just passing on information that you have to those who don’t. 

You have a UNIQUE JOURNEY that no one else has and you can share that with others.

Where has your journey with Christ been? – Where is it now? – And where is it going?  NO ONE ELSE has the same journey as you.  Your journey is unique. Though external forces affect our journey, only we can determine where we are going and how we are getting there.  You cannot rely on your parents or pastor or friends.  You are responsible for reading the map, fueling up, and moving out to go where God wants you to go. 

Suppose Francis Hitch had not come to faith in Christ in spite of his alcoholic father, and become a pastor and responded to a call to move off the farm in Nebraska and move clear across the country to pastor a church in the big city – then his son may not have come to faith.  What if his son, Bryan didn’t follow his unique journey and develop his skills as a musician and therefore end up, as a 7^th grader in the high school production of Music Man?  You say what does this have to do with anything?  Imagine if I had not pursued my unique interest in theater, I to, as a 7^th grader would not have been in that high school production of Music Man that my brother, who was not into acting and not a singer ended up with the lead and Francis Hitch’s daughter had the female lead which meant both her brother and I got invited to be in the show and became good friends and eventually through that friendship God showed your pastor the reality of Jesus Christ to whom I gave my life to 3 years after meeting in that musical.

          That is just a small part of my Unique Journey.  It does not have guns blazing, or jail or drugs, but it is amazing to see how God was working, and I only mentioned a few people whom God used to bring me to faith.  You have a unique journey equally as important.  God was working in your life long before you knew it, maybe long before you were born.  I want you to begin doing some soul searching – literally and see how God was working to have you discover THE unique journey – Jesus Christ coming into the world – Jesus Christ coming into your life!

This raises a fundamental question – “Where is Jesus going – more important, Where does Jesus want me to go and where does Jesus want FirstB to go?  What is God’s Unique Journey for me – for us?

Thomas asked the same question: "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”  Before you can know how to get somewhere, you have to first know…what?  Where you are going.  Have you ever started going somewhere without knowing where you are going? Probably! Have you ever started going somewhere that you knew at the start but forgot along the way? All the time. Where was Jesus talking about going? To Heaven!  If we don’t know that is where we are going – how can we know the way?  When sharing the good news with someone, we don’t start with Jesus – we start with where the person is, where we can go – Heaven and then lay out the map and the GPS – God’s Perfect Savior – THE WAY – JESUS!

Jesus went from the finish point to our beginning point then back to the finish so we would know how to get from start to finish. If you don’t know where the finish line is, running the race is pointless.  KNOW THIS: Jesus was not sent on a divine mission on behalf of the Father.  Rather, the Father himself was and is on a divine mission in the life of His Son.  That is THE UNIQUE JOURNEY.

Jesus’ work was not finished when he left earth, it was a continuation of his work on our behalf so that our journey could get us to where he is – heaven.  John 14:2-3 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Jesus doesn’t just show us a way to the Father – he is THE WAY to the Father – That makes our journey truly UNIQUE!!!