A Spirit of Adventure

Florence Chadwick at a very young age loved to swim. At age 6 she entered her first swimming contest and was soundly defeated. At age 10 she won her first contest swimming in rough water. She grew up in San Diego and loved to swim distances and would swim to Coronado Island. One of her goals was to be the first women ever to swim the21 mile Catalina Channel between Catalina Island and Palos Verde, California. After years of training and having successfully swam the English Channel she was ready to take on the challenge. “The weather that day was not auspicious-the ocean was ice cold, the fog was so thick that she could hardly see the support boats that followed her, and sharks prowled around her. Several times, her support crew used rifles to drive away the sharks. While Americans watched on television, she swam for hours. Her mother and her trainer, who were in one of the support boats, encouraged her to keep going” (Answers.com: Florence Chadwick). Finally after 15.5 hours of swimming she was totally exhausted and she quit only to discover later that she was a half of a mile from shore. In an interview afterward she stated, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I know I could have made it." She returned to San Diego and resumed her training for another 2 months. On her second attempt there was dense fog but she persevered and became the first woman to swim across the channel and set a new record. Florence Chadwick had a tremendous spirit of adventure and determination to accomplish what no one had ever done before. The definition of adventure is: “an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risk; the encountering of risks, the spirit of adventure.” This spirit of adventure which calls us to attempt new things and take on challenges that seem overwhelming is a spirit that God has placed within each of us. Some of you have tapped into it already and some of you are on edge ready to be launched while others are holding back and playing it safe. We live in a culture that encourages us to “take it easy.” My dad used to always say to me when I would leave home, “Take it easy.” I know what he meant...Don’t get too crazy. I decided to change that saying with my daughter so when she would leave home I would often say, “Look for opportunities and take risks.” She has followed my advice and has done many things that her classmates never have done and probably never will. There is I believe in every one of us a spirit of adventure that needs to get stirred up. Unfortunately many people live their lives playing it safe and look forward to the retirement years that will be a time of relaxing, ease, less responsibility, less pressure to perform sort of a take it easy attitude. This frame mind wants to lull us into a lifestyle that is risk free and safe. But this lifestyle is one that is also very sterile and deadly to your spiritual, mental and physical health. You may have heard the story of Larry Waters in the news a few years ago (1982). Larry's boyhood dream was to fly. When he graduated from high school, he joined the Air Force in hopes of becoming a pilot. Unfortunately, poor eyesight disqualified him. When he was finally discharged, he had to satisfy himself with watching jets fly over his backyard. One day, Larry, had a bright idea. He decided to fly. He went to the local Army-Navy surplus store and purchased 45 weather balloons and several tanks of helium. The weather balloons, when fully inflated, would measure more than four feet across. Back home, Larry securely strapped the balloons to his sturdy lawn chair. He anchored the chair to the bumper of his jeep and inflated the balloons with the helium. He climbed on for a test while it was still only a few feet above the ground. Satisfied it would work, Larry packed several sandwiches and a six-pack of Miller Lite, loaded his pellet gun-figuring he could pop a few balloons when it was time to descend-and went back to the floating lawn chair. He tied himself in along with his pellet gun and provisions. Larry's plan was to lazily float up to a height of about 30 feet above his back yard after severing the anchor and in a few hours come back down. Things didn't quite work out that way. When he cut the cord anchoring the lawn chair to his jeep, he didn't float lazily up to 30 or so feet. Instead he streaked into the LA sky as if shot from a cannon. He didn't level of at 30 feet, nor did he level off at 100 feet. After climbing and climbing, he leveled off at 11,000 feet. At that height he couldn't risk shooting any of the balloons, lest he unbalance the load and really find himself in trouble. So he stayed there, drifting, cold and frightened, for more than 14 hours. Then he really got in trouble. He found himself drifting into the primary approach corridor of Los Angeles International Airport. A United pilot first spotted Larry. He radioed the tower and described passing a guy in a lawn chair with a gun. Radar confirmed the existence of an object floating 11,000 feet above the airport. LAX emergency procedures swung into full alert and a helicopter was dispatched to investigate. LAX is right on the ocean. Night was falling and the offshore breeze began to flow. It carried Larry out to sea with the helicopter in hot pursuit. Several miles out, the helicopter caught up with Larry. Once the crew determined that Larry was not dangerous, they attempted to close in for a rescue but the draft from the blades would push Larry away whenever they neared. Finally, the helicopter ascended to a position several hundred feet above Larry and lowered a rescue line. Larry snagged the line and was hauled back to shore. The difficult maneuver was flawlessly executed by the helicopter crew. As soon as Larry was hauled to earth, he was arrested by waiting members of the LAPD for violating LAX airspace. As he was led away in handcuffs, a reporter dispatched to cover the daring rescue asked why he had done it. Larry stopped, turned and replied nonchalantly, "A man can't just sit around." (Source Patrick Barbour http://www.delta-9.com/net47/myth/balloon.html) That time has come for many people who are not evidencing the spirit of adventure in their lives to get involved, take action and stir up the spirit of adventure!. Couch potato passive Christianity is not what we have been called to do or be. I like to think of Caleb as being one who had this “spirit of adventure.” In Numbers 14:24 he is described as one who had a “different spirit.” I like to call this a spirit of adventure. Caleb was the only other spy with Joshua who came back with a good report and encouraged the people to take the land. Caleb did not freak out at the size of the giants in Hebron, he freaked out at the size of the grapes and all the prebuilt homes and walls that were waiting for them! The forty year delay caused by the disobedience and lack of faith of the people did not quench Caleb’s spirit of adventure. When the time came to conquer the Promised Land he was in the thick of it leading Judah. The Promised Land had many enemies that needed to be conquered and it took years to do it. The reality is Israel never did conquer all the enemies or gain possession of all the land God promised. But Caleb continued to pursue what was promised to him even when he was 85 years old. (Joshua 14) He reminded Joshua of the land that was promised him and demanded that he get it. It did not come without a battle but he was victorious. The land was ruled by the giants of Anak, the very ones who instilled fear in the 10 spies and all the people. The size of the enemy and Caleb’s age did not stop him from taking them on and he defeated them. The spirit of adventure does not need to subside with the degree of difficulty of a task nor our age. I read of a grave stone that said, “John Jones, born April 25, 1830, died May 25, 1870, buried January 12, 1895. His body was not dead when he was forty but he lived as though it was. Many years of his life were wasted perhaps because the spirit of adventure was put to sleep. Our lives were never meant to be like that and we have to fight against a force that I believe is inspired by our enemy that want to lull us into sleep and ineffectiveness no matter what age we are. (Video clip) The Scriptures give us examples of several women who had this spirit and did great things for God and His people. Deborah was one of the judges of Israel who led the nation into victory over their enemies. The Israelites had been in captivity to Jabin King of Canaan for 20 years. God spoke to Deborah that he would deliver them from captivity through Barak and the 10,000 men he would take with him into battle. Barak was not real eager to go to battle and he would only go if Deborah went with him. She went with him but also told him he would lose out on some of the reward. I wonder if he walked behind her or beside her? Deborah went with him and encouraged Barak to pursue the enemy. God brought the victory He had promised. (Judges 4:1-16). Deborah had a spirit of adventure and she used it to motivate Barak the leader of the army to fight the battle to set the people free. Esther was also a woman who had a spirit of adventure. In her role as Queen, she was placed in a very important position in which she had tremendous opportunity to influence the King. When the future of her people was on the line she had a choice to make. She could remain silent and be killed with her people or she could respond with a spirit of adventure and approach the King to seek his help in saving her people. Getting the ear of the King and being able to go before him was not a simple thing. The King had the right to put to death anyone who appeared before him without an invitation and Esther would make an uninvited appearance. It had been 30 days since she had seen the King so she may have thought that she did something wrong and past history of Queen Vashti’s departure probably weighed into her thinking when she stated, “If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16) Esther made the courageous decision to go for it. She was successful in getting an audience with the King was one thing, but to ask the King to change the plan to annihilate the Jews took a tremendous amount of courage and a spirit of adventure. I imagine her heart was racing, her palms were sweating and her knees where trembling when she made her request of the King. Her request was granted and wicked Haman who had contrived the plan to kill the Jews was put to death with his family. (Esther 4) I wonder how many times we don’t get what we need because we don’t ask; we stifle the spirit of adventure and do not take the risks and ask for something. Have you ever been with someone who asked for something that you thought was out of line, maybe a little too much and you were a little embarrassed to be with them when they asked? And then too your surprise they were given what they asked for? We walk away wishing we had been the one to ask! When I was in college I attended an Intervarsity Christian Fellowship group in another city with a friend. The night I attended they conducted a “Bigger or Better” contest. Each team started out with something small and was sent out to different areas of the city. We had to knock on doors of homes or apartments and ask the people if they could trade what we had for something bigger or better. It was a crazy game and probably would not be advisable to do in certain cities. It turned out to be a fun night as the homes we went to were eager to help us and get rid of things they did not want. The group that won the contest came back with a used car! We have many other examples of people in the Bible who had the spirit of adventure. In order for the gospel message to reach the nations men and women had to leave their homes and travel to unknown areas. The Apostle Paul was always looking for new territory to preach the gospel. He did not want to go to areas where the gospel had already be proclaimed but looked for opportunities to reach the unreached. It did not matter how difficult the task was, he was committed to doing what God had called him to do. Paul lived a life of adventure following God’s call. On one occasion as Paul was being transported as a prisoner by ship to Rome, the weather turned bad and the ship was headed for destruction. Paul’s previous advice that warned of the dangers of setting sail went unheeded (Acts 27:10, 11) but now he had gotten the attention of the captain of the ship and was used of God to provide wisdom and counsel that saved the lives of everyone (Acts 27:21-25). What an adventure, being in a storm, crashing the boat and swimming to shore using a piece of the boat as a flotation device! All the while knowing that God had promised him safety for everyone on the ship. Paul entire life seemed like a great adventure. He was always looking ahead for new territory. We know that Paul had his eyes set on reaching Spain but we do not know if he was able to go there. He had a spirit of adventure and was not content to settle down, live a normal life and miss out on all the opportunities and open doors that God would give him to preach the gospel. I believe that coupled with the spirit of adventure is creativity. When we are willing to take on the risks and challenges I believe that God releases creative ideas to help us get the task accomplished. Arlene Richardson in a recent address to a group of students at Columbian International University related these amazing stories of people with a spirit of adventure. Her husband is Steve Richardson who is the son of Don Richardson who was a missionary to Papua New Guinea and author of the book “Peace Child”. He grew up in the jungle and had a very adventurous life as a young man. The spirit of adventure remained in him and motivated him to go to unreached areas. One day he and his wife were in a bookstore in Indonesia and he was looking at a magazine. The magazine showed a remote island of Barkada that had 70,000 people and he immediately wondered if there were unreached people groups that had not heard the gospel message. He took a barge to get to the island and twelve hours later arrived. Just as he had thought the island had unreached people groups who had not heard the gospel. He wrote an article in Mission Frontiers magazine about the island and its needs. The first person to contact him was a lady named Judy, a single woman. She said she would make herself available. She said “Lord send me, I claim this island as my inheritance.” She moved out to the area and made many boat trips to the island because she was not able to live there. Each time she would write down the names of the people and then she started a network of people across the world who would pray for each person by name. She recruited some nationals who were experienced in church planting and formed a team to evangelize the island. One of the couples she recruited could live on the island but they needed a way to sustain themselves and reach out to the people so they started a bakery they called the “Bread of Life.” The bakery became a connecting point with the people and many have come to the Lord all because one single women with the spirit of adventure was willing to go to this unreached people group. Another woman named Cindy who is called the “Betty Crocker of Central Asia”was used of God to reach a very poor community. One morning her friend came to her and said she had a dream and in the dream the Lord to her that they were to go to a far away village and pray for the women and bake cakes. So Cindy and her friend filled with a spirit of adventure went to the village. When they arrived there was no running water, no oven and sporadic electricity so how were they to make cakes?. They just showed up unannounced and started baking cakes. They told the women that God had heard the needs of the women and that he had told them to come to the women and bake cakes and pray for them in Jesus name. One woman had a toaster oven but it did not have a thermostat. The first cake was not a prize winner but the people loved it. Word began to spread around the village and the women began to meet to cook and pray in Jesus name. The ladies began to witness answers to prayer. As the prayers were being answered the ladies wanted to pray more and cook less. Women started to come to Christ. They shared with their husbands why they had changed. Their husbands noticed the change in their wives and they began to inquire about eternal things. Cindy’s husband Henry was kept busy networking with the men who wondered what had happened to their wives. All of this happened because 2 women with a spirit of adventure were willing to obey the voice of God and carry out a creative idea God had planted in them. When we have a spirit of adventure we are willing to take on new challenges at any age to gain everything that God has destined for us. When we have a spirit of adventure we are willing to go to battle to liberate people from the oppression of the enemy. When we have the spirit of adventure we are willing to risk everything and ask for Big things to see things change. When we have the spirit of adventure we set our eyes on reaching the unreached areas and take advantage of every opportunity God gives us. When we have the spirit of adventure we respond in obedience and faith to the call of God and go where he wants us to go to claim our inheritance. When we have the spirit of adventure we hear the voice of God and obey no matter how crazy the idea may appear because we want to see people come to Christ as much as God wants them to come to him. Our lives as believers should be filled with stories of adventure because God has given each one of us a spirit of adventure. When is the last time you did something new, different, maybe unusual or odd, creative, challenging in your walk of obedience with the Lord? Life can become a routine if we let it or it can be a daily adventure as we let the Spirit of God stir up within us a spirit of adventure to believe God for new and creative ideas to share the gospel with perhaps people of a nation unknown to us or simply reach out to your neighborhood to express God’s love for them.. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, he is constant in his character but He is unpredictable in what he will do and use us to do. I pray tonight that God will stir up within each one of us a spirit of adventure to do what needs to be done to reach the lost and unreached in the world.

Getting Back on Track

A few years ago I was visiting Tikal with a group of people. The group decided to return to the hotel in the park but I wanted to stay and watch the sunset and listen to the Holler monkeys scream like lions. On the way out of the park it started to get dark while I was walking with another group of people. Somehow I got separated from them and I went on a different trail. I walked for awhile and it got pretty dark. Finally I saw a sign indicating the road I was on led to a town 20 kilometers away! I was off track and I needed to get back to where I had wander off so I could get out of the park. I was a little panicked at the time and I stopped and prayed that God would help me. As soon as I finished praying a pickup truck came around the corner and they stopped and asked me where I was going. They were going the same direction I needed to go so they told me to get in and they safely took me to the exit of the park. They helped me get back on track and I was very grateful.
Tonight I want to talk about getting back on track with the Lord. The disciples got off track after the resurrection of Jesus and I want to look at their story and draw some principles from it.
John 21:1-19
1 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”“No,” they replied.6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.12“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
Disciples Dilemma
After the resurrection of Jesus the disciples even after seeing Jesus the evening of his resurrection and on one other occasion, became discouraged and disillusioned about their mission. Peter who was the real leader of the group made a decision to return to his profession as a fisherman and six other disciples agreed to do the same. The waiting game was too much for the disciples and their contact with Jesus after the resurrection obviously was not a frequent as they thought they needed to be assured that there really was a mission and purpose for their lives. Some of the most difficult times for us as believers are the times that we are waiting for direction or waiting for changes to happen so we can move on with our lives. We like the disciples can get impatient, discouraged and disillusioned. When we find ourselves in this situation it is easy for us to look back at what we left behind and think about returning. The disciples’ faith had wavered and a decision was made to go back to their nets and live a life they had previously experienced. Peter declared, “I am going fishing.” This was not recreational fishing but occupational fishing. This seemed like the only option available at the time. Yet I wonder if Peter had regrets about returning to the fishing business and deep in his heart was a greater desire to continue with the mission and ministry Jesus had told them they would have. I am not sure how eager Peter was to return to his previous life after spending three miraculous years with Jesus, nonetheless the decision was made and they returned to Galilee to resume their trade.
John recounts that they had spent all night fishing and had caught nothing. This was pretty unusual for experienced fisherman who had previously made their living in the business. They had probably cast their nets out numerous times throughout the night but each time their nets were empty. You have to wonder if their wheels in their minds began turning and if they began to think that maybe the fishing business was not what they were supposed to be doing. Had they caught a lot of fish maybe they would have thought otherwise but it seems that God made sure they had empty nets as a way of getting their attention.
Many of us have found this to be true in our lives as well. When we are not doing what we know to do and go off on our own, things just do not come together and there is a lot of emptiness. What we are doing is not productive and we soon realize that we are not doing what we should be doing. There is a feeling of satisfaction in your soul when you are doing what God has asked you to do and when you are not doing it, there is a leaness of the soul that sets in and disturbs us. You can try to block out the feeling but it is always there to remind you that something is not right. I think with each casting of the net with no results had to make the disciples think about what they were doing.
Jesus’ Surprise Visit
On the day they began to fish, Jesus came to visit them early one morning. He knew they were discouraged and disillusioned and needed to be encouraged so he showed up on the beach, close enough to them where they could hear him when he talked to them while they were in their boat yet far enough away that they did not immediately recognize him. He could have walked out to them but he wanted them to recognize him through the events that would shortly take place.
When Jesus came on the scene everything changed. He firsts asked them if they had caught anything. I think he knew the answer before he asked but they needed to acknowledge among themselves that their efforts had produced nothing. There needed to be a confrontation and evaluation of what they were doing and an acknowledgment that it was not working for them. God in his mercy and love for us often brings us to the same point when we are not walking in obedience to him. He causes things to happen that make us want to evaluate where we are, what we are doing and how productive and satisfying our lives are. It is a hard question but one that is very necessary to get us to realize what has happened. Sometime we need the perspective of another person to call to our attention that what we are doing is not what the Lord has asked us to do. At times we find ourselves responding in direct disobedience to the Lord because of our pride and impatience. We revert back to living according to the flesh where we think we will find pleasure. Or we may find they we go off on a little rabbit trail, take a little diversion or side trip to avoid going where we need to be. It does not necessarily imply that we are doing something immoral we are just doing something different. We know what we are to do but we decide to take a side trip and delay our obedience. It is like the little boy whose mom sent him to the store to get food but on the way got distracted by a baseball game and decided to play for awhile and forget about completing his real mission. Playing baseball is not a bad thing but it was not the right time for him to be playing baseball. When the little boy returns home, he knows exactly what his mom is going to ask him to make him accountable for his actions. Jesus did the same thing with the disciples by asking them the question about the productivity of their efforts.
The disciples respond with honesty to this man who they at least up to this point have not recognized. They admitted that they had nothing to show for their efforts. It must have been a little humiliating for them to admit their unproductive efforts. God will honor a humble and contrite heart. When we are really willing to admit our faults and see ourselves as we really are then God can begin to bring change. Until we reach that point we will continue to cast out our nets and try in our own strength to make things different. We have to be willing to come to an end to our self efforts if we truly want God to make real changes in our lives.
Jesus then offers them help by instructing them to cast their nets to the side of the boat. In order for the disciples to do this they had to either trust that this unknown person really knew something they did not and was worth following his advice or they could have thought we may as well try one more time, it cannot get any worse. I heard someone say the difference between an optimist and a pessimist is a pessimist says it cannot get any worse but an optimist says yes it can. I don’t know if the disciples were optimists or pessimists at this point but they decided to thrown their nets one more time. They listened to the advice of Jesus and did what he asked them to do. This is the next thing we need to do to get back on track with God. After we are confronted, accurately evaluate ourselves and admit where we are at, we have to be willing to listen to wise counsel and act upon it. The disciples did what was asked of them perhaps with some doubts as to whether anything would change but with a willingness to do it. When we want to see change in our lives we have to be willing to take advice and act upon it. Their obedience to Jesus brought a blessing that Jesus wanted to give the disciples. He wanted them to see his goodness and let it be a motivation for repentance and change. God’s goodness is what leads people to repentance. When they followed Jesus’ advice they had a miraculous catch of fish, 153 keepers. John was the first one to realize that this mystery man on the shore really was Jesus! John immediately informed Peter. At this point Peter could have cared less about the fish. I think in his heart he never wanted to return to fishing and after seeing the emptiness of it, his heart hungered for Jesus. When he recognized him he immediately dropped everything and made himself look decent by putting on his tunic and got to the shore as quickly as possible. I think Jesus had a huge smile on his face as he watched Peter jump out of the boat and make a beeline to him. I am not sure what the other disciples thought as they were left with trying to haul in the great catch with one less person but for Peter the most important thing to him was to be with Jesus. His heart was renewed with a desire to be with him. He knew that only Jesus could bring satisfaction, fulfillment, purpose and joy to his life. On our way back to God we need to experience his goodness to us and let that drive us to him. God longs for our hearts to want him above all things, to find our joy in serving him and knowing him and loving him. God desires us, he wants us to be in right relationship with him, he wants to restore us and reconcile us to himself so we can enjoy life as he has planned for it to be.
 
Breakfast with the Champion
Jesus was prepared to receive the disciples and had a fish breakfast waiting for them. The disciples were hungry, probably pretty tired and when they came to shore the special breakfast Jesus made for them had to have been a huge blessing to them. But more important than the food was the time of fellowship they had with Jesus. Their hearts reconnected with Jesus, their spirits were renewed, they realized they had not been abandoned. Jesus was there for them. It was just what they needed at this point in their lives to get them back on track and motivated to continue believing that the ministry they had been told about and had witnessed in Jesus would come to pass. There was no turning back from this point, no more desire to fish for food but a renewed desire to become a fisher of men.
Peter’s Special Session
Jesus had a special session with Peter to make sure he understood very clearly what his mission would be and what would be the proper motivation for carrying it out. Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved him with the agape kind of love that God has. Peter was honest with Jesus in his response when he stated that his love was not equal to the love Jesus was asking of him. Jesus was identifying that Peter’s motivation for service had to be based in love for Jesus, not for pride, power or special position. When this love was motivating Peter he would be able to do what Jesus asked him to do, feed his sheep and lambs. Though Peter did not have this kind of love at this point he mentioned agape love at least six times in his epistles. Peter grew in this special love as he ministered to the sheep of God’s flock. If anything other than love for Jesus is motivating our ministry we are doing it for the wrong purpose and the wrong way. Real love can only come through a real relationship with Jesus. When Jesus becomes the true passion of our lives and the highest priority of our lives then ministry can flow out of us and we will feed God’s people in the way God wants us to feed them.
After this special encounter with Jesus, I believe the disciples went from being discouraged to being determined to get back on track and fulfill the mission Jesus had for them. Their eyes were on him and they would give their lives in service to him from this point forward. None of them knew what was going to happen in the future but they were promised by Jesus that they would do greater things than he did.
 
What Peter did not know…
Peter had no idea that:
After he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he would preach his first sermon and see 3,000 people give their lives to Christ! Acts 2:14-41
He would command a lame man to walk and see it happen! Acts 3:1-11
People would be astonished at his confidence in declaring what Christ had done! Acts 4:13
The Holy Spirit would reveal to him the deception of Ananias and Sapphira and he would see them struck dead before him. Acts 5:1-11
He would have many signs and wonders demonstrated in his ministry! Acts 5:12
His shadow would bring healing and deliverance to the people lined up on the streets! Acts 5:16
An angel would be sent to miraculously release him from prison twice! Acts 5:19; Acts 12:7-12
He would lay hands on the Samaritans and see them be filled with the Holy Spirit! Acts 8:17
He would pray for Dorcas and see her rise from the dead! Acts 9:40
He would introduce Christ to the Gentiles and see them filled with the Holy Spirit! Acts 10:44
He would be used of God to change the attitude of the Jewish believers toward receiving the Gentiles into the Kingdom of God! Acts 11:18
He would offer godly wisdom and counsel to resolve the conflict between Jewish believers and Gentile believers regarding keeping Jewish customs. Acts 15:6-12
He would write 2 letters that would be included in the bestselling book ever!
He would die a similar death to Christ’s crucifixion and have no regrets.
Jesus had great things in store for Peter and at the end of his life I am sure that Peter was glad that he had not returned to the fishing business! Peter got on track and stayed on track and God used him powerfully to impact the world while he was alive but also after his death. His legacy continues inspiring millions of people today.
 
What does God have planned for you?
God desires that each one of us stay on course; keep on track with him because he has great things in store for our lives. At times like the disciples we revert back to our old ways of being in control, walking in our flesh, being impatient and forgetting or forsaking what we know to be true. God in his mercy will intervene and place things in your life that will cause you to be confronted with where you are at and what you are doing. He will let you see the emptiness and vanity of your ways so they can be repented of and left behind. His love for us and his goodness to us will be evident when we respond in obedience to him. He wants us to be drawn to him by his cords of love so that his judgment can be withheld.
If you have gotten off track in your relationship with the Lord, you need to see Jesus waiting on the shore, by a cozy fire with food prepared for you. He is waiting for you to leave your past behind and enjoy the fellowship that he desires to have with you. He is not there to rip you and punish you for what you have done, he is there to forgive and restore you as you humble yourself before him. God has great things for our future but we will never see them happen if we go back in our faith and return to our old ways. We have to realize that looking back is looking at a graveyard. God has blessing prepared for us as we wholeheartedly follow him. His Holy Spirit is in us and the human limitations have been lifted. Your greatest days of ministry are ahead of you! Get back on track, stay the course, receive the fullness of all God has for your life and ministry as you serve him with love as your primary motivation.

Resurrection Sunday

Resurrection Sunday
We have something great to celebrate today, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. His resurrection gives credibility to our faith. As Paul said, “If Christ was not raised from the dead your faith is worthless.” The resurrection of Christ sets Christianity apart from all other religions. No other religion has made this claim and supported it with the evidence that we have at our disposal. Christ was seen by many people after the resurrection. He did not ascend into heaven until he had been seen by more than 500 people. He did not hide himself from the people but lived among them in his glorified form. We have a sure foundation for our beliefs because of the resurrection. Christ predicted he would die but would rise again after 3 days. His words were fulfilled and because of this we are able to look back at everything he said and taught and have the same assurance that it is true. Though we obviously were not eye witnesses to the resurrection there is sufficient proof from the accounts of others that Christ did indeed rise from the dead. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who believe but have not seen.” You probably would not be here today if you were not already convinced that Christ has indeed risen from the dead. And because you believe in the resurrection you have the hope and assurance that one day you will also leave this earthly body and take on a new glorified body that will carry us into eternity. So we long and wait for that day when we will be changed and enter into the new life Christ has for us. But until that day comes for each one of us we have this time given to us on earth to proclaim the gospel to a lost world.
On the day of Christ’s resurrection he made a point of visiting the disciples who were behind closed doors, living in fear of the Jews. They feared for their lives. Their leader had been brutally crucified and you have to think that they thought they were next. The promise Jesus had made to them did not sink in or they would have been like Mary who went to visit the grave early in the morning. Instead they were scared, perhaps confused and disappointed. I can imagine that their conversations behind closed doors were filled with many doubts about Jesus and they probably questioned themselves as to why they left their jobs and followed him for 3 years. Let’s read the account in John 20:19-23
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
Jesus knew that the disciples had doubts and fears and he came to them. He did not rebuke them, chide them or scorn them for hiding behind closed doors. Instead he came to them, met them where they were and spoke to the deep needs of their hearts. His first words to them were, “Peace be with you.” This was not just a common greeting but was Christ conferring on them all the benefits of his death and resurrection. Christ had made peace with God through the sacrifice of his body for the sins of mankind. The greatest issue anyone will ever face, the sin that separates us from God was dealt with by Jesus on the cross. Christ made peace through the power of the cross. The disciples could now enter into a new relationship of peace with God. But this peace was also to be among them. Prior to his death the disciples were discussing who would be given the positions of power in the coming reign of Jesus. I am sure it was not a jovial conversation but was one of great intensity and feelings. Perhaps they had feelings of remorse for their actions or lack of actions that led to the crucifixion of Christ. They were not at peace with themselves nor with each other. But Christ comes to them and he speaks peace to them. I wonder if they remembered when he spoke peace to the raging waters of the Sea of Galilee and everything turned calm. His words brought peace to their hearts just like his words calmed the waters. Have you ever had Christ speak a word to you when you were discouraged, confused, feeling guilty or fearful? He can do the same thing for you today. One word from Jesus can make all the difference in the world to your attitude and outlook. He can bring peace instantly to us. I remember when I was contemplating leaving my job to pursue missions full time and how difficult it was at times to feel confident that I was doing the right thing. One of my major concerns was my daughter and how she would be affected. She is an only child and at the time was 16 years old. I was concerned for her more than anything else but one day in prayer the Lord spoke to me and said he would take care of her. Hearing those words brought tremendous peace to my heart and I could move forward in faith to pursue what God has place in my heart. Often times God sends one of his servants to bring us a word of peace. The Holy Spirit can give a word of wisdom or knowledge or discernment to someone who will speak into your life and bring peace to your mind. They may not know anything about your situation but God gives them a word to share with you that does not mean anything to them but everything to you. One of the students in our DTS had struggled with feelings of inferiority. One day she was thinking about how special people felt when they received roses. That week of our school we were talking about Supernatural ministry and one of the teachers received a word from the Lord to share with her. He said to her, “God told me to tell you that you are a rose to him.” He did not know her struggles with her self image but the word he shared with her touched her heart and brought peace.
Maybe you are here this morning and you need to receive peace in your heart because of what you are facing. I believe God can speak a word of peace to you today, a word that can change everything for you. He wants you to enjoy the full benefits of what Christ has accomplished through his death on the cross and resurrection. “Peace be unto you.”
The second thing that Jesus does is confirm their purpose. “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” Jesus was reconfirming the mission that had already been given to them. All the training they had gone through with him was for this purpose: to be sent out to proclaim the gospel that they were just now beginning to understand clearly. It would take more days of waiting before they would officially be released to do the work but Jesus made it clear to them that their ministry was not going to be one of hiding behind closed doors. He was sending them out with his authority to change the world. Christ needed the disciples and the disciples needed Christ to carry out the mission. The disciples’ purpose and our purpose have not changed. Christ is sending us out to the nations to proclaim the gospel message.
Guatemala needs to hear the gospel message, only 27% of the population are evangelical Christians according to a survey conducted in 2001. But of that 27% that claim to be believers there are possibly less than half who are really living lives that truly reflect that they are believers. Among the Quiche only 11 % are considered to be true believers and among the Mam only 4%. The gospel needs to be proclaimed and modeled among the people. I read where one ministry is sending teams of 10 believers to Africa as missionaries to live among the people and disciple them daily for a period of 3 years. They see the need for people to live out the gospel and teach new believers how to truly be a disciple of Christ. It is a costly decision but the fruit of their efforts I believe will be life changing and will impact the entire community.
Jesus is still sending people out because the need is still there. There are still many who have not heard the gospel message and do not have viable church in their community. The ends of the earth were the places Jesus had not yet gone and that is where he was sending the disciples. David Barrett has tracked 14,000 people groups to see which ones have access to the gospel. He has divided them into 3 groups: A,B,C.
“World C” Christianity is part of the culture and available to all.
”World B “have the Bible translated, have access to the gospel and a viable church is present but not to the degree of "World C"
World A” 1.3 billion have never even heard the gospel message. This is about 1 in every 6 people in the world. Many living in these areas will require tremendous effort to learn the language and customs of the people to be able to introduce them to Christ. Those who are willing to go I believe will go with the favor of God because of his great love for the lost.
Wherever God has placed you the priority is always the same: preach the good news and make disciples of the nations. Simplify your life so that you can spend more time fulfilling God’s heart’s desire to reach the lost.
 
The third thing that Jesus did is he gave the disciples power, the power of the Holy Spirit. He breathed the Spirit on them just like he breathed life into Adam. The mission he gave them would only be fulfilled in the power of the spirit. This Spirit that we have been given is the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. It is the same Spirit that will heal the sick and raise the dead. It is the same Spirit that will convict sinners of sin, righteousness and the judgment to come. It is the same Spirit that empowers your words to penetrate the hardest heart. Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit we will never accomplish the Great Commission. The Holy Spirit must have control of our lives. We have to live in submission to him, listening to his voice, allowing him to teach us and transform our lives to be like Christ. We need to receive his infilling every day. We must walk in the Spirit and die to our flesh and selfish desires each day. We can hinder and grieve the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives through the choices we make whether we will yield to the Spirit or yield to our flesh. Many Christian today are battling the influence of the flesh and they are not winning. It is estimated that 50 % of male Christians and 20% of female Christians in the USA have an addiction to pornography. The flesh is ruling not the Spirit. We have to guard our hearts and be careful of what we allow entrance because it will determine how effective you will be in the work of the Kingdom of God. We cannot walk or work in the power of the Holy Spirit when we choose to walk according to the desires of the flesh.
Peace, purpose and power were the first three things Jesus gave to his disciples after the resurrection. He knew what they needed as they tried to make sense of everything that had just happened during the previous 3 days. We are no different than the disciples, we need these three things in our life as well each day.
All we are and all we will ever do are all because of God’s grace at work in our lives. Grace is another thing that makes Christianity different than other religions. Other religions emphasize works, rituals, ceremonies, and other man made rules that are supposed to gain favor with the gods. Christianity emphasizes the grace of God not the works of man. Grace is God’s ability working in us. If God does not give us his grace we cannot do his work. By his grace he has saved us, called us to the work of the Kingdom, filled us with his Holy Spirit and sustains us each day. The gift of Christ, his death, resurrection and ascension to heaven are all acts of God’s grace toward us. We are indebted to God for his wonderful grace that he has given to each one of us. May we serve Him each day with the grace He provides.

The Passion of the Christ

The Passion of the Christ
The next week in Antigua is probably the biggest celebration week of the entire year. Semana Santa as it is called here will bring thousands do people to the city to watch the processionals. For many people it will just be a spectator event, for others a religious duty or fulfillment of tradition but for followers of Christ it has a very profound influence in our lives.
Many of us have seen the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” produced by Mel Gibson. The reality of the suffering of Christ was made clearer to me than I had ever known after watching the movie. The word “Passion” denotes the suffering of Christ after the Last Supper. The word “passion” also is used to describe an intense desire or love for another person. The Passion of the Christ was motivated by his passion for us. It was his intense love for each one of us that enabled him to endure the tremendous suffering he experienced after the Last Supper.
A suffering Savior was predicted by the prophets and none was more poignant than the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 53 describes in detail what would happen to Christ.
53 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
It is difficult to not understand that the Messiah would suffer because of our sin after reading Isaiah 53. This was his purpose in coming to the earth. The sacrifices of the blood of bulls and goats that the Jews practiced for centuries, would not take away the sins of mankind, God required the blood of His Son, Jesus, the perfect sacrifice without sin to be the ransom for our sins. The blood of the sacrifices was only a covering until the blood of Christ would be shed to bring forgiveness and cleansing.
The Passion of the Christ was a result of our sins. The penalty for sin was extreme. God did not take the sin of mankind lightly; his full wrath against sin was poured out on Christ. The intense suffering was part of his wrath against sin. Unfortunately today many people make light of sin because they do not understand the holiness of God nor do they appreciate the suffering of Christ that came as a result of our sin. Look again at the words Isaiah uses to describe what would happen to the Messiah:
Despised, rejected, sorrow, grief, wounded, bruised, oppressed, afflicted, stricken, stripes..These are very powerful words that remind us how Christ suffered physically, emotionally and spiritually. Tonight I want to look at these three aspects of his suffering as we follow Christ during his final hours on earth.
The Physical Suffering of Christ
His physical suffering was brutal. As we track through the journey to the cross we can identify the physical suffering Jesus encountered.
When he was before Annas he was blindfolded and struck on the face (Luke 22:63)
Jesus was then sent to Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin where he was struck with the palms of their hands Matthew 26:67.
His next physical suffering was when he was before Pilate who ordered the Roman soldiers to whip him (John 19:1). If Jesus was given the maximum by Jewish law it was 39 lashes but there was no limit according to Roman law. His back was shredded by the whip that was embedded with metal and bones.
If Mel Gibson’s portrayal is at all similar to Christ’s suffering it was incredible that Jesus had the physical stamina to take all the punishment. He had to have been in tremendous physical condition to be able to endure what he went through. I am sure I would not have lasted through the 39 lashes on the back. After 3 or 4 I am sure I would have passed out. But Jesus withstood them all, he took the full punishment physically for us.
After the scourging the soldiers placed a twisted crown of thorns on his head John 19:2. The slamming of the crown of thorns on his head had to produce excruciating pain and blood flowed freely because of the numerous blood vessels in the head.
Placing the crown of thorns on his head was not enough abuse for the soldiers who then struck him on the head with their hands (John 19:2) The beating Jesus took on his head and face was such that he was not recognized.
After he was beaten, he was forced to carry his cross. It was not a finely sanded cross but rustic, full of splinters that dug into his shoulders. It weighed between 75-125 pounds. It was physically taxing for him to carry it the 675 yards of the Via De La Rosa, “The way of pain”, to the point that he fell under its weight and Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry it for him. .
When he reached Golgatha, the Romans were ready to nail him to the cross. The crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment the Romans used. It was meant to be so gruesome and painful that no one would want this to happen to them, it was a deterrent to crime. The 6 inch dull nails driven through the hands and feet caused intense pain. His feet were placed on top of each other and a nail was driven through each arch putting pressure and causing fiery pain as it tore through the median nerve.
“In this position it is impossible to support your weight for long with your legs (especially in his weakened state). Therefore he mostly had to suspend himself by his arms. At first the arms were nearly horizontal, and so when he was lifted up into the vertical position a massive load was put upon the arms (like a terrible torture rack). This force would be many times a man’s weight. This would have dislocated his arms at his elbow and shoulder. His arms would have lengthened by six inches allowing him to sink down. In the final position his arms would have been about thirty degrees to the horizontal, making the load on his arms more bearable (about two hundred pounds, the weight of a man)… Therefore we see that crucifixion stretches the body out so that it is under intense strain and immense pain. The word ‘excruciating’ means ‘out of the cross’. It describes the pain suffered by on crucified. It was extreme public torture developed by the Romans for maximum deterrence.”
In order to breathe Christ had to lift himself up to catch his breath, this alone caused more pain in his hands and feet as well as his back that had been shredded by the whipping he suffered. Crucifixion was designed to produce a slow death to increase the amount of suffering the person would experience. Suffocation was usually the cause of death but in the case of Christ he cried out with a loud voice and then yielded up his spirit (Matt. 27:50). The physical cause of his death was most likely from his heart bursting or rupturing because of the tremendous emotional and spiritual stress. This was verified when his side was pierced and water and blood poured out (John 19:4).
It was my sin that caused all this physical suffering. I can never look at sin and take it lightly when I remember the intense physically suffering Christ endured.
Emotional suffering of Christ
Christ suffered emotionally as well.
In the garden he took his three most beloved and trusted disciples with him to have them pray with him. He needed their prayers and support because he knew what was coming. His trusted companions were overwhelmed by sleep and were of no emotional support to Jesus. They slept through the most intense hour of prayer in the life of Christ. The agony Christ suffered was such that he sweat drops of blood as he prayed that the cup of suffering he would face would be taken away if possible. The agony he felt in prayer was because of the separation he would face when he bore our sins.
Additional emotional pain came when he was betrayed by one of the men whom he had invested three years of his life. Judas was a man who was entrusted with the money so he was someone whom Jesus had confidence in and was willing to let him handle the finances. Most of us are pretty careful about entrusting money, especially our own money to another person. Judas’ betrayal had to have been like a knife being struck into the heart of Jesus. Some of you have experienced betrayal of a marriage partner. You know the pain that is felt when you learn of the betrayal of your marriage vows. One pastor said it was like being run over by a Mack truck. It is crushing and emotionally draining. All of us have read of the reaction of Tiger Woods’ spouse when she learned of his infidelity. As horrible as this was it could not compare to the betrayal of Judas. When Judas led the Roman cohort and Jewish leaders to the garden he had to properly identify Christ to them. His method of identification was through a kiss and salutation. A kiss was a common way to greet your friend. So Judas takes this common greeting of a friend and uses it to mark the man they should arrest. Judas also addressed Jesus as “Rabbi” which also helped the soldiers identify the Christ.
As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and kissed Him (Mark 14:45)
Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Matthew 26:49
This caused Jesus to remark to Judas, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”(Luke 22:48) Jesus knew what was happening, he was not ignorant, yet it pained him to see Judas betraying him. It broke his heart to see a friend betray him.
His disciples after his arrest abandoned him. His total support group turned away and ran for their own safety. Peter who boasted he would die with him denied he knew him just as Christ predicted. When the rooster crowed it pierced the heart of Jesus as much as it did the heart of Peter.
Christ was despised and rejected by the Jewish leaders, the Roman soldiers and the people. No one enjoys being despised, misunderstood or falsely accused. People said blasphemous things to him, mocked him, ridiculed and scorned him. The humiliation he experienced was constant. He was spit upon by the people which is one of the most demonstrative ways of scorning and showing contempt for another person. I have never been spit on but I have seen it happen to someone else during a college baseball game. The coach of the opposing team disputed the call of the umpire and when he was not making any progress on changing the umpire’s mind he spit on his clean shirt with his chewing tobacco. The coach was not only ejected from the game but was told to leave the baseball park or his team would forfeit the game.
Christ was human like you and I. He was an emotional person. All these things that happened to him were not taken lightly. They wounded him emotionally just like you and I would have been wounded. He grieved over what was happening and what was being said to him. He was acquainted with sorrow, he was not immune to it. It affected him; he was not Mr. Teflon where nothing would stick to him.
The cry of the people, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!”must have cut deep into his soul. Imagine that you are in Christ’s place, completely innocent of any and all charges against you. Yet the people whom you healed and helped in many ways have turned against you and want you dead. They did not esteem Christ for who he was or what he did. This also had to have affected Christ emotionally. The injustice of the trial and the condemnation to death added to the emotional suffering Christ endured for us.
When he was placed on the cross his was stripped of his clothing. He was naked before everyone, how much more humiliating can it get.
Christ on the cross is placed between two people who were guilty and deserved their death sentence. He is placed in the same category as they are, numbered with the transgressors as Isaiah wrote. One of the thieves had the audacity to mock Christ in his final moments of life. The abuse of the chief priests, scribes and elders continued until his death as they taunted him to save himself to prove he really was the Son of God (Matt. 27:42) The emotional stress of all these things caused great pain for Jesus. He truly was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. All of this emotional pain came as a consequence of our sin.
Spiritual Suffering of Christ
The final suffering of Christ involved the spiritual suffering he experienced when he as forsaken by His Father. The Trinity had always been together. Their love for each other was a love that you and I could never experience or understand. There was always unity between them, never a time of disagreement but always harmony and peace. Their love bound them together and was such that they created man to be able to extend their love to him and be loved in return. Sin had never come between them. The fullness of God’s wrath against sin was placed on Christ. But now Christ on the cross took the full extent of the sin of all of mankind for all of time upon himself. When this happened the Father had to separate himself from Christ for sin cannot dwell in God’s presence. Christ cried out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The spiritual separation caused by sin was the greatest pain Christ felt. Christ died shortly after taking on our sins. He paid the price that his Holy Father demanded and tonight I pray that we will understand with greater clarity what it meant for Christ to suffer for our sins. It should affect our attitude toward sin and hopefully keep us from falling.
The wrath of God was satisfied when Christ died for us and took our sins upon himself. All of the suffering he endured was with us in mind. He wanted us to be reconciled to the Father, to be forgiven of our sin and be set free from its penalty. His passion for us caused him to endure the Passion. How can we respond to this love? We can never do anything to repay Christ, what he did for us was a gift that we can only accept with a heart of gratitude. Our salvation is free but it also comes with a promise that if we truly follow Christ we will suffer.
The early church understood that following Christ was not going to be easy. They would suffer for His Name and be abused physically and emotionally. Compared to what Christ suffered for us, any suffering we will encounter will seem as nothing. Many believers today are being persecuted for their faith and are experiencing tremendous suffering. The enemy believes he can drive people away from their faith through suffering but for the true believers it only draws them closer to Christ as they too experience some of the sufferings He endured for us.
I read a book this last week about the life of Romulo Saune and his family who were descendents of the Incas and were from the Quecha Indians in Peru. His family came to Christ and held firm to their commitment to Him during a great time of political turmoil and violence in Peru when the “Shining Path” communist movement tried to take control of the country. Romulo’s father, Justiniano, became a pastor after he became a believer and never gave in to the demands of the Shining Path. At one point when he was 83 years old the rebels warned him to stop preaching to the young people or he would lose his life. He told them he could not and would not do it because he wanted to remain faithful to Christ and his word. The rebels returned later and took him away from his home and began to beat him with clubs. He pleaded with them to stop and said to them “you can attack my body but you can’t touch my soul.” This made them even madder and they continued to beat him with clubs. He raised his hand to deflect a blow when he was slashed with a knife and blood began to spurt out of his hand. One of the commanders said to him, “We’ll show you, old man, what we think about your preaching.” He gripped the blade of his knife and reached for Justiniano, grabbing him by his hair and forcing his head back with a snap. Justiniano’s mouth hung open. With a swift move, the commander yanked out Justiniano’s tongue and slashed it off. He held the tongue high for everyone to see. Justiniano moaned. Then another terrorist roughly pushed him onto his back. Handful by handful, he plucked out Justianiano’s flowing white beard. Loud moans escaped the old man’s bleeding mouth. Then with a final stroke of indignity, the terrorist took his blood drenched knife and scalped off Justiniano’s hair. Pinning the old man to the ground, another rebel reached for his knife, and, like the Inca priests of ancient days, he plunged it savagely into Justiniano’s chest. With a broad stroke he ripped open the chest, shouting wildly, he reached in and tore out Justiniano’s still beating heart. The blood fanned out in a spray of red, shocking the Senderistasts into silence…. The assassin flung the heart onto the ground and screamed at the villagers, “If anyone buries this body, he’ll; suffer the same fate! Let the sun rot his body for everyone to see.” (One Bright and Shining Path, P. 150-151)
To be a Christ follower requires that we also will be willing to suffer for the sake of His Name. The sufferings of Christ were motivation for the early church as it went through periods of persecution and pain. We too must be ready and willing to suffer for him and count it an honor as the early church did. Peter wrote that we must have the same attitude toward suffering in the flesh that Christ had. When our flesh suffers we have made a decision to not allow it to control us, we in essence die to its demands so that we can focus on doing the will of God. (1 Peter 4:1-2). Jesus suffered in the flesh to be able to accomplish God’s will for his life. Because he was faithful we have received forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life. We no longer have to suffer the penalty of sin but we will still suffer the consequences of sin that surrounds us each day. As we prepare for the Passion Week, let us be mindful of what Christ endured for us to enable us to suffer for Him as we live holy and righteous lives in a world that is reeling in sin and in need of the message of salvation that we have been entrusted with.

Living on the Edge

Someone once said if you are not living on edge you are taking up too much room. I am not sure if I fully subscribe to this but in principle our lives as believers are often lived on the edge. Many of you have lived on the financial edge where you were down to zero in the bank and days to come before the next donation would arrive. Some of you have waited on the edge of your seat to see God fulfill a promise he has given you that has seemingly been delayed. Some of you have ventured into new areas that have been totally foreign to you, not knowing anyone before you arrived but simply striking out in faith and obedience to God’s call on your life. Living on the edge is living in complete faith and confidence in God. It is taking steps of faith when you really don’t know what will happen or how it will happen, you just know that you have to do it. Our lives as believers are meant to be adventurous, faith filled challenges where we see God show up and do the miraculous.
Tonight I want to look at one of the greatest stories of living on the edge that involves the example of the Apostle Peter. Peter was considered to be a little impulsive in his behavior. He did not necessarily think things through before he acted and that is not always a bad thing because we can talk ourselves out of doing things if we don’t respond quickly in obedience to the Lord. Peter as well as the other disciples found themselves in a dangerous life threatening situation in which they were living on the edge. The story is one that is familiar to all of us and it is found in Matthew 14:22-34.
Matthew 14:22-34
22Immediately after this, Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he stayed to get the people started home.23-24Then afterwards he went up into the hills to pray. Night fell, and out on the lake the disciples were in trouble. For the wind had risen and they were fighting heavy seas.25About four o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water!26They screamed in terror, for they thought he was a ghost.27But Jesus immediately spoke to them, reassuring them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said.28Then Peter called to him: “Sir, if it is really you, tell me to come over to you, walking on the water.”29“All right,” the Lord said, “come along!”So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.31Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. “O man of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.33The others sat there, awestruck. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.34They landed at Gennesaret. 35The news of their arrival spread quickly throughout the city, and soon people were rushing around, telling everyone to bring in their sick to be healed. 36The sick begged him to let them touch even the tassel of his robe, and all who did were healed.
There are several things we can learn about living on the edge from this story that we can apply to our personal walk of faith with the Lord.
Jesus and the disciples had a full day of ministry. They had just fed over 5, 000 people and it was getting late in the day and was time to move on to the next destination. Jesus decided to stay back with the people for awhile and then went up to the mountain to find some quiet time to pray. He sent the disciples ahead of him. They were to travel by boat across the lake and he would meet up with them. The disciples did not say anything to Jesus about how he would get across the lake or when he would show up. Perhaps after seeing the miracle of the multiplication of the bread and fish they were confident that he could get where he needed to be by himself. Some of the disciples where experienced fishermen so crossing the lake was not a big deal to them. Everything seemed normal until the wind began to blow creating huge waves. The disciples were in trouble and it was 4 a.m. It was dark, windy, dangerous and there was no help available. They found themselves living on the edge of disaster. I am sure they were doing everything they knew to do to try to stay afloat and get to the shore. In spite all their efforts they were not making much progress. They were in a very difficult situation that was not of their doing. They found themselves in circumstances that they did not create but had to deal with them as best they could. They left under the orders of Jesus and probably did not expect something like this to happen.
I think we can all relate to the disciples situation. We at times find ourselves in circumstances that are not favorable, perhaps very challenging, maybe life threatening because we are walking in obedience to what the Lord has asked us to do. Sometimes we think that when we walk in obedience everything should work out and we will not face trying times. I wonder if the disciples asked among themselves, “What did we do to deserve this.? Somehow we think we have an exemption clause written into our relationship with the Lord. We think we are exempt from certain difficulties, trials, temptations, hardships, sufferings etc. because we have given our lives to Christ and we are doing what he asked us to do. Some may say, “I did not sign up for this!” The disciples had just experienced a tremendous spiritual high when they witnessed a fantastic miracle of multiplication of food. Suddenly everything changed and the spiritual high fled instantly when the circumstance were against them. The disciples were in a very difficult situation, their lives were on the line.
Many missionaries, ministers and believers have found themselves in similar situations. They have responded to the call of Christ and are obediently following him when disaster, tragedy and trying circumstances confront them. I think of William Carey who felt called of God to go to India yet faced the hardships of losing a son and seeing his wife go crazy and then die. I think of one of the first missionaries to Liberia who was surrounded by cannibalistic headhunters and thrown into a pot to be cooked. I think of a missionary who arrived in Guatemala and on his first day had his moving truck with all of his possessions stolen at gun point. I think of a pastor whose wife has been battling cancer for several years and is not getting any better. I think of believers who have been victims of physical harm and robberies. None of these people had an exemption clause that spared them from calamity and hardships. None of them deliberately put themselves into these situations yet they found themselves facing something that was very difficult. They found themselves living on the edge.
One of the first lessons we must learn is that we are not exempt from trying circumstances. We live in a fallen world where things just go wrong because the system is broken and we have an adversary who wants to rob, destroy and kill us. In spite of all these things, God is still in control, He knows exactly what is happening, He is not caught off guard even though we are often shocked by what is happening. Believers will face trials, tests, temptation and persecution. It is part of the process of our growth in the Lord and learning how to have victory over the enemy. When we are faced with trying circumstances we have to look at them as opportunities to grow in our confidence and trust in the Lord as well as opportunities to learn how to overcome. We can choose how we will respond and react and they may be the only thing we can control.
The second thing we see in this story is Jesus comes to the rescue. In our darkest hour and most trying circumstance Jesus is there with us. The disciples were at first afraid of what they were seeing. It was the first time they had ever witnessed anyone walk on water plus it was still dark so it was difficult to make out who or what was coming. This image terrorized them, they thought it was a ghost coming to add to their troubles. I am sure they were thinking it can’t get any worse than this! Twelve grown men began to scream probably at the top of their lungs! I am sure it was pure panic at this point.
They probably did not expect Jesus to come and even if they did, they certainly did not expect to see him walking on water. We have to expect Jesus to be there with us in our times of trial. He is there and we must look for him and expect him to show up. When we find ourselves living on the edge we have to believe that Jesus is right there with us and he is going to do something to help us. Jesus spoke to them, he spoke to their fear, the fear of death I am sure. His words were very simple and direct, “Don’t be afraid.” Jesus had things under control, he was walking over the circumstances not being pulled under by them. The circumstances were not controlling him! This is where God wants each of us to be. The circumstances are real but they are not more powerful that our God! For awhile there was a teaching that went around that said we have to deny the reality of the existence of sickness, disease etc. A person may be on his death bed but the teaching was that you deny you are sick and confess you are healed and whole. Jesus never asks us to deny reality. The disciples were in a storm, the waves were huge and they were scared for their lives. That was the reality they faced. But the other part of the situation is that God is there with us to help us overcome the crisis. We serve a God who is transcendent over time, space and matter. He can suspend the laws of nature, He can transport you out of the situation, He has the ability to change things instantly or gradually, whatever He desires. He sees us and he responds by bringing us words of encouragement. The disciples could now breathe a sign of relief, the answer to their crisis was there and everything would be okay.
The story now takes a turn because Peter for some reason wants to make sure that the person talking to them and who is walking on the water really is Jesus. The only way Peter can be sure is to ask Jesus to invite him to walk out to him. In his mind if this person really is Jesus then he should be able to take care of him and enable him to walk on water. If it was not Jesus then he would probably drown like the others perhaps were also destined to drown. You have to wonder what the other disciples were thinking about Peter. Why would he want to leave the security of the boat to attempt to walk on water? Is Peter trying to show off? He must be crazy!
I think Peter recognized that his true security was in Jesus not in the boat. He knew that if he could get to Jesus he would be fine. Perhaps he did not trust the boat but you have to give him credit for realizing that his only hope for safety was in Christ and the sooner he could get to him the better it would be. Peter did not impulsively jump out of the boat but he asked Jesus to tell him to come to him. He did not presume that he could do what Jesus was doing. Peter knew it would take a miracle for him to walk on the water and if this was Jesus he would be able to do it. Peter was not presumptuous. Presumption is an attitude or belief dictated by probability. Presumption is doing something without permission or prior approval. Many people have made grave mistakes and made foolish decisions because they presumed that what they were doing had God’s seal of approval but they had not taken the time to ask if they should be doing it in the first place. Jesus could have said, “Peter just wait, chill out, sit down I will be with you in the boat in just a few seconds.” He responded to Peter’s request and said, “All right, come along!” What an invitation! All eyes were now on Peter. The 11 disciples in the boat were probably fixed on Peter wondering what was going to happen. Were they cheering Peter on or sneering at him? The Bible does not say but these two reactions are very common. People of faith will cheer you on when you are taking a huge step of faith. People of cynicism and doubt will sneer at you and expect you to fail. I would much rather have a boat full of cheering saints encouraging me to move forward in faith.
Jesus honored Peter’s faith by inviting him to come to him. He was willing to let Peter do something radical to prove to him that he was really there and that the circumstances he was facing were under his control. In our times of trial, Jesus wants us to come to him. He wants us to reach out to him and believe him for a miracle. He wants us to depend on him and step out in faith to be given the wisdom or ability to do what needs to be done. Peter was the only one of the 12 who challenged Jesus to prove himself. Peter asked a great thing from Jesus and he was not rejected but honored Jesus by his faith. We need to be like Peter and ask great things of God. “Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”(Jer. 33:3). God invites us to challenge Him to believe Him for great things because He is a great God. God will show himself strong to those whose hearts are fully dedicated to Him. William Carey made this statement, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God." Great faith honors God while little faith has always brought disappointment to the Lord.
Christ is honored when we seek him first and place our confidence in him. He loves it when we place our faith in him and ask great things of him.
Peter challenged Jesus and when the challenge was accepted and the invitation was given, he got out of the boat. It was time for action on Peter’s part, time to respond to the invitation of Jesus. It was the moment of truth for him. Faith has to have a corresponding action otherwise it is just words. We can confess and say we believe but the reality of our faith is seen in the actions we take. Peter started out fine, he took a few steps on the water but instead of gaining confidence in Jesus’ words to him he looked around and saw the big waves and his faith began to sink. Once his faith began to sink so did he. Perhaps Peter was expecting the waves to calm down and the lake to become like glass. It did not happen, the waves continued to roll and the fear factor took over. When we place our trust in Jesus our circumstances do not always instantly change. In this situation the waves did not calm down until Jesus entered the boat. If we are looking at the circumstances that are not changing it is easy to doubt or become fearful because we have lost our focus on Jesus and the promise he has given us. Jesus is the constant factor, he never changes. He always does what he says he will do and he is always there. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.
Peter was going down and he called out for help. Jesus immediately came to rescue Peter. He was disappointed that Peter’s faith in His word to him was small yet he reached out and pulled him out of the water and together they entered the boat. The disciples were in awe of what they had just seen and declared the Jesus was the Son of God.
As the Son of God, Jesus operated in faith in the words his father spoke to him. He was guided by his father and obeyed what his father told him to do. He walked across the water to rescue the disciples in obedience to his father who loved the disciples. We like Jesus have to operate out of obedience to the Father and faith in His word to us. Without faith it is impossible to please God.(Heb. 11:6) Living on the edge requires each one of us to have faith in the Word of God. Whatever He asks us to do will require faith in Him to complete it. If we let our circumstances control us we will always be faced with fear and doubt and we will shrink back. If we face our circumstances, tests and trials with faith that God is with us and is in control we will respond with the proper corresponding action and we will bring pleasure to God. At times we will fail and falter in our walk of faith but God will still be there to rescue us because he loves us. He is for us and not against us. We can always count on Him to come to our rescue.
When we live on the edge with God, we will be placed in situations where our faith will have the opportunity to grow. Many people do not want to be in these situations and avoid putting themselves at risk. They don’t want the boat to rock yet alone get out of it! The reward is always in proportion to the risk. You can live your life with a few risks but the greatest joys and rewards are for those who are willing to step out in faith and obedience to God to take on new challenges. If you want to walk on water you have to get out of the boat! (John Ortberg)
I have had a few situations and circumstances that have happened that I had no control over them happening. I did not ask for them but they came anyway. One situation happened when I was driving a team to Mexico from Minnesota. We had just passed through Des Moines, Iowa, when the bus quit running. It was dead and we were parked on the side of I-35 at about 5 p.m., with 35 passengers. I remember the first thing the group did was begin to pray for God to help us. We opened the engine compartment, laid hands on the bus and prayed for a miracle. The bus did not start so I made a phone call to get advice from a mechanic and the phone went dead, the battery had lost all power and no one else on the bus had a phone that was working. I needed help and a Highway patrol car came to the scene. He let me use his phone to call a towing company to come and get us. The company said it had one wrecker and it was in the state of Wyoming and would not be back for 3 days. I asked them if there was another company I could call and they said no. The Highway patrolman decided to leave so we were stuck again. A truck driver stopped after awhile and he gave me a ride to a fuel station a few miles down the road. I thought maybe we had run out of fuel so I bought some and then noticed there was a highway patrol station next to the station so I went over there to ask for help. When I explained to the highway patrolman what had happened he responded in an entirely different way than the previous patrolman. He said this is an emergency, I will take you back to the bus and get help. So we raced down the freeway with the emergency lights flashing, driving about 95 mph! He let us use his phone, connected us with a church in a city not too far away and they came to get us at about 10 p.m. A tow truck also came at the same time the church came with vans and pickups to haul the group to the church. When we arrived at the church they had hamburgers cooked for us and fed us a wonderful meal. The next morning I picked up another bus that had been driven through the night to replace the one that broke down and we continued on our journey arriving in Mexico at the same time we had planned. Jesus came to our rescue through several people responding to help us. It was a trying time for me yet a faith building time for all of us as we saw our prayers answered and kept our faith in Christ to help us.
Another time I was with a group of 35 people in our bus at the border crossing in Laredo, Texas. We had been praying for favor to cross the border as you never know what will or can happen when you get there. Sometimes it is very easy to get a permit and other times it is a challenge. Well this time it was a big challenge. When I went to get a permit for the bus to cross the border I was told that it was not possible. Mexican law prohibited buses like ours from entering. I appealed to the person who made the decision but he said he was only enforcing a law and he could not make any exceptions. I just continued to pray and ask God for wisdom as it seemed like we were at an impasse. I asked him if I could talk with his supervisor and he said I would have to wait an hour until he came on duty. So I waited and prayed along with the group. When the supervisor came, he said the same thing the other person told me. It did not look good and it would have been easy for me to quit, go back to the bus and tell the group we have to figure out another way to get across the border. I made one more appeal to the official and stated that I had 35 people waiting in the bus who wanted to come to his country. I asked him if there was there anything else I could do to get the bus across the border. We had crossed the border in our buses a month before and had no problem so we were a little confused as to why we were having problems this time. When we told him this he got upset that someone else had given us permission so I thought our chances of getting in were now below zero unless there was a miracle to change his heart. He finally said the only way he would consider giving permission is if I would write a letter on the ministry stationery and include several details regarding our group. We used a photocopy machine to copy our ministry letterhead and I wrote everything he asked for and presented it to him. After reading it, he said he would give me the permit but only for the days we would be in the country and he made it very clear that the next time I was to see only him to get permission. Again Jesus came to our rescue and took control of circumstances as we placed our faith in him. We traveled on to our destination and had an awesome time of ministry.
Living on the edge is an exciting place to be but only if God is with us. As believers we will not be exempt from trials, tests and temptations they are part of our life and they serve God’s purposes. They are tremendous opportunities to grow in our faith in the Lord and learn how to overcome and be victorious. When we are in the situation we must first and always look for Jesus to give us what we need to overcome. We honor God through our faith in His word. God is pleased when we ask great things of Him and when he tells us to move forward we have to respond with the right actions. Our faith can increase and as it increases we will see God do greater things through our lives. Not everyone will have the desire to get out of the boat and attempt great things for God but those who do will experience God at a deeper level and see the greater works of God done through them.
Where are you tonight in your walk of faith? Are you living on the edge or has your faith shrunk back? Are you believing God for great things and walking in faith and obedience? Are you keeping your eyes fixed on him in every situation and circumstance you face? Is your faith growing?

The Calvary Road

Last week yet another powerful earthquake shook the nation of Chile. I have never in my lifetime heard of an earthquake as powerful as this one was, 8.8 is something I hope I never will experience. I am not sure how to interpret what the earthquake signifies but the Scriptures are clear that in the last days there will be earthquakes and famines throughout the earth. Maybe the earthquakes of late are simply warning signs of what it will be like in the last days. These earthquakes have done a tremendous amount of damage and in the case of Haiti it will take many years to rebuild what has been destroyed. I cannot imagine what would happen if there were multiple earthquakes in many parts of the world happening in a short period of time. This could cause a shut down of many economies and would create great chaos throughout the world. I hope that many people are taking note of what is happening and what could happen if this scenario is repeated in many parts of the world. I think about the earthquake that struck Guatemala in 1976 that left almost 28,000 people dead. I think this earthquake was 7.2, if it had been 8.8 the destruction and loss of life would have been much greater. I think God is sending out a warning through the earthquakes. The earth itself is groaning for the return of Christ and the redemption of God’s people to be completed. We are to live our lives as though the return of Christ is imminent. Christ knew his time on earth was limited, the road he walked on would lead to Calvary where he would face death. He knew he would give up his life as a ransom for the souls of mankind. This was his mission and he had to walk the road to Calvary to fulfill his purpose.
The Calvary road is a road we all must walk if we are going to fulfill our mission in this life. The Calvary road is marked by several things that I want to talk about tonight.
The first thing I think about regarding the road to Calvary is that it is a journey that is marked by death to yourself. As we become true followers of Christ the decisions that we make in life are decisions in which God asks us to die to our own interests and take up his plan. I must daily die to myself, my interests, my desires, my way of doing things and my comforts. Death to the self life is what being a true follower of Jesus is all about. Jesus said it very clearly to his disciples, “If anyone wants to be my disciple, he must deny himself…”(Mark 8:34) You cannot be a true follower unless you are willing to abandon your own interests and desires and follow after Christ doing what he requires of you. Many people who call themselves Christians have never come to that place of complete abandonment to Christ, total denial of the self life to embrace the Christ life. They are willing to make some changes that would give the appearance of being a follower but if the truth be known they are still clinging to the self life, living their lives as they want to live. To experience the life that Christ wants to give us, we have to be willing to give up everything for him, complete denial of self is what he requires. If we try to hold on to parts of the self life we will never experience the fullness of life that Christ wants us to experience. When we die to ourselves the focus of our life will be Christ. Paul understood this complete abandonment to Christ when he wrote, “To me to live is Christ.”(Phil. 1:21) His life was no longer his own and the only life he saw worth living was a life completely dead to himself and fully alive in Christ. God is gracious toward us and he patiently waits for us to die to ourselves. By the power of the Holy Spirit he shows us areas of our lives in which we have not died and we are holding on to it for a variety of reasons: security, fear, selfishness, control, pleasure etc. We must be willing to die to every desire, even the desires that are good. There is nothing wrong with desiring to have a good job and a comfortable living, there is nothing wrong with desiring to be married or to have children, nothing wrong with desiring an education or training in a specific area, nothing wrong with wanting to live in a secure area or have money in the bank. These are normal things for most people but we have to be willing to die to everything if that is what Christ requires of us. If I hold on tenaciously to anything and am unwilling to die to it, it has more power over me than Christ and places him in a secondary position. Our willingness to die to each of these things demonstrates our surrender to Christ and our willingness to let Christ be the one who determines if and when we will be given any of these things. Death to self means I am willing to lay everything down so that I will only take up the things that Christ wants me to have. If I try to hang on to things that he does not want me to have I am only burdening myself with things that are going to be a hindrance in following him. These things can become a sidetrack to us and cause us to veer off the path of the Calvary road. I have seen people leave the mission field and their calling because they wanted the security of a home and a predictable income that they could in part control. I have seen people leave their post because of immoral relationships that destroyed their testimony. They were unwilling to deny themselves and trust God to be everything they needed. We all need to examine ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any area of our lives in which we are still in control and have not died to in order to fully surrender it to Christ’s control. The message of many preachers today is you can have it all and that is really what God wants for your life. The message of Christ was that we have to deny ourselves, die to ourselves and allow him to be our life. I believe that God may give you many of these desires that you long for, but it will be according to his will and plan for your life because he knows what is best for you and he knows what will destroy you. The road to Calvary is not an easy road, but it is a road that is marked with joy in serving Christ and learning how he truly is our life.
The Calvary road is also a road that requires sacrifice. The Olympics have just ended and those who have finished the competition and received medals can all testify that it took many hours each day of training and sacrifice in order to gain the prize they had set as their goal. If we truly want to live the Christ life we too will need to make sacrifices of our time, comforts, money, relationships, and other things in order to gain what Christ has for us. There is a price we all must be willing to pay to become everything Christ wants us to be. Those who are studying Spanish or are learning a new skill or starting a new ministry know that it takes dedication, concentration and hard work to be able to learn something new that is a challenge. You have to force yourself at times to make choices to keep yourself focused on what you have been called to do. You cannot be slothful and expect to be able to become excellent at what you are trying to learn. It requires diligence and dedication to push through the hard times of training. But the motivation comes from the goal we have in mind which is given as part of our calling from the Lord. We pay the price of learning Spanish because we may have the goal of one day being able to preach or teach or just carry on a meaningful conversation with someone so we can help them. If God has called you to pursue a specific course of study it will require sacrifices on your part to be able to complete the study. But your motivation will be the end product or your ultimate goal of being able to use the training for the purpose of ministering for Christ and pursue his specific calling on your life. If God has placed you in a new ministry the goal or motivation is to reach people with the gospel and bring them the joy of salvation. You may be called by the Lord to move to another culture that may be very different, primitive or have rustic conditions that will require sacrifices on your part but the sacrifices will never outweigh the joy of fulfilling God’s calling and the ministry he has for you in the specific place he assigns to you. The sacrifices we make only serve to enhance the joy we will experience in fulfilling God’s calling. We may view them as sacrifices but they really are future joy producers. The training may be difficult but unless we are willing to go through it we will never experience the joy that it will produce in the end. I have yet to see someone receive a gold medal that did not have a huge smile on their face. The joy they receive is temporary but our joy will go on through eternity. Discouragement is often part of the process of learning but it should not cause us to quit and give up on our calling. We have to keep our eyes on the prize of the high calling of God on our lives and be willing to continually make sacrifices and choices that will move us toward the goal. The disciplines of the Christian life will form our character and mature our development in the Lord. Prayer, study of the Word, fasting, witnessing, fellowship, service to others, utilizing our gifts, giving of our finances all require sacrifice on our part but each of them has the potential to accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God. Are we truly willing to make the sacrifices required to achieve what God wants to accomplish in and through each one of our lives?
The road to Calvary at times is a lonely road. As Jesus pursued God’s mission he was often misunderstood. His own family thought he was crazy (Mark 3: 21) and even his disciples who he spent 3 years training did not understand what he was doing. The greatest disappointment had to be when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane anguishing over the death he would soon experience and the separation from his Father. He asked his 3 closest disciples, the inner circle, to pray with him and they fell asleep. They did not understand his mission and if they had they would have been praying hard, crying out to God with him. The hour Jesus needed them the most they were present in body but absent in spirit. God is always with us, he will never leave us or abandon us. His presence is with us yet at times we truly desire the physical company of another believer who will stand with us. We long to have someone who understands what we are experiencing but at times there is no one and we find ourselves feeling alone. Some of you have left your family and friends behind to pursue God’s calling and perhaps some of them have not been in agreement with your decision and probably have made it quite clear that they think you are a little crazy. They do not understand the ways of God and interpret what you are doing as strange and unusual. I have met missionaries who are following God’s call yet their families think they are subjecting themselves and especially their children to risks and dangers that are too great. “Why are you doing this to your children? They deserve something better. You are cheating them out of a normal life.” These are comments I have heard people share and if you really believed them to be true you would probably reconsider what you are doing. But in accepting God’s call you are also accepting the fact that not everyone will understand and agree and at times you may feel alone. It is part of the package and will test the strength of our resolve to follow the Lord even though no one else will go with you. One of the great missionary stories I encourage everyone to read is Bruchko. It is the story of Bruce Olson who felt called when he was 19 years old, to go to South America to work among the Motilone Indians. No one understood his calling and few stood with him as he ventured out in faith to fulfill God’s call on his life. He spent 4 years living with the Motilones learning their language and customs. He at times felt very much alone because of the language barrier and because he had no missionary companion with him. He endured the loneliness, rejection, illnesses and in time learned the language and was accepted by this fierce tribe that was feared by other Indians as well as American companies who were exploring their land. Sometimes loneliness can hit us when we are misunderstood by fellow missionaries or falsely accused. We can feel alone when others who have served with us decide to leave because of disagreements or other factors. We at times feel alone when we are away from our families during special times of the year or when we battle against sicknesses or problems we encounter. These things are part of the journey on the Road to Calvary. They are usually only temporary things but nonetheless have an impact on our lives and can cause us to reconsider our calling or perhaps question and doubt our calling. During these times of loneliness God will send us the help we need or give us the endurance to push through. When Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil in ways that we will probably never be tempted and with much greater intensity than we may ever experience, God was faithful to send his angels to minister to him. When Jesus struggled in prayer in the garden God gave him the strength to endure. God sees us and he responds. During these times of loneliness many things get stripped away and we learn to depend fully on the Lord. Our relationship with him can grow stronger and more intimate as we seek after Him.
The road to Calvary is God’s way of bringing glory and honor to Himself. Through our willingness to walk the Calvary road we demonstrate to God that He is worthy of everything we may experience as we walk in obedience to His call. The early disciples rejoiced that they were found worthy to suffer for the name of Christ.(Acts 5:41) Suffering for him was an honor because Christ suffered for them. He alone is worthy of all of our honor, worship and praise. God is glorified through our lives of service to him and when we are willing to walk the road to Calvary it blesses his heart. The worship scenes in the book of Revelation all describe the angels, elders and the multitude of believers surrounding the throne and giving glory to the Lamb. Many of these worshippers suffered greatly in their service to the Lamb but are now constantly giving glory to God because of what He has done for them. God is seeking worshippers who will honor him through their willingness to lay down their lives for the sake of His Kingdom. Our lives must be dedicated to bring God glory and honor. Whatever He asks of us is nothing compared to what he has done for us. My life is no longer my own and the only person who is worthy to receive glory and honor through my life is God. The number of years God may grant each one of us to live on this earth is really not important. What really matters is that we live each moment of the time he gives us to follow Him wherever He leads us and do what he asks of us so that he will be glorified among the nations. Jesus followed God’s plan that included great suffering and a cruel death because He knew that the end result would bring glory and honor to his Father. His prayer in John 17:1-5 reflects that his life work was to bring glory to God. “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” John 17:4. Each of us will bring glory to God by completing the work He has given us. Quitting is not an option if our goal is to bring God glory. We each have a responsibility to fulfill in God’s kingdom. It is not about you and I feeling great about what we are doing but it is all about bringing glory and honor to the Lord. He must be our focus, all that we do must flow from a heart of obedience to him and a desire to bring him maximum glory through our lives. Don’t worry about what others are called to do or compare yourself with them. Jesus was pretty direct with Peter when he asked about the future of John. “When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”(John 21:21) Christ calls each one of us to follow Him as he leads us. We will bring God the greatest glory and honor when we follow the Lamb wherever He leads us and do what he calls us to do. Each of us must hear his call and follow him whatever it costs and wherever he leads us and finish what he has given us to do in our mission on earth. The road to Calvary is the road that will bring God the most glory and honor.
I want to close our service tonight with a story of the life of Adoniram Judson. He grew up in a Christian home, the son of a pastor and was very gifted intellectually. While attending college his best friend, Jacob Eames who was a Deist began to lure Adoniram from his faith in Christ. He announced one day that he no longer had faith in Christ and desired to establish himself as a writer for a theater in New York. On his way to NY God intervened and began to get his attention to redirect his life. One night he stayed in a small village in where he had never slept before. The innkeeper apologized that his sleep might be interrupted because there was a man critically ill in the next room. Through the night Judson heard coming and goings and low voices and groans and gasps. It bothered him to think that the man next to him may not be prepared to die. He wondered about himself and had terrible thoughts of his own dying. He felt foolish because good Deists weren’t supposed to have these struggles.
When he was leaving in the morning he asked if the man next door was better. “He is dead,” said the innkeeper. Judson was struck with finality of it all. On his way out he asked, “Do you know who he was?” “Oh yes. Young man from the college in Providence. Name was Jacob Eames.”
The death of his friend bothered him because he knew that there was a real hell that had snatched his friend. Adoniram saw the providence of God in this experience and over time returned to faith in Christ and accepted God call to go to Burma as a missionary. On the day of his acceptance he met his wife Ann. He wrote a letter to Ann’s father to ask for permission to bring her with him to the mission field. He knew what they would face as they followed God’s call and he wanted her parents to understand and agree to let her go with him. Here is part of the letter he wrote.
“I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and suffering of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God” Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?”
Ann’s parents let her make the decision and she said yes to the invitation. God mightily used their lives to bring the gospel to India and Burma. They both died in Burma having returned only one time in their 33 years to their native country. They followed the Calvary Road and finished their mission and brought glory and honor to the Lord.
Tonight, God is challenging each one of us to get on the Calvary road, stay on the road and complete the mission he has given us. It is a road that will demand death to self, sacrifice, loneliness at times but its end will bring great glory and honor to God as we fulfill the call of God on our lives.