This is the gist of my message from Winter Retreat 2011.
The theme for the weekend Was "GO." The focus was on how we as Christians are called to humble ourselves, serve others, and share the love of Christ with the world.
I find it funny how that simple two letter word has a way of sparking incredible amounts of fear in Christians. The word "Go" seems to cripple and paralize us. We say, "I'm not prepared for that. I need more training. I might mess up."
The goal of this message is to let Jesus start to work on your heart. Because let's be honest, most of us do not like to serve. It means we have to humble ourselves, and put someone else ahead of ourselves. We have to care about someone else's desires more than our own, and that goes against our nature. We just are not wired that way!
But Jesus calls us to do exactly that.
- Go make disciples
- Love your neighbor as yourself
- Let your light shine before men
- Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends
And these are just a few.
But let's be honest, most of us do not like the idea of humbling ourselves for another. But that is not completely your fault. After all, we live in the most selfish and consumer driven society on the planet. We have the "Fast Food Mentality in America."
-I want it now
-I want it my way
-And I want it super-sized!
And we adhere to this philosophy in every aspect of our lives. Even in our churches. Think about your church at home for a second. Seriously, take a second. I'm willing to bet that 90% of you just thought about something you do not like about your church. And the other 10% are doing it right now, because all it took was the power of suggestion. See, we have to fix our minds.
Are you really upset that they didn't play your favorite song? Or that there was no guitar? Or the sanctuary was hot? Or the pastor was boring? Or that baby was crying? Or we didn't take communion? Or the old people won't let us have fun? Or the young people don't show enough reverence for God? Or the people don't like my tattoos and piercings?
If these things are what dominate your thoughts about your church, then Jesus is not enough for you. That is not your church's problem. It is yours!
Why do you have to be entertained? Do you understand how lucky we have it here in America? Have any of us ever had our life threatened because we professed to believe in Jesus?
I want to tell a couple of stories I heard from Francis Chan and David Platt at Passion 2011. Both of these men have recently taken trips overseas to visit believers in other countries.
Francis Chan talked about his trips to China and India. He told us that he had never seen such passionate worship. Not loud worship, because that is dangerous in these countries. But Passionate worship. He talked about how his heart just pounded as they sang songs and prayed and worshiped Jesus. Francis said he asked one of the leaders in China how many of his church attenders just claimed to be Christians and were not really living it out. After all, we all know people like that here in America. They claim to be Christian for whatever reason suits them, but there is no evidence of Christ in their life. Well, the church leader looked confused when Francis asked him this. He said "What do you mean? Why would you do that? That would be Stupid!" We have to understand that in China, claiming to follow Christ means you give up your normal life. Your place in the community, your safety, and often your family are now gone, and you are left on your own. Why would anyone give up all of that just to say they are a Christian? Quite simply, they would not. He even told us an incredibly emotional story about an 11 year old boy who decided to follow Jesus, and his father threw him out, and told him he was on his own. Imagine having that much faith in Christ at 11 years old.
These people really live it out. These people are ready to lay down their lives, and sacrifice everything just for the chance to share Jesus with someone who doesn't know Him. Because Jesus IS enough for them.
David Platt talked about the house churches he went to in Asia. He never mentioned what country he was in, I suspect it was his way of protecting the people he met while overseas. But he told stories of how they met in these small rooms underground to keep their secret. They don't have anything. Maybe a Bible or two, and a light bulb. 60 people crammed into a room smaller than your high school classrooms. Well they invited David to lead a Bible study for them. These are guys that gather together in secret at the risk of their lives. David said he planned about an hour long lesson, because that is what we do here. We meet together, usually eat something, make some small talk, and study God's word and talk about it for an hour or so. Well he shows up, and they say "ok, we have about 8 hours, let's get started."
"umm.... uhhhh.... ok"
So for 8 hours they sat together in secret and studied, and talked about God, and rejoiced in Him, and worshiped Him. David says he doesn't even remember what they talked about that day, but they were so hungry to know more. At the end of the day they said, "pastor, can you come back tomorrow, and teach some more?"
"Sure, like tomorrow evening?"
"No, no"
"So like an early morning thing?"
"No, all day please"
"Well, what does all day mean exactly?"
They said, "about 12 hours."
"uhh..ohhhh.oh, ok. Anything particular?"
"Just the Bible"
"Oh, Ok"
So David decided to talk on Nehemiah. He was giving them the history behind the book; things he had learned from his schooling, and other Old Testament books.
And the men said, "We've never heard all of this background information before. Can you teach us like this for the entire old testament?"
"Uhhhhh......well that would take a long time....."
"Please! We really want to know the Old Testament."
So for 12 hours a day, for the next week and a half, they went from Genesis to Malachi. Imagine spending 12 hours a day in the word, and loving it! I wish I were at that point in my faith.
Well he had one day with them after he finished Malachi, and David said he went in and was just teaching on something, and one of the guys stopped him and said, "pastor, we have a problem. You have taught us the Old Testament, but you have not taught us the New Testament."
"Seriously!??"
"Yes pastor, the New Testament today please."
"Ohhhh.... ok" So for the next 11 hours they walked from Matthew to Revelation.
These people love the word of God. It is worth giving their lives just to know it. Imagine going to a late night worship service. You put on dark pants and a hood, and everyone is asleep except for the Christians, because they know it is the only time they will have the chance to meet in safety. And you follow another believer down a small path and into an underground room with 60 people stacked inside. There is 1 light bulb, and you worship for hours. No piano, no guitar, no robes, no nothing."
We hear stories like this and we think: how can we help them? What can we send them? They have nothing. Well don't stress, the Holy Spirit is doing just fine in their country. Without all the things we fill our churches with. Because Jesus IS enough for them.
You see our problem is that we are at the root of our Joy. The things that make us happy are strictly about us. What do I mean by the root of our joy? I mean What really causes you to be happy. What gives you joy? Here's an example: Making an A on a test. It makes us happy. Why? Because it means we will pass the class. Well why does passing the class make you happy? Well, because it is a psychology class, and you want to get your degree in psychology, and become a psychologist. Ok, why do you want to be a psychologist? Because I want to help people. That makes me happy. Ok, great. Why does helping people bring you joy? Now we are getting to the root. There may be a few answers to this question, but here are a couple of choices:
-I feel a sense of satisfaction knowing I helped someone through a problem or a tough time, and it makes me proud of myself. So that makes me happy.
- God has called me to reach the need and struggling in the world, and I can bring Him glory by helping people.
One answer puts yourself at the bottom of your joy. One answer puts God at the bottom of your Joy. What are you rooted in? Are you rooted in your desires? Or are you rooted in the desires of the almighty God who created the Universe and wants to lift is all up. If you are putting yourself at the root of your joy, then you are not at the right place with God.
What is God calling you to do? Are you letting your desires get in the way?
Here's the deal. There are 6.8 Billion people in the world. Even the most liberal estimate would put the world at about 1/3 Christian. And that is people who claim to be Christian. In many contexts that is just a social or political thing. But even if we assume that all of these people were actually followers of Christ, then that still leaves over 4 and a half billion people who, at this moment, are without Christ, and on a road that leads to an eternal hell.
4 and a half billion. let that sink in.
If this is true in the world we live in, then WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO PLAY GAMES IN THE CHURCH! We don't have time to waste our live putting our Christian spin on the American dream. We have a Master who calls for sacrifice, and a Maker who guarantees a radical reward.
I want to give you a small portrait of Jesus from the book of Luke. I hope you will see that He is worth your life. Starting in Luke Chapter nine, verse 57. As they were walking along the road, a man said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head."
Jesus said to another man "Follow Me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead. You Go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
Still another man said "I will follow you, but first let me go and say goodbye to my family."
Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow, and then looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Now this is a weird passage. It's almost as if Jesus is trying to talk these guys out of following Him. But it makes this passage so interesting. It is so contrary to the way we work today. We will do anything and everything we can to draw the crowds.
Jesus on the other hand, when the crowds started getting big, He'd say something like In John 6: "Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you." THAT"S WEIRD! You can imagine the looks on the faces of the disciples. "Jesus, we're never going to get on the list of the fastest growing movements if you keep telling people to EAT YOU." And as you can imagine, the crowds would leave.
In Luke 14:5, Large crowds were following Jesus, and He said to them, "If anyone will follow me, he must hate his father and mother, brother and sister." How's that for an opening line? Imagine following a religious teacher in the first century, and He tells you, "if you want to follow Me, hate your family."
It get's better. Next statement of Jesus: "If you are going to follow Me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me." Now first century people hear cross, and they think shameful, humiliating, painful, instrument of pure torture. Imagine following a teacher today, and he tells you to "take up your electric chair, and follow me." It's creepy. If that's not enough, in the end of the passage in Luke 14 Jesus says: "If anyone is going to come after Me, he must give up everything he has."
Hate your mom and dad, pick up your instrument of torture, and give up everything you own.
That's a lot different than admit, believe, confess, and pray this prayer.
We come to texts like this one, and we just try to put ourselves in the shoes of first century heroes, and we think, what if Jesus had said these things to you? Some of you are thinking, this is kind of deep... It's kind of heavy...Maybe I'm not ready for this. Well this was the initial introduction to Jesus for these people. There was no easing into it. What if Jesus said to you, "you must give up everything you own?" What if Jesus had said these things to you?
Then we come face to face with this frightening reality: Jesus HAS said these things to us. He HAS told us that in order to follow Him, we must give up everything we have. He HAS told every one of us to love Him in such a way that it makes all of our other relationships look like hate in comparison. And He could tell anyone of us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor.
Now we don't believe this. We take texts like these and say, "well what Jesus really meant was......" This is where we need to be really careful, because this is where we start redefining Christianity according to our preferences. We start taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting Him into something we are a little more comfortable with. a Jesus that looks like us, Thinks like us, Talks like us. A Jesus that doesn't mind materialism. A Jesus that is ok with nominal devotion. A Jesus that wants us to avoid all dangerous situations. But here's the problem. When we make Jesus like this. When we twist Him into our nice, middle class, American Jesus, the reality is that now when we gather in our churches, and we sing songs and lift our hands, the reality is, we are not worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. We are singing to, and worshiping ourselves. And the danger is, we think we are worshiping Jesus.
You need to understand that Jesus requires much from us, because He has already given so much more for us. When Jesus had these conversations, He was already on His way to the cross. He knew His destination, and He was choosing to go. Jesus CHOSE the cross for you. We are not ultimately saved from our sins because of what a bunch of Roman soldiers decided to do to Jesus. No. We are saved from our Sins, because Jesus Chose to lay down His life as a perfect sacrifice for us.
Think about it. Jesus was in the garden in Jerusalem sweating blood. Why? Is it because He was afraid of what some Roman Soldiers were going to do to Him? No. Jesus knew that He was about to be separated form God. The most painful thing possible for Him. Jesus CHOSE to endure divine wrath. A wrath that you and I deserved and Jesus did not. Jesus is sweating blood, because He is about to go to the cross and endure the full wrath of God for all sin from Adam and Ever, up til us today, and those sins still to come in the future. It's as if you and I were standing in front of a dam that is a thousand miles high, and a thousand miles wide. And then suddenly that dam was let loose, and all that water was coming crashing down on us. But then right before that tidal wave of God's wrath crushes us, the ground opens up and swallows every last drop right in front of us. So at the cross, Jesus took the full cup of the wrath of God that we deserved, drank every drop, and cried out, "It Is Finished!" That is what Jesus has done for you.
Jesus says, "I am not a means to an end. I am the end." This is so dangerous in our culture. This hits right at the core of how the gospel is so often sold in our day.
- Come to Jesus to get life
- Come to Jesus to get Happiness
- Come to Jesus to get Stuff
It's the rampant prosperity gospel, and it is no gospel at all.
- Come to Jesus to get health
- Come to Jesus to get Wealth
- Come to Jesus to get fulfilled
- Come to Jesus to get this or that... NO!
You come to Jesus to get JESUS!
He's the one we want. And He's the one we need. Instead we want to come to Jesus so we can have all of this stuff in this world. So we can fill our lives with the same pleasures as everyone else around us. The same things they are chasing. And then we tack Jesus on on Sundays.
This is NOT Biblical Christianity.
Jesus IS enough for us! But if you look at our lives, it doesn't look like Jesus is enough for us. We fill our lives with so much other stuff. And our churches... It takes so much to entertain us. It takes so much to get us to celebrate Jesus.
Jesus IS enough for you Will you allow Him to get back to the root of your life? Or will you keep chasing the American dream?
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