Jesus

Which one is not like the other?

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31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, 

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”  Luke 7:31-35

The games we play searching for a handle on life.

Remember the game? Remember the exercise in learning how to differentiate? Which one is not like the other? But now that we are growing up we must add a second question:  Which one is not like the other and what does that mean?

We can differentiate. And there are many places in life where we must. However, the problem comes when we are infected with the temptation to control for uniformity. Like the generation viewing Jesus and John the Baptist we are frustrated by not being in control. We play the flute and you do not dance! We sing a dirge and you do not cry!

Missing the diverse work of God.

Jesus is drawing out the proclivity of his generation and ours to miss the work of God when it is different from what we expect. Could Jesus and John have been more different in the lifestyle? John lived the life of an ascetic in the desert. Jesus lived the life of one fully engaged in the lives of city sinners. John fasted. Jesus feasted. And the people were dismayed by the difference so they judged and accused: John has a demon. Jesus is a glutton.

The Beginning of Wisdom

Jesus says wisdom is demonstrated, shown, justified by her fruit… by her children. Wisdom begins with worship. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” So there it is, the source of Jesus and John’s difference is God. As we each pursue Christ we should not expect that we will all be uniform in the expression of His grace and truth through our personality, passions, patterns, professions, and prayers. Wisdom encourages us to watch with wonder and delight as The Spirit of God manifests the image of the Son in the followers of Christ and His church to the glory of God.

 

The Voice

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32And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! 1 Samuel 25:32-33

What’s your capacity for hearing the voice of wisdom?

David was on long journey to become King of Israel. A seventeen year journey.

But now the one who tapped him for the job was dead. Samuel had died.

Now he’s leading a ragtag group of misfits and malcontents.

600 of them. And they must be fed.

Now he’s living in the desert with so many things unsure.

Now he’s being hunted by Saul the King of Israel.

Now he’s been shamed and dissed by Nabal.

Now he’s wondering what’s the use of persisting in doing good.

Now he’s out for blood; and honour; and stuff.

But God intervened.

He sent a voice of wisdom.

He sent Abigail.

She humbled herself. Fell at David’s feet.

She reminded David of God’s hand on his life.

She reminded David of God’s hand to provide.

She reminded David of God’s promise to establish his throne.

She reminded David that their future was linked.

She reminded David of how the stain of revenge would never leave him.

The Voice of Wisdom.

We need this voice of wisdom.

We are so short-sighted in our views, attitudes, and actions.

So Jesus comes to us as the voice of wisdom.

God’s wisdom from above.

Jesus intercepts us on the path of destruction.

Jesus humbly kneels at the feet of his disciples and washes their feet.

Jesus serves us at the point of our greatest need — forgiveness —

through even through death on the cross.

Jesus fulfills God’s promises for us.

Jesus establishes us with Him in His Kingdom.

Jesus links us to His future.

Jesus provides.

He is The Voice.

Are you listening?

Showing Off

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39You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.   John 5:39-40

We don’t memorize the Scripture in order to show off. Rather we memorize the Scripture because it bears witness to Jesus. It leads us to Him. Its voice, which is His voice, speaks to us calling us to come to Jesus. “Come to Jesus” that’s the call of the Scripture. Jesus said so Himself. Knowledge does not give us the Kingdom life; Jesus does.

When it comes to memorizing the Word that bears witness to Jesus here’s some suggestions:

1. Write it; say it; sing it.

2. Review it, review it, review it.

3. Meditate on it. Take time to meet Jesus in the words and see the many varied ways the Word of God merges with our lives.

4. Oh yeah and the secret of Scripture memory: review, review, review.

What if we were not afraid?

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25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”  John 11:25-27

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”  49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” …53So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.  John 11:45-50, 53

Identity Issues

After Jesus made this extraordinary admission of his identity he proceeded to the tomb of Lazarus and called him out. Jesus radiates His glory in word and deed:

The Resurrection: Whoever believes in me, though he dies, shall live.

The Life: Whoever believes in me shall never die.

The body will fail us. Jesus will not.

The spirit of a person made alive in Christ will live though the body dies.

 A Threat to the Status Quo

The healing of Lazarus solidified the opinion of some people that Jesus was a threat. Can you imagine? What if the followers of Jesus were not afraid of death? For those authorities who rely on violence to retain their honour, their position and their influence a people who do not fear death is intolerable. So these authorities take a posture against Jesus and His people.

So, what if we were not afraid?

“You can kill the body, but the Lord will raise me up.” “To be absent from the body is to be with the Lord.” “You decide, is it better for us to obey people, or the Lord?” “Jesus is Lord.”

Where would we go? Who would we love? What convictions would remain? What trivial pursuits would we abandon?

So, what if you were not afraid?

What if heaven, our Lord, and His call loomed larger than death itself?

From “What?” to “Who?”

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9I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  John 10:9-10

“What is your security?” & “Who is your security?”

On Sunday our friend Kyle Reese spoke from John 10. God challenged me with these two questions Kyle asked us: “What is your way in?” and “What is your security?” Later Kyle refocused us just as Jesus refocused His listeners to the greater issue of “who?” not “what?” So now the questions become “Who is your way in, in to life, joy, peace?” And “Who is your security?”

The Shepherd’s Question: “Will you follow me?”

And then at the end of the message, the question became “Will you follow me?” That’s The Shepherd’s question. Those who are His, know HIs voice and will follow Him. The people who follow Jesus Christ have accepted Him, His authority and His attachment to them. The grace and truth of Jesus become the very features that help us differentiate between the other voices competing for our affections and our soul.

The disciple of Jesus is meant to be secure in Him. Anything else, and anyone else will lead to heightened levels of anxiety and the all the false cures available to us.

When Psalm 23 becomes True for You

When Jesus is our Shepherd Psalm 23 becomes true for us:

1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.

3He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.