Jesus

Tripped up by what we know. Authentic Ministry, Part 1

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1Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  John 13:1-5

When it comes to meeting people and responding to their needs we are too often tripped up by what we know… or what we think we know.

But really Jesus knew.
He knew His hour had come.
He knew which of His friends would betray Him.
He knew the Father had given all things into His hands.
He knew He was returning to the Father from whom He had come.
And knowing what He knew, Jesus loved them to the end.

How often have I been hindered from loving people and giving refreshing  service to others because of what I knew? I can be wrapped up in the knowledge of my crisis, my distress, my judgments, my position, my rights.

But Jesus truly knows the Father. So He does what He has been doing from the beginning. He takes off His outer garments of power, privilege, and position, sets them aside and serves at the feet of His disciples.

Knowing the Heavenly Father makes all the difference.

Now we believe too. Authentic Fellowship, Part 1

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39Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”  John 4:39-42

What makes us think it, “These folks are so fake?”

What makes us feel it? “These people are so fake!”

Welcome to the realm of what its like to be the only one being real. Ha! Anytime we drop in on a group that knows each other and seems to have its own language, we can only make judgments. The critical spirit is easy and cheap. In my experience its mostly about me not knowing the stories and therefore the values of this crowd. They seem so different and unavailable to me.

That’s when I’m busy making assumptions about the levels of emotion being or not being expressed in their language and bodies.

So, what’s authentic fellowship?

The church has been endowed with this funny word that we typically don’t use in public conversations. Fellowship. Its the Greek word, koinonia, “the share that one has in anything, participation; contact, fellowship, intimacy” (Thayers Greek Lexicon).

For the Christian koinonia, begins with Jesus bringing us into the communion of God through the grace of forgiveness and the common confession, “Jesus is Lord.” Now through the Spirit of God we are connected and have a share in Him and His Kingdom. We have been summoned into a life together in which we are being changed by Him.

This is why our stories are so important. In most large public gatherings of Jesus’ “church” we are not getting to hear the story of our neighbour. They may look pretty good, cleaned up, and having it all together at that hour. They may look like someone who never really needed Jesus. But you don’t know… till you know their story. Authentic churches keep making spaces where people can share their story of being touched by Jesus.

Your story breeds authentic fellowship.

“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:42

The truth about me & the truth about God. Authentic Worship, Part 3

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19The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” John 4:19-26

A Serious Question

Jesus affirms the seriousness of the Samaritan woman’s question even though she is deflecting attention from her soul condition. She brings up the worship wars regarding the geography of worship: Jerusalem or the high places of Samaria. But Jesus highlights a new reality emerging from the Jews: the Messiah has ushered in the age of true worship in which worshippers will worship God in spirit and truth.

Two Truths

First there is the truth about God. Jesus is The Truth and brings people into the Kingdom of God through His messianic work on the cross. He gives His people the Spirit of God and brings them into genuine communion with God. Later Jesus would say, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” John clarifies for the reader: “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” See John 7:37-39

Second there is the truth about us. The Gospel almost simultaneously brings us into the reality of our sin and the reality of God’s grace. It may seem outrageous that we can regularly confess our neediness for God’s grace for the forgiveness of sin! But when we do confess we also then set our faith on him again for the grace to obey. That’s what happens in authentic worship. The Spirit of God gives us a new spirit and a new heart with a new “want to” for God. In the disciplines of worship, privately and corporately, the Holy Spirit renews our “want to” by showing us the glory of who Jesus is and the reality of His love for us. I’m not sure the Samaritan woman was yet sure of the incredible worth and place of utmost supremacy she would grant to Jesus, but I believe she was on the way.

Authentic Worship

As some of you know, the worship wars continue and likely will as we have have generational preferences and styles. However, authentic worship is not about how lively or calm the music; nor how dramatic the lights or the preaching. Authentic worship has to do with how engaged we are with truth and the Spirit in response to Jesus and the news of His Gospel. Even in our broken world, authentic worship is possible as we are lead by the Spirit to meet Jesus and delight in the Father’s great love for us.

“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

Awkward! This strange man knows me too. Authentic Worship, Part 2

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13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”  John 4:13-20

To worship in truth is to enter into the truth about God and ourselves. The Samaritan woman likely came for water at Jacob’s well in the heat of the day because too many people in the village knew her story. Surely it was uncomfortable always being treated as an outsider by her own people.  Now this strange man knows the truth about her too.

It was uncomfortable. It was awkward.

Authentic worship before the living, seeing, God will have its moments of discomfort. Conviction of sin and the reality of our brokenness flowing from our independence from God provokes the ancient patters of hiding. So she changes the subject… anything to get the piercing eye of truth off of her. Ironically, she changes the topic to worship.

Just like us.

Watch for it. We can create a little space or we can totally avoid God by raising a debatable matter when the truth is out. But, unless we let the Spirit of God pierce our shiny self-justifying armour we will not enter into the depths of Jesus’ liberating Gospel: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The discomfort could be the precursor to His joy in your heart.

God is not impressed with your contempt.

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9He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
  Luke 18:9-14

God is not impressed with your contempt.

With this parable Jesus shows us what God is looking for. God is looking for the humble heart. God is listening to the person who will quit the comparison game and admit they are a mess. This tax collector seeks the audience of God.

This one is looking for mercy. This one has heard the penetrating whisper of the Spirit address the depravity of the heart. This one agrees with God. This one confesses without looking for the applause of people.

This one goes home experiencing the transforming-right-making-grace of God.

That’s how God changes a life.