August 2014 – The Wandering Shepherd

Following His Footsteps: “The Paper Cut Test” – Mark 1 and 2

Did you ever get a simple little “paper cut”? Isn’t is unbelievable that you can be so careful, eat right, exercise, maybe even go off to the gym and really try to get in shape, and a simple piece of paper can wound you in such a way as to distract you all day long? Not long ago, I was trying to organize some notes for a rather detailed speech I had to give to a group up north. One of the last things I do before I am going to make any kind of presentation is to check to see that I have all the pages in the stack, and that they are in the right order. In the process of checking the pages, the stack began to slip away from me, and as I grabbed the falling papers, one cut into my skin in two places between my first two fingers. It wasn’t any big deal, and I barely noticed it until after the presentation. A group of us decided we would go out for a bite to eat, and the place we went had a special on their renown “corn of the cob.” I wanted to give it a try, and used my normal method of dousing the cob in butter, followed by an unhealthy dose of salt. You know where this is going… the salt found its way into both of my paper cuts and suddenly I felt like my fingers were undergoing surgery. I could barely enjoy the meal…obviously I was experiencing a “first world” problem. At this point, some of you may be recognizing me for the true wimp that I am.

It occurs to me that if rocks can be sculpted and cut through by the long term and constant drip of water, if a fully grown adult man can be dislodged by a swarm of tiny bees, if a vast oak tree can be felled by the work of small termites… paper cuts can do significant damage to even the most strong and efficient office workers. Seriously, sometimes it isn’t the BIG ISSUES that tear us down – but the steady wear of small ones. It is clear that method of attack was used against the Savior, and it may be used against you as well – so it is worth exploring as we follow the early part of the ministry of Jesus.

Let’s remember first that the Savior came to serve His Father and to develop a ministry to people that was both effective and sustainable. He took care to model for us how to care for people, and how to prioritize the work of God as we represent Him before a lost world. At the same time, the Gospel writer included for us something more – the enemy’s attack on Jesus’ ministry. He attacked every forward move of that ministry – as is his method. Some of the attacks were profound and pronounced. For those, we have been taught to pray fervently, armor up and stick together, huddled around the Word. They come, and in those dramatic moments people are tuned to pray. Yet other attacks are more like the steady wear of “paper cuts” designed to annoy and draw spiritual blood and energy from the work. It is now as it was then…

Key Principle: Ministry is not only tested by the more profound struggles, but energy can be significantly drained by steady harassment of the enemy.

There are a number of weights on your walk with God and your service to Him that are common among people who want to be used of God to care for and reach others. Since every believer is to be intentional about ministry, it is important that we identify the points fo attack that are used to cause that strain and look for the pattern to overcome their influence:

First, let’s recognize the call to make disciples puts a strain on those who do it (Mark 1:16-20; 2:14-22). We’ll call it a “drain”.

The beginning of Mark’s Gospel offers some snapshots of Jesus choosing the disciples near the Sea of Galilee. Let’s look at two of them so that we can identify the kinds of pressures disciple making can place on those who follow Jesus by doing it:

Mark 1:16 As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.

Before you keep reading, notice a few things about the disciples that Jesus chose in this little picture.

First, Jesus called the men from the work they were already doing (Mark 1:16). The men were busy, not idle. Some were casting their nets to fish as in Mark 1:16, while others were mending the nets from the night’s work they just completed (1:19).

Second, Jesus told them that He had a task that was in some ways not wholly unfamiliar, but required they change from what they were doing and follow His lead (Mark 1:17).

Third, they immediately obeyed and left what they were accomplishing to simply follow the Master.

This is not the only record of the call of the disciples, for they were called more than once. By this time, Jesus was well known to them. They heard His speaking, and some had even traveled with Him on a journey. It is easy to read this like they were new to Jesus, but they weren’t, and we know this by cross-checking the other Gospel accounts. In the end, they chose to do what He said and follow Him – that is obvious in the narrative. What is far less recognized is the reverse – that Jesus’ life changed by calling them to His side.

To deliberately make disciples is to sign up to be constantly observed, to become intentional about the slightest things. It is a decision to become conscious that people are watching your work and your responses to the normal stresses of life. Your diet becomes their license. Your favorite song comes under the morally sensitive scrutiny of the follower – are those words really “God honoring?” Discipleship has its own drain…it places a tiny discomfort, like a “paper cut” that heightens your sensitivity…but the observation of your life by the disciple isn’t the only factor that places a strain on your life. Drop down to Mark 2…

Mark 2:14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. 15 And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. 16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 “But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. 22 “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

Here, the passage reveals other stresses that were placed on Jesus as He chose disciples that we should make note of as well.

First, the people chose by the Master quickly focused scrutiny on Him. Some with religious titles were acutely aware that Jesus’ choices were not what they would have chosen – and that became the subject of criticism. All this, and the disciples hadn’t done yet anything but eat dinner! Jesus found Himself answering criticism concerning His choices (Mark 2:17), and acknowledging that the men were not the healthiest lot – but those with great spiritual need. Here is the point: disciples are needy, and they will require something of your life – and that is the reason we would rather offer classes as a church than personally make disciples. All of us are under the pressures of daily life, and we can easily excuse our distance from others as a necessity in our busy world. Yet, discipleship – deliberate patterning and encouragement is our call – and we know it. We keep hoping that classes will do the trick, even when it seems obvious that we offer so little time compared to the number of hours the world offers to press young believers into its mold.

A second factor involved in the criticism was not simply the choice of disciples, but the methodology and practices taught to the learners (Mark 2:18-19). Jesus chose the men and not everyone like who He chose – but they also “weighed in” on what He trained them to practice. “Why not fasting like John’s disciples?” they asked. Discipleship raised the scrutiny of other “experts” and Jesus didn’t get a passing grade in their evaluation. The truth is that discipleship and training draws the trainer under the scrutiny of those who are not even engaged in the process. Everyone has an opinion about how to do it, even if they aren’t doing it.

The objective of making disciples is one that will put a strain on your life. When people are watching, you must be even more careful. When people are learning, you must be intentional. When people are following, you must act as a leader. It isn’t a bad thing, but it isn’t an easy thing either. Ask a parent!

Imagine you take your child into a market to pick up a few things, and they are not feeling well. Teeth are causing pain and a slight fever. The otherwise pleasant child is fussy and uncomfortable. You know what is wrong, and you are letting them fuss a bit to get things selected and get home where you can administer a little gum soother and get them to sleep. It will all be fine in a few minutes. As you pass people and they look in the cart at your little bundle of fussiness, each offers advice. “If you just pick him up and rock him, he’ll settle right down!” the woman behind you says. “Thanks!” you mutter, as if you hadn’t thought of that. Everyone feels the right to give instructions, but they aren’t going home with you, and don’t know the whole picture of what you are doing with the child. Discipleship draws criticism… and it often comes from people who are not engaged in the process a whit. Criticism can sting like a little enduring paper cut.

I am not complaining about the call to make disciples – it is a fantastic and rewarding part of our call! I am, however, making the observation that with obedience to that call you will add strain to your life. Everything valuable in life comes at a price, and obedience in making disciples is no different. We cannot engage the process without recognizing the drain it will put on us, or we miss part of the lesson of the verses God included to instruct us.

Second, the enemy offers resistance to any forward movement that will cost him (Mark 1:21-28). We’ll call this “disruption”.

Beyond the strain of criticism and inspection is another very important truth that we need to reckon with – there is an enemy at work to defeat us. Go back to Mark 1…

Mark 1:21 They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22 They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are-the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

We usually anticipate the opposition when it concerns evangelism, but that isn’t the only place planned snares of the enemy will trip us. When we help disciples move out of bondage and into a fuller walk with God, the enemy is still losing ground – and that will come with stiff resistance – because he doesn’t like losing ground! In fact, a deceived and ensnared believer is often a more powerful a weapon in the hand of the enemy as one who is still spiritually dead. Go back to the story…

Jesus took the disciples to the synagogue because it was Sabbath, and He taught the crowd that gathered in Capernaum to listen. He spoke directly, and made clear sense. As the people began to respond to TRUTH, the voice of the enemy DISTRACTED people from the “life-filled words” of the Master. There are a number of truths that are important in this passage:

Note first that the enemy was lurking in the synagogue… because the enemy does some of his best work in religious places.

Second, note that nothing they said was UNTRUE, it was simply distracting Jesus from the forward progress of teaching. The demonic presence simply raised questions and made distractions that pulled the class off track. Have you ever seen something like this? I don’t mean that you sat next to someone who murmured like they were possessed… I mean someone who drew the class off track, week after week, only to confound, confuse and disrupt. They didn’t learn, and they didn’t let others learn. The veteran teachers know what I am referring to in this… the enemy works both in deception and in distraction – and we must recognize the difference between real questions and disruptions.

Recently I engaged a young man who asked many questions about God, about belief and generally about my faith. His questions were complex, and they took time to answer in detail to be sure that I was saying things that were both Biblical and clear. I spent a number of hours on each question. Weeks wore on, he wrote question after question and I answered diligently. I prayed over each answer and asked God to make clear how I should proceed. I felt a real strain on the load this added to the week, but I didn’t want to drop the ball on a sacred trust – God may have brought this man into my life to draw him to God – and I didn’t want to be slack on my responsibility in this area. After a few more questions, I made the point that I had done my best with every question, so I wanted to ask him a question of my own… “Was he serious in the questions he raised?” I asked. He replied, and I admit I was floored by his response. “Not at all!” he said. “I just wanted to tie up your time and keep you from teaching other people about your God fantasies.” I was shocked, but I was thankful that God answered my prayer, and I learned a lesson. Everything you and I are offered is either an opportunity or a distraction – and it will take maturity to know the difference.

Jesus took control of the message, and cast out the demon – causing others to recognize His power. God’s Word isn’t open to sharing the stage with anyone else’s word – and Jesus took care of the problem. Yet, it came at a cost. We look at FAME as a GOOD thing, but that is not always the case. Some of the most effective ministries I know of are not well known around the world – but they are incredibly effective. In our modern “Madison Avenue” view of ministry, we cannot easily understand why Jesus may not have wanted to be too well known at this point in the ministry – but the enemy knew that POPULARITY can swamp the boat – and that can become the most effective way to pull a ministry down.

Distraction is something that can happen to any work of God – large or small. Believers need to be able to measure God at work by many standards – not simply “popularity” or parking lot sizes. When we use modern business metrics to measure ministry effectiveness, we lose sight that God works in different ways in different places. The measure of a ministry should be how well it accomplishes sustainable work within its consistent and Biblically infused vision.

The point is that Jesus didn’t need to be that well known yet, and the enemy couldn’t wait to make Him the hottest thing on the block. What looked like a great acknowledgement of Jesus’ power was actually a pressure hold applied by the enemy who wanted to get Jesus’ popularity rating boosted to the point of ministry hindrance. Even viral popularity can become a problem to sustainable ministry. It can become a “paper cut” that hinders growing people because the program takes over… and it is something mature believers need to be careful about.

It is true that discipleship is a call of God that puts a drain on your life. It is easier to navigate life without pulling along someone else. It is also true that we face an enemy who wants to find ways to distract us from focusing on the growth and development of people – in favor of other notions of popularity and success that fill our hearts but are not from our Father above. Yet, there are other “paper cuts” that can distract us…

Third, we should consider that a drain of physical limitations can distract progress (Mark 1:29-31). We’ll call this “distraction”.

Jesus and the boys were just beginning to get the work in Capernaum going, and one of the people who provided meals and care for the men was taken ill…

Mark 1:29 And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her. 31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

What is clear is the fact that Peter’s mother in law was an asset to the ministry, as she took care of the men again as soon as she was well. Her “down time” slowed the ministry, because a servant was knocked off her feet. Don’t miss that detail…

I am not being “spooky” when I admit the enemy can get permission from our Father to attack the ministry and add extra “drag” by attacking our health. He can attack our feelings, our digestion, our sleepiness – an array of symptomatic attacks. He did it in a pronounced way with Job in the Bible, but that isn’t the only time he did it. In Mark 1 he wanted to slow down the work at home and keep the men busy and strained to do the little “normal” things of life, he wanted to Simon to worry about his mother-in-law and be distracted from the growing ministry. Don’t miss that Satan was at work on both public popularity and private distraction – that is one of the combinations that often lands in the life of God’s servant. While the pressure mounted in the public eye for Jesus to do more and more, private pressures at home made the rising popularity seem even harder to navigate – and that was the point of the two-pronged attack. Jesus healed the women, but while He did, He surely recognized the play the enemy was making.

Fourth, even misdirected followers can easily disrupt ministry and help the enemy (Mark 1:32-32, 39-45). We’ll call this what it is: “disobedience”.

One of the common attacks of the enemy that I have profoundly noticed over the years is the aid they inadvertently offer the deceiver by being blatantly disobedient to the Word of God – all the while thinking they are aiding God’s cause. Let’s look at the case offered in Mark 1…

Mark 1:32 When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city had gathered at the door. 34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was… 39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons. 40 And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

The enemy was already at work trying to get the public ministry of Jesus to rise in popularity so fast that He would be unable to focus on the development of the men, and be inundated with public fame. Demons didn’t want clear teaching, so they disrupted at the synagogue. Now they used a needy man that came to Jesus, but then didn’t follow His words obediently… the man had a plan to “help God” without the need to be weighed down by obedience to God. He came needing healing, as we all do. He came ready to receive from Jesus.

Note verse 42, Jesus completely healed him and he was clean. Now look at the words of the next verse very carefully. In all of the Gospels, have you read of any time when Jesus spoke and “sternly warned” anyone? It seems the demeanor of the Savior was serious and sober as he looked at the now healed man. “Say NOTHING to ANYONE except the priest.” Those were Jesus’ words. They sound straight and to the point. They were neither complicated, nor confusing. Yet, the man disobeyed in short order, all the while thinking he was doing something GOOD for God.

We need to rehearse, again and again in our lives, there is no substitute for obedience to God’s commands. We do not know what God knows, nor do we see what He sees. Our stubborn need to control must not be allowed to drive us from our knees and back onto the throne of our life while under the delusion we are helping God. We are NOT. The tragic end of King Saul came from that very decision – to do what he thought would help God MORE than to accept the instruction from God and follow it precisely.

The man was disobedient to the word of Jesus, and it caused a mess for Jesus. How often I have observed this attack of the enemy, facilitated by a believer who blissfully thinks careful knowledge of and obedience to the Word is less important than the “clear fame” they brought to Jesus. Reach a nation in disobedience and you have accomplished a great victory for the enemy – because God desires obedience more than anything else… period. Believers carving their own path cause constant and irritating “paper cut” wounds on believers and ministry workers who are trying to follow the Word – it is both distracting and hurtful.

Fifth, there is a constant weight placed by those who misunderstand God’s method of direction that can confuse ministry workers (Mark 1:35-38). We’ll call this “delusion.”

Jesus got alone, but the disciples didn’t understand the essential nature of His time with the Father – because many people think ministry is a physical pursuit – with a little “nod” to the spiritual realm. They don’t get how the world really works, let alone how ministry works…

Mark 1:35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. 36 Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37 they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.“

The disciples pressed for more and more ministry without breaking away and recognizing the need to seek the Father in Heaven. Jesus got alone because He needed to commune and exemplify the need to seek the direction from above. The disciples were living the “rat race of ministry” while Jesus was getting alone. His alone time re-energized the Lord.

People caught in a “rat race” – even of ministry events – cannot lead like Jesus. There is a difference between being full in your schedule and being driven by it. Jesus understood the need for solitude and searching out the Father’s heart for ministry before taking on the next task. The men were ready for the “next big thing” while Jesus was communing with His Father, and getting re-energized.

Jesus knew how to get alone with His Father. It is worth noting that the devil miscalculated the strength of that alone time at the temptation. Jesus was physically hungry, but His time away left Him spiritually full. His denial of the physical helped Him to stay focused on His walk before the Father and not get sidetracked by lesser things. His responses to the devil showed that Jesus valued the study of the Scriptures in the “good times” – for Jesus knew the Word and was able to recall it when needed.

This is a common mistake: people see ministry as primarily a physical pursuit, and measure its growth in buildings, budgets and bodies in the pew – but those metrics don’t tell the story. Eleven disciples transformed in heart would eventually yield much more than five thousand spectators deeply moved at their full bellies. The DELUSION is a common one, and it creeps into ministry all the time: the focus on the physical as the point of ministry. Look at the little story in Mark 2…

Mark 2:1 When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. 4 Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. 5 And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? 9 “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven ‘; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk ‘? 10 “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins “-He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.” 13 And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

Jesus healed the man’s heart, and the work was essentially DONE. His sin forgiven, Jesus did the part that only He can do. That didn’t satisfy the scribes. They thought it was a hoax, because they measured ministry by externals – by physical markers. The man needed life inside, not simply working legs.

There is an old story I have used before, but it illustrates well the problem of looking at externals when the internals are the real issue:

I heard about a man who saw his dog walking across his lawn with his neighbors dead cat in his mouth. The man was horrified to see that the dog had apparently killed the neighbor’s beloved cat. He was determined to hide this embarrassing and heart-wrenching situation from the neighbor. He took the cat from the dog’s mouth and proceeded to wash the animal gingerly, to brush the fur and make the animal look well kept. That night he slipped over to the neighbor’s porch and placed the cat quietly beside the door. He left undetected. The next morning before work his neighbor was in the driveway visibly shaken. “What’s wrong?” he asked, feigning concern. The neighbor replied, “It is the strangest thing I ever seen. Fluffy got hit by a car yesterday. We had a funeral service for her in the backyard. But, when we got up this morning we found the hole empty and the body of our now clean cat clean on the back porch.” (adapted from sermon central illustrations).

Here is the problem: The man tried to clean the cat outwardly, but he couldn’t change the fact that the cat was dead. A lot of people think that is what ministry is really all about. They try to change the outward appearance, or deal with the outward need. They feed the hungry, house the homeless and try to act kindly – and that is good – but it isn’t the primary need. It is part of the DELUSION that spiritual things can be seen clearly through the physical eye. When ministry is measured that way, it discourages and weighs down those who are working in the spiritual realm.

• Discipleship is wonderful, but it drains your energy.
• Forward moving ministry is exciting, but it draws the attention of an enemy that disrupts.
• Servant hood is essential, but the needs of the body can be a distraction.
• Jesus is delivering men, but disobedience unsettles the ministry.
• Ministry needs press God’s workers, but we must be directed and measured by spiritual metrics.

I recall years ago in Elkhart, Indiana, finding out that a neighbor was tapping off my friend’s electricity, and she was being charged for power usage that she didn’t ever get. She went away on vacation during the heat of the summer, and turned off most all of her electrical appliances. When she came home, she noticed the meter spinning wildly on the pole, and couldn’t figure out what where the power was going. We traced the lines, and found the neighbor was using a line strung from her house to theirs. Knowing where your power is going is important. God is at work through many, and some of them are tired, but haven’t figured out where their energy is being tapped. The model of Jesus can help us spot some of the ways power is pulled from its rightful place.

God on the Move: “Standing on the Promises” – Acts 18

It is no secret that I am not fond of cliffs, and aside from a single moment of insanity when I agreed to go repelling, my height sensitivity and general gravity based insecurities have kept me safely from the edges of high places. From time to time, I find myself sweating at the sight of someone on television that appears to be clinging to the side of a massive mountain with a sheer drop beneath them. I wonder what part of the brain has been sufficiently dulled to allow such insanity which is termed by some as bravery and courage. I get weak at the sight of such raw fearlessness.

Let me offer a brief example: Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls is a British adventurer who has shown his survival talents on shows like “Man vs. Wild” on TV. A few weeks ago, I was waiting to get my hair cut, and on the television above the reception area I found myself watching as Bear was teaching another man how to survive on a mountainside with few helps of the modern world. He showed the man how to eat incredibly gross looking things I could not really identify, and how to scale a sheer cliff with almost no tools. Why one would deliberately place their body in such danger is a complete mystery to me, but I admit that I was spellbound as I watched the men pick clean the remains of a little rodent they had just cooked on a tiny fire along a cliff on the side of the mountain to which they were clinging… and then make their way down the steep slope with almost nothing in their hands. Bear kept saying, “When you don’t have much, you find out that you don’t really need much!” At first I thought that sounded profound, then I thought about it.. and it didn’t. When I don’t have much, I end up wondering who packed for the trip! Nevertheless, that saying stuck with me as I began to study for this lesson in Paul’s ongoing journey to follow God.

We have been studying Paul’s life, and for the last few lessons, we examined Paul’s arrival in Corinth and took the time to examine his writing of the first and second letters to the Thessalonian church. We noted they were written as he was recuperating from a tough set of setbacks during the “second mission journey” in the end of Acts 15 to chapter 18. God seemed to have left Paul for a time – but the harsh circumstances were actually God sculpting the Apostle into the man of God he was to become for God’s glory and use. Tough times do that – they tear away the rough edges and reshape the way we think. Paul experienced pain and trouble, but God hadn’t left – He was very much at work. Paul learned a critical lesson in Corinth that is worth stopping to recall today…we’ll call it the “Bear Grylls minimalist” lesson….

Key Principle: When everything seems to be falling apart and the promises of God are all you have, you will find they are all you need.

The promise of God didn’t become clear until everything else fell away:

Sometimes in busyness and noise of our lives, we can learn to cope with issues of life without really turning much to God at all. We can, it seems, make it on our own for a bit. We place our lives on “cruise control” and let everything slide. We don’t DEFECT from our faith, we just don’t ENGAGE LIFE through our faith. Things move along, plans come to fruition, and life keeps moving ahead… until trouble comes and we find ourselves reeling back in pain.
The truth is we can never know for sure how another person is coping with troubles and changes, but the Bible story of the second mission journey is clearly a record of a period in Paul’s ministry that was rife with trouble, and the probability that it played into the team’s attitudes and progress is not all that uncertain. Take, for instance, the troubles the mission team has passed through on the way to Corinth:

• The disputes of the past left their mark (the breakup with Barnabas). Why didn’t God show Barnie how wrong he was?

• The untested team left an uncertainty in their interactions (adding Timothy). Is this new recruit going to be better than John Mark was?

• The lack of clear direction left doubts in the team (the Macedonian man vision). Why isn’t God letting us move forward?

• The physical pain of beating and emotional pain of unlawful imprisonment lurked in the background (Philippi and the jail). Why does God let evil men get away with hurting us?

• The constant haranguing of the team and the pressure on Paul’s extended family made the victories seem more uncertain and soured a sense of progress (Jason at Thessalonica). Why doesn’t God protect our family while we are doing a work for Him?

• The “singling out” at Berea could easily have made Paul feel like the attack was very personal (left alone). Why won’t God step in and defend me?

• The stirring in Athens seemed less a response from prayer and mission and more a reaction to what he saw in the square, and it didn’t go well (Mar’s Hill). Doesn’t God see that I am fully invested here?

Admittedly, some things went well along the journey. Lydia, a jailer, Damaris and others were added to the family of followers of Jesus. That is no small thing. These were lives moved from darkness to light! Yet, the cost per soul was incredibly high, and the story seems to pose a discouraged and beaten up Apostle – not a victorious soldier arriving in Corinth on the shoulders of his championship team… Look at the setting for God’s promise revealed…

Acts 18:1 After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, 3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. 4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Paul kept going: “went to Corinth” (18:1) – no one finds God’s promises true when they quit on God. Paul’s experiences weren’t victorious, but he was following God and delivering the message he had been given. To the man who journeys through the troubles and pains, there is the moment when he can look back and see God’s guiding hand. To the quitter, they can only see the failure. Paul didn’t quit when the team broke up. He didn’t quit when he wasn’t sure why God wasn’t leading him as clearly as before. He didn’t lay down the task when he was physically attacked. He kept going, kept hoping, kept trusting that God’s plan was playing out and his life was accomplishing God’s ends.

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. The satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph it and its moons, and beam data it collected about this giant planet back to earth. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, because up until then no satellites had gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it would ever get to Jupiter. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Flying past Jupiter in November 1973, the space probe continued its incredible journey toward the edge of our solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past the planet Uranus, then past Neptune, at nearly three billion miles, and Pluto, at almost four billion miles. By 1997, 25 years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun… still going…Commenting on the Pioneer 10 in Time magazine Leon Jaroff says, “Perhaps most remarkable, is the fact that those signals emanate from an eight-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night-light, and take more than nine hours to reach Earth.” “The Little Satellite That Could” was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of only three years. But it has kept going and going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny eight-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible. So it is when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord. God can work even through someone with only eight-watt abilities. God cannot work, however, through someone who gives up and quits. (Craig Brian Larson, Pastoral Grit: The Strength to Stand and to Stay; Bethany House, 1998).

Let me ask you something. Would you have blamed Paul if he threw in the towel and headed back to Tarsus for a break? Isn’t it reasonable that he had been through many troubles, and a good rest would have worked well…Don’t you think? Yet, God picked a man with a tough shell and a tender heart – and he kept going.

Don’t quit if you want to understand what God is doing with you…just don’t. God will be there at the end on the last day…don’t quit following, don’t quit working, don’t quit blessing others with the life God has given you. Don’t stop ministering because others aren’t opening their arms to you. They aren’t lost – they are lost right now… and you don’t know about tomorrow. Not only that, but…

Paul got strengthened: The text reminds he “found a Jew” (18:2-3) – sometimes it is two weakened people that build one another to strength. In Paul’s case, God out three together to make each one whole. Aquila and Prisca were both new to the place, moved by God’s hand to be waiting for a hurting Paul. When Claudius ordered them to leave their home and business, they probably had no idea why – but God was at work through the difficulties of their lives as well. They were Jews, and they were tentmakers – a perfect match for Paul at that moment. Sometimes we need people who are LIKE US in some ways, to help us get things together. At the same time, we need people who are ABOUT what we are about. Paul needed a couple that wouldn’t miss a synagogue service on any Sabbath – new in town or not. Finding someone who will encourage you begins with finding someone who shares your values. Someone has said: “Until we walk in agreement nothing can be done”. I like the old African proverb that makes me smile: “The man who tries to walk two roads, splits his pants.” God brought like people together, and paired the couple with the beaten Apostle at a key moment in all their lives. Finding a friend to share with is always a key to gaining balance in tough situations, and God opened the way for Paul to have just what he needed. Often the best place to find a friend is to look for another person in need.

Paul eased in: He taught and reasoned “every Sabbath” (18:4) – he didn’t dedicate all the time he had to preaching yet. Though growing in strength, Paul needed to work during the week to make ends meet. That doesn’t sound very exciting, but it was probably emotionally helpful and spiritually very important. God did not drop a big giver in his life and enable Paul to handle the full need of those days in advance – neither financially nor physically and spiritually. Paul’s needs were not his weakness – they represented his healing time as he depended on God to meet his needs through hard work with his hands For a man, that can be a great blessing – to use your hands to meet your needs. I love the fact that God took him to something familiar, something he could have a measure of control over and gain a predictable outcome. The “reasoning” and “debating” that took place in the services would drain some men and women, but after a week of heavy sewing and leather work, they were a recharging point for Paul. He could work all week, meditate on God’s Word and pray – and on Sabbath he could offer a passionate defense of truth. The process was helpful to the expansion of the kingdom, but also to Paul’s inner healing. When you get knocked down hard – don’t be overanxious to get back in the ring…wait on the Lord’s timing and heal a bit.

Paul read the signals: He waited to more heavily invest in the teaching and preaching “when Silas and Timothy came” (18:5). After the arrival of the full team, Paul found it possible to press forward with the Gospel in the synagogue and have at his back a team to help support the work. He seemed more healed; he was more assured – and he saw that it was time to press ahead in full. Healing is necessary, and scars are real – but we mustn’t pick at the past so much that the scars become scabs. Counseling may be necessary for your healing, but there comes a time to graduate and move on. I have observed a number of people who receive a label in counseling, and then allow their problem to name them – and limit all the things God can do in their life. Get healed, but let God send the signals when it is time to move ahead anew. Sometimes forgetting the things that are behind includes setting aside the old hurts so that God can take you in a new direction.

Paul handled new opposition: He got to the place where “he shook out his garments” (18:6). He tried to reason with people, but recognized there was a time to move on. He came back to his former confident self, and knew that God’s closing of one door was the opening of another. He was able to meet the challenge directly, and knew how to keep his balance in the face of opposition. Earlier he would not have been ready – now he was. Believers must prepare to meet opposition – especially in the days we live in now. The rising tide of unyielding naturalism is moving people back to old animism. On television the hunter will bow over the prey and thank the dead animal for “giving its life” when in fact the animal gave nothing. The hunter took, but the segment sounds more and more like something from an old native American ritual. It is the revival of animism – the sense that the earth is sacred and we are merely a part of the “circle of life”.

Opposition to Jesus and the Scriptures will turn otherwise smart people into a series of contradictions that make no sense.

• We live in a time when some seem more morally indignant about contaminating the environment with a plastic trash bag but they are utterly unconcerned with the destroyed parts of the unborn baby the bag contains.

• We now have doctors that will swear to us that one’s sexual identity is a mere social construct that can be changed at will, unless they desire the same sex – and then it is morally wrong to attempt to alter that desire, even if the person seeks treatment to change it.

• We are invited to hear critics charge that believers are waging a “war on science”, while they quickly hide behind the notion that scientists cannot determine exactly when life begins.

• We are preached to that campus feminism is designed to free women to have it all, as long as raising children, being a monogamous marriage partner and providing a stable home are not their idea of what they want to become. Those choices are considered demeaning – and have been summarily stricken from the list of acceptable goals.

• Our own government will insist today that teens and preteens are sufficiently responsible to decide whether to have sexual relationships, but are not mature enough to be expected to pay for their own health insurance until they are 26 years old.

• We live in a time where people will be quick to say it is wrong to harbor prejudice against anyone because of their race, sex, religion, or ideology while they are calling a believer an ignorant, closed-minded, sexist, homophobic Christian. They see no contradiction in their freedom to swallow our freedom. (Ben Johnson of Lifesite News produced a much fuller list, I have liberally paraphrased these points).

I am not grousing, I am trying to make a point. The pilgrims arrived here to escape the very persecution that is now being mandated by some of the northeastern states they first landed on to settle…and more is coming. Naturalism, animism, pluralism that applauds every spiritual concept in the public square except that which comes from the Bible – this is on our horizon. For that we will suit up, armor up, joy up, celebrate each other and walk with Jesus into the fire if that is where He calls us. We will not be sullen, because that would bring God’s enemy joy. We also need not be surprised when logic is reduced to name calling and sarcasm in place of rational argument. There is no consistent rationale for morality without God. Extract Him from the picture, and all the great arguments are reduced to ashes, and we fight about mere petty technique instead of grand reason.

Paul opposed false thinking. He stood up to the resistance to the truth of God –and we must raise a generation that are ready to do that as well.

Paul sensed the problems growing: The text recorded that Jesus told him to “go on speaking” (18:7-9). Paul was tempted to back away and shut down when new troubles appeared on the horizon. He was aware of the new converts and the growing sense of trouble in the city, Paul was fighting within a decision to pull back. The team was there, but the pains of the past were overshadowing the gains of the present. Didn’t that make sense? Cool down. Don’t get too political Paul. Haven’t you seen the stats – things are going in a different direction. People aren’t following what you are saying…only a few are on board.

Just remember that in the history of man, the many were often on the wrong side of the equation:

“Isaac’s Storm” is a very interesting book about the hurricane that wiped out Galveston in 1900. One of the main plot lines of the book is about how everyone was convinced that a hurricane could never strike Galveston, even as one approached. The author vividly describes how as the streets began to flood people went about their business as if nothing was wrong. Children played in the water, men gathered for breakfast at the local diner, and no one fled from the storm that was about to strike. Some didn’t worry because Issac Cline, the national weather service officer in Galveston, assured them it would not be a severe storm. Other’s simply believed that Galveston was invincible. Some thought that since they had never seen a hurricane strike Galveston one never would. So for a number of reasons, people assured themselves nothing bad would happen. And as a result over 6,000 people died one September day in 1900. Today we can see storm clouds forming on the horizon. There is a moral and spiritual decline that continues to erode our national life. The warning signs are there for us to see–the signs that Jesus is coming soon. They beckon us to return to the Lord and seek refuge in Him. How will history look back on what we did as the storm approached? SOURCE: Steve Hanchet. Citation: “Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History,” by Erik Larson and Isaac Monroe Cline. Vintage Books; ISBN: 0375708278; (July 11, 2000).

God met Paul at the point of his withdrawal (18:10-11). Note that the Holy One made it plain: “Stay here and do what I told you to do!” Could we do that in the face of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria if God met us in that place? Our brothers and sisters in Christ have been called to do so. God will keep them until He has used their lives to His glory – and then they will be in His comforting arms forever. They have no lustful vision of virgins in the afterlife – they have the promise that their God will wipe every tear from their eyes and show them into an eternal home that will offer comfort beyond compare.

In Paul’s case, God told him the needed protection would be provided, for God had a work He wanted completed in that place. Paul’s job was to trust God and take His Word seriously – and so is every believers job.

Remember the principle of the lesson? When everything seems to be falling apart and the promises of God are all you have, you will find they are all you need.

Paul withstood a beating, and now trouble was coming anew. The critical lesson for Paul and his mission team was this: no amount of strength, no amount of physical comfort, no amount of provision would make them feel completely secure. Our real sense of protection comes from deep within when the promise of God becomes our foundation. Security doesn’t come from distance from troubles – but from closeness to the Savior. Life is too hard, troubles too strong, hurts too deep to live only with physical and human comforts as our prize. Real security comes from walking with God Himself. It is offered in His promises – the greatest of which is His close presence. To the promise of God’s protection, Paul’s response was to remain in the city for one and one half years – probably the remainder of the term of the consul Gallio. It seems God made clear to Paul that he was under a protective Roman hand while operating in the city of Corinth. He also saved on his bill at the local barber during that time… it looks like he vowed to stay, but not cut his hair!

The promises of God didn’t mean troubles would cease, only that His work would persist.

Don’t miss that God was at work, but the bullet flew close to Paul in the midst of his obedience. That is important…

Acts 18:12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13 saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; 15 but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.” 16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat. 17 And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things. 18 Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. 19 They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.

In short order the troubles revisited (18:12-13), but Paul was protected by God through means Paul could not have seen available. God has an arsenal much larger than we can imagine. Did you notice the way Dr. Luke recorded the story? He said that Paul was ready to speak (obeyed) but God stepped in (and kept His promise – cp. 18:14-17).

Paul completed the vow he made to trust God’s promises because Paul knew that God is faithful (18:18). He began a work in us, and He will complete every project He ever started.

You can find hope in your darkest hour through the faithfulness of God. Harry Teuchert knows this is true. For years Harry had been a successful publisher of materials for churches. Everything in his life seemed to be perfect: A lovely home, a family, a solid future; but all this suddenly collapsed. Harry’s wife told him she was leaving him. She was in love with someone else. Devastated, Harry tried to cope, work, continue with his life, but this tragedy was too overwhelming. Despite all the other good things in his life, Harry felt like a complete failure with nothing to live for. He was on the road to meet with a church about their anniversary publication. Arriving early, Harry sat down in the fellowship hall. Suddenly, he began to think about suicide. His life was over. All was finished. As he sat at a table, he began to cry intensely, holding his head in his hands. The more Harry wept, the more he was convinced that his life had ended. He would continue no more. He was beaten. It would be so easy to end it all. In total despair he looked up, and noticed a faded poster on the far wall. In that picture was the image of a man in the same despair Harry was going through — Head in his hands in complete anguish. Then, as Harry studied the poster further, he noticed a smaller image in the lower right corner of the poster: Three crosses, on a hill, surrounded by a dark sky. Beneath the center cross these simple words were inscribed, “I know how you feel; I’ve been there myself.” While staring at those words, Harry fell to his knees and prayed, “God, help me.” Suddenly God touched Harry with a new flood of hope. He got up telling himself, “I’m going to beat this thing. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.” Harry got on with his life. And today he is serving the God who came to him in his moment of greatest trial. (Original source unknown – found in christianglobe.com sermon “Help Me Make It Through The Night” by King Duncan – John 3:1-21 – 2005). When Pastor Rick Crandall told the story, he commented: “The Lord used a faded poster to remind Harry of God’s great faithfulness. And I hope He uses Harry’s story to remind you.” (taken from sermon central.com).

God not only protected the Apostle, but offered Paul one more chance to see him at work: “Paul left them [the team] there and walked into the synagogue to reason with the local Jews” (18:19-22). It is obvious that being alone – without the team – was no longer a problem for Paul – because he saw God’s hand of protection in His promises. He knew a new level of God’s presence, and that gave him a new bravery.

Men and women, in the last 100 years we have split the atom, and made a household industry out of the movement of electrons that were only discovered at the dawn of the twentieth century…we have reached to the stars and left footprints on the moon. We have eradicated many diseases that plagued mankind for centuries and raised the number of years we expect to live by a substantial margin. We have made having a baby a routine experience, no longer the perilous danger women experienced for generations. We have created pain relief in cheap capsule form. We can place you on an operating table and in seconds move you to unconsciousness, allowing us to probe deeply into your anatomy to solve once intractable defects and wounds. We have gathered humanity in massive aid projects. We have broken the back of some huge slavery rings. We have made clear that every child should have clean water to drink and sufficient food to eat. We have gained ground in science, technology, economy and medicine. We live in a world of fast jets and pocket computerized connections.

Yet, in all of these things, man’s deepest problems have not evaporated. Savage men behead servicemen and media reporters, while groups march through London and Paris in support of their right to wield a sword against foes. We save whales and seals but exterminate inconvenient children – we have lost an entire generation of more than 50 million American babies to a ruthless and barbaric industry. We watch in horror as our streets are filled with rampaging and angry men and women who believe injustices against them have justified uncivil behavior and looting. We marvel at how the world’s most famous atheist Professor Richard Dawkins, claimed it was “immoral” to allow unborn babies with Down’s syndrome to reach natural birth. The Oxford professor told would-be parents who learn their child has the condition they have an ethical responsibility to “abort it and try again” since in his words “foetuses do not have human feelings”.

In the face of incredible advances, it seems the savagery of our past lay just beneath the surface. Are you ready to trust science for your future? Do you believe educators will lead us to peace and happiness? Will technology solve the ultimate issues and conquer the inner human sickness? I don’t think so. What’s more, the Bible makes clear that will not happen. Man lives by the promises of God – Jesus said that. It isn’t food, fun and fellowship that makes life worth living – it is the integrity of a God that has loved us and promised us a certain future. It doesn’t matter what life brings your way. It doesn’t matter if it seems fair, or if God seems to be “on top” of all that hurts you. You have His promise for how life will change for you when this body is finished its journey – if you know Him.

When everything seems to be falling apart and the promises of God are all you have, you will find they are all you need.

God on the Move: “Power Lifting” – 2 Thessalonians

Every now and then, you may hear of a report of what researchers have termed “hysterical strength.” This is displayed when an act of what appears to be “superhuman” strength is demonstrated by someone who appears otherwise “normal.” It usually occurs during a rescue of others in a life and death situation. Most common among the anecdotal examples are mothers lifting boulders, an adult pulling a child from under a vehicle while lifting the structure of it, or some other weighty item pushed aside by a normal adult in order to rescue their trapped child and save their life or limb. Some speculate that it is accomplished by an overabundance of adrenaline brought on by hysterical fear, and physicians note that it can often result in torn muscles and sometimes even permanent physical impairment to the rescuer. Some examples from the news of this uncommon event include:

In 1982, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Tony Cavallo was repairing a 1964 Chevrolet Impala automobile from underneath. The vehicle was propped up with jacks, but it fell. Cavallo’s mother, Mrs. Angela Cavallo, lifted the car high enough and long enough for two neighbours to replace the jacks and pull Tony from beneath the car. (Clark, Josh. “How can adrenaline help you lift a 3,500-pound car?” 11 December 2007. HowStuffWorks.com. retrieved 13 November 2008).

In 2006, Quebec resident Lydia Angiyou saved several children by fighting a polar bear until a local hunter shot it. (Jane George (2006-02-17). “Polar bear no match for fearsome mother in Ivujivik”. Nunatsiaq News / Nortext Publishing Corporation (Iqaluit). Retrieved 2009-01-01).

In 2009, in Kansas, 5 ft. 7 in (1.70 m), 185 lb. (84 kg) Nick Harris lifted a Mercury sedan to help a 6-year-old girl pinned beneath (Associated Press. “Kansas dad somehow lifts car off 6-year-old girl”, 18 December 2009. news.yahoo.com. retrieved 19 December 2009).

In 2011, in Tampa, Florida, 6 ft. 3 in. (1.91 m), 295 lb. (134 kg) college football player Danous Estenor lifted a 3,500 lb. (1,600 kg) car off of a man who had been caught underneath. The man was a tow truck driver who had been pinned under the rear tire of a 1990 Cadillac Seville, which had lurched forward as he worked underneath it. The man suffered only minor injuries (Greg Auman (2011-06-24). “USF Bulls offensive lineman Danous Estenor lifts car to free trapped man”. St. Petersburg Times (Tampa Bay, FL).

In 2012, in Virginia, 22-year-old Lauren Kornacki rescued her father, Alec Kornacki, after the jack used to prop up his BMW slipped, pinning him under it. Lauren lifted the car, then performed CPR on her father and saved his life. (http://abcnews.go.com/US/superhero-woman-lifts-car-off-ad/story?id=16907591#.UMay 9Hfeba4).

In 2013, in Oregon, teenage sisters, Hanna (age 16) & Haylee (age 14) lifted a tractor to save their father pinned underneath. (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/11/oregon-man-pinned-under-3000-pound-tractor-saved-by-two-teen-daughters/).

In each of these cases, otherwise normal people did the extraordinary – and they rescued another person. Most of us love these kinds of stories! Just imagining that people can, under duress, come to the rescue gives us a special kind of hope. Knowing that they did perform extraordinary rescue to save another, the people I mentioned gained a sense of special courage and love. Often in these stories, they are referred to as “heroes.”

In the physical realm, it is easy to see the heavy lifting and the rescue – whereas in the spiritual realm it is less obvious, but more significant – because it is eternally valuable. I am thinking a spiritual leader, and his writings to an oppressed congregation. I am think about how he gave hope in the face of suffering for their faith. We are again returned to the life of Paul the Apostle. It’s true, he didn’t lift an overturned chariot off a helpless child, nor did he fend off a runaway camel in the marketplace – but he was used of God to rescue believers who were feeling the weight of persecution, confusion and discouragement. He lifted baby Christians to help effect a spiritual rescue from the weight on them. Let me assure you: There is very little that a believer will ever do that is more difficult than lifting another disciple of Jesus who is beat down – but there is little that is as rewarding!

Key Principle: Mature believers can lift younger believers by offering God’s perspective (through His Word) to those trapped in a tough place.

There were three problems in Thessalonica that Paul offered help concerning:

The Attack of Persecution: Inspiration to Oppressed Christians

The church barely got started, and was swamped with persecutors and problems – they needed confidence that God understood their problem.

2 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is [only] fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows [ever] greater; 4 therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 5 [This is] a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6 For after all it is [only] just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and [to give] relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed– for our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and [the] Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the most powerful attacks of the enemy is PERSECUTION. It is not simply the act of beating down believers that he uses. He seeks to get believers stirred with a rage of injustice in order to get them to doubt God’s control or perhaps question God’s true goodness. Troubles make us impatient at best, cynical at worst. This is an old ploy – and the enemy has used it since the beginning of his pursuit to destroy God’s program. Remember this: Because people are against your message does not mean that the message is wrong. It may mean their hearts are the problem. If you observe the verses we read closely, the condition of the attacker’s hearts was made apparent.

What was God’s answer? He offered comforting truths about the way He plans to deal in judgment. God is not unaware of the unfair attacks believers suffer – He simply awaits the proper time to respond. This is the nature of 2 Thessalonians 1. Be careful of being led away from sharing Jesus because of the injustice of an irrational lost world. It is a trick. Judgment will come in due course – but not until the last man, woman or child is reached by an obedient believer! If we allow ourselves to get stirred up against injustice without grasping God’s heart, love will dissipate, and anger will overtake our call to obedience. In our world, wrong will be called right. God will be mocked. People will make outrageous charges against the people of the Truth – and allow others who are clearly sinister to walk by untouched. We must anticipate it, and we dare not allow ourselves to be distracted by hatred – that isn’t a Christian response to persecution. What ARE we to do? How do believers take heart in persecution?

Paul offered a number of important ways to respond:

First, believers should remember that when we follow God, our message keeps growing. People we do not know are hearing of our testimony, and they are better able to make it through the testing of persecution because of our steadfastness in the Gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:3-5).

Second, we must be settled by the fact that God has promised He will deal with those who are hurting His people (2 Thessalonians 1:6). He has not forgotten those who are suffering, and He will make all things right in the end.

Third, we must recognize the timing of the Lord in regard to judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8). Christians will be killed, as they have been for centuries. They will be mocked, ostracized and pressed by a lost world. That isn’t a sign that God is dead – it is a sign that what He promised has continued to come to pass. God doesn’t set His prophetic watch by our comfort – generations before us have learned this lesson. It may now become our turn.

Fourth, remember that the suffering of every follower of Jesus has an end, but the judgment of those without Christ has no end (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The most profound description of their judgment is the word “eternal”. Does that not move your heart to pray against the deception that has so blinded them? We must not forget that the “Magnificent One” is on His way! (2 Thessalonians 1:10).

Finally, we must recall that suffering is a calling of God that is given to refine a people to bring glory to Him. The world doesn’t understand the concept of such sacrifice, and worldly Christians won’t either. God created us to follow Him, and saved us to powerfully glorify Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12). Our lives are FOR HIM, or they are for us. True Christianity has offered to God all that we are to be used by Him for His purpose – whether in comfort or in persecution.

The Attack of Confusion: Instruction to Perplexed Christians

Some generations were not attacked by overt persecution. Yet, they were not exempt from attack. Theirs came in the form of confusing tricks planted by the enemy. In the case of the Thessalonians, on top of external pressures, some were shaken by a forged letter with false explanations of eschatology that were designed to throw them off track of following the truth – they needed a refresher of what Paul already taught them.

2:1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for [it will not come] unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains [will do so] until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 [that is], the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word [of mouth] or by letter from us. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

This second attack of the enemy – this CONFUSION – is and example of the intentional mixing of false doctrine that is planted like an explosive device beside the road. It often stems from someone’s intention and improper use of the text of Scripture. Sometimes it is the elevation of false scriptures – or the relentless charges against the true Word of God. Still other times, it is the misguided and poorly formed teaching of a wayward pulpit. After two thousand years, the enemy has played a role in all of these.

Walk the streets and talk to people about Christ. You will bump into the Mormon that has another book beside the Bible – and the discussion will shift to canonization and what is the Word of God – away from the clear need for Jesus as Savior. Keep walking, you will find the cultural Christian of the Bible belt that has been fed a Hallmark card Jesus who loves everyone and condemns no one’s feelings. He is the fairy tale Jesus that is not found in the Gospels, but no matter, He is “preached” in all kinds of churches as they find rights for all sorts of moral wrong. Go a bit further, you will meet the atheist, the agnostic and the cynic. If they don’t frustrate you, keep walking and you will find the “self-benefit” Christian, who has been systematically taught to pick and choose morsels of from their bullet-point Bible without context – and they will begin to espouse some kind of mixture of Republican politics and conservatism, all rolled into their so-called “Christian” faith. After unprecedented blessing of the church for decades, you can see the damage of liberal Christianity, prosperity Christianity, television pop Christianity… but you will struggle to find well-balanced and mature believers that know God’s Word. Confusion has been a major attack in our time.

What was God’s answer? He offered in the letter some statements that were to help His followers recognize the voice of the Heavenly Shepherd, and follow Him alone. This is the sound found in 2 Thessalonians 2. Be careful to learn the Word in its context. Be careful to learn from sources that have been well-grounded, and evidence properly living. No one is perfect, and no one’s understanding is complete – but there are clearly better sources and worse ones. Stay away from the flimsy and speculative – and be proactive about your growth in understanding of the Word.

Remember that a events unfold, God revealed the future holds. Here is what Paul shared:

First, don’t think that the wrath of the “Day of the Lord” is what you are experiencing – it isn’t (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2). You are being persecuted, but that isn’t the Great Tribulation – it is YOUR great tribulation.

Second, don’t be fooled – first is the “snatching” and then the “Man of Sin” is revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3). The Greek noun “apostasia” is used twice in the New Testament (here and Acts 21:21 referencing Paul as ” teaching Jews among the Gentiles to forsake (apostasia) Moses.” The term is “apo” or from and “istemi” “stand” with a core meaning of “departure”. The Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicon defines “apostasia” as either “a defection or revolt” or a “departure or disappearance.”

I know there is confusion in the church about whether this means we should expect a great falling away from the faith or whether or not this refers to the snatching away of the church. Let me take a moment and make a brief argument in favor of Paul stating this was the removal of the church to the clouds, and not some great liberal departure from the truth of the Christian faith.

First, recognize the word “apostasia” was rendered by the first seven English translations as either ” departure” or ” departing.” They are as follows: Wycliffe Bible (1384); Tyndale Bible (1526); Coverdale Bible (1535); Cranmer Bible (1539); Breeches Bible (1576); Beza Bible (1583); Geneva Bible (1608). In addition, the verb form of the word is used often of a “spatial departure” or exit from the scene.

Next, recognize that translators of the King James Version were the first to introduce the new rendering of “apostasia” as ” falling away” though no valid reason was ever given by them.

Finally, put the statement in the context of the time and place Paul was writing. He COULD have been saying to them: “Don’t worry, the tribulation won’t come until millions accept the Gospel, and then through a series of enemy attacks they systematically fall away from Christ and the truth!” Would that make sense to them? They were a small band of believers that had never seen many come to Christ at all. Would they have conceptualized the future of the West? Since Paul specifically wrote in the first letter about the coming of Jesus to remove the believers to the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) is it unreasonable that this single word should recall that “departure” as preparatory of the Tribulation?

IF the word “apostasia” referred to the departure of the church at the “Rapture”, that event will precede the revealing of the “man of sin” and the Great Tribulation he brings with him. If it meant “falling away” from the faith, that will precede the revelation of the “man of sin” and the Great Tribulation. Does anyone really want to try to convince us right now that the world is growing TOWARD CHRIST? In either case, the end looks like it is closing in…Taking into account both theological approaches, our expectation is either greater persecution before the end or a rescue in the clouds. I’d keep my eyes on the eastern sky.

Paul to them: “Don’t forget!” There is a restraining influence on the man of lawlessness’ full revealing that will be removed before the end comes. (2:4-7). The influence is there, and the hunger to be revealed – but there is a God-ordained restraint upon him right now. I believe that is the believer. I cannot imagine what will happen to the definition of marriage the moment every believer is removed from the legislature. People picture the tragedy of the moments after the rapture by showing disappearing pilots from planes. That is not the worst of it. It is the disappearance of Biblically derived morality from law that will destroy civilian society.

Paul told them: “Don’t be dismayed, Jesus will deal with all that is created by the evil one’s power!” (2 Thessalonians 2:8, paraphrased). The enemy will perform his work while he can and God will dull minds as a penalty – but it will all be dealt with in the coming judgment (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

Paul called believers to be thankful that God has called us to rescue and deliverance! (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17). The promises of God are true, and clinging to His Word is the answer to confusion! Grab it! Read it! Know It!

The Attack of Discouragement: Injunctions for Dealing with Disorderly Christians

As if problems from outside the faith weren’t bad enough – some Christians were living unruly and undisciplined lives and confusing the testimony of the church. Others in the church were also upset by the disorderly Christians, who were not living out the truth – but they weren’t sure how to respond. They wanted to be loving, but they also wanted to be right in their response.

This third attack is still common today, that of DISCOURAGEMENT. It is hard to serve God when you see so many believers that act as bad as the world! Paul ascribes the bad behavior they saw in the wayward as undisciplined behavior. He didn’t simply call them lazy, he argued that proper disciplines in life that were essential to obedience were simply lacking – and that resulted in dependencies on others that were not right.

What was God’s answer? The church needed to take external actions to make clear the unacceptable nature of the wayward believer’s individual choices. The body needed to instruct, correct and if need be, withdraw from them. Discouragement infects the body when it becomes a victim of the situation and leaders refuse to respond to sin. If left alone, the body would be constantly weakened – sapped of resources and grumbling behind the scenes. The best way to deal with wrong is mark it, and then make clear the proper boundaries and responses to behaviors.

3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as [it did] also with you; 2 and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil [one]. 4 We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will [continue to] do what we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. 6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we [kept] working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; 9 not because we do not have the right [to this], but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. 13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. 15 [Yet] do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! 17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

How should believers handle those who are wayward in the ranks? Paul offered seven directives:

1. Back away from them during their disobedience (3:6).
2. Keep walking in discipline and work hard (3:7).
3. Don’t try to get things from others for free – work hard (3:8-10).
4. Remember that people need productive work to do or they will multiply sins (3:11).
5. Recognize that practical instruction is part of the work of the church (3:12).
6. Don’t tire of doing right and walking in obedience (3:13-14a).
7. If someone won’t follow the Word, mark them and admonish them in brotherly affection (3:14b-15).

Mature believers can lift younger believers by offering God’s perspective (through His Word) to those trapped in a tough place.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln said, “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.” May we not allow this thinking to drive the church in this hour!

May we humble ourselves and recognize the goodness of God every moment we live without the threat of a sword on our children at home, and seek God prayerfully for our brothers and sisters whose bodies are being broken by evil men this very hour. May we trust God to lift them with grace we have not experienced, because they are facing terror we have not faced? May we remember that God knows every child’s name who is being brutalized, and He will make things right in His time? One more thing: Cherish your Bible, it may not always be accessible or well thought of – even here. Those under the sword don’t need our panic, they need our prayer-filled, joy-filled confident responses to help them stand. The attack is not over, it has just begun… but God has a plan.

Following His Footsteps: “Rising Star” – (Mt. 4, Lk. 4, Jn. 4)

“The hardest part was at the very beginning!” said the young pop music star. “I came along before there was an ‘American Idol’ show, but just after the big record labels were already losing to the digital market of iTunes and Napster. That window was very hard to get started in this business!” the young woman complained. Truthfully, I didn’t know who she was, but her interview caught my attention on the TV set above my head. Of course, the fact that my flight was going to be delayed and my sandwich was utterly uninteresting may have also had something to do with my interest in her interview. I watched the whole exchange and then my mind drifted. Getting started… sometimes that really IS the hardest part. My mind faded back to my home:

My hedges need clipping, but to do it I’d have to get the clippers and the cord out and drag them through the hot backyard in the Florida summer sun… I think that can wait!

I really need to start this diet and drop off these extra summer pounds that came from writing for hours in a chair, but to do that I have to get the stuff to make those morning breakfast shakes in the cupboard, and besides… there is a pan of brownies in the kitchen that shouldn’t go to waste…

I need to paint the woodwork upstairs, but in order to do that I will need to check in the garage on the pan and brushes, and that garage is a mess. I am not sure where the paint is, and that is going to be another fiasco to get the right color…

Anyone who wrestles with themselves to get things done knows that starting isn’t easy. It takes commitment, and you have to believe that it is both important and able to be accomplished. Today’s lesson is about the beginnings of the public ministry of Jesus – the “getting started” in crowd teaching, healing and shepherding. Jesus was stepping out of the shadows into center stage in some Galilee villages. After Nicodemus was taught by Jesus to see life in a new way, and the Samaritan “woman at the well” in Sychar found that her life was not empty and useless – Jesus made His way back to the western lower Galilee, to the region where He had grown up years before. The first interviews were concluded, and Jesus was now working with growing crowds and a handful of disciples that John sent his way. Jesus needed to make His message known, and back it up with significant works to show His power. Four short passages recall this time of ministry, and each offers a view that includes different problems and different reasons to believe in Jesus and His message.

Key Principle: Though some ignore the Savior’s true message in favor of a religious control or a self-directed life, those who trust Jesus find Him to be the answer God promised long before His coming.

The short passages found in both Matthew’s Gospel and that of the Gospel of Mark tell us the same thing about the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry – it began with public preaching. Jesus was not simply some philanthropist – He was a public preacher.

Preaching: Preaching repentance and Kingdom preparation (Mt. 4:17; Mk. 1:14b-15).

Note the two records and what they offer us about the message of the Savior at the outset:

Mt. 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mk. 1:14 “…Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

First, Jesus’ preaching was, from its beginning, about BEHAVIOR, not simply about Pharisaism or “world peace.” That is a more important point than we may have believed in time past, because people in our country have been consistently told otherwise. Listen to the words of the text – Jesus said four things if the two accounts are taken together:

• The time had come: God has a plan, and He unspooled events to coincide with His purposes. God chose a time when a portion of Judah had been returned to the ancient homeland of Israel. He chose to send Jesus into a time when a singular language gripped much of the western world. He offered His Son when the Roman Empire – a politically contrived power – was blending many languages, cultures and cultic worship forms into one cohesive unit around the Mediterranean. He picked a moment in the timeline of human history that He knew would work the best for His plan.

• Repentance was necessary: Meeting God is always on His terms. Jesus didn’t tell people to “fix themselves”, but rather to turn away from their self-determined path and follow Him. That “turnabout” is the meaning of the word “repent” (meta-noeo). The implication is that change must come. As long as one believes they can apprehend God by their own seeking, the need for a Savior is tiny. If one doesn’t see themselves as “lost” they seek no Savior. The requirement of repentance was this: Know you have a need and that you cannot find it within, or in any religious system you currently possess.

• The Kingdom was near: Where the King goes, the kingdom follows. The Jesus of the New Testament was the “Eternal Son of God” involved as the very agent of Creation (Colossians 1:16-17). He is the “expressed image of God’s person” (Hebrews 1). Because He was the promised King that would one day sit on the throne of David, the Kingdom was near. It would be enacted, first spiritually and later physically… but God always delivers His promises.

• It was time to believe in the Good News: The coming of the “Perfect Lamb” that John the Baptizer made clear “came to take away the sin of the world” was very good news. The system of atonement was never-ending with death and bloodshed – a graphic reminder of sin and the payment in blood and death. The message that Jesus’ sacrifice, as gruesome and horrible as it was made, was the total payment was very good news. Sheep and goats applauded along with their human owners! His death was their life – and that was good news.

As long as people believe they can earn God’s forgiveness through religious or philanthropic deeds, they will maintain their own control over their spiritual destiny, and therein is the lie. God has a plan, and God provided the Lamb when it suited Him to do so. The message came with the King – the Kingdom was coming next.

Power: Healing long distance (John 4:46-54).

During the early days of His preaching, Jesus returned to Cana (sometime after He had turned water into wine at a wedding). People were excited to have Him back, and I am sure He had plenty of invitations for upcoming parties! John’s Gospel recorded:

John 4:46 Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” 49 The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. 51 As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives “; and he himself believed and his whole household. 54 This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

By including this short episode, John offered us the opportunity to observe the happenings in Cana, and recorded a story that can easily be broken into three simple parts:

• The Encounter with Jesus (4:46-50a): the official left Capernaum and traveled up the steep climbing road to Cana. He met Jesus and explained his need, and Jesus obliged and told him the child was healed.

• The Trust in Jesus (4:50b-52): the second half of verse fifty began with the simple statement that “the man believed”. The truth of that belief was illustrated in his journey home.

• The Full Grasp of Belief (4:53-54): as the healing of his son was made plain, the man knew how to connect his son’s change to Jesus’ words.

Let’s move into the verses and examine the “encounter with Jesus” (4:46-50a). Though the man was a “royal official”, he was also a father. This desperate dad heard of the reputation of Jesus and sought out a rescuer for his child. We know three things about the man. First, the man knew of Jesus and what others claimed He could do (4:46a). Second, the man was faced with a heart rending problem he could not care for (4:46b). Third, the man reached out for Jesus and begged Him to have mercy and deliver him from the clutches of the terrible need (4:47).

The troubles of his son led the man to abandon any sense his self-sufficiency and seek Jesus. He was an official, but he was unwilling to mask his vulnerability. In a way, his son’s plight became the source of a great blessing from God, but it was found only when desperation opened his heart and made him willing to take his need to Jesus, abandoning self-reliance. The man had to traverse both the steep upward path from Capernaum to Cana and the humility of the social difference in status between Jesus and himself. Under normal circumstances this reach “downward” would have been unthinkable. This nobleman had to “lower himself” to seek help from a humble Jewish villager and now roaming preacher.

It is worth remembering that when we speak to people who are “at the top of their game” that there is no home into which pain, sickness and sorrow cannot enter. The most accomplished athlete, the most popular celebrity – every person lives within fragile bodies and in a fallen world. Our power, glory and strength can be reduced in the turn of a single news cycle of events. With the wrong word, we can watch our popularity recede faster than our hairline. When a person speaks in arrogance, it is often because they are not yet far enough along the journey – but their day will come. Troubles and pains, sickness and death – these realities humble every man or woman who isn’t senseless. It is for that reason we should look beyond arrogance and anger, and see a person within.

Jesus met the official, and listened to his need (4:47) but His initial response did not seem helpful. Jesus said that Galileans only seemed to believe what they could SEE. (4:48). Is that strange? Jesus’ reaction did not sound loving at all – is seemed cold. He said (apparently to the crowd around Him): “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe.” Why take a seemingly desperate man and hold out on him like that? The answer is not as complicated as it may appear. Remember, this is another story in the string of John’s narrative, like Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman – and each illustrate an earlier statement of that Gospel: “Jesus knew the heart of man” (John 2:24-25). Jesus knew how manipulative people can be – especially those who have been in positions of power. Most of us can readily admit that we will move heaven and earth to achieve what we want. When the miracle is something as pure as healing for a child or when the miracle or God intervention is something else. The sad truth is, though, when it’s done we will show no commitment to Him or His message – but will move through life in our own plan and strength. Many of us need to admit we use God to get what we want rather than allow the struggle to lead us to full submission to God.

God has an objective in the troubles of our lives – but it may surprise us. His objective is our trust in Him in all times and circumstances. People say: “If God is a healer, then why are there sick children in the world? If God is peaceful, then why do wars happen? If God loves, then why do bad things happen to good people?” Behind these questions there is the desire to see God prove himself by taking these evil things away so that we will all believe in Him and live ‘happily ever after.’ The problem is reframed and God’s goodness is questioned – not our submission to Him based on what He has already done. In this scenario, God left Himself cloaked and refused to do what was necessary to make us believe. Our disbelief then, is HIS FAULT… but the problem is framed over false logic. Think about it: There are plenty who have enough to eat, aren’t struggling with the effects of war, a roof over their heads. Yet many of those people have no relationship with God. There have been many good times in our lives that did not yield surrendered lives. Our relationship with God cannot be simply based on his ability to heal us or perform other miracles for us. Our faith must leave this world’s way of thinking and take on a Biblical world view, solely based on surrender to the Word of Jesus.

Why didn’t Jesus make it easy for the man? In our modern American lifestyle, we often act as though life should be easy. Ease, in fact is not always what is best for us. A faith that requires no effort is a faith that is not worth having. Faith takes effort because it requires a change on our part. It comes from God, Ephesians tells us – and not from within us. A new king sits upon the throne only after a pitted struggle removed the former king!

Jesus told the man that he could trust the Word alone – “Your son is made well.” (4:50a). What is clear on close inspection is that the man changed when he encountered Jesus. Panic fled away. The ‘need to trust only what he could see’ left him… as he exchanged panic for trust (4:50b). How do I know? Let’s take a closer look…Jesus spoke to the man at one o’clock (the seventh hour of the daylight – 4:52b) and yet did not return the same day. The text is clear the man encountered his slaves “the next day”. How could this be? He came with panic in his heart and yet stayed from one o’clock in the afternoon until the next day to journey down the five and one half hour path to his home? The key to the change is the word “BELIEVED” in verse 50.

The man believed. The man trusted the word of Jesus. He rested in the promise of Jesus overnight. He “ceased striving” to find a way to care for the need because he believed the need was already met.

Sometimes, it even takes time to find out if the surrender is real: A young woman had become critically ill and her prognosis was grim; she would likely die within the year. Her family had a nominal “Easter and Christmas” commitment to the church, so the discussions in the hospital between this young pastor and the family always ploughed new ground. The woman challenged him – if Jesus healed in the Bible, He should be able to heal me today. If not, what use was He? So she begged and bargained. “If only” God would show mercy, the family urged, they would completely recommit themselves… This earnest young pastor prayed with all his heart. He refused to join the ranks of those who said, “If it is thy will.” It was God’s will that she be healed, he concluded. Then to his amazement, God healed her—completely. And with the physicians shaking their heads, she was sent home from the hospital. Next Sunday, the entire family was there in the front pew, dressed and sparkling. The young woman gave her testimony, praising God for his goodness. The following Sunday, the family was there again. In four weeks, it was only the woman and her husband. And after that, attendance was sporadic until they dropped into their previous pattern. Before long, the woman rationalized the entire incident. She had experienced the most dramatic sign God could give her: healing, bathed in prayer and surrounded by the church. But after only two months, its power dimmed to nothing. (Adapted from Source: sermon central illustrations).

Her surrender was not real, though her amazement was. She was amazed at first that God could and would act on her behalf. If our encounter is with amazement alone, it will fade. If our encounter led us to true surrender – we will ever be changed and marked by our walk with Jesus. Jesus is looking for surrender to Him, not an applause line from an amazed admirer. In the royal official, He got a surrendered heart.

Problems: Facing hometown rejection (Luke 4:16-31a).

Luke 4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” 20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” 23 And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” 24 And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. 25 “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, He went His way. 31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

Four observations struck me in this story:

First, it is interesting that the Holy Spirit led Jesus to conflict (Matthew 4:1-13) and ONLY THEN to fame, when the temptation to fulfill a mission for self-motivation had been clearly defeated. (Matthew 4:14). Jesus was not taken off His mission or message by the affirmation of the crowds, but He understood the need to remain on message regardless of the response (4:22-24).

Second, Jesus established a reputation of teaching that caused others to take him seriously (4:15), but only after they had observed His life (cp. 2:52). His life was marked by the commitment to worship and the Word (4:16).

Third, Jesus’ understanding of both His mission and of the crowds was bathed in His knowledge of the Word, and the examples of Elijah (cp. 1 Kings 17:9ff) and Elisha (2 Kings 5:1-14; 4:25-28). He framed the situation and the response to it from Biblical examples – because that was the source of truth.

Fourth, Jesus responded to opposition with strength and surety (4:29-30) neither harming the opposition, nor acquiescing to them. It is not necessary to “win” a discussion that uncovers people in conflict with God (or even the notion that He exists). You must strive only to be clear and not be derailed. We should concentrate on speaking Biblical truth with grace and show patient love toward the dissenting voice. It isn’t our job to make people believe in God or the goodness of His plan, but to show how belief works out in the practice of our life. Their heart is ultimately their responsibility.

Prophecy: Settling down by the Kinnereth (Mt. 4:13-17).

There is yet one more short passage that captured the landscape of the start of Jesus’ preaching, and it is found in Matthew 4:

Matthew 4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 15 “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES – 16 “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The summary statement in verse seventeen was at the heart of the first part of this lesson – that Jesus came “out of the gate” with a message of repentance. Our second story reminded us that submission was a non-negotiable point in Jesus’ work. His time in Nazareth illustrated that Jesus was undeterred in His presentation – He would not be led by family or follower – but by His Father and the mission given to Him from above. This last portion reminds us that the mission was not a new innovation, but a long expressed prophecy. Jesus was following a path that was revealed to prophets long before His birth in Bethlehem.

What appeared to be a REJECTION in Nazareth was a signal to move to Capernaum near the Kinnereth (Sea of Galilee). Matthew 4:14 made clear this was NOT a simple choice – but the fulfillment of a designed work that was already stated. Think about that for a moment. God made a plan, and even the choice to move “home base” was a part of that plan.

Was not the arrest of Jesus part of that plan? How about the striking of the face of the Savior by wicked men? Was the Cross itself part of that plan? Listen to words about the Savior written seven hundred years before His birth:

Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

Here is the point: What looked like a spontaneous rejection of his neighbors was part of a bigger plan. What appeared to be a failure to reach people with a message of love was also part of that plan. Jesus’ life was pre-scripted and pre-revealed in prophetic narratives. His earth ministry wasn’t about self-choice, but about following His Father’s plan… and so is yours. You have few plans to make… you have paths to follow. You do not know what they are – so you must trust the One who does.

There is an old story about a potato farmer who had a son. The farmer was old, but the son young and strong. The son was accused of theft and thrown in jail – and the old farmer was heartbroken. It was time to break up the hard ground to plant the potatoes – if he didn’t do it soon the year would be lost to the crop. He wrote a letter to his son and expressed anguish that hard times were at hand. His son wrote back: “Dad, don’t dig up the potato field…that is the place where we stashed the loot!” Within hours, a team of policemen were digging the entire field searching for the proceeds of the theft. Finding nothing, they went home. The next day, the young man wrote from his cell: “Dad, that was the best I could provide to get the ground broke up, and as I have said all along, I didn’t steal anything. I hope they got the place ready for you.”

The young man cared for his father’s need in a way that no one expected – but he was working a plan. That was the same story we read in the Gospels. There was a man accused as a criminal, beaten and executed…but that wasn’t the story. The truth was that God provided something they didn’t understand in a way that they didn’t expect. That is the kind of God we serve.

Though some ignore the Savior’s true message in favor of a self-directed life, those who trust Jesus find Him to be the answer God promised long before His coming.

• Jesus is the answer. He created me, and He insists that I yield to Him – and He is right.
• Jesus is the answer when those closest to me are hurting, and I take their need to Him.
• Jesus is the answer when people want to use Him to fix their problems, but want to deny His right to choose when, where and how He works.

He was the answer when His coming was announced three thousand years ago, and He was the answer when He came two thousand years ago. He is still the answer today.

Jesus will be the answer when believers are assaulted by academics, scoffed at by cynics and beheaded by evil men. He will be the answer when the church is hated, and when it is removed. He will be the answer when Israel is brought under the full weight of human hatred. He will be the answer when He comes in the clouds and they “look on Him Whom they have pierced”. He will be the answer when His mouth opens and destroys the best weaponry of the world’s military machines. Jesus WAS, IS and IS To COME – as the answer to the human need.

His Glory Shall Return! (Video on Ezekiel’s final vision)

The Temple was Ezekiel’s hope, but he found that hope replaced with God’s own presence – that was not dependent upon a building. God has a future for His people!

Following His Footsteps: “The Candidate” – John 3 and 4

Robert Redford has played some famous roles, but none bigger than the Oscar winning performance in the 1972 movie called “The Candidate. In that role, Redford starred as a lawyer (and son of the former California governor) who was convinced to run against a senatorial incumbent who faced no competition. Even those who asked Redford to run anticipated a dramatic loss, so the candidate was able to run with frankness and integrity in order to demonstrate a new brand of politics. When people realized they preferred a fresh, young and honest looking face – the campaign became serious. Thirty years have passed, but the issues in that election were none other than: abortion, environmental issues, and access to health care. The Candidate demonstrated that it wasn’t simply WHAT the man said, but HOW the man said it. Someone quipped: “If you can fake sincerity, you will have the world as your friend!” We are thinking about The Candidate in this lesson, because our text in John’s Gospel offered some early interviews and reactions to Jesus as He began to become known.

Key Principle: Jesus brought out a reaction in people! The gospels reveal that Jesus was pressed from the beginning of His ministry by scholars, sermonizers and other sinners. He answered them all with sincerity and knowledge of their real need.

John 3 and 4 tell four stories that can easily be “paired” into sets – private interview followed by public endorsements. When you see that we are looking at two chapters of the Bible, it can seem daunting, but these four stories are actually very familiar. In addition, they follow a pattern – a private interview followed by a public story – two times. As you look deeper, you will note that in John 3, these were done in the context of mainstream Judaism, in John 4 they were in the context of a fringe group known as the Samaritans. Let’s look at the stories briefly. One of the four stories we covered in a recent lesson, so we will lightly touch it:

The first story was an “interview” – a private discussion: Nicodemus the Pharisee talks with Jesus of Nazareth (John 3:1-21).

John 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born [c]again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever [d]believes will in Him have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [e]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the [f]only begotten Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

The record of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is the first interview of the Savior (in the Gospel of John) by a trained theologian. The exchange is offered in two parts. First, John included the context – time and people involved. Second, he included the dialogue. That exchange had three sentences offered by Nicodemus, together with the answers of the Savior, which were longer than the questions.

Look at John 3:1 closely. Don’t forget the context in the story of the Gospel of John: this story of Nicodemus was set up by the penetrating truth offered at the end of John 2:25 “…He Himself knew what was in man.” This story seems to be placed in the text as an illustration of Jesus reading the heart of an important man of His day. Don’t overlook that John 3:1 is short, but PACKED with information that helps the rest of the exchange make sense. John recorded:

There was a “man of the Pharisees” – this was a man of PEDIGREE of PUBLIC (if not also private) PIETY. Nicodemus held a distinguished religious position – but position doesn’t make one live eternally – and this man suspected something was wrong.

He was “named Nicodemus” a name which meant in Greek “conqueror of the people” or “the people’s champion (victor)”. His name suggested the intent his parents had for him was him to be popular – but popularity in the here and now does not solve the issue of afterlife.

The next phrase remarks: “ruler of the Jews”, which offered a statement of obvious POWER and PRESTIGE in the community – but power and prestige on earth doesn’t translate into security for a moment after the last breath on earth.

The subject of the exchange was clearly about being “born again” – but what did that mean? Clearly this new birth was not about human accomplishment – it was something God did through the power of the Holy Spirit. Being born again was explained by Jesus as an intervention from God that leads to a TRANSFORMATION by God… That supernatural act was not given because of a pedigree – for no degree could get a man right with God. It was not a matter of religious reform or behavioral practice – because Nicodemus was already living righteously as best we can tell from the story. This “born again” experience was something brought from above – a transformation accomplished by the work of God.

Consider the three statements of Nicodemus that were recalled in the Gospel account. Each reflect common assumptions that still plague people and keep them from understanding salvation by Grace:

Statement One: “Externals are accurate barometers of internals”. That seems to be the implied idea behind John 3:2 “This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” First, the statement is untrue. Ask Moses’ brother Aaron (a story from Exodus 7) as the eighty year old Moses and eighty-three year old Aaron saw Pharaoh’s black magic men make snakes just like God did. Sadly for the magicians of the court, Aaron’s serpent ate all of theirs – leaving them “staff-less” in the end! The fact remains that in the Bible, JUST BECAUSE A MIRACLE TOOK PLACE, DID NOT MEAN GOD INITIATED IT. Nicodemus assumed that the externals were accurate proof of internals.

Statement Two: “Spiritual transformation occurs because of physical activity.” John 3:4 offered these words: “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Note how consumed the Pharisee is with the ability of the man to DO something to change the outcome of his standing with God. Here Nicodemus offered the mistaken assumption that SPIRITUAL CHANGE OCCURS BECAUSE OF PHYSICAL CHANGES ONE MAKES. In the atonement system, a man or woman’s participation was NOT designed to make them think they “participated” in God’s work of forgiveness, but that is the message many took away. Many who followed the Law of God ended up believing the way to change the INSIDE was to change the BEHAVIOR on the OUTSIDE. Did you ever hear a joke about people entering Heaven. They begin like: “Three men died and were standing at the pearly gates…” We have all heard these kinds of jokes and though they may bring a smile to our face, behind most of them is the false assumption that we must do something to get into Heaven. That wasn’t the message of Jesus. The problem is that by nature, we want to earn and then deserve God’s favor. That isn’t the Gospel – because the message of the New Testament is that you cannot make any effective installment on the payment for sin.

Statement Three: “Only what I understand can work!” That seems to the message behind John 3:9: “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” It would have sounded like a reasonable question in the tect, but Jesus’ answer showed that it was nothing of the sort. Nicodemus was assuming that in order for things to be true, they had to fit into his considerable knowledge of the spiritual world – and that wasn’t true at all. His assumption seemed to be, IF IT DOESN’T FIT MY UNDERSTANDING, IT MUST BE NONSENSE! Jesus poured it on at the end with a rather detailed reply to his question.

Jesus each question Nicodemus offered…

Answer One: “Total transformation is needed, and that isn’t from the outside.” In John 3:3 we read Jesus’ response to the idea that externals are reliable barometers of internals: “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The Savior offered words that set Nicodemus back on his heels – that one can ONLY see the kingdom if they are REBORN. Technically speaking, a baby doesn’t CAUSE their birth – and though the pass through the birth canal – no one observing closely in the birthing suite at the hospital would think they were in charge of the event. A man or woman needed to START LIFE AGAIN – this time as a newborn all over again. The point of the statement that “only by being born again” is this: Nicodemus, you must totally rethink your premise. Entering the Kingdom is NOT by conforming to a set of rules, reforming your lifestyle to a certain set of rules… it is being transformed by a process YOU DO NOT CONTROL!

Answer Two: “The new birth is a spiritual reality, but no less real than physical birth.” In John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

This was a three point response: First, two types of birth are necessary to be in the kingdom – a physical birth and a spiritual birth. You are not born spiritually WHEN you are born physically. There is no special class of “child of believer” that exempts them from the later spiritual new birth experience. No one is physically born right with God.

Second, the two births are distinct from one another. The spiritual birth is LIKE the physical, but not the same thing.

Third, those born of the spirit are compared to the wind – the effects of wind can be seen without the work of the wind being displayed. It is the nature of religious people to look for ways to observe God’s hand. Ironically, whole church movements that began with an emphasis on the work of the Spirit have found themselves tilting quickly into a theology that emphasizes blessing in the physical world… even though Jesus said they were not reliably connected – at least in appearance.

Answer Three: “God will not negotiate this requirement!” In John 3:10 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? … 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

The answer Jesus offered was this: First, a true teacher of God’s people should understand transformation by the Spirit is required! Second, this was not a theory, nor an option (3:11). Third, failure to grab the transformation blocks other truth from your heart (3:12). Fourth, Jesus was the only source of this transformation (3:13). Fifth, failure to get behind this message will block your ability to lead others to eternal life (3:14-15). Sixth, Jesus came to SAVE men (3:16-17). His message was God’s MERCY AND GRACE. Seventh, the sole basis of judgment is belief in Jesus’ Word. People could choose not to believe and live in the darkness of their own controls! (3:18-21).

Here is the truth: Jesus wanted a learned man to come away from the interview with one clear message: “You need a total transformation that I control.” That reminds me of the old story of someone who asked revivalist preacher George Whitfield, “Why do you always preach “You must be born again?” He replied, “Because you must be born again!” The interview completed, the message was clear – Jesus didn’t come to offer us a list of reforms – He came to offer new birth, a total transformation of a life submitted to His care.

The second story was of a public endorsement: John the Baptizer commended Jesus (John 3:22-35).

Since we looked at this passage a few lessons ago, we need not give it much more time and space – but stop briefly and consider how John’s reaction to Jesus’ ministry affected Jesus…

The Gospel writer recorded: John 3:22 “After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized … 27 John … said… 30 “He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. … 36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John recognized Who Jesus was, and was unafraid to endorse Him publicly – in spite of the fact that people may decide to stop showing up at the Jordan to see John and his disciples. John’s logic: “It doesn’t matter – He is above all and before all.” Let’s say it in simpler terms that any believer can learn to respect: “Jesus first!” The truth is that Scripture records that John laid down his life long before his head was placed on a platter or his neck on a chopping block. He laid his life down when he decided that Jesus’ glory was worth living for – and that is inherently Christian teaching. A theology of personal abandonment and Christocentric glory is the very essence of the first century disciple’s life choices. Jesus was clear to those who wished to get on board with His gang: “Unless they were willing to take up their cross daily, laying their lives down – they could not become His disciple.

Here’s the truth: Jesus isn’t willing to share the stage with His followers. Either we get the fact that He is Lord and we are His servant – or we don’t recognize the paradigm of discipleship that Jesus offered. A Christian message that is oriented to offering us temporal benefits – a happier life, better relationships, more money in the bank, a better job – all these are not specifically Christian at all. Ask the believers who just fled from Mosul if knowing and loving Jesus guaranteed a happy life and peaceful experience? We have to stop repeating nonsense and get back to Christian teaching the way Jesus framed it. HE is what we get from surrender. Where HE leads is what will bring HIM glory. My best good is found in HIS plan for HIS pleasure. Christianity cannot be about self-aggrandizing and self-affirmation or it isn’t Christianity at all. John understood – and John laid down his life. Jesus said that is the kind of man who will LIVE because he died to self.

The third story was yet another private interview: The Samaritan woman at the well met Jesus (John 4:1-29).

A third story can be found in the beginning of John 4, and we again find ourselves looking at a personal interview – this time with a Samaritan woman. How different than a Pharisee! She was wounded by life and covered the wounds with theological discourse. On second thought: “Was she actually that much different than Nicodemus?” Here is the record:

John 4:3 He [Jesus] left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, … 7 There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 She *said to Him, “[b]Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman *said to Him, “[c]Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” 16 He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” 19 The woman *said to Him, “[d]Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is [e]spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26 Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” …28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and *said to the men, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?….”

It is easy to divide the story into three parts, as John recalls the events: First, the Setting (4:1-6), second, the Exchange (4:7-28), and finally the Results (4:29-42).

The interview lasted for only a short time, but the woman appeared to move from broken to hopeful. How did that happen? Look again. The woman spoke six times in the passage – five of them to Jesus. In the five direct statements, there was a progression to her thinking. Often, when people are confronted with the direction that Jesus offers, they place “road blocks” – objections to the uncomfortable truth – yet Jesus knew how to deal with her objections.

Let me offer a simple observation. Nicodemus was an example that no one can become so great as to rise above the need for the Savior. Yet, the Samaritan woman (a page later in the story) was a great example that no one can sink below the rescue of the Savior, either!

The Samaritan woman raised some common objections to Jesus and His message:

First, there was a doubt of intention: What does Jesus really want from me? (4:9) Clearly the woman was stunned that Jesus as a Jew would ask her as a Samaritan for something to drink. Yet, on more careful examination, it appears that she was not only asking why a Jew would speak to her, but she was exposing a very basic reaction that many people have when Jesus reaches out to them. The Gospel offers life, but it also requires something of them. Without submission of the will there is no real salvation. Jesus began ASKING FOR HER TO DO SOMETHING FOR HIM. The simple act of giving a drink to Jesus was an act of obedience – an act of trust.

Second, there was a sense of unworthiness: How can you deal with someone LIKE ME? Many people carry the misconception Jesus came for, and spent His time with religious people in clean and tidy places. That is not the Jesus of the Gospels. This woman knew prejudice and rejection – and she wasn’t living with someone who valued her highly – which is why she came midday alone to get water! Jesus’ answer was direct to her – You are worried about who you are and what I may really want. Both are the wrong focus. If you refocus on Who I am, you will find a gift is awaiting you! (4:10). Yet, in order for her to receive the gift, she needed to THIRST TO KNOW HIM!

Third, there was doubt of His ability: Jesus made an overt claim that He had something to GIVE the woman, but she couldn’t see how it was possible for Jesus to deliver on the promises (4:11). She chided, “You don’t think you are greater than our fathers, do you? (4:12). Wrapped in her question is one of the oldest forms of objection to Jesus and His message. She wanted to compare Jesus to other great men, and didn’t see how He could claim to offer more than other men of seemingly greater stature could offer. Jesus’ answer was again direct and overt – I am not one among many. That is the wrong conclusion. Jesus said, in essence: “I have the gift and the ability to deliver it.” (4:13-14). It will surely accomplish satisfaction beginning within and flowing outward. It is superior to anything offered before, and it will deliver the ultimate and final rewards.

Fourth, there was a distraction over benefits: The woman appeared to be ready to accept the offer made by Jesus, but Jesus knew she was not truly prepared. There was a hole in her heart, and He wanted to address it. She was distracted by the part of the offer that appeared to care for her problems, but she did not comprehend what Jesus wanted from her (4:15). Jesus peeled into her life to help her expose the deep secret that she was hiding. He asked her to go and bring her husband. This was a respectful request, especially if she was about to make a bold move to accept His claims and follow Jesus (4:16). The woman replied, “I have no husband!” She told a half-truth (4:17-18). She was a woman who both lived in pain, and as a result walked in hidden compromise. Here is the central issue – she wanted to add Jesus to a life of self-will and hidden impure behaviors. That is a wrong assumption. It is true that Jesus loves us. It is true that He came to save us. It is simply NOT TRUE that He is so longing for us that He will simply dismiss our desire to continue to walk as we choose – in sinful practices that are forbidden by God. Hidden sin robs us of full joy – and Jesus wanted her change to be honest.

Because we know that in the first century Jewish context, divorce was an issue of a man putting away a woman in most cases – it is likely that the woman’s history of marriages has more to do with stinging repeated rejection and not simply a life as a “loose woman”. She was evidently repeatedly judged deficient in some way by the men in her life. Rejection upon rejection appears to have left her desolate of self respect. She eventually shed the need to even have the appearance of a real marriage (4:18).

Charles Swindoll, in his book Growing Deep in the Christian Life, tells the true story of a man who bought fried chicken dinners for himself and his girlfriend to enjoy on a picnic one afternoon. He was in for a surprise because the person behind the counter mistakenly gave him the wrong paper bag. Earlier, the manager had taken the money from the cash registers and placed it in an ordinary bag, hoping to disguise it on his way to the bank. But when the person working the cash register went to give the man his order, he grabbed the bag full of money instead of the bag full of chicken. Swindoll says, “After driving to their picnic site, the two of them sat down to enjoy some chicken. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken — over $800! But he was unusual. He quickly put the money back in the bag. They got back into the car and drove all the way back. Mr. Clean got out, walked in, and became an instant hero. By then, the manager was frantic. The guy with the bag of money looked the manager in the eye and said, ‘I want you to know I came by to get a couple of chicken dinners and wound up with all this money here.’ Well, the manager was thrilled to death. He said, ‘Let me call the newspaper. I’m gonna have your picture put in the local paper. You’re one of the most honest men I’ve ever heard of.’ To which the man quickly responded, ‘Oh, no. No, no, don’t do that!’ Then he leaned closer and whispered, ‘You see, the woman I’m with is not my wife. She’s, uh, somebody else’s wife.’” Swindoll closes the story by saying, “Harder to find than lost cash is a perfect heart.”

Fifth, there was theological redirection: Jesus spoke resounding truth into the life of the woman, and she knew it. He opened her eyes to the truth about her own pain and made clear that He knew all about it. He peeled her heart to its core. She perceived He was a prophet. Yet, she was not ready to surrender to Jesus. She re-directed the conversation to theology and arguments over the place and nature of worship, emphasizing the difference between Jews and Samaritans (4:19-20). Jesus answered her and told her that she was essentially on the wrong issue. She was concerned with the PLACE of worship, and Jesus answered with the NATURE of worship (4:21-24). Getting caught up in any discussion that kept away the pressure on the woman to yield her broken heart to the Lord, no matter the value of the discussion, was a distraction.

Sixth, there was the voice of procrastination: “Someday I hope it will happen for me!” was the final objection raised (4:25). Many have raised it. “One of these days, when things work out for me, then I will be ready to commit to Jesus.” Jesus replied to the woman, “You are on the wrong timing!” The time for her salvation was the day Jesus beckoned. Later would be too late.

The fourth story was another public endorsement: The Samaritan Village validated the ministry of Jesus (John 4:39ff).

Before we finish with our lesson, one more short story is necessary to review – the reaction of the Samaritans to the woman’s testimony. John recorded:

John 4:39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. … 43 After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee…”

Jesus chatted with one woman and the message of His life and ministry reached a village. The disciples went as a group to shop in the midst of the village and reached NO ONE. Why? The answer lies in the truth that Jesus did what they did not want to do. In order to bring about healing to the lives of others, we must first learn to become lovers of the unlovable…that is what our Savior did.

Years ago, in a moving short story by Elizabeth Ballard that was published in Home Life magazine (1976) the fine fiction writer wove a touching story that really helps set love in perspective. Who the story was based on in her life we shall never know. Here is the story:

Teddy Stallard was a young man who was turned off by school. He was sloppy in appearance, largely expressionless in class, and generally unattractive. Some would have called him “slow” – because he had a “dull look”. Often he sat in his school classroom staring into space, unresponsive and blank – which was an irritation to every teacher he ever had. Miss Thompson, who was known to have enjoyed bearing down her red pen — placed many a big red X beside Teddy’s often blank and mostly wrong answers. If only she had studied Ted’s school records more carefully. They read:

• 1st grade: Ted shows promise with his work and attitude, but (has) poor home situation.
• 2nd grade: Ted could do better. Mother seriously ill. Receives little help from home.
• 3rd grade: Ted is good boy but too serious. He is a slow learner. His mother died this year.
• 4th grade: Ted is very slow, but well-behaved. His father shows no interest whatsoever.

Christmas arrived. The children piled elaborately wrapped gifts on their teacher’s desk. Ted brought one too. It was wrapped in brown paper and held together with Scotch Tape. Miss Thompson opened each gift, as the children crowded around to watch. Out of Ted’s package fell a gaudy rhinestone bracelet, with half of the stones missing along with a bottle of cheap perfume. The children snickered, but the wise teacher silenced them by splashing some of the perfume on her wrist and letting them smell it. She put the bracelet on too. At day’s end, after the other children left, Ted came by the teacher’s desk and said, “Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother. And the bracelet looks real pretty on you. I’m glad you like my presents.” He left. Miss Thompson got down on her knees and asked God to forgive her and to change her attitude. The next day, the children were greeted by a reformed teacher — one committed to loving each of them…especially the slower and harder to love ones…especially Teddy.

Surprisingly — or perhaps not surprisingly at all, Teddy began to improve in class. He eventually caught up with most of the students and excelled beyond a few. Graduation came and went and Teddy was gone into the world. Miss Thompson heard nothing from him for a long time. Then, one day, she received a note: Dear Miss Thompson: I wanted you to be the first to know. I will be graduating second in my class. Love, Ted

Four years later, another note arrived: Dear Miss Thompson: They just told me I will be graduating first in my class. I wanted you to be first to know. The university has not been easy, but I liked it. Love, Ted

And four years later:

Dear Miss Thompson: As of today, I am Theodore Stallard, M.D. How about that? I wanted you to be the first to know. I am getting married next month, the 27th to be exact. I want you to come and sit where my mother would sit if she were alive. You are the only family I have now; Dad died last year. Love, Ted

Miss Thompson attended that wedding, and sat where Ted’s mother would have sat. The compassion she had shown that young man entitled her to that privilege.

I love that story, and I am glad that Elizabeth Ballard wrote it. It isn’t bad to have our hearts tugged to learn an important lesson. Here is the truth: Jesus brought out a reaction in people! He was pressed from the beginning of His ministry by scholars, sermonizers and other sinners – but He knew the hearts of people – so He knew how to respond…and He still does.

God on the Move: “Postcards from the Edge” – 1 Thessalonians

Carrie Fisher wrote a screenplay based on her own life in 1987 and by 1990 it was on the silver screen as a comedy movie called “Postcards from the Edge”. In the year that followed, the movie was acclaimed at the Academy awards… The story was about an actress who was a recovering drug addict and her attempts to re-start her career and her life after leaving the treatment center. She was forced to move in with a “responsible adult” in order to keep her insurance, and she returned to take residence with a famous musical comedy star of the 1950s and ’60s – her own mother. The title of the movie tells how “out of control” the scenes within the screenplay became – and I can only imagine on the big screen it was even more off the wall. I mention the screenplay because the title popped into my mind as soon as I began thinking through the letters to the Thessalonians…they were letters written from the edge of pain and during a season of recovery for Paul- and that often is forgotten in the teaching of the epistles to Thessalonica. Our next two lessons in the life of the Apostle will be about the substance of these letters.

You will recall that in our last study we saw that Paul was passing through a difficult time on that second mission journey, in part because the trip began with an argument that broke the Paul and Barnabas team over the issue of John Mark. Next, they found themselves confounded on God’s direction for forward progress, being stopped from heading toward Bithynia. God redirected the team with a dream of the Macedonian man, but Paul had no sooner seen his first converts there in Philippi, when he and Silas were beaten and imprisoned. After a dramatic release by God’s intervention and then His providence, they passed through to Thessalonica – only to have Paul’s family member assaulted (Jason) and held until Paul left town. On to Berea, and Paul saw success until a rabble had HIM singled out to depart alone for Athens. His Athenian trip was “off script” for Paul’s normal venture, and as he continued to Corinth – he did so extremely discouraged and beaten down. It was during that short visit in Athens that Paul made the decision to dispatch Timothy to Thessalonica – delaying their reunion but offering Paul a window on the progress of the Gospel. As God helped Paul pick up the pieces he wrote the two letters to the Thessalonians help us grasp the mindset of Paul in recovery, and explore what was on his heart as God put him back together in Corinth. Paul showed that when wounded, a believer’s values surface without “make up”. People can see what we truly care about when we have no energy left to mask our broken heart.

Key Principle: A mature believer lives his values and follows under pressure, recognizing God is at work even when times are tough.

In these two lessons, we want to sweep quickly through the two letters Paul wrote and capture what was exposed of his heart by the letters. We know their context; now we need their content. The question we are seeking to answer is this: “What was exposed from the Apostle’s heart as it was torn open by pain and tribulation over the rejection of the Gospel?” Let’s focus on the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. The letter can be divided into two parts:

First, Paul opened the letter with six declarations that recapped the context of the writing:

Paul exposed some important things by sharing simple declarations. Let’s consider what we learn of him in each of the six:

1. Paul Hurt: Paul and his team was praying for the believers at Thessalonica constantly, thanking God for them, longing to return to them – but was hindered from going there (1:1-2; 2:17-20; 3:9-11).

Look at the phrases from 1 Thessalonians 1:2 “We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers.” Similar sentiments are expressed in 2:17 “But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while—in person, not in spirit—were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. 18 For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us.” Later in 3:9 we read: “For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account, 10 as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?”

It is clear that when Paul’s heart was torn open, what spilled out was his love for those other believers. Mature Christians care for younger believers – not to sit in judgment over them – but to see them progress. They communicate care for younger followers of Jesus, because the heart of the missionary isn’t about self-affirmation but of love for lost men and women. That love doesn’t end when they follow Christ – it morphs into a deeper and more permanent hope for their growth and life ahead.

2. Paul Remembered: Paul saw God’s choice of them and their dramatic life changes by the power of the Spirit as they became followers of Jesus – the Gospel was obviously powerful among them (1:3-5; 2:13).

It is not difficult to see in places like 1 Thessalonians 1:3ff that Paul saw God at work in them. He wrote: “…5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.” He affirmed that again in 2:13 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”

How exciting to see God’s hand touch lives. One of the rich assurances we have as we look back on ministry where we have been fortunate enough to participate is those times when we saw God heal a broken marriage that we couldn’t fix with counsel. We stood amazed as God took a certain young man bent on self-destruction, and broke his life-hardened heart to lead him into his Creator’s arms. It is one thing to know from God’s Word that our God and His message is powerful – it is another to experience God on the move. When it happened, Paul was deeply thankful God gave him a place in the room to watch what God was doing! The Apostle knew that excitement. Even in the brokenness of rejection by many in his present place, his heart remembered God at work in the past – and that kept him going.

3. Paul Promised: Paul pledged that trouble would come, and it did quickly upon them as it had in his team’s lives. They were afflicted and walking with God under fire, becoming witnesses to the world as they suffered injustice (1:6-8; 2:1-2; 3:4).

Paul apparently never pulled his punches when he came to them initially. Perhaps preaching to people just after you have been beaten and jailed he figured, no sense trying to “pretty things up” – it was going to get tough quickly and he warned them. Note in 1 Thessalonians 1:6, he commended them when he wrote: ”You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.” He made clear the troubles of the mission team again in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2, and reminded them in 3:4 “For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know.”

I am continually amazed at how modern marketing has affected the presentation of the Gospel. Paul delivered a message that offered suffering and persecution from the outset. Where was the “how to have a happy and meaningful life” section? Paul’s Gospel was about salvation from sin and a secure walk with God for eternity – not about a better bank account and other temporal perks. I recognize that our presentation needs to be culturally sensitive, but that cannot mean changing the substance of the truth because we want people to accept our message. I simply argue that when we change the message so drastically to grab our culture, what feed their self-focus, and betray the core of the message we were given to represent by God.

I personally think Paul marveled at how quickly they were “under the gun” in 1 Thessalonians 2:14 “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, 15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out.” What makes us think that we should preach to people prosperity with the signs of the times we see all about us? Why do we not accept the coming troubles as PART of our faith – after a long line of others have passed through similar things? Paul promised troubles with their belief, whether that hindered people from coming forward in the meeting or not. At least when trouble came, he could remind them of that promise. Will our churches be able to make the same claim if we preach a message of personal advancement?

4. Paul Clarified: Lest anyone attempt to charge that Paul’s outreach was self-benefitting manipulation, Paul reminded them of how they offered truth in gentleness and love while working to be no burden to them (2:3-11).

Attacks on Paul’s preaching were evident from the start in the Book of Acts, and here Paul reinforced the content of some of those false charges. In 1 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul didn’t defend himself beyond making clear the truth. He wrote: “For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. 5 For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— 6 nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. 7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. … 11 just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children.”

Paul established in the short time he was in Thessalonica that he did not want to burden them with his expense, he was not a lazy man, and he did not work among them as some kind of ancient huckster or salesman. He worked hard, paid his way, and cared for them personally as he preached Biblically. The bottom line was this: He could call upon his TESTIMONY of life to back up his MESSAGE. Words are far more effective when they are rooted in a measured life that endeavors to live truth. If you are living in sexual sin, it is hard to correct a son or daughter who is about to make such a choice. They know you – and your life doesn’t match your lofty words. If you cheat on your taxes, it won’t be long until your voice cracks when you tell your teen not to cheat on their upcoming exam. Paul made clear that his life backed his message. He was not perfect, but he was no huckster, either. Words to the contrary may have been floating about – but Paul would have none of that left unanswered. We can be harmless in our response, but we need not flinch from clarifying attacks that are based on lies. If we represent truth, we must do so without apology – popular affirmation or not.

5. Paul Exhorted: From the beginning, the message was not only to come to Christ, but to be changed in their daily walk to a manner worthy of Jesus’ payment for them (2:12; 3:12-13).

He encouraged the believers to walk with God, not simply look at the Gospel as a “get out of Hell free” card. In 1 Thessalonians 2:12 he wrote: “…so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” He affirmed that as a core value in 3:12 when he wrote: “…and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”

We made the point that Paul promised trouble rather than fill his presentation with personal benefit, but it is worth remembering that Paul also demanded surrender to Jesus in areas of behavior rather than emphasizing only the benefits of Heaven and security in our eternal state. Paul connected the message of the Gospel and the foundation of the church to a call to HOLY LIVING. Is that message what we hear proclaimed about us today? Paul’s heart was exposed. He wanted believers to live like they were God’s people – not self-indulgent princes and princesses that allowed their “felt needs” to direct their decisions. This will be even clearer in the second part of his letter, so we will reserve the discussion until then.

6. Paul Celebrated: When Paul couldn’t wait to hear from the new believers and know of their progress in Christ any longer, he sent Timothy – who eventually returned with a joyful report (3:1-3, 5-8).

In the opening three chapters of the book, Paul communicated excitement over the people that he received from the report Timothy brought back to him. In 1 Thessalonians 3:1, Paul wrote: “Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, … 6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, 7 for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; 8 for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.”

Who can mistake Paul’s note of anxiousness concerning the people? He prayed and prayed, because like all of us, he was tempted to worry and worry. Paul was an Apostle, not a demi-god that wasn’t afflicted with a sin nature and a desire to control what he could not. Don’t make him such a good guy that you no longer see him as a regular Christian – struggling to trust God when things are falling apart. Remember what he had been suffering along the journey? Sometimes it seems God hides His control – when, in fact, what He is doing is working beyond our sight and in matters beyond our grasp. Paul heard back from Timothy, and celebration and joy flooded, tears flowed, and his prayer journal got some exclamation points scratched beside old requests!

The opening three chapters of the letter then, seem to offer a description the permeation of the Gospel to the Thessalonians during the three weeks of the mission team’s tireless sharing and caring ministry, another verified account of their forced exit from the believers under duress and a record of Timothy’s dispatched trip to check in. Apparently Paul agreed to have Timothy go while he was still alone in Athens during his darkest time of ministry. That left the Apostle without his team longer, but in the end it provided word from the fledgling church in Macedonia that so richly encouraged Paul. It’s nice to end the section on a note of happy celebration, but Paul’s letter had a second part as well.

Second, Paul wrote specific commands to the people to follow:

This section includes the last two chapters of the letter as the Epistle is divided for us in our modern Bibles. Paul made clear that the commands were a continuation of his earlier “live” teaching, and that he expected the people to continue to grow in obedience and submission to the teachings as from God. In classic fashion, Paul made that clear at the very beginning of the section, found in 1 Thessalonians 4:1 when he wrote: “Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. 2 For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.”

Paul wasn’t unsure of what he taught, nor the source of the revealed truth – and he made that clear. A church that surrenders parts of their Bible in fear of looking un-scientific or a dread over charges of a text lacking historical integrity will also surrender moral precepts in the face of social pressure – it is inevitable. Paul asserted vigorously that his words were from God. If they weren’t, he was lying. If he was telling a lie (or some editor inserted this idea later) than the Bible is not a good book, but a book of lies. It won’t lead you to Heaven – if such a place exists. It cannot tell you about your Creator – if there is one. My point is that the surrender of the text is a BIG DEAL to our faith – because our faith is rooted completely within it. The earlier church used phrases like: “The Bible is our only rule for faith and practice.” In modern churches where that idea has been surrendered, it is but a matter of time when they lose all coherence and consistency in their practice, and become a lump of clay molded not by a Heavenly potter, but by earthly pressures to allow the mold its influence.

What were these essential commands to which the Apostle pointed them? Let me suggest the three that seem to “stick out” more than others:

First, there was the command to live a life of sexual purity (4:3-8).

1 Thessalonians 4:3 states: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. 8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”

Paul flatly stated sexual purity as a core value of the early church, and a revealed truth from God above. He called us to “sanctification” a word that means “to be set apart”. Lest that not be clear, he followed with another restatement in verses four and five, that a believer is NOT to be like the world around them in this area. As he developed the thought, he told them in verse six that relationships between them were to be held as a high value, and that sensual behaviors would “defraud” others in the family of God. He made clear that God intended distinction in this area, and that rejecting the cause of purity was not an option as a believer.

Here again I find myself wondering if Paul would recognize the modern church as “Christian” in its value system.

Purity is encouraged when we carefully delineate how attraction is not the same as action. God placed desires within us – we were created with some intrinsic desires. At the same time, we live in a fallen state. As a result, we must be very careful not to see those desires as something “naturally good”. Man is broken inside, and his desires reflect that brokenness. We must continually make clear a Biblical truth – wanting something is not the same as acting on a desire. The Bible begins with simple restriction of action – but eventually calls the maturing believer to surrender the very desires themselves. When we “grow up” in our faith, we won’t excuse our sin by claiming desire had the determining place in our decision making process. We will see God’s will, not our want, as the most important factor.

Purity is encouraged when we help young women understand the value of developing their inner spirit as well as keeping a healthy body. With a fashion world designed to pry money from your wallet and promising to make you look “hot” – it has become even more important for the church to carefully help young women to see that the body will not retain its God-given youthful beauty forever. We get older or we die on the path. The fact is, we are on the planet for a short time compared to eternity. If the Christian message is true, our submission to Jesus is based on two things: first we acknowledge that Jesus is our Lord and we offer Him our whole self. Second, we submit because we know that our Savior knows what is best. He knows what we do not about the plan, the future and our best life in His presence in eternity. Purity is encouraged when we teach men and women to see eternal things as more important than temporal ones.

Purity is encouraged when we place safeguards on our young men at home and restrict their unlimited access to websites and media that encourage immoral sexual pursuits. Because we have redefined the word “adult” in the context of sexuality as “removal of restraint” in our society, the church must clearly mark out that ADULT truly means “under control”. It is a CHILD that throws a tantrum when unhappy. An adult should know better. We must apply that same logic to other urges. Children punch and punch back. Adults should have better control of their hands. We must make the case that guardrails and restrictions aren’t to stop young people from growing – they are to provide sufficient time for that young person to grow the necessary disciplines before thrown to predators that lurk across the wireless signals.

After commanding purity, a second command was offered – to work hard and stay out of other people’s business (4:9-12).

1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you… 10 …But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12 so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

It may astound modern Christians to know that Paul intended believers to get a job, work in that job and avoid making other people pay their way. In fact, the Apostle made the point that a believer’s ability to take care of others and live quietly at work was very much a part of their Christian faith. We need not meddle from the pulpit, we have Scripture before us that challenges any who would see a way around work as God’s plan. There are disabilities that need to be taken into account – but I suggest this is an extreme much less frequent than claimed – even by believers. We cannot enshrine laziness in some kind of reward system and expect anything less than an increasing number of unproductive people. When there is a true need, a believer is not wrong to access the provision for that need – but we must be very wary here of expecting others to pay our way through life. Some people are simply unsure of a truth: Life is hard. Work is not always fun. Since the expulsion from the garden every job was given its weeds. We must be careful to check any thinking that would argue that everyone has is easier than we do. In many, if not most cases, some of our difficulty was added by our own earlier life choices.

After purity and focused work, there was a third command – to comfort one another with the truth concerning death and life (4:13-5:11).

It seems from reading 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15 that some believers felt those who died in Christ were somehow penalized – a notion the Apostle quickly dismissed in the letter. Paul wanted to make sure the “uninformed” were made to understand that those believers who died actually have a better place in line of the resurrection of the dead. The timing of that resurrection are as follows:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a [m]shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Paul wanted to make it clear that when Jesus returned to the earth to take His own, He would do so in the order of those who died BEFORE those who are alive. To the believer, death is no penalty, but a mere illustration that the fallen world has not yet been fully redeemed. When Christ makes all things new, death will be forever banished to the hole of the fiery pit. The rest of the section in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 reminded the believers that the world would not believe that Jesus would return, but would focus all their attention on THIS world. Beleivers should be awake and alert in their times, and comforting one another with the truth that (as Martin Luther long ago wrote): “the body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still – His kingdom is forever!”

Missions Instructor Gregory Fisher of Victory Bible College wrote of his earlier times in West Africa: “What will he say when he shouts?” The question took me by surprise. I had already found that West African Bible College students can ask some of the most penetrating questions about minute details of Scripture. “Reverend, I Thess. 4:16 says that Christ will descend from heaven with a loud command. I would like to know what that command will be.” I wanted to leave the question unanswered, to tell him that we must not go past what Scripture has revealed, but my mind wandered to an encounter I had earlier in the day with a refugee from the Liberian civil war. The man, a high school principal, told me how he was apprehended by a two-man death squad. After several hours of terror, as the men described how they would torture and kill him, he narrowly escaped. After hiding in the bush for two days, he was able to find his family and escape to a neighboring country. The escape cost him dearly: two of his children lost their lives. The stark cruelty unleashed on an unsuspecting, undeserving population had touched me deeply. I also saw flashbacks of the beggars that I pass each morning on my way to the office. Every day I see how poverty destroys dignity, robs men of the best of what it means to be human, and sometimes substitutes the worst of what it means to be an animal. I am haunted by the vacant eyes of people who have lost all hope. “Reverend, you have not given me an answer. What will he say?” The question hadn’t gone away. “Enough’” I said. “He will shout, ’Enough’ when he returns.” A look of surprise opened the face of the student. “What do you mean, ’Enough’?” “Enough suffering. Enough starvation. Enough terror. Enough death. Enough indignity. Enough lives trapped in hopelessness. Enough sickness and disease. Enough time. Enough”.

I don’t know if the missionary is correct about that, but I wouldn’t be surprised! Life here is broken, but God is working a plan – and Paul showed that plan to be at work in him as he shared a short “Postcard from the edge” with the Thessalonians. He was hurt, but he was healing. He was beaten up, but he was not quitting. A mature believer lives his values and follows under pressure, recognizing God is at work even when times are tough.