September 7, 2014

"One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”  The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God."  Luke 5:16-25

Why would God go to all the trouble to endure our bad choices and our flagrant sinning in order to have relationship with us? Hear the story of the lost son from the modern setting as told by Philip Yancey in his book "What’s So Amazing About Grace?"

Yancey tells the story of a prodigal daughter who grows up in Traverse City, Michigan. Disgusted with her old fashioned parents who overreact to her nose ring, the music she listens to, the length of her skirts, she runs away. She ends up in Detroit where she meets a man who drives the biggest car she’s ever seen. The man with the big car – she calls him “Boss” – recognizes that since she’s underage, men would pay premium for her. So she goes to work for him. Things are good for a while. Life is good. But she gets sick for a few days, and it amazes her how quickly the boss turns mean. Before she knows it, she’s out on the street without a penny to her name. She still turns a couple of tricks a night, and all the money goes to support her drug habit. 

One night while sleeping on the metal grates of the city, she began to feel less like a woman of the world and more like a little girl. She begins to whimper. “God, why did I leave. My dog back home eats better than I do now.” She knows that more than anything in the world, she wants to go home. Three straight calls home get three straight connections with voicemail. Finally she leaves a message. “Mom, dad, its me. I was wondering about maybe coming home. I’m catching a bus up your way, and it’ll get there about midnight tomorrow. If you’re not there, I‘ll understand.” During the seven hour bus ride, she’s preparing a speech for her father. And when the bus comes to a stop in the Traverse City station, the driver announces the fifteen-minute stop. Fifteen minutes to decide her life. 

She walks into the terminal not knowing what to expect. But not one of the thousand scenes that have played out in her mind prepares her for what she sees. There in the bus terminal in Traverse City, Michigan, stands a group of forty brothers and sisters and great-aunts and uncles and cousins and a grandmother and a great-grandmother to boot. They’re all wearing goofy party hats and blowing noise-makers, and taped across the entire wall of the terminal is a computer-generated banner that reads – Welcome Home!

Out of the crowd of well-wishers breaks her dad. She stares out through the tears quivering in her eyes and begins her memorized speech. He interrupts her. “Hush, child. We’ve got no time for that. No time for apologies. We’ll be late. A big party is waiting for you at home.”

Once you have experienced grace like that it changes you forever. 

The four friends in this account show evidence of having experienced the grace of Jesus Christ in their own lives. 

First, they had an urgency.

They understood their friend had a serious need and they knew Jesus could meet it. The sooner they could get him there the better!

Second, they had a unity. 

Getting this need friend to Jesus in a timely fashion would require teamwork. They didn't need a battle of egos or a clash of wills they needed one plan agreed upon and executed by each of them. Every man needed to grab a corner of the mat and hold up his end and walk in step with the other.

That type of teamwork only comes from egos and wills that have been touched and changed by the grace of Jesus Christ.

Third, they had an understanding.

It's obvious this quartet of quality companions clearly understood the gravity of this opportunity. Only Jesus could heal their friend and Jesus was in town and their would never be a better chance to get their friend into the presence of the Healer.

There was no procrastination or excuse-making for these men. They would not wait for another time. The knew today was the day of salvation for their friend!

Just like the young lady and this paralyzed friend, your only hope is to be touched by the grace of Jesus. And once you are everything changes.

The changes that happen give you a sense of urgency to help others find Him. It gives unity with others who have also been changed by grace and it infuses the understanding that when the opportunity arises to reach others you must take it.

Have you been touched by grace?

What are you waiting for?

September 6, 2014

In 1976, Finland’s Lasse Viren made Olympic history when he became the first man to win both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races in successive Olympiads. After his victory, his coach decided to take on the record of the legendary Emil Zatopek. Earlier in the century at the Helsinki games, Zatopek had won the 5,000 the 10,000 and the marathon. There was only one problem. Viren had never run a marathon before. 

The Olympics are not exactly the place to take on a new event. But on the last day of the Montreal Olympics, Viren lined up to run the 26 mile race--and stood directly behind Frank Shorter, the American who had won the marathon gold medal four years earlier in Munich. As they took off, Shorter found out that he had a shadow. Lasse Viren’s coach’s strategy was to stay with Shorter through the whole race. Viren tried, but couldn’t maintain the pace and finished fifth in his first marathon. But the lesson was simple--do whatever the champion had done, fast slow, hills, curves...whatever he saw Frank Shorter do, Lasse Viren imitated him. 

Lasse Viren had a great strategy for someone who wanted to be a champion - imitate a champion! And he did! And as a result he finished 5th in an Olympic event he had never before entered!

He could imitate Frank Shorter but he could beat Frank Shorter because he couldn't measure up to Frank Shorter.

You and I are called to follow Christ and imitate Christ and when we do, we end up in a much better place than we would have without Him. But we can never BE Christ, and He knows that, so throughout Scripture Jesus points to men and women who followed well and Jesus says, "Imitate them!"

This morning we are going to do just that! We are going to look at some guys we need to imitate. In fact, they did SO well we will be looking at them for TWO weeks. Here's the story:

“One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven. “ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” Luke 5:17-26

Wow! That's amazing what they did!

.

They did it because they had a friend in need and they were able to meet his need! He needed Jesus and they knew how to get him to Jesus.

Like Lasse Viren's coach I say, "Imitate them!"

These guys were not willing to be unconcerned - “Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat”

There is so much to be concerned about in our world today it is hard to stay concerned over the important things.

I find myself getting concerned over a scratch on my car and being completely unconcerned over the guy who can't afford a car.

Imitate these guys who were unwilling to be unconcerned. They had a concern for the need of their friend.

These guys were not willing to be uncommitted – “and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus”

It is one thing to be concerned and another thing to be committed.

Commitment involves action. Commitment is the proof of your concern.

Imitate these guys who were concerned over their needy friend and proved it by carrying him to Jesus.

These guys were willing to be uncomfortable – “they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd”

One of the biggest enemies of concern and commitment is comfort.

These four guys climbed out of the La -Z - Boys and helped their buddy onto a stretcher and carried him across town to see Jesus.

When they arrived they found the place so crowded that they couldn't get their friend into the house. But they were so concerned and so committed that they did an uncomfortable thing, the climbed up and tore the roof off the place so they could lower him down to Jesus. It made for an awkward moment but it also did the job!

Imitate these guys who were willing to do some hard work and heavy lifting in order to get their friend to Jesus.

These guys were willing to be unconventional – “they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus”

The famous last words of the church are, "We've never done it like this before." But these four guys didn't settle for that. Instead, they did whatever it took to get their friend to Jesus.

Imitate these guys! Be creative in order to get friends to Jesus!

September 5, 2014

"Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven. “ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God." Luke 5:20-25

There are a number of fascinating things in this story!

Consider this question, "Which is the greater miracle, being saved from your sins or being healed from a disease?"

Thank God, Jesus is able to save AND heal! Praise His Name!

You will notice that Jesus dealt with the man's sins first, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

It is also interesting that Jesus responded to THEIR faith (the faith of his friends) more than his faith. That's a study for another time, but it certainly testifies to the power of faith!

You can certainly make the case that the forgiveness of sins is a greater miracle than physical healing for this simple fact, you can get into Heaven in your sickness but you can get into Heaven in your sinfulness!

We know in this particular instance Jesus forgave the man before he healed him as a testimony to the Pharisees and religious leaders. The Jews believed that people became ill as a consequence of their sins. So, when this man was forgiven but remained paralyzed it messed with their theology.

They also were offended by the audacity of this "prophet" presuming to forgive sins. This was a bad day to be a Pharisee and it got much worse when Jesus said, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God."

Wow! 

Amazing!

A man healed spiritually and physically by the power of God and the grace of Jesus!

While Jesus did the healing work, it happened because of the faithfulness and the faith of four friends who went beyond and above the ordinary to carry their needy friend to Jesus!

When was they last time you went beyond and above the ordinary to bring a friend to Christ?

You will have some good opportunities coming up this month. September 21st for First & Goal Sunday you should bring someone to hear about Jesus. September 28th in the 10:15 service we will be baptizing 6 or 7 people, that is a great chance for your friend to experience the joy and excitement of salvation. And, there is the evening of September 28th when we will show the "God's Not Dead" movie at 6:00 p.m.

Let's raise the roof this month!

September 4, 2014

"Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God." Luke 5:17-25

I love this story!

Apparently the Apostles did, too, because it is recorded in three of the four Gospels!

There are four things that really stand out to me about these guys being committed and bringing their friend to Jesus: 

• They went out of their way. 

I have to believe these four men had other things they could have been doing this day, but Jesus was in town and He was the only hope for their hopeless friend. So, regardless of how inconvenient it was for them or how uncomfortable it may have been, they made the time and gave the effort to help their needy friend.

• They were persistent. 

Have you ever noticed when you don't really want something you can find an excuse for not doing it?

When these four friends carefully and tediously toted their paralyzed pal to the house where Jesus was, they discovered the place was standing room only - and that was on the outside! That would have been a plausible excuse for calling it a day and heading back home.

But they didn't! They persisted! They were committed to making sure their friend saw Jesus.

Getting him to Jesus was inconvenient, uncomfortable, difficult and complicated but they didn't quit!

• They took a risk. 

Bob Biehl, a leadership guru, says that creativity is simply determined problem solving. 

Their commitment to their friend and their persistence in completing their mission drove them to do something risky. They climbed to the roof of the house, considering they were each holding the corner of a mat, that alone was risky.

But, the house was full of people and people blocked the windows and blocked the doors so the only way to go was up. 

When they made it safely to the roof they did another risky thing, they tore a hole in the roof large enough to lower their buddy through. This was risky if they knew the home owner and VERY risky if they didn't know him!

But, in their opinion the greater risk was in not getting their friend to Jesus!

• They carried the weight. 

Do you have a friend who is willing to bear the weight of your burdens?

In a day and age where life is difficult and demanding we can hardly bear the weight of our own burdens let alone carrying the burdens of another. But that is what Jesus calls us to do!

The fourth thing I admire about this quartet of friends is their willingness to carry the weight of their paralyzed friends burden.

Wow!

So, having considered the admirable deed of these four men I ask you:

When’s the last time you went out of your way to invite someone to church. To get them into the presence of God? 

When’s the last time you were persistent? 

When’s the last time you took a risk for someone else? 

When’s the last time you carried the burden of someone else and laid it before Jesus? 

September 3, 2014

"Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”  Luke 5:17-26

People came from far and near because they heard Jesus was in the house.

That is typical of what happens when Jesus is in the house!

Also typical is the two kinds of people who came to see Jesus that day.

First, there were the fault-finders. The fault-finders were represented by the scribes and the Pharisees.

Their fault-finding came out of their self-righteousness, which by its very nature cannot be wrong, thus finds it necessary to prove others wrong.

Fault-finders lift themselves up by tearing other people down. That's why they came from all over the region to be in the house with Jesus.

While Fault-finders are quick to recognize the needs of others, they are not aware of their own spiritual neediness.

Jesus message of righteousness and truth was exposing  the unrighteousness of those trusting in self-righteousness . That was causing them great anxiety and it was time to discredit Jesus once and for all. 

Then there were the faith-finders as represented by the four friends who carried their faithless friend clear across town in order to get them to Jesus.

Faith finders believe God's Word and whenever He speaks the Word they believe it and learn it and shape their lives according to it.

Faith-finders are sensitive to the spiritual needs of others since they are so painfully aware of their own neediness! Because they knew where to go to have their spiritual needs met, they knew where to take their needy friend!

Fault-finders and faith-finders. 

Every church has some of each.

So, I ask you, which are you? 

Are you a fault-finder or a faith-finder?

September 2, 2014

“One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven. “ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” Luke 5:17-26

Wow! 

What an amazing and thrilling story!

There is much to be learned from these four friends who helped their friend find healing at the hands of Jesus. Sunday, Lord willing, I plan to share some truths from this account to challenge the FredWes family because there are some direct applications from their ministry to the ministry of a local church that wants to get people to Jesus.

First, they wanted to carry their friend because Jesus was in the house.

The main reason people want to go to a church is because they know Jesus is in that house. Likewise, the reason they want to bring their spiritually needy friends is the same reason, because Jesus is in that house.

It's a worthwhile reminder of what is most needed to attract people to church. Many churches have bought into the idea of what it takes to get people to choose a church:

• A high-powered, high personality, high-profile pastor
• A high- powered praise band with a worship leader to match
• High quality worship productions
• High-powered programs for every age and every need
• And highly polished promotions for all of the above

There is nothing wrong with any of those things but they are poor substitutes for the presence of Jesus in the house. When you have the leadership and the budget and the staff and the talent to make all those things happen, it gets very tempting to invest all your focus and energy toward making them happen. The time, the thought, the focus, the practice and the planning required to execute all those things can distract from time spent in prayer. It is easy to drift away from trust the Lord and start depending on talent, creativity and planning.

I have served in a couple of situations where we faced those issues and I know how easy it can be to fall in love with creativity and lose touch with Christ. It's a battle but one worth fighting because when you have all those benefits and still have Jesus in the house - powerful things can happen!

When these four friends carried their needy neighbor to see Jesus, they found no room in the house because Jesus was in the house.

Of all the things we need at FredWes, the thing we need the most is to have Jesus in the house. 

How does that happen?

Seek Him first and surrender to Him and don't settle for less. Jesus comes where He is invited and welcomed.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and these things will be added to you as well." Matthew 6:33

September 1, 2014

"Then He said to them all: "If anyone would come after me......." Luke 9:23a

I am so encouraged to read the call of Jesus to those who would desire to be disciples!

Notice whom He addesses:

"He said to them ALL".

"If anyone will......"

Anyone can be a follower of Jesus Christ. You don't have to be wealthy or well educated or well adjusted. You just have to be willing! Consider this story from Brooklyn Tabernacle, a great church in metropolitan New York City:

Jim Cymbala preaches at a church in the slums of New York. He tells the following story: It was Easter Sunday and I was so tired at the end of the day that I just went to the edge of the platform, pulled down my tie and sat down and draped my feet over the edge. It was a wonderful service with many people coming forward. The counselors were talking with these people. As I was sitting there I looked up the middle aisle, and there in about the third row was a man who looked about fifty, disheveled, filthy. He looked up at me rather sheepishly, as if saying, “Could I talk to you?” We have homeless people coming in all the time, asking for money or whatever. So as I sat there, I said to myself, though I am ashamed of it, “What a way to end a Sunday. I’ve had such a good time, preaching and ministering, and here’s a fellow probably wanting some money for more wine.” He walked up. When he got within about five feet of me, I smelled a horrible smell like I’d never smelled in my life. It was so awful that when he got close, I would inhale by looking away, and then I’d talk to him, and then look away to inhale, because I couldn’t inhale facing him. I asked him, “What’s your name?” “David.” “How long have you been on the street?” “Six years.” “How old are you?” “Thirty-two.” He looked fifty- hair matted; front teeth missing; wino; eyes slightly glazed. “Where did you sleep last night, David?” “Abandoned truck.” I keep in my back pocket a money clip that also holds some credit cards. I fumbled to pick one out thinking; I’ll give him some money. I won’t even get a volunteer. They are all busy talking with others. Usually we don’t give money to people. We take them to get something to eat. I took the money out. David pushed his finger in front of me. He said, “I don’t want your money. I want this Jesus, the One you were talking about, because I’m not going to make it. I’m going to die on the street.” I completely forgot about David, and I started to weep for myself. I was going to give a couple of dollars to someone God had sent to me. See how easy it is? I could make the excuse I was tired. There is no excuse. I was not seeing him the way God sees him. I was not feeling what God feels. But oh, did that change! David just stood there. He didn’t know what was happening. I pleaded with God, “God, forgive me! Forgive me! Please forgive me. I am so sorry to represent You this way. I’m so sorry. Here I am with my message and my points, and You send somebody and I am not ready for it. Oh, God!” Something came over me. Suddenly I started to weep deeper, and David began to weep. He fell against my chest as I was sitting there. He fell against my white shirt and tie, and I put my arms around him, and there we wept on each other. The smell of His person became a beautiful aroma. Here is what I thought the Lord made real to me: If you don’t love this smell, I can’t use you, because this is why I called you where you are. This is what you are about. You are about this smell. Christ changed David’s life. He started memorizing portions of Scripture that were incredible. We got him a place to live. We hired him in the church to do maintenance, and we got his teeth fixed. He was a handsome man when he came out of the hospital. They detoxed him in 6 days. He spent that Thanksgiving at my house. He also spent Christmas at my house. When we were exchanging presents, he pulled out a little thing and he said, “This is for you.” It was a little white hanky. It was the only thing he could afford. A year later David got up and talked about his conversion to Christ. The minute he took the mic and began to speak, I said, “The man is a preacher.” This past Easter we ordained David. He is an associate minister of a church over in New Jersey. And I was so close to saying, “Here, take this; I’m a busy preacher.” We can get so full of ourselves.

The call to discipleship is to "all" or to "anyone who will". That means even people like David can follow Jesus! Or, people like you and me.