The Fine Art Of Follow Through

It is always easy to start something…you name it a home improvement project, an athletic competition, a marriage relationship. It is quite another thing to finish and finish well. It is a huge commitment to give your life to Jesus, it is quite another thing to let Him live his life through you. Jeremiah knew this all too well in his challenge to the people of Jerusalem. He called them to “stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, and where the good way is, walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls”.

Today we stand at the crossroads between a life lived for self or for others. Are you ready to stand in the gap? Are you ready to be the life giving, breathing message of God? If you are then be prepared to always remember, always realize and always return.

REMEMBER Jeremiah 2v1-3

Israel’s relationship to God is likened to that of a marriage relationship and the nation had lost the beauty of their connection.

When love grows cold they say that with couples half the battle with couples is getting them back to when they first met, the circumstances that were involved and what drew them together…

I will never forget the time that Sharon surprised me when I was a student at PBC.

It was so amazing, the element of surprise,

Can you relate what is what like when you first discovered a real sense of connection with the Lord. What made it special, the wonder ,the joy.

Your service for the Lord must be fuelled by a passion for a genuine love for Jesus or the flame quickly burns out. It is a story that unfortunately happens all too often…

The honeymoon had ended and the thrill of marriage had left all too quickly…

So, what is the downward spiral? Jeremiah 2v13

My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water

Forsaking God – the spring of living water – as their true source of fulfillment, definition and place in His family and going after other gods –

What kind of cisterns are people digging anyways?

You see the picture -- the incredible foolishness of somebody who has forsaken a living stream of water, with its freshness and its healing, refreshing quality, and has dug a cistern to catch the rain as it runs down the hillside laden with dirt and leaves and bugs and debris, and then stagnates in a broken cistern which leaks and will not hold the water

How much energy is spent going into defining ourselves by what we do or what others say about me or the stuff that I have accumulated? Answer these questions and you quickly find out where and how quickly you are digging.

It was Henri Nouwen who was convinced that the decisive point of Jesus’ public life was his baptism when he heard the divine affirmation, “You are my beloved on whom my favour rests” or “you are the one whom I love, with him I am well pleased”

We need to remember the love of God that drew us and is well pleased with us. It is hard to hear that voice in a world filled with voices of rejection telling you that you are no good, that you don’t have anything to offer unless you can demonstrate the opposite.

The greatest trap is not success, popularity or power but self rejection. Its true, I can give a message and a number of people can tell me how much they appreciated it. But, if one person comes up and tells me that was totally out in left field then what do I remember?

The quiet calming voice that calls me ‘beloved child of God’ comes in countless ways. It has come from parents, friends, ministry peers and that voice has had different tones urging me to stick with it, to remember my calling, to know that He is there.

REALIZE Jeremiah 2 v19, 20

It is important to note that the Lord does not bring charges against his people because of their thirst. He brings charges against them because of how they are satisfying their thirst. Desire is good. If you don't want something more than food, clothing, and shelter, you are not human. God created us with thirst. Don't kill it. Eventually, if you pay attention to it, the thirst in your soul will lead you to the Spring of living water.

v23,24 He gave animals a different kind of sexuality than he gave us, in order that we might learn from them, might have a vivid picture of how we look when we start lusting after everything that comes along, and being available for any kick, any thrill, any drive, other than God himself. So God holds up this vivid picture. This is the kind of figure God holds up and says, "That is what you're like. That is you, lusting after everything that comes by, living for kicks, wanting to be satisfied some way. He is challenging us to the core.

When we choose to satisfy our desires through indulgence, we're looking for a feeling, a buzz. We're looking for something that causes our soul to rise up and shout for joy. We find it, or think we will, in financial investments, another trip to the mall, check out the new Winners… Haagen Daaz, another drink of alcohol, pornography, an affair-or at the very least an active fantasy life. Whatever our drug of choice, it often becomes an addiction, because indulgence never delivers what it promises, and one always ends up begging for more.

When we choose to satisfy our desires through performance, we're looking for acceptance, applause, love. We're looking for someone somewhere to rise up and say, "You're okay." We're terrified of even one negative remark in a sea of positive feedback. We work hard. We crave accomplishment, success, achievement. We take the performance ethic with us everywhere-into the home, where we seek to be the consummate parents; into the workplace, seeking to put our best foot forward all the time. Performance often leads to perfectionism, because no performance ever wins enough applause.

What are you really addicted to? You name it and be honest with God –you get right to the root of it and stop just trying to cover up the symptoms. Maybe it is bitterness…God didn’t show up when you needed him or at least that is how you felt and you have been given over to complaining and negativity.

The nation knew that they had a problem and were quick to confess, but not quick to change and God had to take them through the ringer to come clean.

RETURN Jeremiah 3:11-13, 22, 25; 4:1

This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' Jeremiah 6:16

We need to stop the drifting now.

The calling we have is to stand at the crossroads.

We need to stop the drifting now. We need to walk in the good way.

The only way that we have rest for our souls is going back to spring of living water.

The only way we have rest for our souls is to acknowledge our guilt and our shame…how far and how fast we have fallen.

The ancient path is the path that leads to the death of self and becoming alive in Christ.

The ancient path is prayer…prayer that follows through – prayer that is listening with obedience.

The ancient path leads us back down those the painful roads except now it is not about us anymore and our fulfillment, its about finding others on that path and letting them see the love of God through me.

As William Young writes in “The Shack”

Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims, many who are not part of any Sunday mornings or religious institutions…Jews and Palestinians. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my Beloved. “Does that mean,” asked Mack, “that all roads lead to you?”

“Not at all,” smiled Jesus as he reached for the door handle to the shop. “Most roads don’t lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.”

The Takeaway

We follow through when we let the truth of our being loved become fleshed out in everything we think, say or do. It transforms me into the beloved child of God, into one who says ‘Here I am, send me!’

Questions For Discussion and Small Groups:

1. What has become an artificial replacement for the presence of God in your life?

2. When did you feel most alive in your faith in Jesus? What circumstances surrounded that time?

3. Do you find that you are more given to treating the symptoms in your life as opposed to the root cause? What is really the sin that you need to realize and confess?

4. What will it take for you to know that you are a beloved child of God in whom He is well pleased? Is it more about doing or being for you?

5. What road is God leading you on to bring His presence?

Getting A Job You Don't Want!

Hmmn... Have you ever had a conversation with God like this…

Lord, I’m not sure I’m cut out for this. I don’t think I’m ready yet….well, you’ve given me certain spiritual gifts and you know I did that spiritual gift inventory with John so why do you keep calling me to do things that really don’t line up with who I am? My personality, gifting and make up…well, I don’t think we have a match made in heaven. Are you sure this job is for me?

It may very well be about your job, but it is more to do with the assignments that God gives us which can often happen ‘on the job’ so to speak. We are going to begin a series this fall on the life of Jeremiah. He is a real prophet who wears his heart on his sleeve. If you don’t know him very well, you might think he is neurotic.

He isn’t a simple man and his book isn’t really all that simple either. The first 25 chapters are a collection of sermons interspersed with some off the record comments between God and him. Then in chapter 26-45 we have a sketchy biography of his life and not necessarily in chronological order and then finally in 46-52 we find his prophecies against other nations.

Have you even been in a Jeremiah-like spot? It is when you are squeezed in the middle like a go-between and find yourself often misunderstood. It is being a rock in a very hard place. You have been given the job of telling others that they have no job or you are the one who has to confront a family member about their sin. It is often a no win situation and you unfortunately somehow come out looking like the bad one. There is no reward for your job and people don’t want to hear what you have to say. Then, to top it all off, God seems distant and removed from you. Enter the life of Jeremiah. As we wrestle through his problems, we will come to learn how to walk through our own. We can learn so much from his life as a prophet with maybe the exception of Daniel. However with Jeremiah, you will know and feel the inside, the gut level honesty with God that we all need to discover.

Getting to know Jeremiah’s workplace v1-3

He was born around 646BC in a suburb like place just 3 miles NE of Jerusalem. He lived in a community of priests and Levites and the most famous person that had lived there was Abiathar who counseled David for many years.

In Jeremiah’s day, there was more priests than jobs in the temple and Phoenician and Assyrian deities were worshipped more in the temples than God. He was the son of a priest, Hilkiah and they would be supported by the givings of the people but given their apathy and divided loyalties, they wouldn’t have seen very much support at all.

There was so much corruption and infidelity in the country during his time and leading to infants being offered on pagan altars.

Fast forward 20 years and Josiah is well into his reign. He was the young boy who began his reign at 8! When he was 16, he began seeking after the God of David after doing some housecleaning…. (2 Chronicles 34:3) How easy it is to lose God’s Word in the clutter of life..There was a ray of hope under His godly reign, but that soon would be snuffed out.

Getting to know the job description! v4-8

God had no business asking Jeremiah to do those nasty assignments…someone who’s psyche was more suited for the job… He appears to not be the best suited for the position. It is clear that Jeremiah is a poet and God is calling him to be a prophet. He could have easily been the guy that wrote folk songs for Judah to sing. Instead, he is called to a ministry of thunder and lightening instead of a gentle spring rain. From his writings, one commentator describes him as the shy, sensitive type, impatient, given to extreme highs and lows, courageous and yet torn by a sense of inadequacy.

However God gives him an incredible sense of calling. God has his life planned out for him long before He tries to figure it out. He has been appointed, been set aside…born for this mission

Getting to know the power tools v9

Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth.

When God calls you, He equips you with His power and His presence. God is used to our excuses and thankfully He is in the business of doing the unexpected with the unsuspecting! You have heard it said before that God doesn’t called the equipped. He equips the called!

He loves to shine in this type of situation because He receives the glory. It is His Name that is on the line. It is His strength that is made perfect in your weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9,10

He puts His words into our mouth…Hebrews speaks of the Word being alive and powerful.

In Jewish thought a word was more than just a sound expressing meaning. A word actually did things. It was an effective cause like God in creation stating, Let there be light. The heavens and earth were made by the word of the Lord in Genesis 1:3

In Genesis 2:7 God breathed into man the breath of life and he became a living being

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired – God breathed

The Word of the Lord is mentioned 49 times in Jeremiah’s book. When the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, it was an active life giving message. It had this incredible grip on him. It possessed him and burned within him as Jeremiah 20:9 relates it was like a fire in his bones. There was no way he could contain it. He also speaks of eating God’s Word in 15:16. It caused him joy and it also caused him to stagger like a drunk man 23:9 and also caused him pain 38:6,9

Getting to know the fine print… v11-19

There were some bright lights in his message and verses that we quote, but for Jeremiah, he had a dark mission. It was negative in that he would proclaim judgment. God does not call us to be happy go lucky. He teaches us to number our days so we can gain a heart of wisdom. He calls us to repentance, to humility, but He also lifts us up and sets our feet on a rock and gives us confidence, grace, strength and never underestimate the power of His presence.

The challenge for Jeremiah was to show his people that God was not asleep. He knew exactly what was going on and what was happening was far from acceptable. If he lived in our day he might have grabbed hold of that commercial….WAKE UP PEOPLE and put his own twist on it.

However God gave him a vision of an almond tree and his attention was particularly drawn to a flowering branch. The word in Hebrew for almond branch is saqed which literally means ‘the waker’ because this tree was to first to bloom in spring like the peach tree or a robin showing up. It was a sign and the amazing thing is that it flowers even before its leaves begin to unfold.

The almond tree was God’s wake up call to nature and Jeremiah was to be the wake up call to the nations. He is not asleep, we are the ones who are sleeping.

In all of this, Jeremiah needs God’s assurance and He definitely gives that assurance along with a real challenge not to deviate!

In 1521, Martin Luther was summoned before the Diet of Worms. Standing before the secular and religious leaders of the church, Luther was asked to retract his writing which had been condemned as heretical. In his famous reply, the great Reformer answered, “I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract anything.”

Jeremiah too was captive to the Word of God. He could not and would not go back on the message that God gave him.

So, what can we learn from Jeremiah…

It is not wrong to admit your own inadequacy for what you are called to do. In fact, God appreciates that type of attitude more than any other.

It is not wrong to be honest and open about how you feel with God. We really would like more fine print, details, more details. The reality is that God does not simply reveal it all up front. We have to learn to trust him more in every situation.

We need to remember that not every mission is necessarily meant to succeed. It is ok to fail. God doesn’t judge success by our standards and definitions. What often looks like success to us is not necessarily success to him and the same is true of what we might look as failure.

At the end of the day, the job, the mission, the most reassuring thing that He gives us is His presence.

The Takeaway

When God gives the job description, His presence and power are all over it!

How to let the Word get to you.

1. Read the Bible apart from all the helps. Let the HS speak to you.
2. Flood your reading with prayer
3. Read different parts of the Word of God
4. Believe it to be the truth
5. Read it with an open mind, don’t try to put your own spin on it
6. Really let it sink into your heart
7. Take time to memorize it and internalize it.
8. Let it control all parts of your life, your eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet…
9. Live on His terms, not your own.
   

Questions For Discussion and Small Groups:

1. What is your excuse for not following through on God’s calling? What is it that holds you back from sharing your faith or His compassion with others? How can God turn this weakness into strength in your life?

2. How can the Word of God really take hold of you? Can you share an experience where its words gave you the direction, focus or your marching orders so to speak?

3. Can you relate a time where you felt a situation you were involved in was a failure until God showed you at a later time that it was a success.

4. How can you let the word of God captivate you this week?

Excavating The Soul...

A heart to heart with God...

Where have I hidden my heart from you, O Lord? I have buried it deep within my being, far from You. I have separated my heart from Your presence or so I thought.

Lord, I laid my heart on the ground. That’s how it first got so dirty. My own desires drew my heart away from You and into the dirt. The more and more dirt fell on my heart as my desires led to sin and drew me away from You. At first it didn’t seem so bad, but now I realize that all this dirt has blocked me from your light.

The loneliest moment was when I could no longer see Your light at all. My sin had become a deadness I brought on myself. My soul was a dark place, far from You- buried under layers of self serving. My soul became the coffin of my heart. I don’t like it here. I try and try to dig myself out of this grave that I’ve buried myself in. I claw at the dirt to not avail. How can I reach the light of Your presence and love? Lord, please come and set my heart free. Lift it from this dark place. Lord, please dig through the levels of separation that I have put between us and excavate my soul.

The first layer that must be dug through is pride. I admit it Lord, its true. Pride is what packs down this soil so hard on my life. It is so easy to obsess about the externals and what other people think of me. There is this constant pressure to appear more spiritual than I really am, to give the appearance of righteousness, to say the right things, to not say too much. Maybe its true that I hold myself back from truly connecting with you. No, it’s more than that. I guess it is hard to really admit how far I have drifted from you…prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.

I guess pride is what keeps me from being placed completely in your hands. Right now Lord, I ask you to break through this layer of pride, help me to be honest with You, with myself and with others.

Read Psalm 51:1-4

Lord, there are these weeds that have grown up in my heart from all the wrong thinking patterns that I have developed. I guess the biggest lie is believing that You can’t meet my needs for love, for satisfaction, for fulfillment.

It has created all these layers of sin that I’ve buried myself in. I fear that my desires have got the best of me and that I will never truly experience intimacy with You. I know that on my own I cannot break the power of sin in my life.

Lord, please show me where to dig. Thank you that You never rest in the pursuit of my heart and there is no sin or sins that are too much for You.

Thank you that as far as the east is from the west so far have you removed my transgressions from me – that You throw them into the deepest sea and remember them no more.

Thank you that you don’t leave me here and that You long to till and cultivate my soul and that You lead me to dig through the layers and that You can reach my heart.

Read Psalm 51:5-11

As God continues to show me where to dig my shovel hits bedrock where my loyalties rest. This bedrock consists of what I treasure the most.

It is one thing to admire God from a distance, its quite another thing to kneel at His feet and pledge your life to Him.

There have been many recommitments along the way and my rededicator is so easily worn out in my own strength.

I know that wherever my time and money is spent, my heart is right there in the mix. So, you have asked me to honor you with both and it is so easy to get distracted, to make excuses… but when I give you Father what is most precious to me, you unearth the bedrock of my soul and use it for the foundation for my faith. God, I know you want to keep digging right to the deepest level of my loyalties. You want to be my treasure. Your love oh Lord can reach my heart.

Read Matthew 6:19-21

When my heart is in Your hands then and only then can I truly celebrate and so do You. The treasure that was hidden in the dirt has become truly God’s. It is the most valuable treasure the world has ever known and it is the only treasure that will last. God’s excavation makes way for my heart to bask in His amazing light, bringing new life and healing. He takes my heart that I’ve placed in his hands, He carefully cleans it off and then holds it close to His own. My heart begins to beat strong again, my heart has found its true home.

Read Psalm 51:12-19

Afterthoughts...

If you let Him, God will hold your heart close to His. God will remove the barriers, He will make you clean, but He is calling for your devotion..not your devotions, not your church attendance, not your appearance of righteousness. He longs to clothe you in the righteousness of Christ. Are you willing for Him to do soul surgery?

Pour out your heart to God.

Where Are The Other Nine?

In Luke 17:11-19 we have a picture of Jesus’ ministry to those who in their day would have their fate sealed by the dreaded disease of leprosy. To have leprosy was horrible and one would have to cry out, “unclean” and they would be socially and spiritually excluded until the day that Jesus shows up for these ten men. Interestingly enough only one man comes back to thank Jesus and He is a Samaritan. The eyes of his disciples may have easily rolled at this point as they must have been thinking, “Why does it always come back to these guys anyways?…” So, Jesus once again teaches his followers the art of what it means to be thankful, faithful and full of grace.

Leprosy as we know it today is called “Hansen’s disease” and it is when the flesh rots and falls off often starting with toes or fingers. In the Bible times, leprosy would have had a much broader definition and any type of skin disease might be deemed leprosy. So if a person had eczema or another harmless skin disease, they would have to present themselves to the priest. The priest in that day would look for certain characteristics to determine how serious the leprosy was in terms of the skin disease.

We would just go to the doctor, but in that day the priest served this function as well and would make the call as to whether someone would need to be quarantined.

Again this story like many of the miraculous accounts of Jesus pits the tax collector against the religious man, the lame man vs the spiritually lame religious leaders, the prostitutes against the rulers of the law, the parable of the wedding banquet between the invited guests and those on the streets and here the Samaritan vs 9 Jewish men.

These special people recognize their deep need of salvation and the free gift of God. There is no mistake with them as to how they got there.

This story is a picture of Jesus’ ministry – the sinners are getting in to the kingdom while the so called saints are losing out.

If we truly want to discover the miraculous, the supernatural in our lives and ministry, then we need to learn this story well.

1. Jesus demands an act of faith of his followers! v11-14

So, we have the story of the ten lepers and all 10 are outcasts, but one of them, the Samaritan as I have mentioned is an outcast among outcasts. Knowing Jesus’ reputation as a healer, these men are begging and pleading of him, but notice He doesn’t heal them on the spot.

He demands an act of faith of them. He tells them to, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.

Again it was only the priest in the OT that had that very responsibility to make that declaration.

Jesus didn’t say “You are healed”, he said, “Go, act like you are healed!” This story is a striking parallel to the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-14. Naaman is a military general for the Syrian army and it is his young servant girl who was an Israelite who urges him to seek out the prophet Elisha. So, what happens? Well, he is told to wash himself in the filthy Jordan River 7x.

Again an act of faith is required – just like the woman begging Jesus for the crumbs, just like the lame man who is told to take up his mat and walk.

So the ten men are told to go and they are getting healed on the way. Just imagine the conversation, “Hey man, check it out your whole face is lighting up!” “Wow, check you out, you just grew a toe!!” These guys very easily could have been making quite the commotion, shouting, screaming, hugging each other. Some of the onlookers might have thought that these guys just left the stadium and got back from either winning a great victory or seeing their favorite team win.

2. Jesus followers are quick to give credit. v15,16

Now, Jewish listeners would love to hear about this story of healing, but at the same time be completely shocked to hear that the only thankful one was a Samaritan. They thought he would be the least likely to return. They despised them and the feelings were mutual. You are probably saying I know, I know, but here is a little more background that I picked up on Samaritans.

They were a group of people that arose during the Assyrian exile when the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered. The Assyrians brought in foreigners to marry the Israelites and those who did became Samaritans. They were a distinct race and had a form of Judaism, they were seen as half breeds, ethnically impure and heretics. The relationship went from bad to worse in 141BC when the Jews gained independence and after more than twenty-five years of rebellion, Jewish rebels drive the last of the Syrians out of Judea. With the strength of Rome behind the rebellion, Judea wins formal independence: an independent Jewish state for the first time in more than four centuries. Simon Maccabeus is chosen by a popular assembly as High Priest despite his lack of qualifications by birth.

It would sound like a oxymoron to a Jew in that century to hear about “The Good Samaritan” as we have come to know the man in the story Jesus told about.

However, once again, Jesus keeps stretching his followers to teach them that God loves all people.

So, why did the other nine not come back? The culture back then was one of reciprocity so when you did a favour for someone, it was expected that you would pay it back. They would essentially say I will pay you back later as opposed to our culture when we pretty much learn to say thank you for everything. The other nine didn’t come back for possibly this reason or they felt that maybe they deserved it. Possibly they thought it was their good works or that they suffered long enough or maybe they just simply just got on with their lives.

In returning to thank Jesus this Samaritan realized there was no way that he could pay it back… the grace that God had given him and He worshipped Him. The people that get it worship Him because they know but for the grace of God….

Again we see this theme throughout Jesus’ ministry where the religious elite don’t get it, they think that they have earned so they refuse to repent, but meanwhile those who were on the margins of society, the outsiders, tax collectors and prostitutes respond to God’s free grace.

Another interesting thing to note is in Luke 17:19 there is an interesting use of language. The greek word for made you well is ‘saved’ and there is a close connection between spiritual and physical healing.

Isaiah 35:4-6

God’s salvation is not just spiritual but the restoration of man’s humanity and condition to bring restoration.

Jesus wanted to bring true restoration to creation. He brings true healing both spiritually and physically to this one leper.

This story teaches us a heart of gratitude and the story of God’s grace. It is not something that we do to earn it but to experience freely from God.

God is calling us to a grateful heart. How often do we take the gifts of God for granted…just the ability alone to come and to worship freely, enormous wealth

In one episode of the Simpsons, Bart Simpson who is about to pray sits down and says well God we paid for all this so thanks for nothing....Do we sometimes get into that mentality…I’ve worked for this, I deserve it. It is a dangerous place to be. Don’t let it die from your lips, don’t let it drain from your life. A lack of thankfulness is a root cause of burnout.

The presence of thankfulness is a concrete step in dying to self.

1 Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 5:20; James 1:17 – recognize God’s undeserved favour

Sometimes we may be told to go on a journey by Jesus that may seem odd to us, but our Lord is calling us to step out in faith…He’s demanding it…

Go on this journey with me…God is calling us. The 9 who were healed were, “Jesus who?’ They no longer needed him…out of sight, out of mind.

Jesus did not come to make us safe, He came to make us brave! I was listening to a speaker this week share about the great adventures He and his brothers had with his dad and the one time that he will never forget when his dad decided they were going to climb to the top of Mount Rayner. Before the last and most grueling part of the climb there was a Visitor’s Center. He decided to stay while his brothers went with his dad to the top of the mountain. All of a sudden the Visitor’s Center wasn’t so cool anymore.

When they arrived back and went home, he listened to his brother’s stories. They had them and he didn’t. He went on the trip, but he missed the adventure. That is what happens every time we decide to try to go places with God without faith.

And finally,

Don’t forget about the people God has sent you, His good gifts, how He has given you the victory to overcome obstacles and addictions…

What have you done for me lately…

Extend God’s grace to everybody no matter what… don’t despise others

While we were yet sinners Christ died for us…We are all sinners in need of God’s grace…offer it to others especially those on the outside, those on the margin of society.

The Takeaway

Jesus demands that we step out in faith with grace, see the supernatural and thank and worship Him every step of the way!!!

Faith-filled, full of grace and thanksgiving!

Questions for Discussion and Small Groups:

Who do you more easily identify with, the other nine or the one who came back? Why?

Where is God telling you to step out in faith?

Write a list of 10 things you never want to take for granted.

Can you identify a time in your life when your faith made you well?

Save The Best For Last!

California has a reputation for producing the best tasting wine in the US especially Napa Valley as Niagara on the Lake would be for us in Ontario. I don't say that because I know that personally. After all, I grew up Baptist and the closest to wine that I got was Welch's grape juice.

However, if you have had a chance to be in a vineyard you will see how it takes months for the grapes to become ripe and then crushed. Wine has to go through the aging process of about 10 years in these great big wooden barrels and here is Jesus producing the best tasting wine in an instant!

At this point this miracle doesn’t seem all that impressive. It certainly isn’t raising someone from the dead like we looked at last week, but that is the beauty of John’s gospel. There would be a significant gathering of people, but not a huge one and only some of Jesus’ disciples get to witness it. One theologian describes it as a ‘sneaky’ miracle. It is really easy to understand this miracle but its significance is really important to see. There is deep theological significance and it shows us exactly what Jesus was about and why He came to earth.

Released From Shame John 2:1-3

Mary expects Jesus to perform a miracle and maybe wants the people there to recognize that there is something very different about Him and that He indeed was the Messiah. Jesus is about 30 years old and we don’t have any miracles that have been recorded earlier. I don’t think this was the case for Jesus growing up with His mother, “Hey Jesus, we need more flour for bread, can you make some?”

For this reason she goes to Jesus who is the oldest male in the family. Normally she would approach Joseph but he is not called upon leading some to think that He may have passed away by this time. There is an early church document from the 3rd century that tells us that Mary was the groom’s aunt and as such she would be part of the wedding family. To run out of wine in this culture at that time would be a huge source of shame for the family, extended family.

Jesus provides the wine at this time and saves the family from great shame.

2. Save The Best For The Last John 2:6

Look at Mark 7:3

The ceremonial washing was more religious than hygienic. This practice was used by the people in order to symbolically recognize that they were clean on the inside. It would be likened to the practice of a priest in a Catholic church who would sprinkle water on his hands before serving the eucharist.

These six stone water jars would be used all week by the guests and so a lot of water was needed for this type of cleansing to take place.

Think about that – there was 120 to 180 gallons of water being turned into wine. It would be comparable to 3 of those big wooden barrels that would be used today that hold about 60 gallons of wine.

That is a lot of wine!! It is important to remember that.

v8-10 The master of the banquet said that this was the best wine that he had tasted and again this is a very significant point as well in that it was kept till the very end of the celebration.

v11

To believe and put your faith as it is written here carries much meaning for this time than these words might be thrown around today. It was not just mental assent. Belief was to trust in someone with your whole life and the Greek meaning behind believing including possession by the person in whom we believe. In other words those who believe in Jesus become His possession. We are no longer our own and it will change the way we live. It will affect the way we spend our money, what we look at and how we spend our free time. It will change the way we think and ultimately our perspective will become more and more His perspective

We need to really understand the significance of weddings and wine especially to the Jewish culture in the first century.

Matthew 22 relates the kingdom of God to a wedding banquet. It may not be the first metaphor that might come to your mind when sharing about God’s kingdom, but this is the one that Jesus chose. Why?

The banquet was a coming metaphor in the OT to talk about the coming kingdom and Jesus knew that. When the new kingdom comes, there will be an incredible banquet like one that you would find at a wedding reception today.

Jesus chose a wedding as the location to make the people think about the kingdom of God.

3. Invitation Please!

Now, what about the wine?

Isaiah 25:6 When God renews His kingdom, there will be a feast prepared with aged wine, the best wine.
Jeremiah 31:31

Israel did not live up to God’s expectations in the OT. In fact, they broke God’s covenant because of their disobedience. However, God does not give up on them and the time of exile will end and the sign is seen earlier in this chapter – Jeremiah 31:12

Here we have it – the grain, the new wine and the oil.

One of the signs will be the presence of wine

Amos 9:11

The clearest picture is found here.

David’s line would continue and His sons will be kings and the Davidic kingdom will be renewed and when that happens it will flow from the hills. Jesus came through the line of David.

v13

When the new covenant comes there will be a lot of wine.

The Jewish people expected that the sign would be a lot of rejoicing and a banquet to inaugurate the new messianic kingdom and so Jesus does just that at a wedding – a lot of wine and a lot of good wine!

This is not just a miracle to help save a family. It is to symbolically recognize that the new covenant has come and Jesus has inaugurated it.

Here is the aha moment. It was symbolic that Jesus used the water from these ceremonial cleansing jars that represented the whole Jewish system of cleansing. The cleansing has now been fulfilled in Jesus. We don’t have to pour water ceremonially over our hands to be clean. We can now confess our sins to Jesus and have them forgiven. He has made it complete and brought pure perfection to being clean.

Remember the master of the banquet said that this was the best tasting wine. That is really important as well. In Hebrews 8:6-8 we see that Jesus brought a superior covenant. It is no longer about Moses, the Law and Judaism. Jesus is now the fulfillment of all that and has shown us a better way.

Maybe you are carrying a lot of shame. Jesus came to take away your shame and wipes the slate clean no matter what shame you carry from bad choices, bad decisions, relationships gone bad…you name it. We don’t have to carry the burden of that weight anymore.

If only people could really believe that Jesus takes away their shame, they would live such rich and full lives. Too often we are all too easily crippled and paralyzed by it and that is what He never intended for us.

God is faithful to His promises….Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos looked forward to the day when God would fulfill His promise. He is a reliable God. He will keep His Word.

Isaiah 25:6; Jeremiah 31:10; Amos 9:12

All three passages talked about the nations, all the peoples of the world

Genesis 12:3 - God has always had his eye on the nations. There is a new attitude about the nations and the importance of bringing the light to everyone.

We need to be about blessing our world.

The Takeaway

The fullness of His acceptance, love and faithfulness comes with understanding we are His and He is not for us only, but for all.


In the miracle of the water being turned into wine, Jesus fulfills the old and brings the new. He takes away our shame, He shows us He is faithful and reminds us that we are to be a blessing to our entire world.

Questions For Discussion

Explain the gospel in terms of a wedding banquet.
Is there shame in your life that you need to be released from? How can Jesus make that a reality in your life?
What is the new expression for your life? What can become new wine in you?

Just Believe!

Healer of diseases. Master of nature. Conqueror of demons and death. Jesus not only preached the kingdom of God in word, but He demonstrated it in power through his miraculous deeds. As we begin this new study over the summer we will take an in depth look at the miracles of Jesus. It will open our eyes to the way He impacted the lives of those He touched. This study will also reveal God’s heart and how significant that is to us today.

Read Mark 5:21-43

Be ready for supernatural breakthrough!

At this point in Jesus’ ministry, He is very popular with the crowd and is swarmed wherever he goes. A desperate synagogue ruler approaches him and pleads for the life of his little daughter. Jesus is moved by his request and begins to make his way with him to visit his daughter.

As He walk with him, a divine interruption takes place and we have the story of the encounter with this ‘unclean’ woman.

What strikes me first is what might have been going through the mind of the synagogue ruler. If he worked in the synagogue, he would be familiar with all the customs and teaching associated around ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’. For Jesus, the one that you want to touch your daughter, to be touched by an ‘unclean’ person would make you ‘unclean’ for a period of time and would disqualify you from any religious or spiritual ceremony.

Breakthrough on understanding of what it means to be clean...

However, Jesus makes the point of teaching the crowd through even the healing of this woman that He was the one to all of us who are unclean must come to be clean.

We are all so easily fixated on this idea of ‘cleaning up my act’ and yet just like Eustace in C.S. Lewis’ book, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, we try to peel the layers away of our own dragon like sinful selfish tendancies when we need his powerful claw in our lives.

Welcome the unwanted

In a time when you did everything possible to separate yourself from not being contaminated by impurity and so much emphasis was placed on the sterilization of the spiritual environment and the outward person, it was impossible for such a person as her to have any hope.

The fact that she was bleeding meant that she was unclean and therefore unable to have any contact with people in a public place. She could easily have been divorced on account of this or be permanently single. No one would marry an ‘unclean’ woman. The fact that she was bleeding in this way meant that she would be unable to have any children which was a huge scourge on a woman. She was marginalized, an outcast from society.

Who are the marginalized in our world, who are the outcasts in our community?

Mardi Dolfo-Smith, of the 10th Avenue Church on the west side of Vancouver, says that twice a week, people come in to her church for free food and sometimes shelter.
When the church started to renovate three years ago, the city's planning department said it needed a social services permit, because helping the poor is not in the church-use permit. The church has since applied for a social services permit, but not all churches have the same resources to meet the permit's onerous conditions, she says. "We're concerned that the city is separating our faith into different areas. We're also concerned that this will be too onerous for other faith communities, smaller ones, ones that maybe don't have the resources that we have."
The real issue is that churches are called to help the poor, and always have been, says Dolfo-Smith. "We have people eating here and then in the winters, we have up to 25 people sleeping here at night."

Dolfo-Smith says some neighbours worry that means the area isn't as safe and they have complained to the city"Part of our religious worship is actually caring for the poor. It's not a separate thing that we kind of do if we feel like it. It's something we're actually commanded to do."

Last week Sharon was getting really down about the Good For Nothing store because of the overwhelming work involved. A lot of clothes were soaked because of the rain as the bin was overloaded. As she was sorting the verse kept popping in her head...'don't be weary in well doing...don't be weary in well doing...' After a time of prayer with Rebekah and Erin a lady comes into the store who found us on the local dateline. It turns out that she was in such desperate need of clothes after losing her place and only with the clothes she was wearing. They were able to minister to her, find lots of clothes and surprise her with food certificates. Later that morning a store called to give the store their slightly damaged merchandise and so much was great stuff. It really blessed her day and reminded her why it is so worth it to see this ministry happen. After the morning was over she looked up the partial verse she remembered to discover the rest of the verse....in due time you will reap a reward!

Expect Jesus to show up and do the unexpected!

She knew who He really was! She knew exactly what she was doing. This was not just a random reaching out for Jesus. It was specific in what she knew about the promised Messiah.

Tzitzit – Numbers 15:37-41 refers to tassels (the fringe) on the corners of your garment…prayer shawl

The word in Hebrew for corners is ‘kanaf.'

She believes that there is healing power in the corner of his cloak. Malachi the prophet wrote that the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. (4:2) The word that Malachi uses for wings is also ‘kanaf’ – the edge of the garment where the tassels would be attached.


Jesus response to her is also really significant. He calls her a daughter. There is no distinctions for Jesus, He teaches the sanctity of all human life and no one is an outcast with Him. There is nothing that can keep you from touching Jesus, no sin, no disease, no pain that He cannot bring healing to.


He tells her to go in peace – shalom…it is the presence of the goodness of God. It is the presence of wholeness, completeness. He does more than provide physical healing for her, He places the blessing of the presence of God all over her. To be saved or healed is more than just getting something, it is being someone – it involves all of you as Rob Bell writes in his book, 'Velvet Elvis'.

However the story on this miracle is really the inside story of a miracle yet to take place which we cannot miss the significance of. Jesus is still teaching, still calling people to faith, still ready to do the impossible.

Don’t bother the teacher anymore…. v35 Imagine being the father in that moment...

What a death sentence that statement was. It was more than just knowing your daughter is dead, it is the loss of hope, loss of faith, loss of courage. How often do you feel like giving up? How often do you feel like, ‘why bother’!

That is the voice of the enemy and when you get into that pit, remember the voice of Jesus – don’t be afraid, just believe.


The Takeaway

Ignore what they say, don’t be afraid and believe that Jesus will show up! v36

Jesus calls the father to incredible faith and teaches the all important truth that when God is involved, never give up, never lose hope...yes bother Him as He wants to hear us, He wants to save, He is ready to do the supernatural in our lives!

Questions For Discussion

Share about a time when God brought a divine interruption into your life and how you recognized it.
Why are we so easily fixated on trying to ‘clean up our own act’?
Why is it hard to welcome the unwanted?
How do you practically ignore the ‘voices’ in your head that tell you to not bother, it’s not worth it when it comes to believing or serving God?

Prophetic Awareness

In 1 Samuel 3 we have the humorous but sad story regarding Samuel as he heard the voice of God. At that time there was sin and apostacy in the priesthood and God was not speaking. The verses state the sad reality that ‘the word of the Lord was rare and there were not many visions’. However, Samuel was a true worshipper and he heard God’s voice, but didn’t know that God could reveal Himself in that way so he keeps going to Eli and saying, ‘Here I am; you called me’ This happened three times before the light went on for Eli and he told Samuel to say, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.” In Samuel God was ready to birth a new season of revelation and I believe He is doing it again.

Prophetic Ministry is Birthed Through Prayer

Prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Spirit can teach us. Pray for prayer. Pray until you can really pray!" (C.H.Spurgeon)

This week a group of us had the opportunity to hear the vision of the 24/7 Prayer ministry as Chris Jones shared about building communities of prayer, mission and justice. It was in our first 24/7 prayer room that God really impressed on me my mission to take the lead role here. Our last prayer room experience…a little rockier but once again God spoke and reaffirmed in me the desire to keep focused, keep pressing on. Extended times of prayer birth vision and mission and action!

Kelly Greene is serving in Boystown, Mexico a walled-in section of the city which has been set apart for prostitution and drug abuse for the past 150 years. She started by first prayer walking through the community for over a year and a half and then God started opening doors!!

24-7prayer.com: Mexico: God Lives Where the Girls Have No Name...

Prophetic Ministry is used to call people to repentance. 2 Samuel 7:12-16

There is something greater than hearing the voice of the Lord and that is obeying the voice of the Lord as Jesus makes readily clear in His prayer in John 17:6,7, ‘I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.”

There is something greater than the cost of discipleship and that is the cost of disobedience to the Lord. Disobedience is truly what is the most punishing in our lives. So, what is the payment? Frustration, a restless spirit, driven by lust for pleasure or power, emotional states of bitterness, resentment, guilt, nervous anxiety.

All this happens in varying degrees when we are unwilling to yield ourselves to His leadership in our lives

I remember one of our staff meetings where Mary shared on the need for repentance in our lives and likened it to cleaning floors in your home and how yes you can do a decent job standing up, but it isn’t until you get on your knees that you can really see the dirt. It is the same in our lives of prayer, it brings us back to our knees as in humility we see ourselves for who we really are and approach God for his cleansing.

Prophetic Ministry is used to affirm God’s Will in the lives of His Children

It can really benefit the listener in giving them the confirmation that they need to go forward or the fact that they are exactly where God has told them to be.

Prophetic Ministry is for all believers. 1 Corinthians 14:29-32

Prophecy in its most basic form is hearing what God is saying about someone and relaying it to them. Jesus said that His sheep would hear his voice. What we need to do is develop our sensitivity and understanding to what God is saying. Yes, we may make mistakes. The disciples made mistakes, but that doesn’t mean that we throw it all out. We need to realize just how powerful it can be when we share what God is impressing upon us to confirm it in the lives of others.

On a larger scale, it is what God calls me to do as I speak every week.

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-12

However we are all called to speak into each lives and when God gives you a word for someone you need to speak it into their lives. As you seek the Lord, He will lay people on your heart sometimes simply to pray but also to speak.

• revelation

The first part of a prophetic word is the information that we receive from God. It is revelation that God gives without any prior knowledge on our part. It is something that God gives and is not based on natural understanding. It can come in a dream, as a vision, as an impression. It basically asks, “What did you see, hear or receive?” It often comes as a result of prayer or through reading His Word.

He often will prompt the believer to passages of Scripture.

He will also use impressions as He did with the apostle Paul.

“Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives (Acts 27:10 KJV) The word perceive is a good choice here because it means ‘to know by feeling’.

• interpretation

The question that is basically asks is this: What is God saying? What does this mean? I want to make clear that the clear cut test is does it line up with Scripture. If it contradicts the Word of God, it is another voice that you are hearing.

• application

The third component is the understanding of how we implement what we have received. It is ultimately the responsibility of the person who has received the truth or revelation to then take action. The application is not the work of the one giving the message. It is to be left to the person who has received the message to determine what he or she should do as a result of the word spoken into their life.

Ultimately no one has more power than you to pray with the greatest authority into your own life.

A.B. Simpson wrote “The messenger is now his way to bring you your blessing, and the Holy Spirit awaits your act of trust, so He may whisper in your heart the echo of the answer from the throne of God, “He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. Revelation 21:6

Prophetic ministry uses our senses through the power of the Holy Spirit

John 14:12

It happens as we realize that we are ministering with borrowed power. The greater things are the things that we let God do through us and the multiplication of those events in transforming many lives.

We have

• spiritual eyes - When Elijah the prophet was translated to heaven, it was the sons of the prophets who recognized that the Spirit of the Lord now rested on Elisha in 2 Kings 2:15. Spiritual eyes gives us beautiful insights into His Word and often pictures for people.

spiritual hearing – Again as we listen, God will reveal struggles people are having and encouragements for them

• spiritual touch – Often God will not speak until we lay hands on the person that we are praying for and then He will teach you to pray.
  

The Takeaway

God stills speaks today and He longs to speak into your life and through you into the lives of others!

The only way that is going to happen is if you let Him get His fingerprints all over you. It is only going to happen if you let Him shape and mold you and change the way you look at other people. It only happens through faith and believing that God is speaking.