“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Matthew 4:1

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers:

Greetings! Today’s assignment? Read Matthew 4:1-11. Put yourself in the story and then put the story in you!

The enemy of our soul loves to get us when we are alone or lonely. I think that is why worry or being anxious was listed as the number one temptation. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, led into the desert, and tempted. And right before all of this, Jesus was baptized…the dove descended and THE VOICE of God was heard saying God was well pleased with Jesus! Immediately Jesus is out in the desert having not eaten for 40 days. (Are you there in the story? Ever taken a tour of the desert?)

There’s one thing I’ve noticed: Temptation doesn’t come when we are the strongest; temptations come when we are the weakest. Or, maybe when we are strong—we can resist easier. It is when we are tired, worn out, poured out—that we often fall to temptation.  One of my spiritual directors taught me HALT. He told me that most temptations and failures come when these four things happen:
Hungry
Angry
Lonely
Tired|
As a pastor, I am constantly trying to scan my horizon so that I am not hungry, angry, lonely, and tired all at the same time. I know what happens when I am all four of those dangers. I am at my weakest.
True confession here, I do not sit and read my Bible and do my daily devotionals because I am some sort of religious freak. I read my Bible because for me not to HALT…I need to fill my mind and heart and spirit and soul with God’s living word

Jesus being in the wilderness for forty days parallels the stories of Moses on Mt. Horeb for forty days (Exodus 34:2,28; Deut. 9:9) and Elijah on the way to the same mountain in I Kings 19. Paul also went into the wilderness after his conversion on the road to Damascus. Paul’s wanderings in the wilderness of Arabia are recorded in Galatians 1:17. More importantly Jesus’ wilderness experience reflects the wandering of the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for forty years. The temptation of Jesus also parallels the temptation of Adam. In fact, you could say that the first Adam had everything that he wanted. He was in the Garden of Eden with everything at his disposal and the serpent came slinking into the Garden in the form of a snake and said, “Did God really say?”

The first temptation here in our story is a simple test to destroy the confidence that Jesus had in His Heavenly Father. Do you see how subtle the devil is? He comes along and twists a word of two and says — ““If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” The devil speaks lies and accusations and tempts Jesus to distrust the powerful words that were spoken earlier at Jesus’ baptism — “This is my beloved son, whom I am well pleased.” What a contrast — “If you are God’s son” and “This is my beloved son.” Whom will you believe? God says you are precious in His sight, beloved…Satan wants us to question IF we are God’s child.

Temptation is serious business. Remember that God will not tempt you, but God will test you to see what you are made of.
Temptation is common to all people—pastor or not. Temptation is a time of trial and testing. It is a process of experience. I think Jesus was trying to show his disciples that our lives will be filled with temptations. He went first to show us the way to overcome. Are you in this story, yet?

Jesus had a choice to either believe the devil’s words or to believe the words that His heavenly Father spoke to Him. The devil first tries to get Jesus to distrust God. The devil plants doubt in Jesus mind that he will not be provided for His personal needs. Jesus responds with the clue to overcoming, “It is written!”

The devil speaks and then Jesus speaks — “It is written.” Jesus knew how to defeat the devil’s wily schemes! Jesus knew the Words of God. Jesus believed what His heavenly Father spoke about Him. This is why it is so important for you and me to spend time in God’s word. Read a verse…read a chapter…read a psalm…so that you can reply to the tempter, “IT IS WRITTEN… GET OUTTA HERE!”

First Temptation — Serving Self
Why are our physical needs so hard to trust God with? Was God capable of feeding Jesus?
Remembering the mocking cry at the cross — Matthew 27:40, 42-43 “If you are the Son of God…”?
How often do we put our physical needs above our spiritual needs? Seems to me that during one week, there are 3 meals a day—or 21 meals a week that are available for us to feed our physical body. How many of us are opening our LIVING WORD 21 times a week? How about just 7? How about once a day? Buckle up. Open up.
“It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’” Luke 4:4 Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 that says: “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Second Temptation — Testing God
The devil quotes Scripture — Psalm 91:11-12 with a subtle twist — Satan left out the important phrase “in all Your ways.
Jesus replies, “It is written, ‘Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah.’” Deuteronomy 6:16
This story is when the Israelites started quarreling with Moses in the desert and they tested God! Moses named the place MASSAH—which means TEST—and MERIBAH—which means ARGUING. The people were griping and saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?” Evidently, the people weren’t getting their way. They were being tested and they didn’t like it. (Sound familiar?)

Third Temptation — Worshipping Satan
First, Satan suggests what Jesus should do for himself. Second, Satan suggests what God should do for Jesus. Third, Satan suggests what Satan can do for Jesus — that is how Satan comes to us. Telling us that what we desire belongs to us and he will give it to us. Do you think self-will is Satan’s will or is it the opposite of God’s will?
What does Matthew 6:24 remind us to do — “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
One of my favorite passages in the Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew 6:33 … “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
When Jesus is tempted to worship something or someone us his reply is simple but not easy. It is written — “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.” Deuteronomy 6:13

Many of us can recognize a huge, Niagara-like temptation when we see it. Many of us decide to go a different route. But so often it is a million little decisions that lead us into a lifestyle of sin and failure.
We begin the story of Jesus in the wilderness by saying, “Me, too! Yes, me too—on being tempted and tested!” Remember that Jesus went into the desert full of the Holy Spirit. He had just been baptized. He had just heard the Father’s voice. A huge weapon in our arsenal against the wilderness and temptation is to fill our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits with God’s word.
I referee high school wrestling. This weekend was a big tournament and I reffed 12 hours each day. When I got home last night, I said I wanted to go to In N Out. Listen, at 8:30 pm that place was full. There were cars everywhere. There was nowhere to sit and the drive up was backed out past the intersection. We parked and walked inside. We were number 47. As we scanned the packed dining room with no place to sit, I heard them call number 3. I looked at my wife and said, “You got to be kidding me.” After 15 minutes, I spotted a family leaving so I walked over to claim the seats. Funny thing, so did another guy! We got there first. Those seats were ours! But there was a problem. We only need two seats, he needed all four. My wife said, “We can eat in our car…” We talked back and forth with the guy who didn’t want to take our seats from us. “NO! We insist” cried my lovely wife and she grabbed my arm and walked me away. Ten minutes later, we got two seats at the back counter. There we sat and continued waiting for number 47! Remember the guy who stole my table? He walked up to us and said, “Please, here’s $20—I want to buy your dinner for giving up your seats to my family. I feel guilty for taking them.” We talked back and forth and ended up shaking hands but telling him to go for yogurt after dinner! Tempted. Hungry. But not LONELY. Seriously, this could have ended differently for me.

This week I want you to do a daily, personal inventory. Every day ask yourself: Am I hungry, angry, lonely or tired? Listen, you don’t have to be all four before you HALT and go find quiet time to read God’s word, or listen to Christian music. An amazing thing happens when we read or hear God’s word…it becomes the living word inside of us and the living word is what will help us to overcome our hunger, anger, loneliness, and tiredness—our trials, tests, and temptations.

Is this story in you, yet? The story of how Jesus overcame temptation three times in the wilderness after 40 days of fasting. This story…offers us some key wisdom for the tests, trials, and turbulence in our lives.

IT IS WRITTEN…say it with me…IT IS WRITTEN…and the quote your favorite bible verses out loud. We are more than conquerors, friends, we are overcomers because CHRIST overcame hell, death, and the grave. On the third day, He rose.

See You Sunday!
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

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“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14

Dear Faithful Seed-Sowers and fellow ADVENT adventurers,

We are in the fourth week of Advent! The first week of Advent was the candle of Hope.  The second week of Advent was the candle of Love.  The third week of advent was the candle of Joy.  This week is the candle of Peace. 

I have a few acronyms to make it easier to remember what we’re doing:
 
HOPE          
Heaven’s
One
Promise                
Eternity

LOVE
Listen 
Observe
Value
Encourage

JOY
Jesus
Others
You

PEACE
Peace
Exists
As 
Christ
Enters 

Who here needs peace?  Who needs the peace of Christ to enter into your life, home, workplace, finances, relationships, health?

I encourage you to stop right now and read Luke 2:8-20. Twelve short verses that tell quite a story. Then, when you have read the story, read it again and put yourself into it. Are you a shepherd boy? or maybe you are the innkeeper sharing your barn? Maybe you’re an angel? Maybe you are Joseph or Mary? These last few days before Christmas, let’s work on putting this story, the Christmas story, into us so that we can live the story from a manger point of view. 
Peace With God.
Christ of the Andes is an impressive symbol of peace. Once Chile and Argentina were enemies and fought constantly. At last they decided it was in their mutual interest to live in peace. So, high upon their natural boundaries, the Andes Mountains, they erected a great statue of Christ with outstretched arms. The inscription reads: “Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust than the Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ the Redeemer.” Christmas reminds us of the coming of peace to earth.[i]
 
Have you ever stopped to ponder and pray about why Jesus came to earth?  Why did Jesus come as a little baby?  Surly the people of Israel were not looking for newborn baby born in manger. They were looking for a Prince of Peace coming in as a conquering King, riding a white horse and setting them free.
 
The world that Jesus entered was filled with pain, problems, trails, trouble, tribulations, despair, desolation, and depression.  The people were held captive by their Roman rulers and they wanted to be free.  More importantly, they were also being held captive by their sin that separated them from God. The Prince of Peace came to bring Peace to the world through his reconciling life, death, and resurrection. Right here in this second chapter of Luke, the God of Peace breaks through the cosmos and walks into our broken world.
 
The angels sing — “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)
 
God sent His one and only Son into this broken world to reconcile us. “Reconcile: to cause friendly relations between, cause to exist in harmony, to become compatible with.” You heard that right. God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to the earth when the time was right. God’s plan A? To reconcile the people who believe. Because of Jesus Christ, we can be in a right relationship with God, we can exist in harmony and we can be compatible with God, and others and ourselves. 
 
In Isaiah 53 we have one of the prophecies called the Servant Song.  Listen to how the prophet Isaiah puts our peace. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
 
Pause and ponder those words as we reflect on the little baby born in dirty, dusty, smelly, non-heated, cold, dark, stable; outside, in a cave of rock. Brrr.  This baby will be pierced for our transgression and sins. This child born to us will be crushed for our iniquities and immoralities, for our half-truths, lies, gossip, jealousy, shame, guilt and foolishness. The punishments that will be laid upon this baby boy will bring us peace!  By His wounds we will be healed. Sounds quite unfair, one-sided, and lop-sided to me.
 
The God of peace broke through our world in order to bring peace between you and me and between us and God. RECONCILE—compatible, harmony, friendly relations—like Argentina and Chile!
 
Jesus is our peace, not in some wily-nilly emotional way. Jesus is our Prince of Peace in a real and concrete way. Jesus is our Prince of Peace by coming into this broken world and making us whole and complete by forgiving us, healing us, and restoring us back into a relationship with God who created us and loves us. RECONCILIATION—a good word in the story to put into your heart this morning.

 So What?
When I was serving a church in Texas, I worked a grace weekend called Walk to Emmaus.  I was one of the three clergy, pastors, or spiritual directors as they called them on the weekend.  I gave a talk about God’s Justifying Grace.  The talk centers on the fact that God has sent His one and only Son Jesus to justify us and set us free.  Justify—just as if I’d never sinned.  That’s how God sees us as soon as we believe in Jesus Christ.
 
After giving that talk, a man in his 80’s, came up to me asked me if he could talk with me. He told me that he had been a bomber pilot in WWII and flew combat missions over Germany and France.  He told me that he could never forgive himself for dropping bombs that hurt and killed innocent people. He said that after hearing the talk about Justifying Grace that somehow God had given him a peace that surpassed all his understanding. He cried and cried in my arms. This man had peace as Christ entered his life.
 
P — Peace
E — Exists
A — As
C — Christ
E — Enters
 
Real peace is knowing that no matter what I do, God will never stop loving me.
 
Real peace is knowing that no matter what happens, God will never leave me alone.
 
Real peace is knowing that no matter what will happen in the New Year or the years to come, the Prince of Peace will be with me.
 
Real peace is knowing that the guilt of the past failures, mistakes and sins are forgiven.
 
Real peace is knowing that grief of the losses we have experienced will be overcome by the Prince of Peace.
 
Real peace is knowing that we can give up the grudges that cause us to become resentful and give them to the Prince of Peace.
 
Peace exists as Christ enters.
 
The “SO WHAT?” for you today, this final week of the Advent Season, is for you to allow the Prince of Peace to enter into your life.  No matter what you have done.  No matter where you are.  No matter what your circumstances, difficulties, failures, faults sins, guilt, grief, and grudges are.
 
Peace exists as Christ enters. Pray it with me: Everlasting Father, Mighty Counselor, Prince of PEACE…enter your story into my heart—right now…and every second after…and remind me of the greatest story ever told. The story where God prepared the world for the most magical night of all: CHRISTMAS…and may I sing with the angels, may I scream with the angels: GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST AND PEACE..PEACE..to His people on earth! I choose right now to live in harmony with you—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Forgive me for my sins. I am so very sorry for my selfish choices. Thank you, Jesus, for your birth…your life…and your death and resurrection. I am a NEW creation. BORN AGAIN…to live out your story in my story. WOW. Amen.

See you Saturday night, 5 pm, online or at church as we gather to remember CHRISTMAS EVE!

Merry Christmas! I pray you are prepared for the birthday of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Hey! I’m thinking of having ANGEL FOOD CAKE on Christmas Day; a concrete way of putting myself into the story and putting the story into me! GOD BLESS US, EVERY ONE!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave 
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com 

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers!

It is my prayer that we are learning to grow in the grace of Christ each day. I have been thinking about the wonderful hymn, “How Great Thou Art.” I encourage you to take a minute and YouTube your favorite version of this song and sing at the top of your lungs.  Pause and ponder the powerful lyrics and the deep meaning behind the words.

This is an inspiring hymn of praise and adoration, reminding us of God’s unlimited power and love. Although written in 1886, the hymn has become familiar to congregations everywhere around the world.
It especially became an international favorite after the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team used it in their crusades during the late 1940’s and early 1950’s.

The original text was written by a Swedish pastor, Carl Boberg, in 1886. While visiting a beautiful country estate, Boberg was caught in a sudden thunderstorm. The awesome and violent lightning and thunder quickly ended, leaving clear,  brilliant sunshine and the calm, sweet singing of the birds in the trees. Falling on his knees in awe and adoration of Almighty God, the pastor wrote nine stanzas of praise. Swedish congregations began to sing his lines to one of their old folk tunes. The text was later translated into German and Russian and ultimately into English by the Reverend S. K. Hine and his wife, English missionaries to the people of the Ukraine. When war broke out in 1939, it was necessary for the Hines to return to Britain, where Mr. Hine added the fourth stanza to this hymn. These four stanzas by Stuart Hine have since ministered and inspired God’s people worldwide:

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy pow’r thruout the universe displayed!

When thru the woods and forest glades I wander and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees, when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in—That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow in humble adoration and there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Refrain: Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee; how great Thou art, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee; how great Thou art, how great Thou art![i]

Worship
The first three verses of Psalm 145 teach us so much about worship. When we think of God and His greatness, what is it that we can give to God? The only thing that we can give to God is our praise — our worship.

In the first three verses are three nearly parallel lines — “I will praise you — I will praise you everyday — I will praise you forever and ever.”

“I will praise” you. Praise is worship; it is acknowledging God to be who God truly is. God is the Sovereign Lord of creation. God is holy, just, righteous, merciful, awesome, and majestic. God is with us forever and ever. Say it with David, “I WILL PRAISE YOU, GOD!”.

What worship is not: worship is not coming to God in order to get things from God. Worship is not confessing our sins or pleading for grace, though these things flow naturally from worship. Worship is simple but so difficult for so many. Worship is acknowledging God to be God. Indeed, it is doing precisely what David does in the remainder of this Psalm.

 I will praise you “every day.” David is not going to praise God merely on the Sabbath, though the seventh day (or for us the first day of the week, Sunday) is explicitly set aside for that purpose. Rather, David is going to praise God “every day,” Monday through Sunday. Wow! What a profound statement! Especially in our culture today when so many people are disconnecting from church and worship of God, here is the word of God reminding us to praise God every day. Worship is not just one hour a week. Worship is a 24/7/365 deal. Let’s get on it.

I will praise you “for ever and ever.” “For ever and ever” means more than merely “to the end of my days, until I die.” It means “forever,” indicating David’s belief he would be worshiping God in heaven even after his worship on earth was ended. Fantastic! Forever and ever and ever and ever.

Friends, the Good News for us today is that we will be worshiping God forever and ever–along with the other redeemed saints from all the other ages of world history. Can you only imagine that? Praising God with Peter and Paul and Mary. Praising God with Bonhoeffer. Praising God with Calvin. Praising God with Luther. Praising God with Augustine. Praising God with Mother Teresa.

The “so what” question is right here, right now. “Why don’t I practice worshiping God right now?”

If we were to break down this wonderful Psalm, we would say that David praises God for his greatness (vv. 5–7). David does not stop with praising God for His greatness, David praises God for his grace (vv. 8–13a), his faithfulness (vv. 13b–16), and his righteousness (vv. 17–20).

Here’s your “so what” homework:

• Praise God for His greatness!
• Praise God for His grace!
• Praise God for his faithfulness!
• Praise God for his righteousness!

Yes! Try it right now. Right here as you finish reading this SEED OF FAITH, let that mustard seed of faith grow. Tell God why you think God is great! Tell God about His great grace for you! Tell God about how faithful God has been to you. Thank God for his righteousness. We got this. You can travel to work, school, the grocery store and the mall and thank God for the many beautiful things you see or hear. Thank God for His grace: his glorious riches at Christ’s expense. Wow, you could drive cross country on that one. Look back over your life and thank God for His faithfulness to you. Lastly, praise God for His righteousness. Tell God you want to walk rightly, you want to follow Jesus and you need daily help and strength to do that.

Let’s practice this wonderful advice from David and Psalm 145. And after you are done with this great PRAISE session, play the song and sing along.

HOW GREAT THOU ART. What an opportunity we have to be able to turn our lives into a song of praise.

God loves You and so do I,
Dave

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,  to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:21-26

Dear Faithful Seed-Sowers,

Do you know the famous hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness?” The verses are familiar to many Christians, it is a well-known hymn written by Thomas O. Chisholm (1866–1960):

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not:
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

The story of how Chisholm came to write his great hymn reveals a profound truth about God’s faithfulness. Some of our great hymns are written in response to a dramatic spiritual experience. That is not the case with “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”. This hymn was not the product of a single experience but of a lifetime of God’s faithful care. Not long before his death, Chisholm wrote:
“My income has never been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me on until now. But I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care which have filled me with astonishing gratefulness.”[i]

“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam,” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. John 9:5-7

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers,

We are back in the Gospel of John.  I encourage you to take some time to slowly read John 9:1-41.  Put yourself in the story. Where are you? Who are you?  And then put the story in you–how do I make this word of God relevant in my life today? Wrestle with God’s word because it really is new every morning.

As we enter into this story, we find the blind beggar sitting at the gate of the temple. He is not expecting a miracle. He has been blind from birth. He cannot see Jesus. The disciples see the beggar and ask Jesus who sinned, the blind beggar or his parents. Jesus says, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” John 9:3

Wow! Pause and ponder that! This miracle is going to take place so that the work of God might be displayed–in the blind beggar’s life, in his parents’ lives and in our lives. Maybe a few good “so what?” questions to kick-off the message are:

Where am I blind?

What is my blind spot in life?

How is the work of God being displayed in your life?

How is something really hard and heavy in your life going to be used for God’s glory?

Let us remember that the blind beggar did not pray for sight. At least, we are not told that he did. He was a beggar. It is a beggar’s task to beg. But he did not beg for sight. He is sort of akin to the beggar on the street corners here; waiting at the stoplight, hoping those who catch the red lights will be generous. The blind beggar’s condition was hopeless; what is the use of asking for something that everyone knows cannot happen!? The blind man certainly did not expect the miracle that was about to be performed by Jesus. The beggar was begging for a way to survive the day. He would be back tomorrow and the next day and the day after that—begging. Just as he had since anyone can remember.

Jesus sees the man and goes to work. I want to tell you right now that Jesus sees you! Jesus knows where you are–that is just the kind of God He is! Jesus knows where we are blind and He know our blind spots that continually cause us to fail. And–he’s walking by as you cry out.

Jesus goes to work. He spits on the ground and makes some mud with His spit. Now that is a whole different sermon. Jesus makes the mud and puts it on the eyes of the blind man and tells him to go to Pool of Siloam and wash.

It was simply put, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (v. 7). It was simple; it contains only seven words. It was personal; it was directed to the blind man and to him alone. It involved a test of obedience; for it involved a response to the Lord Jesus Christ. Has the Holy Spirit (the identical twin of Jesus) ever spoken to you? Ever whispered a command to you? He has to me—and it has never been more than just a few words: give that beggar $10, fill that kid’s car up, call this person, go visit that person. If you are learning to listen to God’s voice—remember this, listen for those short give-or-take-7 words–and then go do it. (Remember, the voice of the Holy Spirit will never contradict Scripture, or fulfill it.)

Do you know that the distance between the Temple Gate and the Pool of Siloam is around 70-80 yards? Almost the length of a football field.

Can you enter into this story?
You have been blind from birth. You cannot see the man who is talking to you. All you feel is this wet mud being put on your eyes. Then you are told by the man to go to the Pool of Siloam. Have you ever thought, how did the blind man know which way to walk? How did he maneuver around a crowd of thousands in order to get the pool?

I think this was really a test of obedience. Are you in this story? Jesus just put mud onto a blind guy’s eyes and told him to go wash in the pool that is 100 yards away through a crowd of thousands. (And sometimes I am put out because I just want to punch my card in the payment finder, fill my car with gas and go–and then I hear—”Dave, you see that kid. That kid over there is hungry—buy him some food.” The blind beggar is now on his way to the pool of Siloam. He is blind. Remember that.

I believe that in the same way, the gospel, the Good News that comes to us is simple— “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” It is personal; you must believe. Above all, it is a test of obedience; for the question is, “Will you believe? Will you trust Jesus?”  Listen if you are hesitating, let the blind man be your guide.

If you are hesitating, you are blinder by far than the blind beggar. What did he do? He was blind, but as the old Puritan divine John Trapp quaintly observed, “He obeyed Christ blindly.”

SO WHAT?
How are you and I doing being obedient to Jesus?

The blind man could not see Jesus, but Jesus saw him. Moreover, when he saw him, he saw him as a man who needed his help. Jesus alone saw him in this way. The disciples looked at the man and saw him as a sinner. “Who sinned,” they asked, “this man or his parents?” The passersby saw him as a beggar. “Isn’t he the man who sat and begged?” The Pharisees saw him as a tool to maneuver to trap Jesus. But Jesus—well, Jesus saw him as a man who needed help, and gave him more than he asked for or dreamed of–his SIGHT.

Here we are, at that famous time of the message: SO WHAT?

What does this message have to do with me?

Where am I in this story?

I believe that there are two kinds of people in this world — GRACE STEALERS and GRACE GIVERS. Are you are grace-giver or a grace-stealer?

THIS RIGHT HERE is your homework for this week, and really forever. Every day—stop and take an inventory of who you are. Take an inventory of where you may be blind. Look at your life, your family, your neighborhood, your schools, your job, your church—and ask yourself this question: AM I A GRACE STEALER or A GRACE GIVER? And then…get ready…and hear this:  JESUS IS PASSING BY YOUR WAY Today and every day.

Let us pray, “Jesus—Where we lack…help us. Where we are blind, give us sight. Where we have become grace stealers, grace destroyers, grace killers—change us…and make us more like you. Teach us how to see the truth and help the truth to set us free…free to be grace givers… like you.”

As my wife and I travel on airplanes, we always buy 4 coffee cards for the flight attendants who will be on our service. Our son taught us that simple act of kindness. Really. Think about it. That is a hard job. Anyway, we gave our card to the chief attendant who passed them out sometime during the flight. One of the attendants came up and asked if we were the gifters. She then told us when she was in training, her roommate (also in training) was on the flight on 9-11. With tears in her eyes, she said, “Thank you for writing, “We remember” with a scripture on this card.  YUP. Sometimes Jesus asks things of us that we cannot comprehend. DO IT ANYWAY.

See you Sunday

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. John 1:1-9

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers:

Let’s recap the book of John quickly:  in John six Jesus feeds the five thousand and proclaims for the first time that He is the Great I Am by saying, “I Am the Bread of Life.”  In Chapter seven Jesus confronts the religious leaders and at the beginning of chapter eight we are told the story of the woman caught in adultery.   Then Jesus goes out into the temple courtyard and proclaims “I Am the Light of the World.  Here is where we will spend our time today.

I would like to set the scene for you so that you can enter into the story.  The Feast of Tabernacles is going on in Jerusalem.  This is one of the three, major feasts or festivals held in Jerusalem. There are millions of people who make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feasts in order to celebrate all that God had done for them in the past.  The Feast of Tabernacles was held in the fall and was also called the Feast of Booths.  The Hebrew word is “Sukkoth.”  The people came to Jerusalem and lived in booths made of tree branches.  This was to remind them of how their ancestors’ wandered in the wilderness for forty years. This festival lasted seven days.  They told stories of how God provided water from the rock in the desert and of daily manna that fell from heaven.  They remembered how God provided a cloud by day to guide them and a fire by night to warm them.  Compare these festivals to a sort like our Christmas and our Easter…these were the big, Jewish holidays!

In the midst of this festival Jesus tells the people exactly who He is. On each morning of the day of the festival, the Jews made procession to the pool of Siloam.  They drew water out of the pool with their golden pitchers.  Then they processed back to the temple area and poured the water from their golden pitchers onto the altar of sacrifice.  The people would sing and shout and praise God for God’s provision of water from the rock in wilderness. It was in the midst of the last of these morning processions that John recorded these words, “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’” John 7:37-38

Jesus tells the crowd gathered that he is the living water.  Turn to Him and you will never be thirsty again.

During the Feast, they poured water from the pool of Siloam onto the altar of sacrifice.  That was only the first part of the daily celebration.  The second part of the daily feast started at dusk, in the court of the women.  They lit four, huge candelabras.   So brilliant was the light from these candelabras that “there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that did not reflect their light.”[i]

Think of how we light the torch for the Olympics…same idea!  Just imagine how bright and brilliant those candelabras were.  The light reminded them of the fire by night that protected them, provided for them, and guided them.  The fire would also remind them of the cloud by day that sheltered them from the desert heat (140 degrees).

In the midst of this great Festival, with millions in Jerusalem, Jesus proclaims, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

In May 1995, Randy Reid, a 34-year-old construction worker, was welding on top of a nearly completed water tower outside Chicago. According to writer Melissa Ramsdell, Reid unhooked his safety gear to reach for some pipes when a metal cage slipped and bumped the scaffolding he stood on. The scaffolding tipped, and Reid lost his balance. He fell 110 feet, landing face down on a pile of dirt, just missing rocks and construction debris. A fellow worker called 911.

When paramedics arrived, they found Reid conscious, moving, and complaining of a sore back. Apparently, the fall didn’t cost Reid his sense of humor. As paramedics carried him on a backboard to the ambulance, Reid had one request: “Don’t drop me.” (Doctors later said Reid came away from the accident with a bruised lung.)

Sometimes we resemble that construction worker. God protects us from harm of a 110-foot fall and we’re nervous about a three-foot height. The God who saved us from hell, death and the grave can protect us from all the dangers we face this week.[ii]

Jesus stood in the midst of the courtyard of the women and proclaimed “I Am — YAHWEH— I Am the light of the world!” 

You don’t have to fear!

You don’t have to worry!

You don’t have to fret!

I Am who I Am and I AM who I always will be and I have heard your cry!  I will be who I will be! I will be here to light your path…today, tomorrow…always.

In Psalm 27:1 David the Psalmist says — “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

What I am about to share with is true. It sounds crazy but I have a witness–my wife, Jac. In 1994 Jac and I took a trip to a parent event for our eldest daughter’s sorority. Jennifer attended the same college that we did so it was always a good time to return to campus–8 hours away (NMSU now Truman State). We were driving home late at night on the back roads from Kirksville, MO. Way far in the distance we started to see a light in the sky. We wondered if it was a fire or fireworks (it was February). The closer we got, the brighter in the sky it got. It looked like a lit-up cloud. The closer we got to the freeway (I-80), the bigger and brighter the cloud became. We turned onto the freeway and headed east for home. Guess what? That cloud followed us. It didn’t matter if we went 80 mph or 50. It didn’t matter if we stopped for food or gas. We didn’t have our camera and we didn’t have a cell phone. Jac and I were freaked out. The cloud followed us from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Rochelle, Illinois. As we passed the Rochelle water tower, the cloud stopped and disappeared. We even stopped, turned around and went back over the bridge to the water tower just to make sure! Just a few weeks earlier, the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary had called me to offer me a full scholarship to attend seminary. I was 39 years old and I wanted to go to seminary but I thought I’d wait til the kids all graduated high school and then sell the house and go to seminary. NOPE. God had other plans. I was offered a NEVER HEARD OF FULL SCHOLARSHIP with a commuter room included. We prayed about the offer, talked with the kids (who all said, “GO!”) and I was set to quit the family business in August and go back to get my Masters of Divinity.

Jac and I often talk about this crazy cloud. One thing for sure, Jesus is the light of the world! In the end, I think I’ve decided that this was my Gideon’s fleece of a sort; a sort of “ENTER THE PROMISED LAND OF SEMINARY, DAVE!” In five months, I will celebrate my 25th anniversary of ordained ministry. Sometimes the ways of God are so far above my own–it’s just time to go take a tylenol and lay down to recover!

So What?
Are you afraid today? 

Do you think that God has forgotten you? 

Are you in a dark place in your life? 

Have you fallen 110 feet and don’t think you’ll be able to get up? 

The Good News is that God is with us! 

God protects us.  When Jesus told the people in the middle of that courtyard, “I AM the light of the world” they immediately envisioned God creating Light and separating darkness.  They immediately envisioned a cloud of light by day and a cloud of fire by night.  Protected from the desert heat, and the freezing nights—Jesus is saying He is the light that will protect us from the darkness.

COUNT ON IT! Our God is greater than our darkness.

See you Sunday!
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com