Standing Strong in Prayer

Last week we looked at how the full armor of God is needed if we are going to stand strong in our faith and help our children and youth stand strong in theirs.  In fact, let me say this again because I can’t say it enough – our children and youth will not be able to stand strong in their faith until we are standing strong in ours.  We need to do all we can to understand God’s word and know God’s truth.  We need to trust in Jesus as our Savior and then trust in the righteousness that Jesus offer, and we need draw deeply upon our faith so we can effectively share it with others – this is the full armor of God.  Paul ends his talk about the armor with these words, Ephesians 6:18 - Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers and requests.  In so many ways, payer is what makes the armor and our faith effective so let’s look at what it means to pray in the Spirit and explore what kinds of prayers we have to pray.

When Paul says we should pray in the Spirit it means we need to pray in line with God’s will and believing in God’s ability.  Let’s start with the second part of that first: do we believe that God has the ability to answer our prayers?  Do we believe God can do the things we ask Him to do?  If we don’t really believe God can do anything about our situation then we aren’t praying with conviction or power and we aren’t praying in the Spirit.  Praying in the spirit begins by believing that God is able to do more than we ever thought or imagined and if we need to grow in this belief, then we need to turn to the Bible because it is filled of stories about God’s power. 

When the Red Sea needed to part in order to save God’s people, God parted the Red Sea.  When water was needed in the desert – God brought water from a rock.  When the city of Jericho looked too strong to overcome – God tore down the walls.  When the giant Goliath looked like the winner - God took him out with one rock.  When storms looked like they would sink the disciples, Jesus silenced the wind and the waves.  When death looked like it had the final word – God brought forth Jesus from the grave and gave us all a resurrection.  God can do all things. 

God can step into a specific time and place to do anything that needs to be done so we need to pray with conviction and trust that God is able.  Sometimes the challenge for us isn’t thinking that God is able, it’s wondering whether God is willing.  We wrestle with the question - does God want to help us?  Does God care enough about us to answer our prayers?  This is where the absolute truths we mentioned last week need to be remembered.  Last week we learned 2 absolute truths, the first is that there is a God who created us in his imagine and the second one is…God Loves Us.

If we aren’t praying with passion and power because we don’t think God wants to answer our prayer then we need go back and remember this truth.  God loves us.  God loves us unconditionally.  God loves us eternally.  God’s love is deeper, higher, wider and strong than we can possibly imagine.  Once we accept this truth and begin to experience God’s love, we will pray with conviction and power knowing that God’s will and desire is to help us.  It doesn’t mean everything we pray for will happen, but it means we can pray with confidence and in the Spirit.

Praying in the spirit also means being willing to pray in line with God’s will.  While we can ask God for anything and God is willing to listen, He will only give us what is in line with His will which means it’s helpful for us to be living and praying in line with God’s will.  Jesus teaches us how to do this when he prayed on the night before his crucifixion.  Jesus didn’t want to carry a cross, and he didn’t want to be nailed to a cross, so Jesus asked God if it was possible – then help him find another way.  Three times Jesus prayed this prayer but each time he ended it with these words, not my will be thy will be done.  That’s how we need to end our prayers.  We can share with God what is on our hearts and be honest with Him about our deepest desires but then we need to be willing to pray, not my will but thy will be done.  

So praying in the spirit means praying in line with God’s will and believing in God’s ability and this needs to be the foundation of our prayer life – but then Paul says we should pray with all kinds of prayers.  Too often I think we become focused on only one kind of prayer and that is asking God for help or asking God for what we want or need.  Our prayer turns into a list of things and while I don’t think God minds this, we are limiting our experience of God and the power of prayer.  So let’s look at some other kinds of prayers that can broaden our experiences and to do this we are going to look at the ACTS of prayer.

“A” stands for Adoration and it is always the best place to start because this helps remind us exactly who God is and what God is capable of doing.  Adoration reminds us that God loves us and God is able to do all things.  We can find many examples of these prayers in the book of psalms and in fact, since many psalms are written as prayers to God we can simply use them as our prayers  For example, look at Psalm 8, and then my personal favorite is Psalm 18:1-6.  I often read this as a prayer to God and it is my favorite because it reminds me of a time in my life when God delivered me and it reminds me that God loves me.  My fear is that we don’t spend enough time in prayers of adoration which means we aren’t really focused on the power and strength and love and will of God which means we aren’t praying boldly in the spirit.  To stand strong we really need to focus on prayers of Adoration.

From there we move on to “C” which stands for prayers of Confession.  In many ways, these prayers will naturally flow from our prayers of adoration because when we understand how great and loving God is we immediately begin to see our own sin and weakness.  In fact, we just heard that in Psalm 8:3-4.  Prayers of confession are important for 2 reasons, they humble us before God and humility is required for a strong relationship with God, and it is only by confessing our sin that God is able to then turn and forgive us our sin, look at 1 John 1:8-10. 

So it is important to confess our sin but prayers of confession can not turn into times of self loathing.  Confession needs to lead to forgiveness, once we confess our sin we need to accept God’s grace and forgiveness and then move forward in life and when we do this it naturally leads to the “T” – Thanksgiving.  While God’s forgiveness might be the first thing we need to be thankful for – it should not be the last.  Our prayers should be filled with giving thanks to God for all that we have and what’s important to know is that these prayers not only honor God but they actually help us experience lasting joy. 

Dr. Brene Brown, who will be speaking at the Leadership Summit in a few weeks, says that all of her research showed her that being thankful led to lasting joy.  In her book Daring Greatly, Dr. Brown said that EVERY participant in her study who talked about staying open to joy also talked about the importance of practicing gratitude.   The pattern of association is so strong and prevalent that she has made the commitment as a researcher to never talk about joy without talking about gratitude.  Prayers of thanksgiving not only help us see who God is and deepen our relationship with God but they help us experience the fullness of joy – who wouldn’t want that? 

These three types of prayers: adoration, confession and thanksgiving, are some of the prayers we need to be praying if we want to stand strong in our faith and they tend to be the prayers we often neglect.  We tend to focus all our prayers on the “S” - Supplication which means asking God for what we want or need.  I found this really interesting; Wikipedia says that supplication is the most common form of prayer and it is where a person asks God to provide something, either for the person who is doing the praying or on behalf of someone else.  Sometime what we find on the internet is true.  I believe supplication, or asking God for what we want or need, is the most common form of prayer and yet it shouldn’t be.  It should be just one form of prayer. 

Now don’t misunderstand, supplication is an important form of prayer and God does want to hear our concerns, wants and needs – but is that all God wants to hear all the time?  For those of you who are parents – do you only want to hear what your children want and need from you?  How does it feel at work when all our boss tells us is what she wants from us, or all our customers tell is what they need?  Isn’t it nice to get some affirmation and thanks?  Isn’t it nice when people actually humble themselves in relationships instead of just asking for more?  I think the same is true with God.  God loves us unconditionally, but I think it brings God joy when we spend as much time thanking him and adoring him as we do asking him for what we need.  So let’s strive for balance.  This week take as much time adoring God in prayer as you do giving thanks and confessing sin and asking for what you need.  We have included in the next steps some practical ways to do this.

And then finally, Paul says this in Ephesians 6:19-20.  Paul was a missionary doing the work of God and he wanted and needed the church to pray for him and his ministry.  There were times Paul got weary and needed boldness.  There were times Paul faced huge obstacles and needed the power of God to break through.  There were times Paul faced opposition and persecution and needed God to intervene.  Paul needed the prayers of the church and missionaries today need the prayers of the church.  We are honored to have Mark here today and we actually get the opportunity to live out God’s word by praying that Mark and all those he ministers with will have the boldness to proclaim the power of the gospel in a hurting nation. 

We are going to close by asking Mark to come forward so we can live out this passage and another one where the leaders of the church laid hands on those they set aside for ministry.  In Acts 6:6 it says, they had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed for them and laid hands on them.  

Let us pray.

Next Steps

Standing Strong in Prayer

Monday – Pray In The Spirit

Take time to tell God that you believe in His power and that you desire to be in line with His will. 

Read and reflect on Jesus prayer in Mark 14:32-42.

Tuesday – Adoration

Take time in adore God; affirm God’s goodness, strength and love.

Pray these scriptures: Psalm 8, 18, 19, 23, 46, 95, 100, 121, 148

Wednesday – Confession

Take time to confess your sin to God.  Confess the things that are easy and those things you don’t want acknowledge or admit.

Read and reflect on: Psalm 51, 103:12 and 1 John 1:5-10

Thursday – Thanksgiving

Take time to give thanks to God for all you have, make a list and add to it throughout the day.  Pray it at night.

Pray this scripture: Psalm 103:2

Friday – Supplication

Take time to ask God for what you need and what needs you see in others. 

Read and reflect on: James 1:5, Luke9-13

The Weekend – ACTS: putting it all together. 

Divide your prayer time into 4 sections and spend equal amounts of time in the ACTS of prayer.

All week – Pray for Mark Abbott and the Church in Spain.

The Armor of God

All week we have been encouraging the children to stand strong in their faith by trusting in God’s love and God’s word and by leaning on God through prayer and leaning on the people God places in our lives.  As you can see, it has been an awesome week and I know the children have learned a lot, but let me say this as clearly as I can, our children and youth will not be able to stand strong in their faith unless we are standing strong in ours.  Children cannot stand strong in their faith unless their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers and mentors, friends and neighbors as well as leaders and members of their church are standing strong in our faith.  So people, we need to stand strong because again, let me also say this as clearly as I can - there are forces working to pull our children, and all of us, away from God and the life God has for us. 

There are cultural influences in music, movies, advertising, television, social media and the internet that are working to destroy the integrity, honor and value of our children and our children and youth cannot stand strong in their faith against these forces unless we are standing strong in ours, so today what we are going to hear isn’t a message for the children – they got their message this week, this is for us.  This is a message for parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, leaders and members of God’s church, for the benefit of our children, for the future of the church, for the salvation and restoration of the world and for the sake of Jesus Christ and God’s Kingdom, we need to learn how to stand strong in the Lord and in the strength of God’s power, and we learn how to do this from the Apostle Paul.

Paul was being held as a prisoner in Rome when he wrote letters of encouragement to the followers of Jesus in churches throughout the region.  These Christians were going through very difficult times.  The church was young and small and the cultural and political forces working against them were strong.  In many ways, the people in those churches weren’t any different from us today as we fight the forces working against God’s kingdom, and like us, they needed to learn how to stand strong in their faith so Paul told them how to do this in his letters to the church in Ephesus.   

As we read from Paul’s letter, it’s helpful to know that when Paul was led to Rome as a prisoner there would have been times he was actually chained to a roman soldier.  Even as a prisoner in Rome there were times when Paul would have been chained to a guard, so Paul spent a lot of time looking at soldiers dressed in armor and as he looked at that armor and how it not only protected them but helped them strong in their fight, Paul began to think about all the things the followers of Jesus needed if they were going to stand strong and be faithful in their own fight.  So Paul tells us to put on the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-17. 

Paul begins by making clear that the battles we are fighting are not with people, we are fighting spiritual battles – look at 6:12.  We are fighting forces of darkness and evil.  We are fighting cultural battles against forces that want to cheapen life and relationships and over-sexualize our children and youth.  That we are in a real battle became really clear to me when I served a church in Altoona.  Most of the children who came to our after-school program came from the neighborhood around the church which was a rapidly declining and troubled area.  The children who attended had little or no parental support or supervision and the behaviors we saw were really troubling.  One of the most disturbing events for me was one day when a group of little girls no more than 7 or 8 started yelling at me from across the street and telling me how sexy I was.  Their suggestive language and actions were clearly inappropriate and then I started thinking about the places where they were picking up these messages, it was from music, TV and the culture around them.   

We are fighting spiritual battles.  We are fighting powers of darkness that have taken over so much of our culture that we don’t even notice it anymore but our children and youth are absorbing it all and it is shaping who they are.  It is against these kinds of forces that we need to stand strong and to do this we need some armor.  We can’t stand unprotected; we are not strong enough on our own: we need this armor of God.

The first three pieces of armor Paul mentions are things that he would have seen the soldiers wear all the time, which means they are things we need to make part of our daily lives.  The first is the belt of truth.  We are living in a world where people want to say that there is no truth or that truth is what you want it to be and while we can agree to disagree on many issues, and we can hold many different social, political and economic views, if we are going to stand strong in the Lord and help our children stand strong then there are some truths we need to see as absolute and I want to share just two that I think are the most important.

The first is that there is a God who created us in His image – which means that each and every adult, child and youth has value and worth and dignity.  Every child, from the ones gathered in this building today to the ones on the streets of Altoona to the ones who struggle to survive in Sierra Leone and Syria, every child is created in the image of God which means they have value, dignity and they are worthy of love, respect and belonging.  In a world that wants to cheapen the value of life, we need to share this truth with our children daily and let them know just how valuable and precious they are and how important they are to us.

Dr. Brene Brown, who will be speaking at the global leadership summit in a few weeks, talks about how important it is for everyone to understand that we are all worthy of love and belonging.  Dr. Brown says all of her research on relationships leads her to one conclusion, we are hardwired to connect with others – I’d say we were created this way because we are created in the image of God who wants to be connected to us.  God wants to be in a relationship with us and there is just one thing that can explain this and it is our second absolute truth - God loves us. 

Sometimes this is more difficult for us to comprehend than children because I hear more adults say, I don’t know how God can love me.  Over time we take on the baggage of disappointments, brokenness and shame and we have believed the world tell us we aren’t good enough, strong enough, rich enough, pretty enough and smart enough and as we focus on all our imperfections we begin to be filled with shame which makes us wonder if God can or does love us.  Here is where some absolute truth is needed.  God does love us.  We are imperfect (sinners) but that doesn’t keep God from loving us.  God’s love for us is unconditional and eternal and Paul shared this truth to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 3:18-19.  The love of God for his imperfect children is seen most clearly in the person of Jesus and the absolute truth of God’s love is made clear to us in John 3:16-17.

It is this belt of truth that needs to be the foundation of our lives.  We need to write these out and put them where we can read them every day and allow them to shape our hearts and minds and then we need to share these truths with our children.  And since it is a battle where the world speaks lies over and over and over again, we have to be just as strong and persistent is sharing these truths over and over again.  This truth needs to be the foundation on which we build.  If it is not, then no other truth will matter or make any sense.

On top of the belt is a breastplate which covers and protects all the vital organs and Paul says that this breastplate is righteousness, but let’s be clear it’s not our righteousness – but God’s.  If we try to live a righteous and Godly life on our own, we will fail.  It is the righteousness of Jesus that stands strong and brings us life which means that we need to trust not our ability but God’s ability and God’s desire to help us live the right way.  The key to all of this is humility.  Soldiers wore armor because they knew their own skin wasn’t strong enough.  They humbled themselves and trusted in the breastplate.  We need to humble ourselves and trust the righteousness of God.  In James 4:10 it says, Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.  I like how it is translated in the Message: get down on your knees before the Master, it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet”.  In our VBS language we might say that kneeling before the King is the only way to Stand Strong. 

To go with our belt and breastplate we need boots for our feet and Paul calls these boots our willingness to proclaim the gospel of peace.  Of all the pieces of armor we are lacking, I think it is these boots.  Too often we are afraid to talk about our faith and share the truth of God’s love with others because we don’t feel like we know enough or are good enough to say anything.  It is this attitude that is undermining the faith of our children and youth because if our children and youth don’t hear us talk about our faith in God they will never learn how important faith in God is. 

Children learn what is important by watching and listening to the totality of our lives.  They learn sports are important because we talk about sports all the time and we sign them up to participate in sports several times a week and we spend lots of time and money enjoy sports, so for many of us the way we live our lives communicates the importance of sports.  So let me ask, from the totality of how we live our lives – what are we teaching our children about God?  Do they hear us talking about God, praying to God and getting involved in serving God, worshiping God, learning about God and giving to God on a regular basis?  If we are not able to talk about our faith to our children, then they will never see it as something important to their lives, so we need to work on having strong boots.  We need to be bold and talk about our faith and this gospel of peace with our children and youth so they understand it is something which can help them stand strong.

Now the last three pieces of armor Paul talks about are items that would only be used in battle, a shield, a sword and a helmet.  The kind of shield Paul is talking about is not a small personal shield but a much larger shield that would be able to protect a soldier from all the arrows and even flaming arrows that would come at him and what Paul says protects us is our faith.  It is our faith in God and trusting in the name and power of Jesus that helps us overcome all things in this world.  Because our faith is important in the battle, it needs to be as strong as possible.  This is why we encourage people to be involved in some kind of small group study because it is through small group discussion, study and the prayer and encouragement we get from others that our faith get’s stronger.  Remember, we were created for connection, so spiritual growth will take place in relationship and connection not only with God but others.  If you are not part of a study, we would invite you to be part of one and you can stop at the connection table to learn about opportunities to deepen and develop your faith. 

The sword, Paul says, is the word of God.  It’s important for us to know what God’s word says and doesn’t say so we can stand strong and help our children and youth stand strong.  For example, the Bible does not say, God helps those who help themselves.  In fact, the opposite is true, God helps those who can’t help themselves.  The Bible says when we are weak then God is able to be strong in us, look at 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.  So we need to know God’s word and we can grow in our understanding of it through personal devotions as well as small group discussions.

And then the last piece of armor Paul talks about is the helmet of salvation.  A helmet protects our head which is the most vulnerable part of the body in battle so the helmet is vital to survival, but it is also the helmet that gives a soldier confidence to go into battle.  What gives us the confidence to stand strong in our faith and to share our faith with others and to fight for our faith in this generation is knowing that our salvation comes from Jesus Christ.  We stand strong not because we are perfect but because we are forgiven and redeemed.  We stand strong and talk about truth not because we are better than others but because our lives have been changed by the truth of God’s love.  We don’t stand in our own strength and goodness, we stand in the shadow of the cross – the cross from which Jesus said, Father forgive them, the cross on which Jesus died so that we might be forgiven and able to enter into a new relationship with God. 

It is our salvation through Jesus Christ alone that gives us confidence to stand strong and it is this salvation through Jesus Christ that we need to talk about and share with our children and grandchildren and the children of our church and community.  But we can’t talk about what we don’t know.  If you have never accepted the salvation that God offers us through Jesus Christ, then we invite you to accept it today.  It’s a simple process; we humble ourselves before God and confess our sins and imperfections and all the ways our lives don’t reflect the life we know God wants for us, and then we ask God to forgive us.  We then open our hands to receive the gift of God’s grace which not only forgive us, but sets us free from the guilt and shame and burden of sin so we can live the new life God has to give. 

If you have never accepted this gift of salvation – we invite you to accept it today, and if you have accepted it but feel the need to put on the helmet once again, we invite you to do that as well.  Let us all ask God to once again pour out on us his mercy and love so we can be assured of his forgiveness and our salvation.  I can’t tell you how important this is for us today.  There are serious battles going on in the world and the lives of our children and youth hang in the balance.  They need us to stand strong in the Lord.  They need us to put on the full armor of God and more than anything they need us to be certain and sure of our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  So let us make Jesus king in the kingdom of our hearts and lives.  Let us make Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.  I invite you to pray with me. 

Almighty God, I confess that too often I try to live my life without You.  I try to do things my way and survive on my own strength and power.  Forgive my sin and selfishness.  Today I accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord and place my faith and trust in His work on the cross.  Thank you for the forgiveness You offer me through Christ.  Send Your Spirit into my life so that I can turn from this world and live for You.  Help me stand strong in the truth of Your love and the power of Your word.  Finally, give me the courage to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with my children and the children and youth of this church and community so that together we might be able to stand strong in our faith and experience the fullness of life You offer.  In Jesus name we pray. AMEN

Next Steps

The Armor of God

1.  If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and King, or if you need to recommit your life to Jesus, take time to reflect on and pray this prayer:

Almighty God, I confess that too often I try to live my life without You.  I try to do things my way and survive on my own strength and power.  Forgive my sin and selfishness.  Today I accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord and place my faith and trust in His work on the cross.  Thank you for the forgiveness You offer me through Christ.  Send Your Spirit into my life so that I can turn from this world and live for You.  Help me stand strong in the truth of Your love and the power of Your word.  Finally, give me the courage to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with my children and the children and youth of this church and community so that together we might be able to stand strong in our faith and experience the fullness of life You offer.  In Jesus name we pray. AMEN

2. Place these two absolute truths where you can read them daily.  Recall them when the thought “I’m not good enough” enters your mind.  Share them each week with one other person.

·         There is a God who created me in His image.

·         God loves me.

3. To strengthen your faith and understanding of God’s word, join a Sunday School class or Bible Study or make plans to join a Small Group this September.  Information on all small groups can be found at the connection table.

4.  Pray for the opportunity to share your faith with your children or grandchildren, or the children and youth of the church.  Then step out in confidence and DO IT.  

The Way ~ Jerusalem

 

Instead of looking at castle walls today, think of these stones as being part of the walls of the Temple in Jerusalem because that is what Jesus would have experienced when he entered the city the final week of his life.  The Temple in Jerusalem was magnificent.  Here is a replica of the Temple from the time of Jesus and as you can see, it was massive.  

Today there is not much left of the Temple.  There are sections of the Temple wall like the Wailing Wall 

and there are these Temple gates which Jesus would have entered with his disciples.  

Most of the Temple has been torn down and outside one section of the wall are the actual stones that would have been part of the walls and buildings and  as you can see, these stones were huge, which gives us a sense of the sheer size and splendor of the Jerusalem Temple.

So it would have been an impressive sight that met Jesus and his disciples as they entered the city of Jerusalem and in fact in Mark 13:1 the disciples said to Jesus, Look, Teacher!  What massive stones!  What magnificent buildings!  They were impressed.  These simple fisherman were in awe, and yet Jesus knew that the Temple in all its strength and power would not stand, look at Mark 13:2.  And that is exactly what happened about 40 years later.  After an uprising among the Jewish people in 70 AD, the Roman Empire came in and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and tore down the Temple casting these stones to the ground where they have sat for almost 2000 years.    

Today we are finishing our series on the way of Jesus where Jesus finished his ministry – the city of Jerusalem.  Jesus started his ministry at the Jordan River, spent time in the wilderness and mountains, made his home in Capernaum, sailed and walked on the Sea of Galilee, and then traveled through Samaria reaching out to sinners and outcasts and then he ended his life’s journey in Jerusalem.  

Jesus entered the city by riding a donkey down from the Mt. of Olives at the beginning of the Passover week and it was a triumphant entry.  The crowds cheered Jesus as their king and they waved palm branches in the air to celebrate his coming. Choosing a donkey for this parade was a very practical choice.  The road from the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem would have been difficult and rocky and a donkey was surefooted which meant it could easily make the journey, but that is not why Jesus chose the animal.  Jesus chose a donkey because the prophet Zechariah said that the king of Israel would come into Jerusalem in humility riding on a donkey. 

By choosing a donkey, Jesus was making a statement that he was coming as a king, but not a king who trusted in the power and strength of this world; he wasn’t coming in on a war horse and trusting in swords and spears, he was coming in humility and with the love and grace of God.  Jesus was going to be a very different kind of king who would bring in a very different kind of kingdom and the contrast for the people of Jerusalem that day could not have been any greater because at the same time Jesus is entering the city of Jerusalem there were two other rulers also entering the city.

Remember, Jesus came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and the Passover was like Independence Day for the people of Israel.  The Passover reminded the Jewish people of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and each year the celebration brought out those people who wanted to try and bring about the freedom of Israel from the oppressive Roman Empire.  So every year there were rebels who would stir up the crowds and incite violence in hopes of overthrowing Roman rule.  So the week of Passover was a tense time in Jerusalem and to help keep the city calm both Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, and King Herod, the Roman ruler over all Galilee made their own way into the city. 

Pontius Pilate would have marched into the city from the North with over 1,000 soldiers in a show of force that would make it clear that he wanted no trouble during the Passover celebration.  At the same time King Herod, a violent man who thought nothing of killing people in order to keep his power, was also entering the city with his own troops and his own show of force.  Both of these men would have had their own crowds cheering them on, which means that you had three rulers all entering Jerusalem with a type of parade, but they were very different kinds of kings representing very different kinds of kingdoms and they offered the people two very different ways of life 

One way trusted in the power and strength of this world by coming with horses and weapons and thousands of soldiers.  The other way trusted the love of God and came with a single donkey and ordinary people waving palms.  One way looked to things of this world for safety, security and strength and the other way looked to God for all those things.  Two very clear messages were being presented to the people, they could trust in the world or they could trust in God.  They could find strength in the power of the stones that made up the walls of the city and the walls of the Temple or they could trust in the one who came to be their savior.

 

Stones or a Savior - two very different ways, and in Luke 19 it says that Jesus wept over the city because the people chose the stones over the savior.  The people chose the way of the world over the way of God.  In Luke 19:41-42a it says, As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “if you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace.”   Jesus knew that what would bring people peace and life wasn’t the way of Pontius Pilate or King Herod, it wasn’t a way that looked to the strength of stones or the power of the world, it was the way of God, but Jesus wept because the people chose the other way. 

I wonder sometimes how often Jesus weeps because we choose the ways of this world over the way of God’s kingdom?  When we trust in our money instead of God’s provision, when we trust in status and position over humility and service, when we trust in our own strength and wisdom over the grace of God – I think Jesus still weeps.  We need to stop trusting in the way of this world and start trusting in the way of Jesus, but what does this way look like?  We have been looking at this way these past few weeks and we can learn more about the way of Jesus by looking at the events from his final week in Jerusalem.

On Monday, Jesus entered the Temple and was outraged by what he saw.  The Temple courtyard, which was supposed to be reserved for gentiles and foreigners as a place to pray, had been turned into a marketplace where people could exchange foreign currency in order to have the right coins to pay the Temple tax.  The courtyard was also filled with merchants selling doves so that people had the right animals for their sacrifices.  The problem was that everything that was being done in this courtyard was being done for a fee, usually a high fee, and it was all taking advantage of the poor. 

Doves were the offerings given by those who were poor so the merchants there were marketing strictly to the poor and because their prices were high – they were taking advantage of them.  And the people who needed their money changed were those who didn’t have access to the right currency in other places, which were the poor and outcast, so again those being taken advantage of in the Temple courtyard were the poor and outcast, those people Jesus loved so much.  So every day the people being driven out of the Temple and the people not being given a place to pray and worship were the people who were already feeling far from God and this injustice bothered Jesus deeply – so he did something about it.

Jesus drove out the merchants and money changers with a whip and said that the house of God needed to be a house of prayer and what this scene teaches us is that the way of Jesus is a way that works for justice.  For us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus we also need to work for justice.  Every year at the Global Leadership Summit we hear from someone who works for justice in our world and this year we will hear from Bob Goff who is the founder of Restore International which fights human rights violations including forced prostitution and child slavery in Africa.  

Bob does this because of his relationship with Jesus and because he knows that the way of Jesus is a way that fights passionately for justice.  Jesus’ time in Jerusalem shows us that if we want to follow in the way of Jesus we need to allow our hearts to burn with a righteous anger when we see injustice and we need to allow our hands and feet and voices to work to restore justice for all.

Jesus final week in Jerusalem was also spent teaching that those who really know and love God are those who use what God has given them to help care for others.  It is in Jerusalem that Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats which says that if we really love and know God we will feed the hungry, clothe the naked and care for those sick and in prison.  The way of Jesus is clear, it sets aside what we want and what is good for us in order to help bring healing and hope and life to others.  Now Jesus didn’t just teach this – he did this.  It was in an upper room of a home in the city of Jerusalem where Jesus set aside what he deserved and what was good for him and knelt down to wash the feet of his friends. 

Jesus and his disciples had all gathered for the Passover meal and yet no one wanted to take on the job of a servant and wash the feet of their friends.  This would have been a pretty nasty job.  Think of washing the feet of your friends after rustic camping for the weekend, you know, the kind of camping where you don’t have running water which means your feet have been to latrines and outhouses.  For those who have been to Impact, think about washing the feet of your friends after a few days of walking the dirt roads and muddy trails and using the port-a-potties.  I know, it’s not a pleasant thought, but that is what it was like and Jesus not only did this but he said to his disciples – I have given you an example.  Go do the same thing.  The way of Jesus was a way of service, service that sets aside what we want and what is good for us in order to serve those around us.  This is not the way of the world which says we are the ones who should be served, but the way of Jesus is the way that brings more peace and fulfillment. 

The service and sacrifice of Jesus didn’t end in the upper room washing feet, in continue through the streets of Jerusalem as Jesus carried a cross.  On Calvary, Jesus was crucified and today you can visit a site where they think the cross stood, but more important is that the cross still stands as the symbol of the way of Jesus.  The way of Jesus is sacrificial love.  The way of Jesus gives up what is good for us in order to do something good for someone else.  It gives away our lives in order to bring life.  It loves others without thinking about getting anything in return.  It offers forgiveness before people ask for it and grace when they don’t deserve it. 

When we look at the cross – we need to see it as God’s way of love and grace and peace offered freely to us and we need to grab hold of it.  We need accept the love of God and hear Jesus words spoken to personally to us, Father, forgive Andy.  We need to accept the love of God for ourselves and trust this way of God as the way of salvation and life for us, and then we need to make this sacrificial love the way of our lives.   

Entering into the city of Jerusalem, Jesus showed the world a very different way than the way of Pontius Pilate and King Herod.  Their way of power and might and trusting in the strength of stones fundamentally doesn’t work – remember the stones didn’t stand.  The way of this world doesn’t bring lasting peace or joy or life.  Those things are only found in the radically different way of Jesus.  Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem shows us that it is the way of humility, service and sacrificial love that leads to life.  Remember, after the cross there was an empty tomb.  Only after the cross was there a resurrection and eternal life which shows us that it is the way of sacrificial love that brings peace and life.

So as we end this series on the way of Jesus, let’s end with the words of Jesus, if you want to walk in my way and follow in my footsteps, then deny yourself, take up a cross and follow me because those who lose their life for my sake – will find life. 

Next Steps

The Way ~ Jerusalem

1.  Read about Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem in

Matthew 21-28, Mark 11-16, Luke 19-24, and John 12-20.

2. Jesus’ time and teaching in Jerusalem focused on humility and service. 

·         How can you serve those in your family this week? 

·         How can you serve those in the church or community this week? 

3.  Jesus was filled with righteous anger at injustice and oppression (see Mark 11:15-19). 

·         What injustice fills you with righteous anger? 

·         How can you use your time, gifts and passions to bring about justice and righteousness? 

4.  Consider all the ways the cross is a symbol of the way of Jesus.

·         How can you make these ways your ways?

Some final thoughts on The Way:

The way of Jesus has taken us from the Jordan River to the wilderness and mountains, from Capernaum to the Sea of Galilee, and from Samaria (the land of outcasts) to Jerusalem (the land of God’s people). 

·         Which location would you most want to visit and why? 

·         What one practical change can you make in your life to more faithfully walk in the footsteps of Jesus?

·         Share these thoughts with others so that we can follow in the way of Jesus together.

Thank you for joining us on this journey of faith. 

The Way ~ Samaria

This summer we are looking at the places where Jesus walked and learning from these locations what it means for us to follow in his footsteps.  Today, for us to really understand the way of Jesus we need to understand a little history, so let’s go back 800 years before Jesus.  The nation of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian Empire to the north and the King of Assyria, King Shalmaneser, relocated most of the people of Israel into his home country, but some of God’s people remained in the land of Samaria.  Not wanting the region to become a desolate wilderness overrun by wild animals, Shalmaneser brought in people from many different tribes and nations to help populate the area and continue to work the land and these people began to intermarry with the Israelites who stayed and their children became known as Samaritans. 

So the Samaritans were half Jewish and many of them carried on the religious beliefs and practices of the Jewish people but when the people of Israel who were led away into captivity finally returned – they looked down on the Samaritans.  They considered the Samaritans half-breeds and treated them as social and religious outcasts.  The people of Israel would not allow the Samaritans to worship in the Temple in Jerusalem because they were considered impure and unclean.  In time the Samaritans built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim in Samaria so they could worship God themselves and over the years, a longstanding feud formed.  Each group saw themselves as being the true people of God and the others side as being the heretics and so there developed deep resentment and even hatred between these two groups of people. 

In Jesus day, the division between the Israelites and the Samaritans was so strong that many good Jewish people refused to even travel through the region of Samaria.  If a Jew was travelling from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem in the south, they would think nothing of adding a few days on to their journey in order to travel completely around this area, but not Jesus.  In John 4 it says that Jesus was making his way from Judea (in the south) to Galilee and in John 4:4 it says He had to go through Samaria. (emphasis mine)

Now the truth is Jesus didn’t have to travel through Samaria – no one was forcing him to take this road and in fact many other people would have traveled a different road, so Jesus chose to go through Samaria.  Jesus made a choice to travel through a region that was home to people that others saw as social and religious outcasts and this choice begins to tell us something about the way of Jesus. 

So let’s look at John 4:5-7.  Now let’s stop here because there is a lot here about the way of Jesus we need to understand if we want to follow in his footsteps.  That Jesus chose to travel through Samaria tells us that he was not afraid to associate with people others might see and consider outcasts, but it goes deeper than that.  Most Jews would not have started up a conversation with a Samaritan, but Jesus did.  A Jewish man would never have spoken to a Samaritan woman but Jesus did and no good Jew would take a drink from a cup that a Samaritan woman touched because both she and the cup would have been considered unclean, which would make them unclean.  That Jesus does all of this, that he speaks to this woman and asks her for a drink and takes the drink from her says a lot about how Jesus saw people.  Jesus chose to reach out to those who were considered outcasts because he didn’t see them that way.  He saw the outcasts as valuable children of God. 

Now let’s look at verse 6 because we find out here that this woman is not an ordinary Samaritan woman.  It was the custom for women to travel to the well together early in the morning before it got hot, so that this woman is here alone at noon tells us something about her.  It tells us is that she was an outcast among her own people and as we read on in John 4 we find that this is the case.  After asking this woman for a drink, Jesus conversation with her continues, look at John 4:16-18.

So the woman has had 5 husbands and is currently living with a man who is not her husband which begins to suggest why she was not welcome to join the other women at the well.  They looked down on her because of her choices and reputation.  They saw her as a sinner.  So not only was she an outcast, she was a sinner and Jesus knew this, but none of it kept him away.  In this one encounter with a sinful Samaritan women we see Jesus intentionally reach out to build a relationship with a woman who is not only a social and religious outcast but a sinner among her own people. 

It’s important to see that Jesus doesn’t condemn this woman.  He doesn’t judge her.  Jesus doesn’t put her down or force her to repent or even tell her to change or ways.  What he does, frankly, is amazing.  Look at John 4:19-26.  The first thing Jesus does is take the time to teach her and then he tells her that he is the Messiah.  Jesus wasn’t this clear with his own disciples!  Jesus wasn’t this clear with the religious leaders or political leaders of his day.  It is to an outcast, sinful woman that Jesus most clearly identifies himself as the Messiah.  I have to be honest and say that I had never noticed that before but since we talked last week about Jesus revealing himself to the disciples on the water, it got me thinking about Jesus revealing himself as the Messiah to different people, and the truth is that it is here that Jesus is the most clear.  To an outcast, sinful Samaritan woman Jesus is the most clear and again that tells us something about how Jesus saw people. 

So Jesus doesn’t just choose to travel through Samaria, he chooses to reach out to those that other people wanted to overlook and ignore.  The ministry of Jesus is filled with stories of him offering hope, help, healing and the fullness of life to outcast and sinners and the poor.  Jesus called a tax collector named Matthew to be a disciple at a time when tax collectors were considered to be some of the most notorious and hated sinners in the community because they were Jewish people who had sided with the Romans.  In fact, did you ever stop to think that one of the gospels, the gospel of Matthew, was written by a man who all the good religious people would have seen as a sinner? 

And then Jesus went to Matthew’s house for dinner where he ate and drank with all of Matthew’s friends who were other people the community would have seen as unfit and inappropriate.  And Jesus lifted up the poor as being righteous and blessed at a time when poverty was a seen as a sign of God’s curse.  Again and again Jesus made his way among those society deemed unfit and unclean and unworthy and the truth is that if we want to follow in the way of Jesus we need to make this our way as well.

To walk in the footsteps of Jesus means that we need to make choices to intentionally reach out to those that others might consider social and religious outcast – the unclean of our society.  To walk in the footsteps of Jesus means that we need to reach out to those who our world might see as notorious sinners and people who are unworthy of our time and attention.  Now too often when begin to understand this way of Jesus and want to follow in it, we start by trying to identify who these people are.  We ask ourselves who the Samaritans and tax collectors, prostitutes and lepers are today, but I think that’s the wrong way to do it.  As soon as we start trying to define who the outcast and sinners are we starting to pass judgment.  We are decided which sin is really bad and which one isn’t so bad and which behaviors we will tolerate and which ones we won’t.  I don’t think this is the way of Jesus at all, so let me suggest a fundamentally different way to follow Jesus in Samaria.

Let’s look at another encounter Jesus had with a woman the world saw as a sinner.  Luke 7:36-40 and then Jesus said to Simon, 7:44a.  Do you see this woman?  To which I am sure Simon said to himself, of course I see her.  We all see her Jesus and her reputation goes before her, she is a sinner.  In fact, that is what Simon had said to his friends earlier.  What Simon saw was a sinner, but who Jesus saw was a child of God.  What Simon saw was a woman filled with faults and failures, but what Jesus saw was the potential and value that God had placed in her.  What Jesus saw was a woman who wanted more in life than what she was experiencing.  What Jesus saw was a woman of dignity and sacred worth who longed for God’s grace and love.  At the end of the story Jesus says to this woman, Your faith has saved you; go in peace, which tells us that what Jesus saw was a woman of faith. 

The reason Jesus reached out to sinners and the outcast and the poor was because he didn’t primarily see them as sinners, outcast and the poor, he saw them as children of God.  If we are going to follow in the way of Jesus then we need to start seeing people the way Jesus did.  So instead of trying to define who the outcast sinners are – we need to train ourselves to look at everyone as children of God who have deep value and worth.   

I want to close with a personal story of how it feels when people see you as an outcast or a child of God.  When I was the pastor in Altoona, we took our youth group to Impact at Greene Hills and on the second day of the event a girl in our group came up to one of our leaders and said that her head really itched and when the leader checked, sure enough – she had head lice.

We immediately did everything we needed to do to take care of the problem but as we were washing everyone’s hair a girl from another group came through our site, found out what was going on and literally went running from our camping area screaming “They have lice!!!!”  From that moment on, our group was treated like outcasts.  The director of the camp wanted to quarantine us.  They wouldn’t let us eat in the dining room but instead drove all our meals to us in the campground where I honestly expected to see them get of their trucks in hazmat suits.  And then for the evening session they wanted us to sit far off on the hill by ourselves. 

Needless to say, I was outraged.  I honestly felt like we were lepers being cast out of society and when I looked at our youth I began to see in them and feel myself the hurt and pain of being an outcast.  I was ready to pack our bags and head home when finally the nurse on duty for the camp arrived.  She had been gone all day and when she got there she looked at all the camp leaders and said, what are you doing?  These students are fine.   

That nurse was Jesus for me that day because she didn’t see us outcasts that needed to be cleaned but as children of God who at that moment needed to simply be accepted and encouraged.  It’s too easy to look at people and see the sin and the problems, but that’s not the way of Jesus, Jesus looks at people and sees potential.  Jesus looks at people and sees brothers and sisters.  Jesus looks at people and sees value and worth and dignity and that is the way of Jesus.  And that needs to be our way as well.  

Next Steps

The Way ~ Samaria

Jesus travelling through Samaria shows us the way of Jesus includes reaching out to sinners, outcast and the poor.

For Study and Reflection:

Sinners

Reflect on Jesus calling Matthew (the tax collector) to be a disciple (Matthew 9:9-13).  What are the implications of Jesus eating at Matthew’s home and with his friends?

Outcast

Reflect on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:3-42).  What relationship building principles are seen here? 

Poor

Why do you think God chose to enter this world in poverty and intentionally reached out to those who were poor? 

For Action:

1. Ask God for the ability to see all people the way Jesus did, not as sinners and outcasts, but as children of God with dignity, value and potential. 

2. Are there people in your life the world might define as sinners and outcasts that God is calling you to love?  What step can you take to initiate a deeper relationship with them? 

3. What place and or people do you avoid and why?  What would it look like for you to travel in these areas this week?