Post-Resurrection

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Campaigner Lesson. June 9 2008

John 12:1-11

12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

what do you see? what stuck out to you?

scale of faith for mary, martha, lazarus (prev 6, 8, dead)

what caused the change?

nard = 300 denarii, almost 1 year's pay

what was lazarus doing? Philippians 2:1-11

are you doing this?

what prevents us from doing this? Look at Paul's example - Phillippians 3:1-11

write down our dead clothes & burn it

this is symbolic. life isn't. jesus removes. pray be steadfast. it will be hard. it will be painful, like fire, but it is us being purified/transfigured into jesus

PRAY!

Leadership

With interviews in full swing and the end of my time at Messiah approaching faster than a speeding locomotive, I've been thinking a great deal about my future. God has blessed me with some incredible gifts. There's no denying that fact. I don't think I'm being cocky, just recognizing that God is amazing and that by his grace, I am what I am. One of those gifts, I believe, is the ability to lead. I don't know how an unimpressive introvert like me could have that attribute, but others have recognized it and confirm this. As Ben Parker once stated, "with great power comes great responsibility." The power that comes from leadership and the influence one has makes this a gift that comes with the highest standards of excellence.

When looking at the world, we see a lot of leaders. Hard charging personalities that inspire and drive those who follow them to great works. Any leader takes his/her followers in a particular direction. Perhaps more than any other factor, it is this direction that determines the quality of their leadership. This fact is no more evident than in the final verses of Exodus 9.

34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. (emphasis added)

To give you some background, this comes right after the 7th plague God used to judge Egypt and its gods, hail. Pharaoh asked for Moses to pray to God that the hail would stop. Moses did this but only after calling out Pharaoh for his lack of faith. This is where the quote picks up.

Pharaoh is clearly the leader of Egypt. He was considered to be a deity by fellow Egyptians and so his words were seen as divine decrees. In short, his word was law. From the passage, we can see that once Pharaoh say the hail stopped, "he sinned yet again and hardened his heart." Perhaps, knowing his arrogant and prideful nature, he thought he outsmarted God. Maybe he thought the plague starting and stopping was a coincidence and removed God from the picture. Either way, he sinned. But what struck me about this passage is not that he hardened his heart, any reader would come to expect this, but the phrase that comes afterwards: "he and his servants." Reading this, it would seem that by hardening his heart, he also hardened the hearts of his servants. He lead them from the truth by his sin. Pharaoh's word was law so when he hardened his heart, the hearts of his servants were hardened as well, following his lead. Pharaoh's actions were driven by sin, his pride and arrogance.

In the very next verse, we see a stark contrast. On first glance, we see only that this is what God predicted. However, looking deeper, we see that God spoke through Moses. God used Moses to make God's word known. Moses, from his birth, was destined to be a great leader of the Hebrews. Many years later, we see that this is true. On the Mount Rushmore of Christianity, I wouldn't be surprised to see Moses' carved countenance. He was the one in front of the Israelites as they left Egypt and wandered in the deserts. We know that Moses is sinful--he is human. But what created such a sharp contrast between Pharaoh and Moses? After all, Moses was brought up in the Pharaoh's household.

The difference is the fact that Moses had learned to let God speak through him and use him. While Moses was indeed a great leader, he himself was being led. God was leading the Israelites through the desert (clouds by day and fire by night), Moses was simply following God and letting God use him. Had Moses been speaking his own words instead of God's or following his own will and not the LORD's, he would have ended up like Pharaoh. Taking a look at the beginning of Exodus, we see that Moses was a rash, irreverent, fearful castoff who couldn't speak if his life depended on it. How then did he turn into the great leader we see courageously confronting the most powerful man in the world?

He met God.

He knew the LORD.

When people have face to face encounters with God, they cannot help but be changed. To be brought into the presence of such holiness and leave unchanged is impossible. At the very least, one would have gained greater insight into the Creator's being. During the course of the first half dozen chapters, we get to see the growth of Moses. He is literally being transfigured into a person foreshadowing Christ. God himself is sanctifying and setting apart Moses for the task Moses was predestined for. Through encounters, conversations, flare ups--a relationship--Moses learned that the LORD is sovereign and can be trusted. This trust allows Moses to become God's prophet, even being made as God to Pharaoh, speaking God's word and acting when God leads. It didn't happen overnight. Instead, it was a long process that required a great deal of patience on God's part as he transformed a bumbling shepherd into a man boldly confronting Pharaoh with the Truth.

Looking ahead to the New Testament, we see another great leader, Paul. It doesn't take too long to notice the same characteristics in Paul that are found in Moses. It is impossible to miss the fact that Paul gives all credit and glory to God. Also, Paul was not very eloquent either. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he admits that he spoke with them "in weakness and in fear and much trembling" (1 Corinthians 2:3). However, he was writing to the believers in Corinth, which means something amazing happened. Enough people's lives were changed that a church of great significance was formed. So if Paul was trembling and couldn't speak and Moses was an irreverent cast-off with "uncircumcised lips," something else must be at work. Words just don't seem to cut it.

Quite frankly, they don't. In that same letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (1:17). Clearly, leaders do not have to be the best orators in order to lead people to Christ. In fact, by relying on fancy words, we empty the cross of Christ of its power. This is because we are depending on ourselves to deliver the message and change people's lives. The Gospel is the Good News that God has rescued us, not that we have rescued ourselves. So if God is the one who saves us, why suddenly would the salvation of others ride on our speaking ability?

In the next chapter, Paul explains that he decided to know nothing among the Corinthians "except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (2:2). Fancy logic and impressive proofs will never lead anyone to Christ because it is based on our own power. To have faith in Christ is to realize our helpless state and to turn to God for our salvation. If we could reason our way to God, then we could take credit for our newfound life. However, we cannot and have only been saved through the power of Christ. Through a true relationship with the LORD, we learn that he is indeed trustworthy and worthy of submitting to.

But here's the exciting part. In 1 Corinthians 2:1, Paul states that he came to Corinth proclaiming "the testimony of God." Later, in verse 4, he states that his message was in a demonstration of the Spirit. This is the same thing. So the testimony of God is a demonstration of the Spirit. How is the Spirit's power demonstrated? In changed lives. A demonstration is an act, a physical display that can be seen. The Corinthians surely heard that Paul was persecuting the church and doing a remarkable job at that. But when he arrived, he was proclaiming the Gospel. This is a 180 degree about-face. His life was radically changed. He was literally transfigured. Paul came not only speaking a different message but living a different life. This is the demonstration of the Spirit--a true physical reality that no one can question. Something clearly happened and because it is not discovered by human logic, there's only one legit explanation: God. When I speak about my testimony, it is the story of God's work through Christ but also through me. People can see a transfigured life.

Looking at the life and leadership of Moses and Paul, we see amazing results. We see Moses fully trusting and confronting the most powerful man in the world at the time. We see Paul going to Corinth and God raising up a church. Neither of these men spoke with fancy words, but instead lived transfigured lives, fully dependent on God. The power of God was evident because their lives were so radically changed. They became God-fearing leaders. When Moses was depending on himself, he could only lead sheep. When he trusted God, he lead Israel. Paul was the leader of the Gentile Christians. They led people to Christ because they were being led by God. The difference between these two men of God and Pharaoh, a man of this world, could not be more evident.

Leadership is necessarily lived out. From 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, Paul sees preaching the Gospel as living a life serving God and speaking the Good News. We can talk all we want, but people will follow our actions far more than they will follow our words. When the two conflict, they perceive our actions as the "real" us. This leads into the essential question asked of all leaders: who is the real you? Am I a person of God, living a transfigured life, leading others into a deeper knowledge of the LORD? Or am I a person of this world, relying on my own gifts and eloquent wisdom to guide our followers astray? This is a question we have to answer because as a leader, our sins can very easily cause others to stumble as well. I, for one, am convinced that God is indeed the sovereign LORD. I pray that God speaks through me and I follow his leading, because that will lead others to him as well.

God and Us

Colossians 1:1-14. Campaigner Lesson.

One of the first things that stands out to me that Paul calls himself an apostle by the will of God. It wasn't by his will or by a majority vote. Paul became God's ambassador to the Gentiles by the commissioning and sending of the LORD. That really puts into perspective what Paul has to say. Some may call him arrogant. Fine. But irregardless, he met Christ on the road to Damascus. I believe God is truly sovereign. Therefore, whatever is written is to be taken as divine revelation, not some trivial novel to be bruised and beaten for his tact or lack thereof. If God declares Paul an apostle, I think it's crucial that we scrutinize what he wrote, not for the purpose of declaring him inadequate or denying his authorship, but for the desire to abide in every last bit of Truth God speaks (intentionally present tense) through him.

One of the other things that struck me was the way Paul speaks about the Christian lifestyle. "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light" (1:9-12).

Here, he states that he prays the we "be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Who's doing the filling? Certainly not us are it is spiritual wisdom and understanding by which we come to know God's will. We were dead inside till given life through Christ. Faith, this life, is a gift only from God. This is God's role in our lives to fill us with this spiritual knowledge and understanding. However, Paul continues on to say that this filling will allow us "to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord." This is our role. Now that we have been awakened and filled, we are to use this to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord. How is this done? Love God with all our entire being, yielding ourselves as a sacrifice, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. James also has a nice quote about religion that is undefiled in his first chapter. What is the purpose of walking in a manner pleasing to God? It is to bear fruit. Do we produce this fruit. No. It is shown in our lives only because we are connected to the true Vine and abide in him. We have been grafted onto him so that he is in us and we in him. Tricky. A branch apart from the vine is dead, but when grafted on to the source of Life, it begins to produce fruit as it was intended to do. This is the life that is pleasing to God, fulfilling our intended purpose of glorifying the LORD.

Then verse 11 starts out by wishing the we would be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might. What better to be strengthened with than with all power? Makes sense to me. However, I look at myself and notice I am weak and fallible. Heck, I barely crack triple digits when trying to bench while others do it without any trouble at all. Weak indeed. Fallible? I really don't even need to expound on this. If this is the case, then all power does not come from me but outside of my control.

When we look at Exodus, we gain insight as to the source of this all power. During a showdown with Pharaoh during the seventh chapter, Aaron throws down his staff and it becomes a serpent. Not to be outdone, Pharaoh's magicians imitate this miracle by their own "secret arts." At best, the score is even right now. However, Aaron's staff, in the hands of God, swallows up the other snakes. This displays God's ultimate sovereignty over any and all powers of the world. in the Egyptian mind, swallowing your opponent represented total superiority. Pharaoh's magicians were the best in the world. Their secret arts were dominated by God. The snake represented the most powerful god in the Egyptian mindset. This, too, was swallowed up. Pharaoh, his magicians, and their secret arts represented sin and death. This was swallowed up by Christ in victory through his resurrection. Clearly, the power of God is greater than anything this world has to offer.

According to his glorious might could mean several things. First, it could be in line with or in accordance with. This would mean that we are strengthened to do exactly what he wills for us to do. A second interpretation holds that "according to" would be synonymous with "assigned by." Either this all power is controlled by God, meaning God is fully sovereign.

Paul continues on to state the purpose of being strengthened by God's might. We are not to sit around boast. Instead, it is so that we might endure and be patient with joy, "giving thanks to the Father." The word endure implies some sort of pain or suffering. We are to remain steadfast through this pain. As well we are to be patient. This simply means we have to wait. If we're waiting, then we're on the terms on someone or something else. Is that a god of this world or the LORD who has proven his superiority over sin and death? Either way, we're a servant. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. However, the key to this section, I think, is the prepositional phrase "with joy." Many people in this world are so self-consumed that they cannot endure suffering or be patient. Others look outside themselves enough to exhibit qualities or endurance and patience but they are not focused on God so their suffering and waiting is pointless and fruitless. Too much suffering and waiting will eventually break them because all humans have a breaking point. But for the one who is focused on God, it is possible to suffer, endure, and wait with joy, even giving thanks to God.

How is this possible? There are two responses to this query. First, we have been strengthened by God according to his glorious might. Therefore, it is no longer through our strength that we endure, but his. As God is infinite, he has no breaking point. The world cannot break God as he is completely superior, demonstrated by his victory in Exodus 7 and Christ. Second, our suffering has a purpose. As seen only a few verses earlier, we are to be bearing fruit and glorifying God. That is the purpose of our lives. The end result makes it possible to endure and be patient with joy. Not only that, but we give thanks to the Father. When a carnal person is suffering, its wisdom directs it to end the suffering and seek the easy path. When a spiritual person is suffering, we endure and be patient with joy and give thanks because we know God will be glorified through it. This reasoning is folly to the natural person because it is through God's might that we understand (1 Corinthians 2:14). Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20)?

So if we are to give thanks in suffering, shouldn't we be considered masochists? To borrow from Paul, by no means! We give thanks because what we gained through Christ is greater than anything we could suffer in this world. When I was younger, I loved amusement parks. One day, my dad told me we were going to Hershey Park. The car ride there was excruciating. It seemed as if it'd never end. However, it was worth it because in the end I got to enjoy the roller coasters and other rides. During the ride, although it was difficult for me and something I had to endure, I was filled with great joy and thanking my dad for taking me. For us, Paul writes our reasoning for giving thanks much clearer than I ever could so I will let him explain. We can give thanks to God in the midst of suffering because he "has qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." That grace, undeserved favor, is certainly worth giving thanks for in the midst of any suffering or excitement. It is the roller coaster at the end of the car trip. But again, we give thanks because it was given to us, not because we earned it.

In Colossians 1:9-10 and 11-14, we see Paul following the same pattern to illustrate the proper course of a life in Christ. It begins and ends with God. In the middle, God has allowed us to act and be a part of his perfect will. This, once again, is simply another example of the undeserved grace that we have received.