Allen Jackson - Into The World - Part 2
I’m gonna ask you to believe that God knows your name. He knows your name. The Bible tells us he knows how many hairs are on our head, he knows when we sit or we stand, when we come in or when we go out. See, we haven’t lived with this awareness, we’re saved, what else do we have to think about? This is personal. Jesus developed people, and he’s still doing that. It wasn’t just a first century phenomenon, it’s a very specific posture that he invited them to.
In Matthew 4, Jesus is beginning his public ministry. This is really the beginning of his assignment. Up until this is just in preparatory and in Matthew 4, he begins and he says to some fishermen, busy guys, they own a business. this isn’t their day off. They’re not, you know, knocking down a few beers with their friends and catching some fish. They’re at work, and he says, «Follow me. Leave your business, bust up your economic model, change your habits. Follow me, and I’ll make you fishers of men». And the most bizarre part to me isn’t the invitation, it was their response.
Well, I believe that this invitation to be a Christ follower is just as disruptive in the twenty-first century as it was in the first. May not require you to leave your place of employment, but it will require you to leave your business, because your life is no longer about just your business. You’ve been sent into the world. «Well, now wait a minute, pastor. I didn’t bargain for this». I know, it’s why we’re talking about it. It’s the reason we’re in this fine mess. «Follow me». Jesus said. «Follow me». «Well, where are you going»? «That’s not really any of your business, you just follow me». «Well, I don’t know if I wanna go». «Well then don’t follow me. But if you’re gonna be my disciple, you have to follow me». «Well, wait a minute, let’s talk about my gift mix. May I present my dreams to you, to see if my dreams align with where you’re gonna lead? 'Cause what if I followed you and you didn’t fulfill my dreams»?
Well, I’m sorry, if he was gonna fulfill our dreams, then we would be Lord. Which seems to be more the nature of the relationship we’ve been invited to. Many of us are mad at God because he’s not meeting his performance requirements. Come on, if we were gonna give an evaluation to God, if we were gonna make him give us the five things he was supposed to do last week, we want to see that list because we had some things on it that he didn’t attend to, and we got a problem with you. As opposed to living with the imagination that God had five things last week he assigned us to do. «Well, now wait a minute. I said that prayer». «Follow me».
A friend in Israel sent me a note. He’s actually an artist, but he’s a man with remarkable wisdom and insight, and he shared this little parable I wanna read it to you it’s just a couple paragraphs. It’s called «The Coach». It said, «'I could have been very frustrated and upset.' The tree root shared with me. 'By nature, ' it continued, 'I love fresh air and sunlight. So when I first joined the tree, it seemed natural for me to be a part of the tree top. But trees are a team effort. And the coach who had already chosen strong candidates for the trunk, and the branches, and the leaves, decided I would play the role of the root. In other words, I was placed in the lowest, darkest position. It didn’t quite suit me, but I accepted it. He’s the coach, and he has the reasons.
Now I constantly work to dig deeper into the soil, facing rocks and challenges along the way. Unlike the business world, in nature there are no set goals to achieve or bonuses for surpassing them, yet every night before I rest, I ask myself whether I’ve done enough and how I can improve tomorrow. I do this because I know that the trunk and the rest of the tree rely on me to be like faith, helping them to stand tall against the storm without collapsing. It’s a part of this tree. I don’t act for my ego, but for something far greater than myself. And I believe the difference between frustration and growth is whether one sees themselves as the center or as part of the team. And on my team, there’s a coach.'»
This is personal. Jesus knows your name and mine, and he has asked us to follow him. Do we want to do that? There’s some definite possibility in this. In John chapter one, Jesus is speaking to Nathaniel, he’s recruiting him. Not from a fishing boat, Nathaniel first received the invitation while he’s sitting under a tree from a family member, and Jesus said, «You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You’ll see greater things than that». And then he added, «I tell you the truth». And you know now that’s like a trigger phrase. «I tell you the truth, you’ll see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man».
Nathaniel, if you’ll follow me, you’ll see things you would never see any other way. You’ll see beyond time, you’ll see eternal things, you’ll see beyond the physical world, you’ll see spiritual things. You’ll be aware of things you would never be aware of if you don’t follow me. You’ll be aware of angels and their engagement with your life. See, there’s a great lie that has settled upon the people of faith. Oh, it flourishes, it has deep tentacles in our hearts and our expectations because I hear how we coach our children and our grandchildren.
And it goes something like this, «If you really serve the Lord, it’ll diminish you. It’ll take something away from you. It’ll somehow diminish your potential, take away pleasure, you’ll forfeit resources, it’s not the fullest life. I mean, you want some faith, but you kinda wanna keep your faith in this private little box, you know, it’s a personal faith, and a private faith, and it’s an individual faith. You don’t want your faith like breaking out of the box. You don’t wanna be labeled as one of those people».
It’s a lie, and I believe its author is Satan himself. And I believe the choir that supports it is our own carnal, earthly, adamic nature. And I’m concerned that we have added our voices to that for so many generations, that a beginning point is for us to come back and say, «Lord, we’re sorry». But not only did we not have those aspirations for ourselves, but we didn’t give those aspirations to the generations who followed us. We’ve used our time as influences in their life to, to help them see the world, experience the world, to grow up, to have a full portfolio of possibilities, more than we taught them to fear God, or to respect his Word.
I had a conversation with a man… well it’s Dr. George Barna. For many years, a pollster, a Christian pollster, surveying our culture and reporting back to that, he stepped out of that mostly, but he still works with private clients. A brilliant man, well educated, godly man. I had a conversation with him not too long ago and he said, «You know, I just canceled my most lucrative client. My grandchildren are approaching adolescence,» and he said, «I decided one of the most important things I could do with my life would be to do everything in my power to influence them to serve the Lord».
He said, «I decided that I didn’t want to be their chief entertainer. I didn’t want to be the person that bestowed on them gifts and opportunities that their parents either couldn’t or wouldn’t, that I wanted to use the influence of my life, whatever I have left of it, to help them learn to respect and reverence God». Wow. Wow. God has a call on your life, just as certainly as he did on Moses, or Mary, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, or David, or Saul of Tarsus, or Simon Peter, or Nathaniel, or Timothy, any of the cast of characters that we know. God has a call on your life and mine.
Look at Exodus 18. Moses was at the end of his rope. The task was too big for him, he’s exhausted, and these are the instructions that he’s given. You got to share this a bit. He said, «He chose capable men from all of Israel, and he made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens». You read that and it seems, «Oh so, it’s so neat and clean». You know they grumbled their way all across the finish line. I’m quite confident that somebody he appointed as a leader over ten said, «Well, I’m qualified to be a leader over fifty. I know that clown you just put over thousands, and I wouldn’t trust him with fours».
I know it’s true because I’ve read the text. All the way to the border of the Promised Land, they grumbled and complained. One day the earth opened up and swallowed tens of thousands of them, and the next morning there was people in the complaint line, that’s hardcore. God has a call on your life, follow him. We’ve been totally captivated by thinking we could direct him. We could quote a scripture and God would do our bidding. I believe in saying what the Scripture says about us, but I also believe in doing what the Scripture tells us to do. In Ephesians chapter 2 in verse 10 says, «We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do».
God’s workmanship, folks, we are God’s workmanship. We’re a bunch of cracked pots. We are, it’s what he got… that’s what Paul said to the church in Corinth. He says that they were having an argument in Corinth. One of them said, «I follow Paul,» another says, «Oh, I follow Peter». And another said, «I don’t follow any people. I follow the Lord». And the church is being torn apart, and Peter says, «Think of who you were when you were called». He said, «You weren’t from noble families, you weren’t very clever, you weren’t particularly successful. Your lives were filled with all kinds of scars, and warrants, and failures. You were a train wreck».
This is the living Bible. But God called you, so that all of your brokenness with all of your failures, he would be the one who gets the glory when something remarkable begins to happen. And out of all our crazy brokenness, God touches our lives and some good things begin to emerge. And you know what we do? «Did you see that»? Oh, we gotta stop. We gotta stop. God has a call on our lives. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, not for God to do my works. «Lord, how could I honor you today? What would it look like on Monday for me to go into the marketplace and honor you»?
I walked in behind a couple last week, we were coming into the sanctuary and you know how the ushers hand out those outlines? They took the outline, and they took them, and they looked them, they turned them over, and I heard one of them say to the other one, like out loud, «Fat chance». Now, they didn’t know I was behind them, and because I’m a grace-filled sort of person, I tapped them on the shoulder, and said, «Good morning. I’m so glad you’re here today. And I agree it’s improbable». Little improbable today too, but the essence of leadership, I think is in Matthew chapter 8, you know the story, I think.
Jesus has moved his home from Nazareth to Capernaum. He went from a sleepy little village tucked in the hills of Galilee to a Jewish fishing village, but it’s on a Roman road that’s attached to the largest freshwater source within hundreds of miles. So it’s a busy, busy place. He went to a traffic center. And Jesus entered Capernaum and a centurion, this is a Roman, a Gentile, a pagan, came to him asking for help. This is a bizarre story. I’m pretty certain that the centurion was not in the habit of asking for help from Jewish rabbis. He could have them brought to him, bound in chains. He could have them brought to him at the point of a spear or a sword. He could order them to be executed or imprisoned, but he didn’t go to them very often and ask for help.
And that’s the introduction here, a Roman centurion comes to Jesus asking for help. «Lord, my servant is at home paralyzed and he’s terribly suffering». And Jesus said, «I’ll go and heal him». Which is really bizarre because another a Gentile woman, a Syrophoenician woman came to Jesus and said, «My child needs help». And Jesus said, «I’m not taking the food that was meant for the family and giving it to the dogs». So if you follow Jesus through the Gospels, you’re thinking, «What is he doing»? «I’ll go and heal him». And the centurion replied, «Lord, I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word and my servant will be healed».
There’s no entitlement here. This is not a power discussion because the centurion has all the power, he has all the civil power, he has all the political power, he’s got all the legal authority, he’s got all the juice, but somehow he understands that Jesus has authority over sickness. We don’t even believe that in the church. Two millennia later with Bibles on every shelf, and Christian programming, and all this stuff, we don’t even believe that. «I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof, you just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I tell this one 'Go, ' and he goes; and I tell that one, 'To come, ' and he comes. And I say to my servant, 'Do this, ' and he does it».
You understand what he’s saying? He’s saying, I understand authority. I have a realm of authority, and I can command soldiers, or I can command servants, I can command people under my authority, and they will do what I tell them because there’s a consequence if they don’t. That’s the implication. They don’t do it out of the goodness of their heart, they understand there’s a consequence for failing to yield to authority. So they have complied with authority, and he said, «I recognize in you an authority and honestly, I’m not worthy of having you in my home».
This is a very unusual man. But if you’ll just say the word my servant will be okay. When Jesus heard this, he’s astonished. «Should I tell you the truth, I haven’t found anyone in Israel with such great faith». Not amongst the priests, not in the temple, not in the synagogues, not amongst the rabbis, nobody. This Pagan, godless, Roman soldier. But the key to this whole exchange is the man understood he was under authority. And he said, «I will put myself under your authority, you just say the word».
So this is really the invitation of the day. I know we’re in church on time-change Sunday, gold stars all around. If you came late and you’re sitting in Fellowship Square, we can see you. But are we willing to place ourselves under the authority of our Lord? I’m not asking you to make a profession of faith or to rededicate your life. I’m asking you to take a few moments beyond just this service for some honest reflection. Are we really submitted to the authority of the Lord? Our assignment is to engage our culture. Our assignment is to do the will of God, not just to hang on for heaven.
So I wanna close with a prayer of invitation. I suppose we can all stand, and I’m not gonna ask you to come forward, honestly, I don’t think it would be an equitable invitation. But this is the invitation, and God knows our hearts, I don’t think it requires something beyond that today. Are we willing to accept the assignment, to go into the world, to be a light, to be salt? I’m asking you to think of your faith in something beyond just your conversion. I’m grateful for that, I don’t want to diminish that, I understand that to be absolutely necessary.
But are we willing to place ourselves under the Lord’s authority? Will we stop giving him the email that says, «I want to see the five points of what you were supposed to do.» and when we begin to say to him, «What do you have for me»? You up for that? It’ll change your whole life. You may approach that bonfire in the desert with a pretty thriving shepherd’s business, but you’re about to get a whole new assignment. Maybe threshing wheat for your family, doing what you need to do to provide for your family, trying to keep your head down so the adversaries don’t notice you like Gideon was, and the Lord’s about to completely rewrite the assignment for you.
It’s frightening, a little bit intimidating. It’s risky, because not everybody’s going to applaud, not everybody is gonna celebrate. You’re gonna be left off some lists, you’ll be uninvited. They’re gonna put some labels on you. Folks, if those labels point to Jesus, it’s God. We serve at the pleasure of the King. I’m gonna ask one more time and then I’m gonna pray because it’s a decision you’ll make in your heart. Are you willing to accept the assignment into the world? Not for their approval, to be salt. You ever have salt rubbed in a wound? How many of you know what happens? It’s like, «Well, I’m not sure». No they put salt in the wound, do you know? Let’s pray:
Father, thank you for your Word, for its truth, and authority, and power in our lives. Lord, we want to be more cooperative than Murphy. Forgive us for our stubbornness. Forgive us for our reluctance. Forgive us when we have wanted you to do our bidding far more than we’ve wanted to do yours. And we pause this morning, Lord, in humility, to repent. Lord, we’ve been so busy with our agendas, we’ve tried to find the minimal assignment for you. But Lord, today we want to change our response, and say, «Here I am. Send me». Lord, we want to accept the assignment the way Saul of Tarsus did, or Gideon did, or a shepherd boy named David did. We don’t want to be intimidated by the challenge of the giants, or the difficulty of the task, or the numbers of the adversary, we simply want to be faithful to you. For those who are frightened, I pray you’ll bring courage. For those who are reluctant, I pray you’ll bring boldness. May we have a greater respect for you than for anything else. May we honor you and please you. May your power be evident in our lives. So that your will may be done in the earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’s name, amen.