What Jesus had to say about What Jesus had to say

Before we dive into some of Jesus’ specific teachings, I wanted to have one more quick post as an introduction. We have recognized that Jesus is Real. No problems. Then there were three things that we need to do or see.

Read and get to know what Jesus had to say. That means some quality time with your Bible, specifically in the Gospels.

Once you have read and got to know some of those things – take action and make them real in your life! We already looked at Authority in our first post, and I can guarantee there will be plenty more things that will give us all a challenging thought or two.

And finally, we then should start to see some change in our lives. We should start to see us living those things that Jesus taught, as we become more part of His Kingdom now.

So a quick question – what did Jesus have to say about what He had to say?

Luke 6:46–49 (NIV)
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Matthew 7:21–23 (NIV)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Just what is summarized in James 1:22 – don’t just listen to what Jesus had to say – do it!

So let’s put the challenge down now – not just for you, but for me also. As we go through some of the teachings of Jesus, some of the foundations of His Kingdom here on this earth, take a look at your life and see what you need to change! Even if you don’t come back and read every post I have here, take the time to go through the Gospels, read what Jesus had to say, and decide that it really is worth the effort to make Him Lord of your life.

Jesus – Reality or Abstraction?

Is Jesus real?

If you are a Christian, then the answer seems obvious – of course He is! He saved me from my sins didn’t He? We talk about Him in church almost every week!

That being ‘obvious’, lets ask another question – does that make a difference to your life?

To many people, Jesus is nothing but an ‘abstraction’. Jesus is a thing, a concept, an analogy, a character in a story. At best, for a lot of people, Jesus is an abstract concept, He is the golden ticket into heaven who saved us from our sins. Or He is the guy who tried to teach people to love one another and got killed for it (a serious misrepresentation of the Gospel, and yet one I have heard from Christians).

Let’s be honest, sometimes I fail to recognize the power of God in my own life, and how I should live and respond (and you probably do too if you are honest). I start treating Jesus as ‘something/someone out there’ that did something for me, and then fail to really do anything about it. I start to treat the church like a Sunday only country club (unless of course there is pot luck on Wednesday, Mmmmm Pot Luck), and Jesus like some magic ticket machine in the sky who deals with my sins so I don’t need to worry about anything anymore.

So first, lets make it very clear. Jesus is not an abstraction, concept, or a fictional character in a story. Jesus is a real person, who lived, died and then (most surprising of all) was resurrected from the dead – proving that all of the crazy things He said in life weren’t just the ravings of a religious nut, but real. Think about it – if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, and been visibly seen by many after His resurrection, His teaching probably would not have gone far. They all would have had a great time whilst He was there, but then it was over.

But No! The difference is that Jesus was resurrected – which He Himself predicted. It is that fact alone that then makes all that happened before more relevant. Jesus wasn’t just some loony guy (I mean, He called himself God, insulted most of the religious leadership of the day and proclaimed himself as the previously prophesied Messiah), but actually who He said He was. Take these verses written by John, one of Jesus’ closest disciples.

1 John 1:1–3 (NIV)
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

So lets start again – Jesus is Real. How should we respond?

First, we should get to know the things He said. That means reading the Bible, especially the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Next, we need to recognize that the things  Jesus said weren’t for show, or for instant shock value with no further value, or random ravings of a delusional madman, but real guidance laying the foundation of His Kingdom.

And finally, if we truly believe that Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead, we will start to see the results of that in our lives!

Over the next few posts, I want to continue where I started with Counter Cultural Christianity - Authority, and examine some of those ‘crazy’ things that Jesus said, and just how they might apply to our lives.

Counter Cultural Christianity – Authority

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the ‘counter culture’ that Jesus instituted with His Kingdom. No doubt heavily influenced by having just finished reading How God Became King: Getting to the heart of the Gospels (NT Wright) and reading a couple of Scot McKnight Books – Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others and The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited. Not to mention my Bible reading has been almost all Gospels recently.

Later I will put up a review of those books once I have finished them, and maybe had a little more time to digest the contents…

Anyhow, each of them (as you can tell from the titles) spend a lot more time thinking about Jesus. Not just Jesus as a path to heaven (which is enough Jesus for many people – thanks for the Golden Heaven Ticket Jesus, now i’m off to live my life), but Jesus life on this earth, and the Kingdom He set in motion during His three years of teaching. Over the next few posts I hope to unpack a few of my own thoughts on this! I think even in my own life there are some areas that are incomplete, because Jesus was ‘good enough’ for salvation, but then I went to the ‘deeper teachings’ of Paul and the epistles for my doctrines – because that is where we have been often told “real” Christian teaching can be found. Not completely mind you, but I wonder how much I have missed over the years by not putting enough weight on the Gospels and the Kingdom of God.

So before I get carried away, let’s go for a vivid example.

Authority.

Matthew 20:25–28 (NIV)
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

There are 10000+ books on leadership (in fact a quick search on Amazon tonight gave me 16385 results). It’s a hot topic right now, in and out of church circles, as most of us see leaders, look up to leaders, and want to emulate leaders. These are the people, that in our society, stand out for many reasons. Mostly it is because they are exceptional at what they do – though not always. The speak, they lead, the inspire. They challenge, they divide opinion. (think Bill Gates vs Steve Jobs)

They hold authority.

But in Jesus’ Kingdom, things are different! Or at least, they are supposed to be. Still in our churches people strive to be in ‘positions of importance’. Deacon. Elder, Pastor. Senior pastor. Executive senior pastor?

Not everyone in these positions has tried to get there for the wrong reasons – but many have, and you can see it by their fruits. You can see it by the way they don’t act in love, but in authority. You can see it in the way they don’t aim to serve others, but serve others so that their way might be implemented. You can see it in the way many of them strive for their own pet project or idea, to the detriment of everyone else.

No, not everyone is like that (and I can honestly say the pastor of my church is not)! But we are all human, and the temptation to do something with that authority, rather than serve with humility, may be too much for us.

Apologies for the Lord of the Rings reference again, but if you have seen the movie (or even better, read the book!), you will know the scene where Frodo finds out what the ‘trinket’ he holds really is – a great ring of power and evil – and he asks Gandalf to take it.

Frodo: [holding out the Ring] Take it Gandalf!
[Gandalf backs away]
Frodo: Take it!
Gandalf: No, Frodo.
Frodo: You must take it!
Gandalf: You cannot offer me this ring!
Frodo: I’m giving it to you!
Gandalf: Don’t… tempt me Frodo! I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe. Understand, Frodo. I would use this ring from a desire to do good… But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine.

Gandalf (imaginary though he is) saw the ring as too great a burden for him to bear – he knew that given that ring (with its inherent power and authority), he would use it, and despite wanting to use it ‘for good’, would instead just be another great evil power in the end. So instead of taking that for himself, he chooses to serve Middle Earth by helping destroy it – rather than using it.

But back to the Bible. Jesus has called us to serve one another in love – not to seek or to gain authority over one another! How do you think that should play out in your own life? We don’t want to say that no one can accept roles of Deacon or Elder anymore less they be drawn into temptation. But that maybe we should search our heart a little more often to see what our real reasons for doing something is – and make sure they are the right ones.

Lastly, don’t just apply that to your church – and then head back out into the world unchanged. Think through what that means in your family life, or your work life, or your social life, and start to put it into practice – then you will really see the Kingdom of God manifest in your life!

Jesus, the Ultimate Authority, came to earth to serve others rather than demanding authority – which would have been His right and within His power. What should that mean then for those of us who claim to be in His kingdom?

Today – A Blast from the Past

I came across this yesterday, and thought it interesting! You see, the article below was written in 2000 – by me. I’ve been ‘writing’ online since sometime in the 90′s (I still have at home a copy of one of my earliest websites – I should post it up here one day!). I guess I found it interesting to come across something I wrote so long ago, and find it still relevant. I’ve aged, I’ve grown, but in many ways, the message is still valid! I might write it a little different now, and back it up with more scripture, but really, nothing has changed. Today is still Today.

So posted below is a complete and unedited message from me, circa December 2000. Enjoy

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“For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation”
(2 Corinthians 6:2)

Today is a special day. Why? Because today we have the opportunity to shape history.

You see, yesterday is gone. It has become history, and there is nothing more that we can do to it – we can only praise God for our successes and learn from our failures. And tomorrow is yet to come – there is nothing that you can to about tomorrow whilst today is still here – you can plan, you can scheme, but you don’t rightly know what is going to happen, so you cannot do anything with it.

Today is different! Today, in every situation, God is with you and you enjoy His unmerited favor. You can choose what is going to happen to you, and you can choose how to react to those things that come upon you. Today is also the day that God has ordained to deal with things in your life! Today, what things are in your life that you need to deal with? What are the things that God has been speaking to you about, that you need to change? Maybe there are things you need to stop doing – or maybe it is something God has called you to do.

You cannot guarantee what is going to happen tomorrow, but you can certainly make your choice today – whether you will trust God, believe Him, and do what God asks, or not. The choice is yours, and once today has gone, you can never make it again.

Two Attitudes

Luke 8:9-14
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

One of the seemingly key tenets of our society is the need for personal worth. We all want to feel valued. We all want to feel important. We all want to be an essential ‘gear in the machine’, without which, the whole thing will just come grinding to a halt. Some of us with lower expectations just hope that if we were to not be around, the machine runs so bad we are missed immediately.

I wonder if this is part of our society and upbringing, or has been part of mankind since the fall. No matter which, for almost everyone the desire to be important is strong.

And so, we look for ways to be important, even in the context of the church. We proclaim 1 Corinthians 12, that the church is a ‘body’ and everyone needs to function for it to work, enhancing our personal worth. We sing songs that proclaim that had we been the only person alive, Jesus would have died just for us. We exalt our own personal worth before others, and even before God – because that is what makes us feel great.

Be honest – who would you prefer to be around? Friends who constantly tell you how useless and replaceable you are, or those who compliment you and show how important you are to them?

Lets take a look then at the Parable Jesus told. There were two people.

One, a religious leader, who comes before God, knowing full well his perceived value, and willing to remind God of it. I did this. I do that. I don’t just tithe, I double tithe, even of the smallest things. Just a reminder God, I AM your servant, and I can prove it.

And then comes the tax collector. Not only a sinner, but one who has seemingly even betrayed his people, the Jews, by collecting taxes from them for their oppressors – Rome. In context, this is the guy who probably saw financial advantage in working with the conquerors, at the expense of his own people. It would be natural in any oppressed society to look down on such a person. And yet, he comes before God with full knowledge of who he is. Nothing. Worse than nothing, he is a sinner against God, and a sinner against his own people.

And yet what does Jesus say? In this mans honesty he is recognized before God and justified. Before God he is not important, he is not needed – and he knows it. And yet he comes anyway.

He comes before God because there is something else here as well we don’t want to miss. Before God, he is valued.

In the time just before Jesus, John was baptizing people. These people were coming to him, publicly confessing their sins, and being baptized. They all knew they were sinners, and took action when John preached repentance.

But there was also a second group – the religious leaders. John’s reaction to them is quite vitriolic – he is not impressed. All I can think is they weren’t coming to repent of their sins, but to ‘have a look’ and see what was happening. They didn’t think themselves sinners, in need of public repentance and baptism. They thought themselves righteous before God.

And did John have some words for them – there is more if you want to read the full context in your own Bible.

Matthew 3:4-8
Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

If they were truly repentant, humble before God, they would ‘bear fruit’ of that repentance. Their lives would be changed. They would be desiring mercy – not sacrifice. And they would have been looking forward to the Messiah, not getting annoyed an ‘upstart preacher’ was causing a stir and planning to have Him killed.

So examine yourself – what is your real attitude? Do you come before God, in full knowledge of how important you think you are, or in real knowledge of how sinful you really are? Don’t worry, we all do it. I know I have come before God in the past, very pleased with myself for some reason – be it something I have given to, worked for, or done. I have done God’s work, and now I want to sit back and reap ‘the rewards of the righteous’.

Yes, there are rewards. Yes, there is praise. Yes, there is value in doing the right thing before God. But never forget who you really are – a sinner who lives daily by the grace of God. Here on this earth for a time and a reason, and only right before God because of His grace and work on the cross.