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Week of:  February 3, 2008

Title:   Every Christian's Desire and Challenge

Series:   Study of John - Part 6

Scripture:  John 3: 22-36 

1. True or False… Baptists get their name from John the Baptist in the Gospels. False. The name Baptist, which we answer proudly to, comes from Christians in the 16th and 17th century who distinguished themselves from those who practiced infant baptism rather than believer’s baptism.

2. Who then is John the Baptist? According to the Gospels, John was one who came proclaiming repentance and that the Messiah, Jesus, was in their midst. Matthew, Mark, and Luke have the public ministry of Jesus beginning after the arrest of John which ultimately results in execution by Herod Antipas. According to our scriptures, the Gospel of John has Jesus and John ministering simultaneously for brief duration of time.

3. John’s no-nonsense repentance preaching was so popular and powerful that, according to the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, Herod cut off John’s head because he feared that the Baptist’s preaching might spark an insurrection with the Jews.

4. Who knows what the Synoptic Gospels indicate as the reason for John’s execution? According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke he was put to death by Herod because he made Herod’s wife mad in preaching about her adulterous relationship with Herod. “Hell has no fury like a woman scorned, right ladies?” “If mom’s not happy then nobody is happy, right guys?” In this case, Mother Herodias wasn’t happy and, evidently, Herod was a weak old drunkard who lusted not only after his brother’s wife but after his niece. In the process, poor John lost his head.

5. There is evidence that John’s and Jesus’ preaching were very popular and that both were adding many disciples. Look in verse 23, “John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to baptized.” However, Jesus was gaining in popularity and there might have been some jealously between John’s disciples and Jesus’ disciples. The Gospel of John states that a certain unknown Jew came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, He is baptizing and everyone is going to Him.”

6. If there was any jealousy between the two groups of followers, John the Baptist lets us know real quick that it wasn’t coming from him. He does it by making 5 affirmations.

First, “a man can receive only what is given to him from Heaven.” In other words, whatever you do for God, whatever ministry that you give your life to, if you do your best, you can receive or take only what God has given to you. If God wanted Jesus to have more baptisms and disciples than John, or even less, baptisms and disciples than John that’s up to God.

Yet, John the Baptist already said that he is not the Messiah, but he was just someone who was “sent ahead of the one.”

Therefore “the bride (the church, the people who follow God) belongs to the bridegroom (Jesus).” Instead he is just a friend of the bridegroom. He is the best man and his job is to attend the bridegroom and do His bidding. In some Jewish weddings the bridegroom would come to the bride’s house to take her to his house. His best friend would stand guard at the bride’s house to make sure that no one entered before he came.

As a friend, the Baptist hears the bridegroom coming to claim His bride, and he is “full of joy” that his friend the groom has come to claim his bride. John is just so happy that Jesus is here. He has done his part, the joy is his, and his job is over. He has planted the seed, and now Jesus is to bring the harvest home. What about our happiness, where does it come from?

This whole process has meant that “Jesus must become greater; and I must become less.” The Greek has the ideal of the waxing and waning of the stars in the night. One star grows brighter while another fades out of sight.

7. I’ve thought about this and I think it is exactly what the New Testament says that believers should do in light of their relationship to Christ. As Christ comes into our lives, “He increases while we decrease.” What is important to Him becomes important to us, while what was once so important to us becomes less important and even undesirable.

8. The desire for every Christian should be John’s greatest joy, for Christ to increase and for us to become less. But as anyone who has been a Christian very long knows that, it is also our greatest challenge.

9. What do I mean by that? Even with the help of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, it is sometimes very hard to “let go and let God have His way in our lives.” I still believe that every Christian has at least one area of sin that they have to struggle with all of their lives. Much like an alcoholic is a recovering alcoholic all of his or her life, when it comes to sinful weaknesses, we are recovering sinners prone to sin if not by the help of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God.

10. It is the strongest challenge we’ll ever know—to allow the old sinful nature to die while Christ increases in our lives. But by the grace of God, it is one that we can meet. Christ must increase while we must decrease.

How about you this morning? Do you sense that that is happening in your life?

Week of:  February 10, 2008

Title:  The Work of God

Series: Study of John - Part 7

Scripture:   John 6:25-39; 60-65

1. What is works salvation? It is when you believe you have to do good works in order to be right with God.

2. Is this good or bad? I don’t think any of us would think of it as being good. But why is the notion of working your way into God’s good pleasure bad?

3. Reasons for being bad:
          a. Contradicts Ephesians 2:8: “For by the grace of God you have been saved through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
          b. Hard to decide how many good works and what kind of works are good enough to satisfy God. Some people never can do enough to feel at peace with God.
          c. Danger of spiritual pride; look how good a person I am!

4. In our study today, Jesus has fed the 5,000 and walked on the Sea of Galilee and arrived on the other side. After a while, He is met by some of the same people whom He fed among the 5000, to which they want to know how He got there so fast.

5. His response is to cut to the chase (as Jesus always does) and He says (John 6:26-27 paraphrased): “you are here not because you saw the miraculous signs I’ve done. You are here because you are hungry and want another free meal.” And then He says: “Don’t work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life…”

6. Their response was (John 6:28 paraphrased), “What kind of work does God want us to do?” To which Jesus says(John 6:29): “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

7. I personally believe this is a play on words, they use the word “works” and Jesus uses the word “work.” They are saying, “what must I do to please God,” and Jesus responds “I’ll tell you what you must do to please God, you must ‘believe in the one he has sent.’” For John, the greatest thing anyone can do, work or otherwise, is to “believe in the one that God has sent—Jesus Christ.”

8. From time to time I run across people that say: “I am a good person. I don’t do anything really bad and I don’t hurt other people, and would do anything I could for anybody that asks for help.” I think most people believe that they are good people, and because they are decent human beings, that God must overlook them in not being religious, coming to church, reading the Bible or anything churchy and religious that we do. I’ve got friends and neighbors that are good people that would do anything they could to help out another person—yet their salvation is very much in question.

9. Jesus says, God says that is not enough!!! You can think of yourself as a good person all you want to, but if you don’t believe in Jesus, that is not an enough. And it is hard to get people to see that.

10. What does it mean to believe in Jesus? OK, what does it not mean? Anyone?
          a. It doesn’t mean just to be a good person, even though that is important 
          b. It doesn’t mean just to come to church, even though that is important
          c. It doesn’t even mean just to read or know your Bible, even though that is important

11. Turn in your Bible to James 2:19. “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”

12. To me, believing in Christ is making a deeply personal commitment to Christ. Much like when those of you who are married tied the knot. You made, at the time, a deeply personal commitment to your spouse because you loved him/her.

13. Believing in Jesus Christ is taking a leap of faith and making a personal commitment to Him because you believe that He is who and what the Bibles says He is. Yes, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and because I believe that I am putting my faith, my trust, and my wellbeing in His hands. I don’t know everything I need to know about Christ but, from what I know about Him, I will follow Him. This is commitment, this is faith in Jesus.

14. Pretty basic stuff isn’t it? Now let’s stretch our understanding of faith a little. Look at John 6:65. Jesus says: “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” Two things about this:

 
          One, it says to me that salvation and faith are always at God’s initiative. Anyone who has ever had a desire to believe and trust in Jesus has always done so because the Holy Spirit, God himself, has led that person to. Salvation according to John always starts and is finished by God. No matter how good or bad an idea that we think it is!

          Two, some people have taken scriptures, like verse 65, to say that God has called some to salvation but not others (predestination). That is the farthest from the truth; God wants everyone to be saved. It is just that some people reject the truth and, therefore, the salvation that goes along with it.

15. Sadly people reject the truth even when the proof is right under their noses. God invites them but they do have the option to reject Him. Look at John 6:35-36. Jesus says: “I am the bread of life… But as I have told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.”

16. Imagine seeing and hearing Jesus; what would that be like? But, also imagine what it would be like not to believe in Him. What a shame that some people can come close but ultimately reject Jesus.

17. The amazing thing about believing in God is that it is so different for so many people. In verse 36, Jesus talks about people seeing him and hearing him and not believing in him. In John 2:23 and 24, there are people that believe in His name but cannot be trusted to be alone with their Lord.

18. Turn to John 20:25. In this scripture, Jesus has risen from the dead. He has appeared before the disciples and one disciple is asking to see proof of his resurrection. He says: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”   To which Jesus responds: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” To which Thomas says: “My Lord and My God.” But Jesus looks at him and says, in verse 29, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

19. I wonder what is it that you are needing before you believe?  Jesus’ response to you, and was to Thomas, is “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Week of:  February 17, 2008

Title:   A Little Means a Lot in the Hands of Jesus

Series:  Study of John - Part 8

Scripture:  John 6:1-14

The Apostle Paul says: “Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6)

Mark 4:30-31 has Jesus saying: “What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like…It is like a mustard seed which is the smallest seed planted in the ground.”

Jesus also said: “If you have the faith as small as mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17: 20-21)

1. It seems in Jesus’ way of seeing things, little things and small numbers can be very important. Notice in our scripture today that Jesus has crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee. A great crowd of people has followed Him, presumably on their way to the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem.

Jesus, seeing the big crowd of people, decides to test Philip by asking him what they are going to do to feed this large group of people. Philip looks at the group of people who were gathered to hear Jesus, a number the Gospels estimate at over 5000, and says, “Master, I don’t know what we can do: ‘Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one of these folks to have just a bite.’” (John 6:7 paraphrased)

Another disciple, Andrew, hearing the conversation between Jesus and Philip says: “There is a little boy over there that does have 5 small barley loaves and two small fish, but that won’t go very far.” (John 6:8-9 paraphrased) So Jesus tells His disciples to have the people sit down and he takes the bread and the fish blesses it and then distributes it among the men of the over 5000 people.

You know how the story goes; everyone has plenty to eat and Jesus, not wanting anything to go to waste, commands that the leftovers are to be gathered up. John records that they gathered 12 baskets of barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

2. There are several things that we can learn from this Gospel story.

          One, Jesus is the “New and Improved Moses” in the Gospels, especially in John. Just as Moses and God saw to it that the children of Israel were fed in the desert, Jesus does the same thing out of barley loaves. Again and again the Gospels want us to know that Jesus is far superior to Moses. It was a message that, sadly enough, failed to stick with the Jewish nation.

          Two, do we know anything about the little boy? In the other Gospels there is no little boy; they just lead us to believe the disciples had 5 loaves and two fish between them. But in John, it is a little boy who comes up with the bread and fish.

• Bread in the Mediterranean region can mean “bread” or it can mean “food in general.”

• “Bread” could have been made from wheat, sorghum, or barley. Wheat was considered to be much superior to sorghum and barley. It was also twice as expensive, so barley and sorghum were the bread of poor people.

I am told that barley was less tasteful and more difficult to digest, therefore less desirable than wheat. So the story tells us, not only does the little boy have just 5 loaves of bread and two fish, but in all likelihood this meant that he was poor.

          Three, So Jesus took a poor boy’s offering of barley bread and fish and fed over 5000. I say over 5000 because, ladies, you didn’t count. Women and children were never counted in any of the Biblical numbers (So what else is new Ladies?). So, if you really wanted to inflate the numbers, you would say most men in Jesus’ day were married, so the actual number of mouths that Jesus fed from 5 loaves of bread and two fish could have been over 10,000.

I don’t understand how such a small portion of food could feed this size group of people other than it is miracle. A miracle that all four Gospels want us to know—that Jesus is boss over all things including nature, that Jesus can and does provide us with all of our needs, and that hunger is an important issue for Jesus to consider for his people.

          But the most important lesson to learn from this miracle is that Jesus used what was available to Him. A poor little boy with 5 loaves of bread and two fish was able to feed over 5 thousand. Look folks, “a little in the hands of the Savior goes a long way.” Do you recall the story of the “Widow’s mite?” A poor woman comes into the temple to give something the equivalent of a half penny but, because she was giving from the heart and giving all that she had, Jesus said that she was giving more that the rich folks that were giving to God around her (Luke 21).

I know Jesus says that “to whom much is given, much is expected” (see Matthew 13:11-12; 25:29; Mark 4:24-25; Luke 8:18; 19:26), but I know also that too many of us, myself included, to be given a little in the hands of the Savior can mean a lot. I’ve heard it said, “If had more talent I would sing a solo, teach a Sunday school class, serve as a deacon, witness to lost people. If I weren’t such an ordinary, untalented, ungifted, little child, I’d do more for Jesus.” But look what Jesus did with a poor little boy who had just 5 barley loaves and two fish.

Week of:  February 24, 2008

Title:  The Difficulty in Believing in Jesus

Series:  Study of John - Part 9      

Scripture:  John 6: 30-70