Only Jesus!

Only Jesus!

There are so many things and so many people that we think will make us happy. We try to fill up this desire inside of us for peace and happiness with temporary things.

Only Jesus!

You may say, "I have a great job. I get to do what I love. I make a lot of money. I am happy." What happens when you lose the ability to perform that job? When your company shuts down? When you are fired?

Only Jesus!

Perhaps, it's your family and friends. That's where you find happiness. The problem is people will let you down. They may be too concerned with themselves. They may make a major mistake. They may not even intend to.

Only Jesus!

Is it money or your stuff? It too could all be gone. It doesn't take much. The markets crash. You are cheated. Someone steals from you. It could be a storm.

Only Jesus!

Disappointment occurs when something fails to live up to our expectations of it. We often get what we want in life. Yet, it leaves us wanting more. 

Only Jesus!

John 6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.

Only Jesus! 

From Augustine: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."

Only Jesus!

Blaise Pascal writes, "What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself."

Only Jesus!

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Only Jesus!

From Matt Redmond:
"Who can command the highest praise?
Who has the name above all names?
You stand alone, I stand amazed
Jesus, only Jesus"

Don't play the comparison game

Have you ever heard anyone say something like, “I gave up Facebook and I realized I’m a lot happier without it”? Or maybe you've heard, “Pinterest makes me hate my house.” Or they'll say, “I stopped following a friend on Instagram, and now that I don’t see nonstop snapshots of her perfect life, I like her better.” Perhaps you have said some of those things yourself. 

The truth is, life looks a lot better on the Internet. The reason? It’s easy to tell partial truths. You see this glowing picture of a friend and their happy family, tagged with #blessed. What you don’t see is the fight they had just an hour later about who spent all the money they were trying to save to fix the air conditioner. You see an exciting evening out with a fancy meal and a trip to the theater, tagged #hespoilsme. You don’t see her Netflix binge the previous weekend that led to an empty carton of rocky road and Cheeto’s crumbs in the bed. You are offered the sparkly milestones, but not the spiraling meltdowns.

But here’s the issue, the instagram effect (it really is a thing). Here you are in the midst of your trial and you start scrolling through instagram or facebook snapshots of post-worthy moments edited for a prettier version of life than reality. 

Everybody’s marriage is awesome. Their kids are getting straight A’s and hitting home runs. No worries. No struggles. And here you are in a dirty t-shirt, hair’s a mess, dishes piling up in the sink, you can’t even get to the washer and dryer, the whole family won’t talk to each other. And this battle, this fight of comparison plays itself out.

 James puts it like this: "Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,  and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." (James 1:9-12)

 

Doesn't the grass always appear greener on the other side?

That's the comparison game. Don't play it. Yes, I’m pointing a finger. Yeah, that may be harsh. But please recognize the three pointing back at me. I’ve played this game a lot over the last few years. There is no ring on my finger. I’ve been through my share of heartbreak and hurt. I remember one of those breakups. It just so happened I had a “friend” on Facebook getting married basically the same week. I remember looking at some photos and thinking, she’s marrying him? REALLY?

I look at his profile and he’s out getting hammered and partying. I know he’s already a deadbeat dad. I’m like, “Here I am God, trying to do everything right. I’m going to church and trying to serve you by building up your kingdom. And, this dude gets a wife? This clown gets happiness?” I 'm like the brother in the story of the prodigal son. “You’re gonna throw him a party?”

I can imagine what that conversation with Jesus would be like. “Chase, I hate to break this to you, but you might be elevating your own greatness here. You think you’re the only one who is eligible for my blessings?”  

This is what happens when we lose this fight of comparison. This is what it looks like when we are experiencing trials and we become super-sensitive to the prettiness of other peoples lives. Here’s James saying, “Stop it. It’s all level in the end. He might look like things are all going right. But, don’t believe the instagram hype."

Quit focusing on this “stuff”. A man is a fool to put his trust in things, things that could be gone in a second. James’ illustration is very familiar to the people of Palestine, “the scorching heat withers the grass”. In the desert, if there is a rain shower, thin shoots of grass will sprout, but being out in the hot sun one day will make them disappear like they were never there in the first place.

In those trials shift your focus away from others. Everyone endures trials. Everyone struggles. We'll have seasons in which the sky is clear, and we'll have seasons in which it's cloudy. God is leading you into maturity, showing you, you need him.  

Sources: I preached on this topic on September 27th at Winchester Road East Church of Christ. You can listen to that sermon at the Winchester Road website: Fighting for your Faith 
Some of the points from that sermon and this blog were inspired by a sermon from Matt Chandler: Trials/Temptations  

Is it okay to have doubts?

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1)

Did you find this as difficult as I did as you read we are to ask in faith with no doubting? Wait! We aren't allowed to doubt?!

If we tie these verses together, I think the picture we get is that James is standing against those who are double-minded. 

For the early Christians, being double-minded meant, “I believe in Jesus, but fear of persecution doesn’t allow me to act out those beliefs." Or, "I believe, but I’m more interested in pursuing wealth.” We could add that one to our list today.

James is calling for authentic faith. The truth is, sometimes that includes doubt. Do you remember the story of the man who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus in Mark 9?  

We’ll start in verse 20: And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. ²¹ And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²² And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

I really like Jesus’ response. “‘If you can’!” IF YOU CAN!?!? “All things are possible for one who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 

Can you relate? "I believe! But, help my unbelief." I’m going to say it like this. This kind of unbelief is not what James is talking about. In fact, I would say this kind of unbelief is healthy. If you are honestly working out your faith, if you are being real with yourself, there are going to be moments when you stop and think, "is this real? Is the God thing really legit?"

The question is, is that enough faith for the mercy and grace of God to work on your behalf? Let’s see what Jesus does: And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”     

Trials are going to come, if they are not already here. Those trials will wear you down. You will wrestle with doubt. To deny that is to turn a blind eye to reality. But, that’s okay. Remember, Jesus said, “If I can?! I can do anything for those who believe.” 

God goes to work when the man says, "I believe; help my unbelief."

Let's say you are struggling through some things. Everything isn't going the way you want it to. In the words of Darryl Worley, sounds like life to me. Of course you are struggling. That's why we need Jesus. That's why James uses the word "when" in James 1:2. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. Trials are going to come.

The double-minded man is the one who meets those trials giving lip service to God, pretending to be all put together. Here’s the reality: you’re not.

Let' say I walk up the pulpit Sunday morning with a bloody nose, a ripped shirt and mismatched shoes. You could hear me pulling in the parking lot because my car is falling apart. You rode past my house on the way in, and it was on fire. We’re talking engulfed in flames like when you get your marshmallow too close to the bonfire. You ask me how I’m doing after service, “Is there anything we can do for you?” My response: “Doing great! Life couldn’t be better!” “But Chase, we saw your house on fire this morning!” I say, “Yeah, I’ll get to that when I get home.”

That's absurd, right? But how often do we do the same thing with our spiritual lives? Stop it!

That is what our spiritual communities are built for. We come around each other and say, "I believe. Help my unbelief." You may say, "I'm losing heart. This is difficult." That is when we surround each other and work through our unbelief.

Sources: I preached on this topic on September 27th at Winchester Road East Church of Christ. You can listen to that sermon at the Winchester Road website: Fighting for your Faith 
Some of the points from that sermon and this blog were inspired by a sermon from Matt Chandler: Trials/Temptations

Are we, as Christians, meant to be odd, to not fit in?

"You really can't follow God and fit in," says Francis Chan in his series on Surrender.



That's a really strong statement. Did he really mean that?

Here's a little more context: "... you really can't follow God and fit in. I mean you really can't pursue everything Jesus called you to and look like everyone else. Because Jesus didn't fit in... In John 15 he's telling his disciples if the world hates you keep in mind that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you're not of the world but I choose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

This series is designed for teens as they navigate the world of high school. This quote comes from the part on surrendering status. However, this concept is not only for teens.

In John 15:18-19 Jesus says, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

As Christians, we put on Christ as our Lord and Savior. The very name "Christian" implies we belong to him. Doesn't that mean we should be like him? Being like him implies we will be persecuted. "Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you." (John 15:20).

But, then we also read verses like Luke 14:25, "Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them." And in Mark 5:24 it says, "And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him." There are at least 33 verses that talk about great crowds following Jesus. 

What do we do with that? It appears to be a contradiction. Let's take a closer look at what is really going on. 

When Jesus began his ministry he did a lot of healing and various other miracles drawing interest from the crowds. In John 6 Jesus is addressing a crowd that has swelled to upwards of five thousand on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. He had never been more popular. Jesus then uses a child's lunch to feed every single person in the crowd and there were still leftovers. 

After dinner the crowd camps out for the night. The next morning they wake up looking for Jesus, probably wanting some bacon and eggs. What they find is that Jesus has crossed to the other side of the sea. Jesus knows this crowd isn't after him, there are there for a free meal. In verse 35 Jesus tells the crowd he is the only thing on the menu. "I am the bread of life," he says. 

In verse 66 it says, "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him." Jesus never waivers from his message to try to restore his numbers. He seems to be okay with his waning popularity. Referring to this story in Not a Fan, Kyle Idleman concludes, "It wasn't the size of the crowd Jesus cared about. It was their level of commitment."

I believe that is exactly what God is after in us today. 

Jesus humbled himself, giving up his status as God, to become one of us. He was beaten, mocked, and killed. He let go of his status to love you and me. God wants you to humble yourself. He wants you to surrender your status for any opportunity to love those around you. 

God is not calling you to be intentionally odd and not fit in. He is calling you to quit looking at yourself and instead focusing on his mission and doing whatever you can to reach as many people as you can.