What Will You Do with Jesus?
Matthew 12:9-15
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - May 25, 2008
*What will you do with Jesus? This is a question you may have never consciously asked yourself. But it is a question you are answering every day in the way you think and live. What will you do with Jesus? We can answer this question tonight by looking into the Word of God, but let me break it down into four separate questions.
1. First: Will you put Jesus on trial?
*This is what the unbelieving Pharisees were trying to do in vs. 9-10:
9. Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.
10. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’’ that they might accuse Him.
*That word “accuse” is a legal term that meant charging someone with a crime. These unbelieving Pharisees were trying to accuse the Lord. It’s ironic that they wanted to accuse the Lord for healing someone, when we are more likely to accuse Him for not healing someone. But Jesus Christ is the spotless, sinless Lamb of God. He never did anything wrong in thought or word or deed.
*God forbid that we should ever accuse the Lord of wrong. God forbid that we should disrespect the Lord that way! But please know that this does not mean we will never question the Lord. We live in a mixed-up, messed-up world. Sometimes terrible things happen that don’t make any sense at all, and we wonder why?
*Steven Curtis Chapman is one of the best known singer-songwriters of contemporary Christian music. Over the last 15 or 20 years his songs have blessed millions of people. Last Wednesday tragedy struck the Chapman home, and Michelle Malkin wrote about it on Thursday. Here’s what she said:
-“Steven Curtis Chapman’s five-year-old adopted daughter, Maria Sue, died Wednesday when her teen-age brother accidentally ran over her as he backed the family’s car out of their driveway. Chapman’s music and life have been inspired by, and centered on, faith and family.
-His oldest daughter, Emily, encouraged Chapman and his wife to adopt after having three of their own natural-born children. The couple adopted three beautiful girls from China. They performed missionary work in Chinese orphanages and established a charity named after their first adopted daughter, Shoahannah. At the time the accident occurred, the family “was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman. And were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman’s completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago. Maria Sue had just graduated from church preschool. (1)
*We wonder why, but that’s O.K. Randy Alcorn explains, “The Bible itself raises this question. It never backs away from it. The problem of suffering and evil is in Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Job and many of the Psalms. God does not condemn people for asking such questions. For instance, Jeremiah 12:1 says, “Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?”
*Many of the Psalms ask, “Why, O Lord do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Why are the heavens silent when I ask for help? Why do the good suffer? Why do the evil prosper?” Anyone who tries to gloss over or minimize the problem of evil doesn’t get it. (2)
*Donna Claycomb gave some great insight on unexplainable suffering. She found it in a sermon and in the life story of a professor named Richard Lischer. In his Good Friday sermon for 2005, Dr. Lischer asked these questions:
-“Have you ever been tempted? So was (Jesus). Thus your temptations have been redeemed in his.
-Have you ever been hated? So was he. You have a place in him.
-Have you ever been lonely, afraid, without a place called home? So was he.
-Have you cried when you’re sad? So did he.
-Do you sweat when you are afraid? So did he.
-Have you ever (in anguish asked why)? So did he. You have a place in him.”
*The same preacher who wrote those words of having a place with God when we are afraid, sad and doubting God lost his only son on July 17 of the following year. Dr. Lischer’s son, Adam, was 33 years old. He was a budding attorney who had just joined the firm where his mother practices law, enabling them to realize their long-held ambition to practice law together. Son Adam died not long after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. He died 12 days before his first child – a baby girl – was born.
*Does Dr. Lischer, the preacher who lost his son, know unspeakable pain? Yes. Does he know the kind of anguish that hits him in the pit of his stomach? Yes. Does he know what it is like to be so sad that he can hardly get out of bed and face another day? I’m sure he does. But he also knows a Savior who has experienced the same level of pain -- a Savior who cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (3)
*Jesus came into this mixed-up, messed-up world to suffer with us and for us. Often we will not understand why something terrible happens. But we know we have a God who cares. We know we have a God who does all things well. And one day He will make all things whole for those who trust in Him. Will you put Jesus on trial? Let your answer be no!
2. But there is a second question in these verses: Will you let the Lord train you?
*God has infinite wisdom and He wants to share part of it with you. We see Jesus sharing His wisdom in vs. 11&12. There the Lord said:
11. “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
12. Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
*That seems obvious, doesn’t it? It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Surely any 5th grader would get that answer right. But the fact is that, just like these Old Testament scholars, we sometimes stumble past obvious truth. We need wisdom from the Lord! Thank God for promising to give us all the wisdom we need, if we will only ask Him in faith. James 1:5-6 tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”
*Ask the Lord for His wisdom. Then trust Him to train you. Take the time to listen and learn at the feet of Jesus. Pay attention to everything the Lord wants to teach you, even when the lessons are hard.
*Robert McGee has some good advice about these hard lessons. Robert said, “The next time you become upset and blame someone for your response, think about your tube of toothpaste. This morning you squeezed your toothpaste tube, and out of it came toothpaste. The reason the toothpaste came out is because that is what is in the tube. Someone may have squeezed you once, and out of you may have come responses that were really ungodly, maybe even embarrassing. You blame another for your responses, but you have to understand that what came out of you is what was in you. Often, God allows us to go through troubling circumstances so that we can really see what is inside of us. (4)
*Will you listen and learn? Will you let the Lord train you? Let your answer be yes!
3. But there is a third question in these verses: Will you treasure what the Lord treasures?
*We can see what the Lord treasures in vs. 11&12. There Jesus said, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?”
*The Lord treasures people. The Lord treasures you. That’s the message of this song by Charles Weigle:
-I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus
-Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;
-I would tell you how He changed my life completely,
-He did something that no other friend could do.
-All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me;
-All my heart was full of misery and woe;
-Jesus placed His strong and loving arms around me,
-And He led me in the way I ought to go.
-No one ever cared for me like Jesus;
-There’s no other friend so kind as He;
-No one else could take the sin and darkness from me.
-O how much He cared for me! (5)
*O how much He cares for you! Jesus went all the way to the cross for you. He loves us all. The Lord treasures people. And He wants us to treasure people too.
*James Moore tells about a man named George. George was a peacemaker with a big heart and wonderful sense of humor. Everyone loved George at church and he was respected at the hospital where he worked. The reason why so many people loved George was because he was always kind and respectful to everyone he met.
*George’s children clearly remember the days George spent in the hospital before his death. The administrator of the hospital paid him a visit. They spoke as though they were old friends. A few minutes later one of the janitors came to visit George. They too had a nice visit.
*When the janitor left, one of George’s children said to him, "Dad, did you realize that you treated the president of the hospital and the janitor just alike?" George smiled, chuckled and then said, "Let me ask you something: If the administrator left for two weeks and the janitor left for two weeks, which one do you think would be missed the most?"
*Then George called his children around his bed. "Let me show you something I carry in my pocket all the time," he told them, "even when I mow the lawn." George pulled out a pocket-sized cross and a marble with the golden rule on it. George said, "On the cross are written these words, ‘God Loves You,’ and on the marble are these words, ‘Do unto Others as You Would Have Them Do unto You.’ The cross reminds me of how deeply God loves me. And the marble reminds me of how deeply God wants me to love others.” (6)
*The Lord treasures people. And He wants us to treasure people too. Will you see people as Jesus see as people? Will you value life the way Jesus does? Will you treasure what the Lord treasures? Let your answer be yes!
4. But there is a fourth question in these verses: Will you trust Jesus to do what’s best for you?
*Vs. 13-15 remind us how worthy Jesus is of our trust. After Jesus answered the Pharisees:
13. Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand.’’ And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.
14. Then the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how they might destroy Him.
15. But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there; and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
*The Lord healed them all! What an amazing miracle. And He can still heal today. Many of us have seen amazing, miraculous turn-arounds in people’s lives. We have seen people brought back from the point of death. However, the Lord is not going to heal every disease -- not in this world anyway. But we can trust in the Lord anyway. And we should -- whether He heals us or not. We must never give up on the Lord!
*David and Becky Guinn have been on my mind this past week. In 1997, the Lord blessed me to go with David on a mission trip to Ukraine. It was a life-changing experience for me. David and Becky deeply love the Lord. They have faithfully served the Lord for years in college ministry, mission work and evangelism. But in 2003, David’s wife Becky went in the hospital for a heart valve replacement. There were drastic complications. Both of Becky’s arms and both of her legs had to be amputated.
*If anybody could be excused for giving up -- It would be David and Becky. But listen to part of what David wrote 10 months after the tragedy:
Dear Friends and Prayer Partners,
-Ten months ago, today, Becky was admitted into the UAB Hospital in Birmingham for a routine surgery to replace a valve in her heart. One week later we were beseeching the Lord to spare her life.
-The frightening chain of events throughout her stay at UAB ended there Feb 7th when we were able to bring her home. Though she was released from the shackles of death, ahead of her stretched a long road to recovery.
-Keeping our shoulders set squarely toward the horizon, always expecting another miracle of God’s grace and provision. We do, however, turn our heads from time to time to see the landscape behind us -- looking, remembering, re-living the path that we have traveled thus far.
-We are amazed. We see the faces of those that have helped us along way. We feel the strength of the prayers that have carried us through the most difficult valleys. And we hear the echoes of voices coming from so many people who have encouraged us in times and situations when we simply did not know how or where to keep going.
-When a person is asked, “How are you doing?” Some might respond, “Under the circumstances, I am doing okay”. But it is our desire and our goal to live “above the circumstances”. We don’t want to let our circumstances become an excuse to accept feelings of depression to be normal, or to settle into a lifestyle of less than God intended for us to have. We are committed to keeping our focus on God and not circumstances.
Gratefully,
David Guinn and Family (7)
*We can trust in the Lord -- whether He heals us or not. What will you do with Jesus? Let the Lord train you. Treasure what the Lord treasures. And always trust Jesus to do what’s best for you.
(1) michellemalkin.com/2008/05/22/maria-sue-chapman-rip-2003-2008
(2) “How Could a Good God Allow Evil and Suffering?” - by Randy Alcorn - A presentation given April 9, 2001, at Mount Hood Community College, sponsored by Campus Crusade.
(3) (Richard Lischer, “He Was Forsaken,” March 25, 2005. www.chapel.duke.edu) Adapted from “Doubting God” - sermon by Donna M. Claycomb - Matthew 27:45-50, Numbers 21:4-9 - March 26, 2006 - Mount Vernon Place UMC, Washington
(4) SermonCentral illustration from “The Search for Significance: Seeing Your True Worth through God’s Eyes” by Robert S. McGee (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub., 1998), 146.
(5) “No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus” - By Charles Frederick Weigle
(6) James W. Moore, WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS..., (Nashville: Dimensions for Living, 1993), p. 78. Found in christianglobe.com sermon “Weird People Everywhere” by King Duncan - 1 Cor 12:1-11 - 2005
(7) Taken from the Action Ministries Prayer Gram - October 15, 2003
