1. Pulpits
A preacher described a special interest he had as a guest speaker to various congregations. "Whenever I preach in a church I haven't been to before, I am always anxious to stand behind the pulpit to get a feel for it. I want to stand there and look out at the still empty pews and imagine how I will be making eye contact with the people. I want to hold the pulpit to see how it feels. Most of all, however, I want to sneak a peek inside the pulpit -- just to see what's back there.
"There are a couple of shelves in most pulpits, and you often find unusual sorts of odds and ends back there.
"A pretty tame pulpit will have a box of Kleenex; maybe a couple of hymnbooks; and a Bible. [Ours has an emergency water bottle.]
"I can remember preaching in one church and inside the back of the pulpit was a fire extinguisher. One can only wonder what kind of fire and brimstone preaching would make it necessary to have a fire extinguisher behind the pulpit. Or, was the preacher using it to quench/extinguish the Spirit?
"I can remember visiting another church and finding, of all things, a telephone. Throughout the sermon my mind kept wondering, 'What do I do if it rings? Stop preaching and answer it? Ignore it?
Behind the pulpit in a congregation in Atlanta, GA, is a small sign. It is a brass plate with an inscription, quoting the New Testament lesson for today.
'Sir, we would see Jesus.'"
2. John 12.20-26
3. Crowds had come to Pesach (Passover) -- within the crowd was a group of Greeks (Jews or God-Fearers) who had come to the Feast their request was to see/inspect/examine/observe/perceive Jesus with delight/pleasure
4. To whom are we looking in our lives? -- Selves? People we respect? Jesus?
I. Intention to Seek Jesus
A. Not merely as spectators (vv. 9-19) but participants with him
1. We hunger for a close, intimate relationship with God (v.21 -- see Jesus = perceive/examine/look at) -- Jesus is unafraid of our examinations, unlike us
A South Korean woman who was hoping to earn her driver's license finally passed the written exam -- after 950 tries! Cha Sa-Soon had set the goal of passing the test without knowing how difficult it would be to see her dream come true. She had to take the exam repeatedly for more than four years before she succeeded, but her efforts finally paid off.
2. God has always wanted relationship
3. Examine Jesus -- Matthew 11.28-30; Following Resurrection -- Thomas' offer
B. Sidetracking is easy
1. Jesus as teacher; prophet; rabbi; miracle-worker; Religious Founder -- MORE
2. In the midst of Festivals
3. Even scripture can sidetrack us -- concentrate so much on the minutia of the text that we miss seeing God
C. Seek until Find -- Jeremiah 29.10-14
10 "For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
II. Intention to See Jesus
A. A Disciple's Role -- Point People to Jesus
1. God's plan in Mishnah -- Avot 1.1 -- Moses to Joshua to Elders to Prophets to Great Assembly:
Be Prudent in Judgment; Raise up many disciples; Build a fence around the Torah
2. Jesus' Command -- Matthew 28.18
3. Philip and Andrew did their job; Paul (1 Corinthians 11.1);
4. [We are hungry beggars bringing other beggars to be fed.
B. A Teachable Spirit is Required to See Jesus (v. 24)
1. Some refuse to see; some see quickly; some take longer (Saul)
2. Be prepared for surprises -- Jesus gives the Greeks a deep vision of who he was
a. Grain of Wheat -- [Feast of Unleavened bread -- His burial
b. Fruit to come -- [Feast of First Fruits -- Resurrection Day; Pentecost
c. Clear -- 12.32f; John 3.14-15
III. Intention to Seize Jesus (Identify with Him) -- vv.25-26
A. Seizing Jesus begins Counting the Cost
1. Our Natural Tendency is for Self-Preservation
The Impulse to Survive
When the Apollo project was beginning, there arose an argument between the engineers and scientist over how to make the best use of the space on board the rocket.
The scientists wanted as much space as possible for lab work; the engineers wanted it for backup systems in case something failed. They were at a stalemate until they asked the astronauts. What would you have decided for - lab space, or back up units? What do you think they opted for? That's right - survival.
2. Jesus calls us to something greater than a mere 70-80 year vapor on earth
B. Seizing Jesus Requires Paying the Price
[God does not call us to be comfortable but conformable. Conformed, not to the world (Romans 12.1-2) but conformed to the Son of God (Romans 8:29).
1. I have found that sometimes Ministry is not "fun." -- Who said it was supposed to be fun?
2. Sometimes the Christian walk is hard and not fun -- who said it is always to be fun, entertaining, and comfortable?
3. Love God -- anyway -- Deuteronomy 6.4ff -- not just in the good times, all the time
a. A command
b. A Promise
C. Seizing Jesus Brings Glory from God (v.26)
1. God Fearers were honored by God -- Isaiah 56.5
2. Have to vs. Get to (choice to identify with God and his people)
1. We Live in the Paradox
Two engineering students, one from O.U. and the other from OSU, were out in a yard standing by a flagpole, vigorously discussing something. A student from UT happened by and asked what they were arguing about. "Oh," replied the student from O.U., "we were discussing how best to determine the height of this flagpole and what equation to use."
"That's easy enough," declared the UT student, and he took the pole out of the ground, laid it down on the grass, pulled out his tape measure and declared: "It's 10' 6" long."
As the student from UT walked away, the engineer from O.U. turned to the one from OSU and declared: "Isn't that just like a guy from UT. You ask him for height and he gives you length."
We live in a world where heavenly things confuse our earthly minds.
* We see the unseen (2 Cor. 4:18)
* We conquer by yielding (Rom. 6:16-18)
* We find rest under a yoke (Mt. 11:28-30)
* We reign by serving (Mark 10:42-44)
* We are made great by becoming least (Luke 9:48)
* We are exalted by being humble (Mt. 23:12)
* We are made free by becoming His servants (Rom. 6:10)
* We become strong by being weak (2 Cor. 12:10)
* We are victorious through defeat (2 Cor. 12:7-9)
But perhaps most difficult of all for us:
* We live by dying (John 12:24,25; 2 Cor. 4:10,11)
2. Authenticity
If you take an airline flight to Israel, you will be served meals. Jewish people will often receive a Kosher meal. The plate is covered and the cover was tied to the plate with a thin wire. The wire is tied together with a small metal seal, about the size of a dime. On the seal there is an inscription, "Inspected by the Chief Rabbi of New York."
For most of us that would be nothing more than an interesting novelty. But for an orthodox Jew who would be concerned about dietary laws, that seal would have authenticated the food as being Kosher.
In the same way, the death and resurrection of Christ ties everything else in his ministry together. It authenticated everything in his life as being true and real.
