THINGS JESUS BORROWED
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Don’t you just love those sales calls?
1. THE TELEPHONE CALL. A grandmother was preparing lunch for her granddaughter when the phone rang. "If you can answer one question," a young man said, "you'll win ten free dance lessons."
Before she could tell him she wasn’t interested, he continued. "You'll be a lucky winner if you can tell me what Alexander Graham Bell invented." "I don't know," she replied dryly, trying to discourage him.
"What are you holding in your hand right now?" he asked excitedly. “A bologna sandwich." "Congratulations!" he shrieked. "And for having such a great sense of humor you’ve won ten free dance lessons!"
2. CALL WAITING. Scott, an insurance broker in Florida, loves ocean fishing and takes his cell phone along on the boat. One morning he was drifting about ten miles offshore, discussing business on the phone.
Suddenly his rod bent double, and the reel screamed as line poured off the spool. Scott was master of the situation. "Pardon me," he told his customer calmly. "I have a call on another line." [I think these are from Reader’s Digest]
B. THESIS
1. How do you feel when someone asks to borrow something from you? Oh brother! The reason that we feel that way is because people just don’t take care of other people’s property. I long for the day that I won’t have to borrow things from people to get my jobs done.
2. I looked and found a promise from God. Deut 28:12-13, “The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.”
3. It’s interesting then that our Lord Jesus had to borrow things to get His job done. (The secret is, that since everything belonged to Jesus as the Creator, all He borrowed was actually His own.)
4. I learned as a Boy Scout that you always leave/ return things BETTER than when you got there/ them. And Jesus did this. Every time Jesus returned something He borrowed, it was better than before. Let’s look at five things Jesus borrowed.
I. PETER’S FISHING BOAT
A. BOAT LOANED FOR THE GOSPEL
1. “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat” Luke 5:1-3.
2. Jesus borrowed Peter & Andrew’s fishing boat to use as a floating church. After the Lord had finished He asked Peter to launch out into the deep to let down his nets for a catch.
3. If you’d just fished all night (the best time), with no success (back-breaking – hauling wet nets), and had just washed your nets and put them away – would you want to do it again? NO! But Peter honored Jesus by saying yes.
4. There’s a lot of times we don’t want to obey the Lord; a lot of times what He’s asking us to do makes no sense. That’s when we just have to trust Him and do it anyway.
B. THE REWARD FOR LOANING TO JESUS
1. “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him” Luke 5:6-8, 10-11.
2. Jesus rewarded Peter & Co. with undoubtedly the largest catch of fish they had ever made or heard about in their lifetimes! What a great blessing after a fruitless night of catching nothing.
3. It's awesome to serve the Lord; you can't out give God! Whenever we loan God something of ours, we shouldn’t count the cost because God will be a debtor to no one! You can’t outgive God!
II. A BOY’S LOAVES & FISHES
Matt 14:14-21
A. ASSESSMENT IN THE NATURAL
1. This miracle was recorded in all 4 gospels. The disciples were busy taking inventory of their own supplies: 5 loaves, 2 fishes, and a little money. They looked at the number of people, the time of day, and the remoteness of the place where they were, and their conclusion was “Lord, send them away.”
2. Isn’t this situation just like so many of ours? For some reason it’s never the right time or right place for God to work. While they wanted to give up, Jesus was getting ready to use what they had to work a miracle! How many times has God used a stick, some salt, some mud, i.e. -- something we would think would be useless -- to work a miracle? Never underestimate God and what He can do!
B. WHAT WAS JESUS TEACHING?
1. Not only did Jesus provide for the 5,000, but also taught a lesson in faith and surrender to his disciples.
a. Start with what you have.
b. Give what you have to Jesus
c. Obey what He commands.
2. As His servants, we are distributors, not manufacturers. If we give what we have to Him, He will bless it, multiply it, and make it meet the need.
3. Jesus is still having compassion on the hungry multitude. He still says to the church – give them something to eat. How easy it is for us to just send them away. We assume we don’t have enough resources. But “little is much when God is in it!” We serve a BIG God! Try Him & see.
C. THE REWARD FOR LOANING TO JESUS
1. The way I imagine it, the little boy’s mother – a single mother – had packed the last of their food for the boy and after his departure had wept, asking God to somehow supply more for them. They had nothing left to eat.
2. The boy donated his lunch to Jesus and when Jesus returned his lunch, it was twelve basketfuls, not of half-eaten pieces, but of undistributed portions! The custom when distributing, was to break off a piece (Jews didn’t use knives to cut bread), called a “klasma,” There were 12 baskets of “klasma” left!. The boy didn’t lose his lunch, but gained it back many times over! (John 6:13).
III. A COLT & ITS FOAL Matt. 21:2-5
A. THE BORROWED BURRO
1. Jesus, the Messiah, rode a donkey down the Mount of Olives in fulfillment of Zech. 9:9; "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' " The whole city of Jerusalem was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" And the crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
2. God ordained that Jesus borrow and ride a donkey -- one of the most humble of beasts -- in order to be recognized as who He was, the King of Israel. The Greatest, borne by the humblest! Mark also adds that the disciples told the owners, "The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly." This donkey had never been ridden. So how could Jesus send back that donkey – a donkey that HAD been ridden – better than it had been before?
B. THE REWARD FOR LOANING TO JESUS
1. Things associated with famous people become priceless just because of their connection to those famous people. A car once owned by Elvis Presley is worth millions. An outfit once worn by Michael Jackson during a concert is very valuable. The pens Presidents use to sign important documents; the memorabilia of famous baseball player’s; the gowns worn by Hollywood actresses during movies or famous occasions. Those items become very valuable and are frequently sold at auction for large prices.
2. You can only imagine how valuable that donkey became when the King of kings, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, rode it! It became a hallowed and/or coveted beast, just as King David's own mule was valuable in his day(Solomon was recognized as the legitimate King when he rode on it, 1 Kings 1:44). So when Jesus gave back the donkey, He gave back a possession worth far more than when he borrowed it!
3. That is just what Jesus does when He comes into our hearts; "But we have this treasure in jars of clay..." (2 Corinthians 4:7). His actual Being residing in us makes us unspeakably valuable! That's what happens when we give our lives to God!
IV. THE UPPER ROOM
A. GOD’S TIME-SHARE
1. Another thing that Jesus borrowed was the Upper Room to celebrate the Passover. The owner is never identified, but must have known Jesus.
2. “So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there" Mark 14:13-15.
3. It was here that Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, confronted Judas with his betrayal, ate the Last Supper with the 11, prayed the John 17 prayer, and sang hymns.
B. THE REWARD TO THE OWNER
1. Few places in the world are as celebrated as the Upper Room. Leonardo De Vinci painted it in “The Last Supper.” Millions reenact the events of that night every Easter with the Lord’s Supper.
2. The Upper Room became a rallying point of the Early Church, who evidently met there with the Risen Lord during His appearances to them over forty days. It then became the location of the ten-day prayer meeting that culminated with the spiritual outpouring on the day of Pentecost!
3. There could hardly have been a more hallowed place on Earth for early Christians than that Room! I’m sure the early Christians regularly took their visiting friends by to see it & tell what miracles occurred there. I’m confident that the owner of the Upper Room always had an abundance of business connected with that piece of real estate and was glad for the day he had loaned it to the Lord.
4. Besides these, I’m sure that Room owner will be getting an equal share in God’s time-share in New Jerusalem!
V. A MAN’S TOMB
Matthew 27:57-60
1. A final thing Jesus borrowed was a rich man’s tomb. This too was in fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy, Isaiah 53:9 which says, “He was assigned a grave with… the rich in his death.” Joseph of Arimethea was a rich Jew. He had this tomb prepared for Himself. But he became a believer and after the crucifixion he, with Nicodemus, took Jesus down from the cross.
2. While the disciples forgot Jesus’ promise to return in 3 days, the Jewish leaders remembered. That tomb became the focus of the religious leaders and then Pontius Pilate. A centurion was sent to seal it so that no one could enter without being discovered. Guards were stationed at its entrance. But on Easter morning a Mighty Angel was sent down to roll the stone back from the sepulcher. Later, two angels were found sitting inside the tomb (John 20:12).
3. That tomb was only borrowed, because Jesus was only visiting; he only needed it for a few days! Joseph got his tomb back, but it was such a holy place – of the greatest miracle of all time – that he sealed it and no one else was ever buried there!
4. Joseph will get something far greater for his loan of the
tomb – Jesus’ resurrection meant he would escape death himself! What a swap – a tomb for eternal life; what a deal!
5. Thank God for the borrowed tomb! Because He lives, I can have life. In His death, I died; In his burial, I was buried; In his resurrection I too have risen in victory over death, hell, and the grave. Glory to God for His unspeakable gift!
VI. WHAT WOULD JESUS BORROW FROM YOU?
1. Don’t you wish you could have lived during that 3 year period when Jesus walked the shores of the Sea of Galilee and the streets of Jerusalem?
2. Wouldn’t it have been awesome to actually see Jesus, to hear His voice, to see His smile, and to witness His astounding miracles?
3. What if you could have been one of those people who
Jesus asked if He could borrow something from you, wouldn’t that have been incredible? What an honor.
4. You say, “But I don’t have anything Jesus would want to borrow.” Yes, you do! He wants to borrow your voice, your hands, your smile, your eyes – and live inside you! He wants to make your body His Temple so He can touch people all around you.
5. The real question is, are you willing to make Jesus a loan of your life? If you invite Him in and surrender your all to Him, that’s just what He’ll do. Let me give you an example:
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: LET JESUS CALL THE SHOTS
1. Roger Staubach (known as “Captain America”) played as quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys football team beginning in 1969 and led the team to the Super Bowl five times, two of those times he won the Super Bowl (VI &XII).
2. He shared how difficult it was for him to let coach Landry call every play. Coach Landry told Roger when to run, hand off the ball or pass it. Roger knew coach Landry had a brilliant mind when it came to football strategy, yet pride said that he should be able to call the plays.
3. Roger later wrote, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned the joy of obedience there was harmony, fulfillment and victory."
4. Letting Jesus borrow your life is a lot like that. Let Him be in control; trust Him. THAT is the key to transforming power in your life. Paul let Jesus take over his life; “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” Gal. 2:20 New Living.
5. Once you’ve surrendered to the Holy Spirit's promptings, you can get victory over worry, fear, bitterness, depression and low self-esteem, thus blossoming in the power of God and living a changed life.
B. ALTAR CALL
1. Prayer of surrender to Christ.
2. Prayer for greater usage in the Kingdom.
3. Prayer for salvation.
[This is a rewrite of Noah Martinez’s message of the same title.]
