Message by Eddie Fernandes
Introduction
(Click intro title) We are in a 12-part series titled: REFLECTIONS ON THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS. It will end on SUNDAY JULY 26. I am about to preach the 9th message in that series. I will start my sermon in a rather unusual way today. Firstly HOWEVER, I will have no Scripture passages on the screen and no Powerpoint support. This is intentional and there’s a hidden reason in the message. Before we begin let’s do a recap of the first 8 messages:
1. The Last Supper – The centrality of Fellowship (1/12)
2. The Garden of Gethsemane – The vitality of Intercession (2/12)
3. The Sanhedrin – The cruelty of Injustice (3/12)
4. The High Priest’s Courtyard – The essentiality of Forgiveness (4/12)
5. The Via Dolorosa – The universality of Suffering (5/12)
6. The Via Sacra – The nobility of Service (6/12)
7. The place of the skull – The scarcity of Essentials (7/12)
8. The Mount of Calvary – The necessity of Trust (8/12)
9. The Garden Tomb – The sagacity of Patience (9/12) is today’s message.
Let’s begin. This jar was recently used to trap butterflies to amuse and educate my grandchildren. They loved seeing their avô running around like a lunatic chasing butterflies. They were even more fascinated when I actually caught 5 of them. Zeek screamed out in delight: “vô you are overweight but really fast!” At the end of the lesson we set them free.
Today the jar is filled with soil. First I am going to open the lid. (open). Next I am going to plant a seed in the rich soil (plant). Now add a little water (water), and now I am going to do what thousands of Christians do every day. “Seed grow!” “Hey, I said sprout and grow”. Maybe that’s not the right approach. Let’s try the Word of Faith approach: “seed, by the authority in me invested I command thee to grow!” Boy this seed is stubborn and has no faith. Maybe I need the magic formula: “Satan I command you to release this seed, I rebuke everything that stands in the way, I declare and decree growth, so be it and nothing can impede it, GROW in the mighty name of Jesus!”
And all of you are looking at me like I have gone mad. Some are even thinking: “he went in for treatment at the cancer hospital this week and the stuff they injected in his body has messed with his small brain.” No, my friends. I am okay. No side effects…yet! What is not okay is this approach to spirituality that is used by believers around the world.
Every farmer knows that once the seed is planted the waiting begins. There is nothing the farmer can do once his job is completed. It is all up to nature. It’s all in God’s hands as the Creator who set seasons, laws and all the forces in motion for this seed to blossom and eventually develop into a shrub.
Former vs Current disciples
The disciples were like every one of us. They did not have the sagacity of patience. Sagacity is the quality of being discerning, sound in judgment, farsighted and wise. Jesus had prepared them. He had told them that He would be planted in the earth like a seed. He instructed them to wait three days. They didn’t even wait one day! They fled the scene terrified they too would be killed. When they found out the Messiah was dead they went into hiding. Unbelief, doubt, sadness, anger, disappointment and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness engulfed them Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
According to Mark many women were present at the crucifixion. Except for John, all of the men had fled the scene and took to hiding. The women remained firm and steadfast. Mark 15:40-41: “Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.”
On Sunday morning the women were also the first to testify that He had risen from the dead. The same three women are mentioned: Mark 16:1-2: “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb.”
Here’s my theory: Jesus used women because women are far more patient than men. And all the ladies said: Amen! Women know that the seed planted once planted deep inside their wombs takes a long 9 months to develop in the darkness, much like this seed in this jar. I don’t think men would have such patience. When the time comes to give birth women also know they are in for what can turn into long hours of labor before they see the tiny head of their offshoot breaking through into light of day.
The stone, rolled away that Sunday morning, was as if the soil had parted for the resurrected Savior to come forth; it was as if the womb of the earth had opened after three long days of labor and Jesus emerged into light of day! So women who knew all about such matters rushed to shout the Good News to each other: Jesus is Alive! Then a few of them said, “let’s find the men and tell them about this great and marvelous miracle.”
How did the men respond? Luke 24:9-11: “When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” Please note, one of the women at the crucifixion was Mary the mother of Jesus! She was also first at the tomb and now here she was telling the disciples. And their reaction: nonsense! “We understand, he’s your Son and you desperately want Him back, but honey, dead men stay dead!”
They eventually got it when Jesus appeared to them. Even the most resistant of them, doubting Thomas, was eventually convinced Jesus did indeed conquer the grave! All they needed was a tiny mustard seed size of faith and a small dose of patience. But they were like you and I. The former and the current disciples are no different!
The instant physical world vs the character developing spiritual world
We all live in an instant world, not a character developing world. We hate waiting. We get angry when we don’t get what we want…yesterday! 5G, high-speed fiber optics, and lightning-fast microprocessors have heightened our anxieties and frustrations. We press the button and we expect an instant response. If our latest iPhone XI Pro is slow we want to throw it at the guy who sold it to us and get one that does the job as promised! If our order is delayed at McDonalds, and the guy who walked in 5 minutes after us is served first, the waiter had better run for a bathroom break. If somebody does not reply to our post proclaiming we were born on this day, we unfriend them because who needs friends who do not care? If we buy a product and it is not supplied via UPS on time, we cancel the order, we let the company know in no uncertain terms and order from the competition using Fedex!
May I say this: The instant physical world we live in has very little in common with the character developing spiritual world God wants us to live in. The Bible teaches…
• Colossians 3:12: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…”
• Psalm 37:7: “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.”
• Romans 12:12: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
• 1 Corinthians 13:4: “Love is patient and kind.”
• Romans 5:4-5: “We … rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Patience vs unbelief and distrust
Knowing what the Bible says about patience I asked myself: “Why did the disciples not receive the Good News gladly and with an open heart? Why didn’t they believe the women? After all Jesus had prepared them well for what was coming. Over 3.5 years of daily living with Him nothing He said or promised failed to come true. So you would think they would believe and trust in Him when He said in Matthew 17:22–23: “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” He even predicted the manner of His death. Matthew 20:17–19, “Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!’”
Pretty clear, huh? Two days before He died He again said without room for any doubt in Matthew 26:1-2, “As you know, the Passover is two days away — and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” I would have believed Him and I am sure you would too, right? A seed planted in the ground will bloom in due time. A seed planted in the womb will come forth at the right time. All they needed was patience, trust and belief. Jesus planted in the earth would certainly emerge alive after three days. NOPE. They did not believe even as we still fail to believe, even as we all battle with doubts, unbelief and uncertainty!
So before we start judging them by whispering, “shame on you”, let’s remember that we all continue to battle with unbelief and distrust today! We are not good at this waiting thing. But in the Kingdom of God it’s all about patience. God is eternal. It is written, Psalm 90:4: “For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours” (NLT). God has always existed and will always exist. He is not concerned with your urgency, with your timing and with your lack of patience. He is actually bemused and even offended by it. He has all the time in the universe. Plus He is always on time. He is never late. When He doesn’t answer your prayers now, it’s not because He cannot, it’s because of His sagacity. He knows it is not yet the appropriate time for His answer.
I would venture that 9 out of 10 times the reason He doesn’t answer us immediately is this: He is more interested in the work He is doing IN us than the work we are asking Him to do FOR us! Let me repeat that: He is more interested in the work He is doing IN us than the work we are asking Him to do FOR us! Christians treat God as if He were a fairytale “genie in the lamp.” We rub Him the right way and He pops out and says, “I am your servant what do you need master?” Sorry, my dear friends, that’s not how it works.
Clay in the hands of the Potter vs the Potter manipulated by the clay
I am going to explain to you how I believe it works. At least this is how it has worked for me my entire life and I for one am a much better person for it: ask my wife and daughters. We read in Isaiah 64:8, “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Did you get that? He is the Potter and we are mere clay. It’s never the other way around, ever! We never get to be the Potter. It would be a right mess if we were given the responsibility! God once gave the prophet Jeremiah a clear visual lesson of this truth. Jeremiah 18:1-6, “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ‘Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.’”
Don’t lose sight of the importance of the phrase “so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.” For many years my dear friends I was like so many misled Christians I know. “I name it, I claim it, and I frame it. Lord your Word says. God you are able and I need you to step in now. Heal now. Deliver now. I command, I rebuke and I decree. I take authority and I speak it forth in Jesus name!” And then I would step back and wait for the “genie to pop out of the lamp.” But many times nothing happened. My prayers weren’t answered immediately. The miracle didn’t happen instantly. The providence failed to come through when I thought it should have, in my time.
I have to be honest: God broke my heart time and again. God disappointed me. He let me down when I most needed Him. I cried. I got mad. I threatened to never speak to him again. Frankly, I told Him, “why do I need a God who doesn’t come through when I need Him to?”
Then, thankfully and by grace, I got older and wiser, as he crushed the clay and reshaped it, again and again. I began listening to my own prayers. As an immature Christian I realized I had it all wrong: I was the potter, God was my clay! All of my prayers were centered on me and my needs. “I want this, heal me of that, come to my rescue now, I declare, I command, etc.” To make it all sound legit and holy I signed off with “In Jesus precious name.” That made it all biblical, or so I thought.
The fruit of the Spirit vs the works of the flesh
I am so glad the years passed and that God didn’t let go of me, despite my immaturity and stupidity. I’m glad He didn’t do it “my way” because “His way” was infinitely better. Many of you have seen me live my life before you for almost 25 years as I have served as your pastor and leader. I don’t always get it right (and please don’t shout out amen to that!). Yes, I know that as clay I am still being shaped. It’s a lifelong process. BUT this is I also know, and this all of you can testify: I strive for the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23, “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (LB).
What happens when we do not allow the Potter to shape us? When we do not patiently wait upon the Lord? When we believe we are the Potter and He is our clay? When we convince ourselves that we are in control and God owes us something. That He must answer all our prayers in our own time because we are entitled for some obscure reason? Paul tells us the results. Galatians 5:19-21, “But when you follow your own wrong inclinations, your lives will produce these evil results: impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, spiritism (that is, encouraging the activity of demons), hatred and fighting, jealousy and anger, constant effort to get the best for yourself, complaints and criticisms, the feeling that everyone else is wrong except those in your own little group—and there will be wrong doctrine, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild parties, and all that sort of thing. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” It’s definitely one of those “ouch and amen” passages! In another translation this is called the “works of the flesh.”
Conclusion:
I want to draw to a conclusion by asking you to stop by The Garden Tomb – and understand the sagacity of Patience. There are over 7000 promises in the Bible. God has a word and a promise for every situation you face in life. What He never promised is to fulfill His promises the way you believe He should or according to your own thinking and timing. He is God. He is infinitely more knowledgeable and wiser than you will ever be. He is the Potter, you the clay. Learn to be patient. Be still and wait upon the Lord. Even when you think He has got it all wrong and that He did not do as you believe is right.
Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” And he promises all of those who love Him in Romans 8:28, “…we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Lord teach us to be patient.
