He Came To
Replace Rules With Relationship
I Am Jesus – part 8
It was the final week of Jesus’ earthly life;
• He had entered the city of Jerusalem to the shouts of thousands
• He had cleared out of the temple (the house of God) those who were there for selfish and self-serving reasons
• He had taught the people about entering the kingdom of God
• He had answered the Sadducees questions about the resurrection
AND – in Matthew chapter 22 beginning at verse 34 we read the following;
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
41While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. 43He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, 44“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 45If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2"The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. 3So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden.
Prayer
IN – the second chapter of his book, ‘A Glimpse of Jesus,” Brennan Manning asks this question;
Who is the Jesus of YOUR journey? How would YOU describe the Christ who is the still point of a turning world for so many people and who is an irrelevancy or embarrassment for countless others?
UNDERSTAND – the question that Jesus asked in Matthew 16 still echoes today 2,000 years later… LET’S – quickly look at that scene again…
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
UNDERSTAND – there has always been many different opinions as to who Jesus is. “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. BUT NOTICE – that Jesus says, what other people think is not really the point… INSTEAD – the point, what matters is what each of us think about Him individually…
“But what about you? Who do you say I am?” AND - UNDERSTAND - Jesus is not wanting you to quote the answers that others have given over the years. He does not want you to simply recite the answers given by;
• Warren or Lucado
• Graham or Swindoll
• Luther or Calvin
• Steve or Ryckie
• Ms Laurie or Jake
• Your mom or your dad
• AND LISTEN – Jesus doesn’t even want you to simply recite the answers given 2,000 years ago by (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John…)
UNDERSTAND – in a very real way, right now (February 27, 2005)… Jesus is looking each one of us in the eyes (AND YES - He knows that you have read books, heard sermons, gone to conferences and seminars… YES - He knows that you have listened to other people talk about Jesus)… BUT – right now he is looking at you… AND – He is saying; But what about you? Who do you say I am?”
SO - [Tim]; what’s your answer? COME ON – no one else can answer it for you. [Tim…] - who is Jesus to you? Who do you say that he is… {Tim}… - describe the Jesus that you have personally experienced and encountered. AGAIN – Manning in his book, ‘A Glimpse Of Jesus Writes;’
One way I have come to know Jesus is by empathetic identification with marginal characters in the Gospel narrative. My background as a sergeant in the Marine Corps lends to relatively easy rapport with the centurion whose story Matthew relates. Remember the day that Jesus healed the centurions servant? The military man falls down and says, “Sir, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Just given an order and my boy will get better.” But the most revealing line in the story, according to Matthew is that Jesus was astonished.” He spun around and cried out, “I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith like this.” At last Jesus is saying – finally someone who understands me and what I want to be for my people; a savior of boundless compassion, unbearable forgiveness, infinite patience, and healing love. NOW - will the rest of you let me be who I am and stop imposing your small silly and self-styled ideas of who you think I ought to be.”
LET – me read that last sentence again; “NOW - will the rest of you let me be who I am and stop imposing your small silly and self-styled ideas of you think I ought to be.”
let me be who I am!
AND GUYS – that is exactly what we are doing in 2005 at Central. ON – January 9, 2005 we set out on a quest. A QUEST – to know Christ more deeply, more completely and more fully. A QUEST – where are trying to stop imposing our silly and self-styled ideas of who we think Jesus should be. A QUEST – where we are taking Jesus out of the box… AND – off of the flannel board of our current understanding… A QUEST – where we are letting Jesus be all that He is really is… SO – that we can become all that He desires us to be. AND – here’s the bottom line; in 2005 we are looking at Jesus with fresh eyes, open hearts and eager minds…
SO FAR – in this quest we have unpacked some name and tiles of Jesus;
• Son of God
• The word became flesh
• The Good Shepherd
• And the King of kings
AND – for the last 2 weeks we have been looking at some of the reasons why Jesus came…
• He came to demonstrate the unfailing, unconditional and enduring forever love of God.
• He came to seek and save the lost… (every person matters to God, every person is valuable to God… And God longs for every person to come home)
YOU matter to God
YOU are valuable to God
God longs for you to be chillin out at home with Him
Don’t just listen to those incredible truths
Don’t just nod your head and say, ’yeah, Steve I know that already’
BECAUSE
knowing them is not the point
the point is
Do ’you’ BELIEVE them?
well do you?
If you are like me you don’t believe them enough!!!
THIS WEEK – in an e-mail I challenged you to say those 2 phrases ("I matter to God" and "I am valuable to God_)out loud… maybe even shout them… I did that this week, walked out the back door and let them rip... caused several dogs to bark... But it really felt good.
The title for this mornings message is, “He Came To Replace Rules With Relationships.” There are just 2 points in your notes… BOTH – are questions.
Was The Old Way, Really All About Rules?
QUESTION #1; Was (the Old Way, The Old Covenant, The Old Testament) really all about rules? NOW – to be honest there was a time when that was exactly what I thought. A time when I thought that the law, that the rules of the Old Testament were all about keeping God distant, were all about barriers and walls between us and God. YOU KNOW – that God was all about rules in the Old Testament and all about relationships in the New Testament…
IN FACT – just a couple of years ago I did a message where I basically summarized the entire Old Testament as being all about trying to keep a bunch rules of rules that we could never measure up to… AND – how Jesus came to rescue us from that. THOUGH – there is some truth in that… IT – is an incomplete picture of the Old Way.
AS - I began to work on my message this week… AND AS - I looked over those old notes (seeing if there was anything in them that would help me this week)… Something didn’t feel right… It was like something was missing.
AND - I kept going over the title for today’s message over and over again in mind… AND – the more I did. THE – more my previous understanding didn’t fit…
“Jesus came to replace rules with relationships… Jesus came to replace rules with relationships… NO - that doesn’t seem right? I MEAN – were rules the only thing that God cared about in the O.T.? IS THE – picture we see of God in the OT one where, we find him off in the distant somewhere not pursuing or desiring to have a relationships with His people? Did God just all of sudden turn relational after Christ came…? AND – what about Jesus (God in the flesh) did He ever express what He felt the Old Testament was all about.. AND – if He did… WHAT – did He say about it?
WELL – the good news is that Jesus did say something about the Old Way .. IN FACT – he summarized the entire thing for us… IN – the passage that I read as we started off this morning… JESUS - gave us the cliff note for the entire all Old Testament… LET’S – read them again;
37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
NOW NOTICE – what Jesus does not say; HE – does not say that, the law and the prophets hang on these 2 things… (rule keeping and not measuring up). INSTEAD – He says that ALL of the Law… AND - ALL of the Prophets hang on ‘relationships,’ Hang on loving God and loving other people…
YES – there were commands and rules… AND – yes they were important… BUT – they were never intended to be the point. UNDERSTAND – rule keeping was never meant to be the ultimate goal. INSTEAD – it was always meant to be a means to an end…
YOU SEE – God intended, God designed rule keeping to take His people to a higher place, to a deeper and fuller relationship with Him and with others. ALL – the law… AND – all the prophets hang on these two things; LOVE God and LOVE people.
SO THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT – our God has always been a relationship-driven God. AND – to picture Him in the O.T. as being a rule-driven God, is not even close to being accurate… NOW – before we move on to the second point in your notes, I want to quickly share with you several passages that highlight just how relationship-driven our God was even in the O.T.
The LORD your God is going before you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you saw how the LORD your God cared for you again and again here in the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’ Dt 1:30.31
Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the LORD, rejoice in his presence! Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy… praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. – Psalm 68:4-6,19
O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O LORD, from childhood. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you! - Ps 71:5,6
Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in all his glorious power. He will rule with awesome strength. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
– Isaiah 40:10,11
"Listen to me, all you who are left in Israel. I created you and have cared for you since before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime--until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. - Is 46:3,4
Heavens, raise the roof! Earth, wake the dead! Mountains, send up cheers! GOD has comforted his people. He has tenderly nursed his beaten-up, beaten-down people. -Is 49:13 (Msg)
Don’t be afraid or ashamed and don’t be discouraged. You won’t be disappointed. Forget how sinful you were when you were young; stop feeling ashamed for being left a widow. The LORD All-Powerful, the Holy God of Israel, rules all the earth. He is your Creator and husband, and he will rescue you. You were like a young wife, brokenhearted and crying because her husband had divorced her. But the LORD your God says, "I am taking you back! - Is 54:4-6 (CEV)
• A father caring for His child…
• A father to the fatherless
• A defender of widows
• Carrying us in His arms everyday
• Caring for us from birth to gray hair
• Holding us in His arms and close to His heart
• Tenderly nursing His beaten up and the beaten down people
• Being our husband
• Taking us back, when the world and people reject us
GUYS – those passages SCREAM relationship! They SCREAM of God’s love for YOU! and His desire to be with YOU… YES – our God has always been relationship NOT rule driven… AND – let me tell you the Psalmist most definitely recognized this… CHECK – this out… 177 times in the Psalms the Psalmist… refers to God as;
MY
• God (52)
• Savior (8)
• Rock (12)
• Song (2)
• Refuge (9)
• Stronghold (3)
• Strength (12)
• Fortress (11)
• Help (7)
• Comfort (2)
• Salvation (9)
• Light (1)
• Hope (11)
• Shepherd (1)
• Shield (5)
• King (4)
• Lord (2)
• Father (1)
• Deliverer (4)
• Hiding place (1)
• Shelter (5)
• Joy (1) Delight (7) Redeemer (1) Glorious one (2)
• Mighty rock (1) Portion (3)
OKAY – (that was fun) let’s move on to the second question in your notes.
Then, What Did Jesus Come To Do?
YOU KNOW – this week, I almost changed the title for this message… BUT – I didn’t… BECAUSE – being worded the way it is, forces us to do some thinking… AND – thinking is always a good thing.
HOWEVER – if I did change the title… I would have changed it to; “Jesus Came To Show Us The Truth About Rules…” AND TIM – the truth about rules is that they were never meant to be the focus… THEY - were never intended to keep God away… BUT RATHER – to bring Him closer.
THIS WEEK – after I figured out that my prior understanding was a little off… I started to asking myself… OKAY - what did Jesus ‘really’ come to do in regards to rules & relationship… AND – pretty much all I did was think, read… AND – think & read some more.
AND – finally some time Thursday morning I figured out 4 things that I believe God wants me to share with you… SO – here goes; 4 things that Jesus came to do in regards to rules & relationships…
To Reveal The Relationship Driven God
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. – John 14:9
UNDERSTAND – whatever Jesus did, whatever Jesus was like… IS – what God is like… AND – one thing that we clearly see by looking at Jesus is that Our God is not driven by rules… BUT RATHER – He is driven by relationships… NOW – there are many things I could talk about in the life of Jesus that demonstrate that he was relationship-driven. LIKE;
• Coming in the flesh to begin with – so that people could see God with their own eyes; hear God with their own ears and touch God with their own hands
• Being born and growing up in a family just like you & I… Having relationships with His mom & dad and his brothers & sisters. (did you know that Jesus had brothers and sisters?)
When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” 58And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. Mt 13:53-58
Jesus grew up in a big family at least 7 kids… (Man - how would you like to have Jesus as a big brother… What kind of relationship do you think He had with James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. And what do you think it was like to be one of Jesus’ little sisters?) Jesus also demonstrate that God was relationship-driven BY
• Choosing 12 guys to hang with 24/7 for 3 years…
• AND BY - passionately pursuing His own relationship with the Father…Rising early in the morning to meet with, calling Him Abba… AND - inviting you & I to do the same.
BUT THIS MORNING – I only want to focus on one way that Jesus revealed the relationship-driven God… AND – it was something that Jesus did (next to His healing on the Sabbath) that ticked the Jewish leaders off the most… LET – me read a few passages and see if you can see what it was…
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” - Mt 9:10-13
Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” - Luke 15:1,2
5When Jesus got there, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down! I want to stay with you today." 6Zacchaeus hurried down and gladly welcomed Jesus. 7Everyone who saw this started grumbling, "This man Zacchaeus is a sinner! And Jesus is going home to eat with him." - Luke 19:5-7 (CEV)
OKAY – did you SEE, what it was that Jesus did that ticked them off so much… HE – ate meals with sinners… NOW – I know that doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to us… I MEAN – so what if Jesus tossed some burgers on the grill with a few sinners. Doesn’t seem like something to get all bend out of shape about. BUT – that’s because we don’t understand what meal sharing meant to the people in the east at the time of Christ (and pretty much still does today).
YEAH – to us we are just sharing a few burgers… BUT – in the culture that Jesus lived in, meal sharing was a symbol of peace, trust, brotherhood and forgiveness. YOU SEE - they were not just sharing burgers they were sharing their lives. LISTEN - to say to a Jewish person in the time of Christ, “I would like to have dinner with you,” is understood to mean, “I would like to enter into friendship with you.”
UNDERSTAND THAT’S WHY – when Zacchaeus was up in that sycamore tree… And Jesus called out his name and said, “Yo, Zacchaeus how about hopping down from that tree – I want to go over to your place and throw a few steaks on the grill…” HE - couldn’t get down from that tree fast enough… BECAUSE – Jesus the guy he hoping to merely get a glimpse of. HAD - just said that he wanted a relationship with Him… that he wanted to be his friend… Albert Nolan in his book, ‘Jesus Before Christianity’ writes;
It would be impossible to overestimate the impact these meals must have had on the poor and the sinners. By accepting them as friends and equals Jesus had taken away their shame, humiliation and guilt. By showing them that they mattered to him as people he gave them a sense of dignity and released them from their old captivity.
The physical contact which he must have had with them at the table (John 13:25) and which he obviously never dreamed of disallowing (Luke 7:38,39) must have made them feel clean and acceptable. Moreover because Jesus was looked upon as a man of God and a prophet they would have interpreted his gesture of friendship as God’s approval of them. They were now acceptable to God. Their sinfulness, ignorance and uncleanness had been overlooked and were no longer being held against them.
YES!!! - PRAISE GOD - Jesus was relationship driven NOT rule driven. UNDERSTAND – there was no check list at the door, of rules that you had to keep in order to share a burger with Him. INSTEAD – Jesus would share a meal, would enter into a relationship with anyone; tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, Pharisees, teachers of the law… EVEN - you & I… AND – even on our worst day…
HEY – anybody ready for a few burgers with Jesus?
AND LISTEN – because Jesus was relationship driven – not rule driven… HE – calls us to do the same. Mark Moore in his study on the life of Christ talks about Matthew 9 and Jesus eating with sinners, he writes;
We talk a lot about loving sinners and wanting to win the world, but we expect them to wipe their feet before they come into the church. We get angry when they smoke in the bathroom. We don’t understand when they say, ‘right on’ instead of amen. AND – wait until you hear the silence in the crowded fellowship hall when one of them uses a dirty word. The church must learn that she is not a Hotel for Saints but a Hospital for sinners.
Matthew alone adds the quote from Hosea 6:6; “I desire mercy not sacrifice And the words, “Go and learn” were a typical phrase a rabbi would use with a student who had NOT done his homework. Jesus is treating these PhD’s like (they needed to go back to school). They are deeply insulted. But they deserve because they had mixed up their priorities. They are more concerned about religious piety then people… It was not that God did not want their sacrifices, but more than sacrifices God wanted mercy..
LISTEN – anytime our rule keeping… OR OUR - understanding of God (our theology) - causes us to do damage to another human being. CAUSES US - to act unloving or to destroy relationships, or to treat someone as a none person… Anytime our understanding of God CAUSES US – to think we are too good… OR - too right to share a burger with someone… WE CAN – be sure that we have stepped far outside the will and desire of our relationship driven God… YES – Jesus who eats burgers with anyone calls us to do the same. NEXT – Jesus came to;
To Rebuke The Mindset Of Men
QUESTION – do you know what the mind set of men is? TO – focus on the rules over and above the relationship. AND IF – you think about it. That is exactly what man has be doing from the beginning…
Adam & Eve had an incredible relationship with God… I MEAN – God would come to the garden and take walks with them… COME ON – think about that for a minute (how awesome that had to be!) AND – they had only one rule… Just one. Not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil… AND RATHER – then focus on the relationship they focused on and hung around the rule… HOW – do I know well think about it…
In Genesis God describes the garden… AND - it says that a huge river flowed through the garden. A river that once it left the garden broke off into 4 others rivers. It even gives the names of those rivers and goes on to describe in detail the richness of the lands into which those rivers flowed. BUT – one thing it never mentions about the garden is any borders.
HEY – is it possible that Eden had no boundaries? AND – if even if it did… Adam and Eve were not commanded to hang out around the one rule, the tree… I MEAN – why didn’t Adam build a raft and take Eve in his arms… and say ‘hey baby, this is the love boat and we are going on a cruise… ?” QUESTION – is it possible that Adam & Eve fell into the same mindset that Jesus came to rebuke… focusing on the rules rather then celebrating the relationship?
NOW – in Jesus’ day ‘rule focusing’ had reached epidemic proportions... Jesus said of the religious leaders; they crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden.
One rule that the Pharisees seemed to hang around a lot was the Sabbath. UNDERSTAND - God intended that the Sabbath… BE - a day where people rested and celebrated God… BUT – the Pharisees focused so much on the rules of the Sabbath… AND – they missed the beauty of the Sabbath – (as a time of rest and as a time to enjoy God). YOU SEE - they turned it into a burden rather than a celebration of God’s presence.
AND GUYS – here is the truth about us… WE – all have a tendency to live a life of ‘focusing on rules.’ Paul wrote about this tendency in his letter to the church at Colosse;
So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new-moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, Christ himself. 18Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial… 20You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as, 21"Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch." 22Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. 23These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires. – Col 2:16-18,20-23 (CEV)
HEY CHECK OUT – a quote I read Tuesday morning from the book, ‘A Glimpse of Jesus,’ “The perfectionist’s desire for perfection is so acute that it transcends the desire for God…’
OR – we could say… Our focus for keeping rules can become so strong that it becomes greater than our desire for God.
AFTER – I read that on Tuesday I wrote in my journal… “wow that is so me. At times I desire measuring up (doing, achieving, not sinning) and being what I think you want from me rather than I desire you…’
Jesus came to rebuke that mindset… He cries out to us be driven by your relationship with God and not rules… Rules are only a shadow Christ is the real thing…
To Remove The Only Barrier
NOW – though rules are not the focus… THE – truth is that because man could not keep the rules perfectly (because of sin) there was a barrier between Him and the people that He loved. AND - Jesus Christ came to remove that barrier… SO THAT – we could have greater intimacy with God…
AND LISTEN - even though I am not going to spend much time on this topic now… I will later on, in the coming weeks… CHRIST – removing this barrier is HUGE!!!
21You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. 22But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. – Col 1:21,22 (CEV)
13You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. – Col 2:13,14 (NLT)
11Under the old covenant, the priest stands before the altar day after day, offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12But our High Priest offered himself to God as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down at the place of highest honor at God’s right hand… 18Now when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. 19And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. 21And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s people, 22let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.
– Hebrews 10:11,12,18-23 (NLT)
AND – let me tell you how we can encourage each other to outbursts of love and good deeds BY – helping each other (focus and celebrate) the relationship we can have with God… RATHER – then on rule keeping… Don’t focus on what you do wrong… Focus on His presence!
AND (hear me) – when you eat enough burgers with Jesus… you won’t need rules anymore… YOU – will simply be different…
AND – the 4th thing that Jesus came to do in regards to rules & relationships was;
To Remind Us That God Is Still Waiting
This past Thursday during my hang time with God I was reading from the 11th chapter of John’s Gospel… Lazarus was dead… Jesus finally makes it to town… AND - Martha runs out to met Him… THEY – have that awesome encounter where Jesus tells this trouble sister;
25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
28After Martha said this, she went and privately said to her sister Mary, "The Teacher is here, and he wants to see you." 29As soon as Mary heard this, she got up and went out to Jesus. 30He was still outside the village where Martha had gone to meet him. – John 11
AND LISTEN - what really struck me this past Thursday… were these words; He was still… where Martha had gone to meet him.
QUESTION – why was He still there?
Jesus was waiting… Almighty God was waiting on Mary…
AND – Listen he has called for you and he is waiting…
The grill is hot and He is ready for some burgers… Are you?
