Story - Moses and Jesus were in a threesome playing golf one day. Moses pulled
up to the tee and drove a long one. The ball landed in the fairway, but
rolled directly toward a water hazard. Quickly Moses raised his club, the
water parted and it rolled to the other side, safe and sound.
Next, Jesus strolled up to the tee and hit a nice long one directly toward
the same water hazard. It landed right in the center of the pond and kind
of hovered over the water. Jesus casually walked out on the
pond and chipped the ball onto the green.
The third guy got up and sort of randomly whacked the ball. It headed out
over the fence and into oncoming traffic on a nearby street. It bounced off
a truck and hit a nearby tree. From there, it bounced onto the roof of a
shack close by and rolled down into the gutter, down the drainspout, out
onto the fairway and straight toward the aforementioned pond. On the way to the
pond, the ball hit a little stone and bounced out over the water onto a
lily pad, where it rested quietly. Suddenly a very large bullfrog jumped
up on a lily pad and snatched the ball into his mouth. Just then, an eagle
swooped down and grabbed the frog and flew away. As they passed over the
green, the frog squealed with fright and dropped the ball, which bounced
right into the cup for a hole in one.
Moses turned to Jesus and said, "I hate playing with your Dad."
> In the same way¡K some of us can feel intimidated by the proposal of playing with God.
THE POSSIBILITIES FOR ¡§GOOD¡¨ ALWAYS SEEM GREATER THAN THE ENERGY WITHIN US
As we continue in our series ¡§Meeting Jesus¡¨¡Kwant to ask ¡¥How does meeting and knowing Christ speak to our often overwhelmed pursuit of doing good?¡¦
Jesus gave them this answer: ¡§I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. (John 5:19-21)
By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30)
- Here Christ speaks of great works of the kingdom being done¡K but also he speaks of how they come forth¡K His ¡¥Modus operedai¡¦¡K Mode of operation
- Been confronted about healing on the Sabbath¡K and to explain he draws upon common analogy especially vivid in the Jewish culture of the time¡K Sons imitating their fathers.
o Travis¡K yr. Old¡K keep him from picking up and
o That¡¦s the picture our lord gives of how we are to work with the father
o Amazing description¡K in my late 20¡¦s¡K Family business
1. Jesus imparts to us a spirit that longs to please the Father.
- Jesus makes known his starting point¡K his motivating process¡K ¡§to please the Father¡¨
¡§My food,¡¨ said Jesus, ¡§is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.¡¨ (John 4:34)
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. (John 6:38)
- Jesus is describing the fundamental distinction between a spirit of religion which tries to earn our relationship with God (¡Kour acceptance) on our merit, and a spirit of relationship that simply enjoys the mutual love that God desires.
- Travis¡K the beauty of looking at Travis¡K no concept of owing or earning even existing in his spirit¡K no guilt going on¡K He¡¦s just longing to please his daddy; to partner with me.
- That¡¦s what Jesus describes as our motivation to minister¡K our ¡¥modis operedai¡¦
- Imparting what God always declared ¡¥to obey is better than sacrifice.¡¦
- Its not that we don¡¦t owe God¡K not that there¡¦s no basis for being dutiful¡K not that there¡¦s no basis for a sense of ¡§should do¡¨¡K But the spirit of God¡¦s desires is one of obedience born of mutual love¡K He longs to please us¡K his good pleasure¡K and we long to please him.
- Many psychologists and therapists today emphasize the need to get rid of our ¡§shoulds¡¨¡K but apart from knowing God, ¡K leaves only a place of self-centered existence. Jesus „³ God centered existence.
- To meet Jesus is to meet the one who imparts a new motive in our spirits¡K removing both our guilt-centered¡K and our self-centered¡K replacing it with the love of child for parent.
- Gordon McDonald¡K ¡§Driven vs Called¡¨
o Driven = Anxious
o Called = pace and peace to all we do
o We see in Jesus certainly an extensive and effective ministry¡K but equally telling is all that he didn¡¦t do.
- Obedience Christ portrays is that which bears only that which the Father gave him to do¡K nothing more, nothing less. Jesus describes an obedience to what is before him¡K especially in the moment.
- Jesus¡¦ obedience wasn¡¦t to some vague ¡§possibility¡¨ of good, but obedience in each and every actual opportunity.
2. Jesus imparts to us a spirit that is sensitive to the Father¡¦s leading.
- Jesus says (John 5:19) He can only do what he sees his Father doing.
- Again, Jesus is describing how he shares in the Father¡¦s ministry¡K It begins in obedience, it continues in being observant.
- The picture he gives is again much like my son who first stood and watched what I was doing¡K then jumped in.
- Word ¡¥sees¡¦ means to look at, to consider, become aware of, perceive¡K Jesus ¡¥looked at¡¦ the rich young ruler and loved him.
- Such observant spirit is described by Jesus throughout John¡¦s Gospel
Jesus answered, ¡§My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.¡¨ (John 7:16)
¡§¡Khe who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell to the world.¡¨ (John 8:26)
Then Jesus cried out, ¡§When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness¡K For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.¡¨ (John 12:44-46; 49-50)
Don¡¦t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:10-12)
¡§All this I have spoken while still with you¡K I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 14:25; 16:12-15)
¡K same phrase used by Jesus in John 15¡K
How are such workings of the Father and Son made known to us by the Holy Spirit?
- Remind us¡K as many have sought to constantly ask today with ¡¥W.W.J.D.¡¦ (What Would Jesus Do)
o Spirit will remind us¡K help us apply
o We end up imitating those we¡¦re close to; (a friend¡¦s mannerisms, laugh¡K soon their ways)
- Speak to us of what the Lord is doing
o Observe and listen
o Prayer for Jesus wasn¡¦t just asking God to do something but finding out what the Father was doing¡K and then taking his part.
o Sometimes general¡K as when we recently did prayer walk and many began to feel the Lords heart for this city and the people. Other times as specific as a particular issue at hand for the person next to us.
- Illustration of Dolphin used in Navy research¡K cement tanks¡K Sonar sound wave to find direction¡K catch fish¡K Tank desensitized their sonar even as we can allow our own trappings to desensitize our spirits.
- God is working¡K in fact¡K ¡¥God works in all things¡¦¡K including trials and tragedies.
3. Jesus imparts to us a spirit that relies on the Father¡¦s power. John 5¡K ¡§I can do nothing by myself¡K¡¨ He could only participate in what the Father was doing.
- Jesus knew that his role on earth was as a mediator of the things of heaven.
- Jesus no more looked at the world and said ¡¥What a mess¡K I¡¦ve got to fix all this?¡¦ than a baby looks at the ozone layer and thinks ¡§I can take care of this.¡¨ Jesus simply co-operated with what the Father was doing by heaven¡¦s power.
Final story¡K
Stacey King who once played on the Chicago Bulls basketball team with Michael Jordan is to have reported one night how he and Michael Jordan scored 70 combined points¡K didn¡¦t mention that Jordan scored 69.
> The question isn¡¦t how many points we score¡K but whether we get in the game.
