Let’s review: What is our memory passage?
But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
(Isaiah 41:8-10 ESV)
Very Good. God is with us. This is a profound truth.
Now it is one thing to know this and even to believe it, but God doesn’t just want a nod of our heads when asked whether he is with us.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:13
What does boldness look like?
BOLD: 1 (of a person, action, or idea) showing an ability to take risks; confident and courageous
Peter and John are taking a great risk in preaching this Jesus message in the heart of the Jewish center for worship.
Have you ever met or seen such a bold person? May be sitting in traffic or in line at a government office? Guy yelling, trying to start a riot. As he yelled, others gained their courage and began yelling too. Boldness is contagious. Bystanders become instigators and even leaders in the movement forward. One bold person can move large crowds, countries, armies, civilizations. But, there is a difference between the normal bold person and Peter and John.
Peter and John must have given themselves away somehow. It could have been the fishy smell or their poor grammar. Whatever it was, the up and up leaders figured out that these guys were not specially trained/licensed orators that had great learning. This was baffling. How could they talk of such things, do such things if they were not educated, uncommon men?
I want to share a little secret about myself. Can I do that? Will it be safe with you? May be you can relate, but I’m afraid of being an uneducated, common man. I want to be special, an expert in something. I want others to see me and say that guy is different than the rest of us, he has more than me. I want respect for honor earned.
After a little detective work the Pharisees put it together and realize, these guys have been with Jesus. There was a distinct and undeniable connection between them and Jesus. They had associated with Jesus, no doubt about it. And their connection with Jesus was touching the lives of everyone around them.
Men were influencing other men in a dramatically profound way. Let’s think about mankind for a moment. From the beginning man was created male and female, and given dominion over the earth. They were the last of God’s creation, but uniquely made. Nothing else was made like them. Man was made in the image or likeness of God. This means a few things, but most importantly, we are intended for eternity. God made us to know him, to love him, to experience absolute full and unending pleasure in himself alone. Unfortunately everyone has decided (whether they liked it or not) to life independently of God and fulfill their desires in anything other than him.
This is how we understand ourselves, our desires and the people around us. Everyone was made in the likeness of God and everyone was meant to be in a satisfying and lasting relationship with him. When you see others, know that they have a God-sized hole in them if they do not know and love Jesus. This is what is meant by 1 John
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
(1 John 4:19-21 ESV)
What profoundly influences you? Friends, Money, Guys, Girls, Teachers, Parents, Culture, Music, Movies, Media, Internet, Facebook, HW, Television.
There are primary influencers in your life and they are the things that you desire most. What you allow to influence you most shows what you treasure most. This is not hidden, it drives our attitudes and thoughts, our emotions and decisions. What we want we go after. Listen to how James, the brother of Jesus puts it:
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
(James 4:1-5 ESV)
May be you can relate, but friends can be huge influencers, whether directly or indirectly. If there is quarreling and fighting going on externally and internally, it is likely because your desires are not being fulfilled. You recognize that you are not satisfied, so you hunger and thirst after the things the world has promised to fill you with.
And when you are with others, they will see what matters to you most. You can play the Christian game, go to church, not say bad words, or even be nice to people, but it doesn’t take long for someone to see where your true devotion lies. If you befriend the world and allow its influence on you to determine your choices, attitudes, thoughts and actions, James says you have no part in God, you are his enemy.
He finishes this passage beautifully and ties it in to what we will see as the key to being with others as true disciples of Jesus Christ.
Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
When I was dating Alaina in high school there was some competition. Its not hard to believe that I was not the only guy with an eye for her. When she was invited to different events, parties, birthdays, etc and I was not I would be jealous. If that guy was talking with her and she seemed to be friendly towards him, man I would double my efforts. If I could get her attention, there was great internal rejoicing. Of course I stayed cool on the outside, but inside, the stands were going nuts. Man, I longed to just be with her. Have you ever felt anything remotely close to that? Be careful, you might marry them.
A song that hit this home for me goes like this:
Come to me
Come to me
I have been waiting
The sun will be rising
Come to me
Come to me
I have a ring for your finger
Don't let the past come between us
Don't you run to the arms of another
They won't love you like I can love you
Don't you know I am a jealous God
I am a jealous God
So, come to me
Come to me
When you're not sure how you feel
When the idols start calling
And to their arms you're falling
Don't you run to the arms of another
I will hold you I am able
To lead you beside the still and living waters
I've set a feast upon the table
Oh, I am a jealous Lover
No one can love you like I love you
So come to me
Come to Me
Come to Me
Where are you, My beloved?
My beloved, where are you?
When You came looking for me
I thought it was over
I thought we were history
And all I could think about
Was how I let You down
Oh, how I'd let You down
My heart has played the harlot
And wandered far from home
Like a ship without an anchor
Drifting on it's own
And You came calling
Always calling
And down to the altar I go
All alone, together
And now on this altar I fall
Abandoned, surrendered, yielded
I am Yours!
I am Yours!!
All to Jesus I surrender
All to You I will freely Give
Abandoned, surrendered, yielded
And down to the altar I go
All alone, together
And now on this altar I fall
Abandoned, surrendered, yielded
I am Yours
Jealous
by Phil Joel
Album: Deliberate People
God is jealous for our spirit. But, we farm it out to every passing whim of empty pleasure.
But God is boring. How many of you have thought that? Its, ok, I have too. I’ve consistently believed that God is just not as accessible and entertaining as my Wii, my movies, my music, my friends, my stuff, my peanut butter, really almost anything. We are afraid that God will not satisfy our longings. But remember, a tool works best for its intended use. God meant for us to be in a real, exciting, vibrant relationship with him. But instead we settle for simple pleasures that cannot fulfill us. C.S. Lewis puts it this way in his book The Weight of Glory.
“Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Everyone we see in the Scriptures who has had a living, vibrant relationship with God/Jesus lived bold lives taking great risks to trust and obey him because they believed with all their hearts that God was worth more than even life itself. Like living road signs they point others to God. Think of the spiritual leaders of the Old Testament. Their faith in God was a testimony, a witness to the wonders of knowing God. None of them lived to make much of themselves, but rather to show that God is greater. This is what is meant in Hebrews 11:39-40.
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Paul is probably the greatest example of this. He has given his life to the study and preservation and observance of the law of Moses and all that had been piled on top of it. When Jesus and his followers showed up, he violently fought to extinguish the flames of Christ-following. Jesus shows up and puts him on a different path. Paul no longer fought for what he thought was where true life was found. Jesus entered in and changed his desires, his thinking, his motivation and purpose. God was with him! He testifies to this in Galatians:
And they glorified God because of me.
Gal.1:24
Paul says that the difference in him, is that he no longer lives but Christ lives in him. Just as Jesus moved into the world to save it, so he has moved into our hearts to save us. He is there taking mastery over every submitted heart and directing it toward untold pleasures. He testifies that all other things are like trash, compost, crap compared to knowing Jesus entirely.
As the church in the New Testament comes to life. The relationships that believers have amongst themselves is crazy. People from all walks of life, languages and people groups come together to share in the Spirit all that they have.
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
Acts 4:32-33
We see the two most important commands from Matthew 22 coming to life: Love God and Love others, this is all you were meant for. This is what it means to glorify God, when you are satisfied enough in Jesus that you no longer consider your life as your own. This is the boldness of Peter and John that astonished the rule-followers. It is what we were meant for, to be with God and be with others
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love
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