Well, my favorite crazy people are back on tv. Finding Bigfoot
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Well, my favorite crazy people are back on TV. Finding Bigfoot is back. I love these guys - The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. They're so serious. They know everything you there is to know about Sasquatch. They know how they think, what they eat, how they sneak around, where they live. Did you know a bigfoot understands that uniformed officers carry guns? Or that a guy in camouflage is likely to be a hunter and shoots animals? Did you know know what trail cameras are and what they're for? And yet with all that knowledge, they can never seem to actually find a squatch. I'm cynical about TV, especially reality shows. I don't believe reality shows are reality. I don't believe Finding Bigfoot is really about trying to find bigfoot. I think their goal is to get advertisers to support the show so they can keep making it. It's all about money, but...let's give them the benefit of the doubt for a minute. Three of the four regulars on the show say they have seen a bigfoot (the fourth is a skeptic however she's not skeptical of any bigfoot sighting story). Having had an encounter with bigfoot changed their lives. The experience became a defining moment for each of them. They're changed people. For the rest of their lives they'll talk about bigfoot. It's their life mission to find bigfoots wherever they can. Everything else takes a back seat to searching for bigfoot. They can't go out to eat without talking about their experience. It has actually changed their understanding of reality. For them reality includes the existence of bigfoots all around the world. Even though I laugh at their foolishness, I give them credit, they really believe they've encountered bigfoot and it shows in how they live. I would suggest that meeting Jesus should be such a defining moment in our lives. We should be changed people. You can't stay the same after meeting the creator and redeemer. You can't go back to your old way of life. I've been saying over the past couple of weeks that God has written a story of which we're part. I said last time that an important question for us is, Do I believe that HIStory is true? I'm going to assume that everyone here at least accepts that the story line itself is true. God created the heavens and the earth, including life, and it was perfect. Man sinned creating a disconnect from God. The Old Testament tells us how God chose to create a nation through one man, Abraham, who would share the will and way of God with the rest of the world. That nation, Israel, failed to play the role God gave her. Eventually when the time was right, God came to earth Himself, as a man in Jesus of Nazareth. After three years of ministry, Jesus was murdered on a Roman cross as a sacrifice for our sin, and then rose from the grave in victory over death. Now listen, this is important, Jesus doesn't just ask us to believe the story, He asks us to build our lives around Him. Jesus said He was God and this was HIStory. To believe in Jesus means more than simply believing the story. It means trusting that He is the truth and finding purpose and meaning as part of HIStory. I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 I have come that they (you) may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 ...make disciples, baptizing them...and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. Matthew 28:19f If you believe in Jesus, you can't be the same person you were before. Everything changes when you know Jesus. Saul of Tarsus was a deeply religious and devout Jew, on his way to being one of the nation's top scholars and teachers. He most likely would have one day become the religious leader of all Israel, sort of like the Ayatollah in Iran. Then he met Jesus and everything changed. After that encounter on a road outside of Damascus he was a changed man. Not only was Saul changed, this changed man changed the world. Coming to know Jesus was so profound that all of his talent and energy was given over to serve Jesus and his influence is immeasurable. We know him by his Latin name Paul, his father being a roman citizen. Paul started Christian churches all over the known world and wrote much of our New Testament. Such was the change after meeting Jesus. Did meeting Jesus change your life? Are you a different person now that you know Him than you were before? We come to know Jesus in different ways. Some people struggle with questions about reality, what is true and what is not? They examine the idea and conclude that God is who He said He is. It's a logical conclusion based on facts and evidence. Some people have a powerful experience that leads them to Jesus, like Saul, or like the Finding Bigfoot people did with Sasquatch. Maybe it was a near-death thing or some miracle but it was undeniable and it moved them to believe in Jesus. Some people are overwhelmed by love. Emotions have tremendous power to bring us to the feet of Jesus. I know many people get very emotional at every worship experience as the Spirit of God washes over them. How we come to Jesus isn't all that important. What matters is what happens when we meet Him. Are we changed? Does knowing Him change the way we think and live? Are we different people because we know Jesus? Jesus told a story, called a parable that addressed this issue. A man when into his field and planted seed. In those days they didn't use below ground planting. A farmer would loosen the soil and broadcast the seed by hand. As the seed fell some would land on the hard pathway beside the prepared soil. Some of his soil was shallow with rock not far below the surface. Some had a lot of weed seeds in the soil. Those weed would later compete with his crop for water and nutrients. Some of the seeds, probably most, landed on the loosened soil where it could thrive. As the story went, the seed that fell on the pathway couldn't take root and was eaten by birds before it could germinate. The seed that fell on the shallow soil sprouted and took root, but because of the rock beneath the roots were shallow it couldn't find enough water or nutrients and the sun baked the soil and roots so the plants died. The seeds that fell on the weedy soil sprouted and grew but the weeds were thick and choked out the intended crop. The seed that landed on good soil grew well and produced a great crop for the farmer. I see this born out every fall. Modern planting doesn't drop seed on the roadway but the soils are the same. Some parts of the field are rocky and the soil isn't very rich. The plants grow but they tend to be smaller and the ears of corn are dwarfed. Other parts of the field have a lot of weeds ready to sprout that unless killed with herbicide will dominate the field. You see that in bean fields a lot. The farmer planted soybeans but volunteer corn that spilled from the combine last year, plus thistles, cockleburs, nettles, and gypsum weeds, grow amidst the beans. All those weed affect the crop. Some areas, however, have rich black soil and the corn grows eight or ten feet tall and the ears are a foot long. I try to enjoy a day in the combine with Joe each fall. It's amazing to see how much corn a good field produces. After telling the story, Jesus explained it. He said it's like coming to know God, He said. Some people are like the pathway. They hear the message of truth, but the evil one, causes them to move on before they can process the truth. The message is lost from them and has no affect. Some people are like the shallow rocky soil. They hear the message and like it. It feels good. Perhaps they say the "sinners prayer," but since they don't grow in Christ, soon they discover that Jesus expects more than that we simply believe HIStory. Well that's not what they wanted, so they drop out. They didn't want to change anything in life. They just wanted to be saved. Then there are people who are serious when they come to know Jesus. They're all in, until they discover that the way of God conflicts with the way of the world. They like the way of the world, the wealth, the power, the fame. They like ease and convenience but the way of God is different. The way of God includes sacrifice and service. After a while the things of life choke them and they tap out. Finally there are people who come to know Jesus and it changes them immediately. It's a profound experience and they're never the same again. Their thinking, their behavior, everything changes. They're like the people who claim to have seen bigfoot. They'll spend the rest of their lives living it and talking about it. They can't go back to the old way of life. Knowing Jesus has changed them. Whereas they used to do things their own way, now they follow Jesus; they used to live according to their own creed, now they live according to God's Word. What kind of soil describes you? Do you know what the first words recorded of Jesus are? In Mark, the earliest Gospel penned we read, After John (the Baptizer) was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” He said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:14f The Kingdom of God is near. I fear we miss this. The kingdom of God is not something to enjoy far in the future. The kingdom of God is now. Mark used a cool expression in verse ten. John the Baptizer was baptizing people in the Jordan River when Jesus came to be baptized. John tried to resist but Jesus said, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Mathew 3:15 Now back to Mark, As Jesus was coming up out of the water, He saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:10f He saw heaven being torn open. The verb Mark used is . That's the same word he used to describe what happened at the moment Jesus died on the cross. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Mark 15:38) in reference to a curtain that separates people from the Holy of Holies, the throne room of God on earth. This curtain kept people from the direct presence of God, so they thought. is something of a violent action. Mark is saying that when Jesus was baptized heaven was ripped open and the presence of God descended to earth. The kingdom of God forced its way into human history. Jesus was not simply a great teacher. He was not another prophet of God. He is God Himself and life is HIStory. Can anyone know that and not be changed? Jesus said, The Kingdom of God is near, then followed with, Repent and believe the good news! His call is much more than an invitation to be saved. It's a call to change. Change our thinking and behavior. Change our agenda. Change our way of life. It's a call to be cast in HIStory instead of our own stories. Eugene Peterson in his paraphrase of the Bible wrote it like this, Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message. Knowing Jesus should be a pivotal experience for us. When you come to know Jesus you can't be the same person you were before. Has anyone read the book by David Stearns, The Hole in Our Gospel? In that book the author suggests that Christians, especially in America, have developed a view of the Gospel that is different than what Jesus taught. He says for many of us the Gospel is a "quick transaction with God." We agree to believe in Jesus and He agrees to save us from sin, but after that there is a hole in our Gospel because we ignore the part about the repent and the obey everything He has commanded part and the part about loving and serving one another. A couple of years ago about half of our church participated in the video Bible study Not a Fan written by Kyle Idleman, where we thought about the difference between being a fan of Jesus and being a follower of Jesus. A fan believes the right thing. A follower seeks to do the right thing. A fan is satisfied to claim Jesus. A follower is committed to knowing and growing in Jesus. A fan wears the name of Jesus. A follower pursues the mission of Jesus. A fan has his own plan for life and asks Jesus to bless him. A follower plans his entire life around the teaching and will of Jesus. A fan likes Jesus but has his own story to live. A follower loves Jesus and chooses to be cast in HIStory. Are you a Fan or a follower of Jesus? Are you cast in HIStory? I anticipate that some of you aren't sure what I mean, even if you heard the first two sermons in this series. Probably most of us would like to be confident that we're following His will for our lives, that we are living out HIStory not our own, but we're just not sure what that means. I believe this series will help. The reason I do a series is because a teaching this important requires building a foundation and I doubt that you'd be willing to sit through a five hour sermon. We're still building the foundation for the teaching. If you make a point of hearing each one I'm confident that you'll have a good understanding of what it means to know how God wants to use you in this great narrative. Understand, it's not easy. God seldom sends a message clearly outlining the specific road he wants us to take. God knows that people engage better when they have to work for something than when it's free. When you seek His plan for you, you're more likely to pursue His plan for you. To know how you fit into HIStory you first have to know HIStory but the truth is very few of us have read the whole Bible. Most in fact, have read very little of the Bible. Most Christians treat the Bible like a buffet dinner, a little of this a little of that, a few Old Testament stories, some New Testament stories. We read about the big names, David, Moses, Jonah. Few read it all. The result is that we don't have a grasp of the larger narrative. We don't quite understand how Jesus fits into the narrative, so of course we can't understand how we fit in God reveals Himself through creation and through spiritual means and through people, but mostly He reveals Himself through Scripture. The very best thing you can do to understand HIStory is to read the Bible. We'll continue this discussion next week. 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