The Surpassing Greatness Of Knowing Christ

Introduction

Is Jesus enough? I have to confess that I don’t always think so. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in Jesus, in fact, I would say that I love Him. I want to follow Him and I am looking forward to heaven, but I often wonder if He is the center of my life in any and every circumstance? Is he, as the song says, “my all in all?”

A number of years ago a lady in a previous church was going through some difficult struggles. Her health was not good, she was having difficulty with her children and while this was going on I visited her in the hospital. I don’t know if I was totally convinced in my own heart when I suggested to her that Jesus was enough for her situation and she should look to Him. I spoke with her about this a few years later and she told me that at the time she had not believed me, but she had chosen to test Jesus and found that He was enough. The loss of health, the challenges at home were not so overwhelming that Jesus could not meet her needs and fulfill her.

Paul speaks in Philippians 3 about his zeal, his reliance on his heritage and his legalistic righteousness before he met Christ. In Philippians 3:8 he compares his past religious life to his relationship with Jesus and says, “…I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” Could I say that?

There were several conversations which caused me to think about this question recently. One conversation arose out of a study of a book on prayer. The book talked about how our desperation often drives us to prayer. The book talked about Hannah in I Samuel when she wanted a child, but could not conceive and how she was driven to honest, need based prayer. So we talked about how loss often drives us to such prayer and we talked about whether Jesus is enough in those times. In our conversation we went on to talk about whether we also find Jesus sufficient when we live in abundance.

So this morning, I would like to ask, “Is Jesus enough?”

Is Jesus sufficient to cover the loss of all things?

Loss

It seems that I have had a number of conversations lately with people who were experiencing loss. One was with a person who was suffering with pain. They had suffered loss in a number of areas including that they had very little control any more and it was difficult for them.

I had another conversation with a farmer who was disappointed because their expectations with this years crop were not what they had hoped for.

Another conversation came with someone who had lost a loved one.

We experience loss in many ways in life. It may be the passing of a loved one, it may be loss of our health, it may be loss of a job or an opportunity. If we are followers of Jesus, we know in our heads that we can always turn to Jesus. However, we don’t always do so. If we don’t, is it because we don’t really believe that Jesus is sufficient? When we do, what do we find out? Do we find that Jesus is sufficient?

Is Jesus enough in times of loss?

Connecting Loss and Jesus

How does it work? How do we make the connection with Jesus when we are driven to Him because of our loss?

Fight

Our first inclination may be that we are reluctant to turn to Him. Have you ever watched the show on TV called “Canada’s Worst Handyman?” It has stories about people who think that they can do a building project of some kind by themselves. They start, but they really don’t know what they are doing. They try harder, but they still don’t know what they are doing and so by the time they ask for help from someone who does know what he is doing, they have made a terrible mess.

In many ways we are just like that. At the core of sin is a deep and powerful independence which we don’t let go of very easily. When Adam and Eve sinned, the essence of their sin was self sufficiency. They were tempted by the desire to have the knowledge of good and evil. We continue in that self sufficiency and fight very hard before we let go of control.

Is Jesus sufficient in our loss? Sometimes we don’t even get to Jesus, we don’t even ask Him because we want to retain our independence, not realizing that this is the very heart of sin in the first place.

Flight

Jonah illustrates for us the second response we may have when the pressure is on. Will we depend on God or will we try to escape the pressure in some way? Jonah didn’t want to go God’s way and ran away. Loss introduces pressures which are often too much to handle. Instead of throwing ourselves on Jesus, however, we run away. Some people escape to entertainment. Whatever the pain or loss in their life, they distract themselves with pleasures so that they don’t have to face the difficulties. Others escape the pain within through busyness or even involvement in serving others. A common escape from various kinds of pain and loss is escape to addictions – addictions to food, purchasing things, gambling or alcohol.

It took a whale to bring Jonah back. What will bring us back to the place where we look to Jesus?

Faith

Is it a pious platitude to look to Jesus when we lose everything or is He sufficient? Is it a weakness to look to Jesus when we experience loss or is that what God wants us to do and will we find Him sufficient?

Often there comes a time when we finally realize that we can’t fight any more and that flight is not getting us anywhere and so we are willing to look to Jesus.

What happens when we turn to Jesus in our loss? How is Jesus sufficient?

Does Jesus being sufficient mean that now we understand it all? Although this is a possibility, we will not always understand. One of the lessons of the book of Job is that we often don’t understand. Why did Job suffer? Was it because God was playing games with Satan as the first chapter seems to suggest? Was it because Job had sinned as his friends seem to suggest? At the end of the book God presents Himself to Job as the all knowing, all powerful creator. Never are we told why Job was suffering. I still don’t know why my father had to die when he was 41 years old. Sometimes there have been explanations which have comforted me and which may be part of the answer. This will often be the case and we may try to grasp for these reasons, but if the reasons aren’t there, is Jesus still sufficient?

If Jesus is sufficient, does it mean that everything is suddenly good? Once again the answer is that although it is a possibility, not necessarily,! Our niece was born with a rare disease which resulted in surgery when she was still a baby to remove all of her large intestine and a portion of her small intestine. Her parents thought that one of the implications of that was the likelihood that she would never be able to have children. Well, she is pregnant and doing well. She is a person who from young on has put her trust in Jesus. In her case, everything has been good, but what if she doesn’t continue to do well? Is Jesus still sufficient?

How is Jesus sufficient?

The Bible is loaded with promises of all that God will do for us. The sufficiency of Jesus is seen in those promises. Philippians 4:7 promises that “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Matthew 6:26 reminds us, “…are you not much more valuable than…” the birds which the Father feeds? There are many such promises and they encourage us and show us some of the ways in which Jesus is sufficient.

There are also many Scripture passages which show us the ways in which God has shown Himself sufficient in loss. This was the experience of David, recorded in Psalm 63:3. He says, “your love is better than life.” It was His experience that God’s love was better to him than life itself. That sounds to me like someone who has found God sufficient. In Psalm 138:3 David shares another experience when he says, “On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.” His experience was that God was sufficient. In this text, however God’s sufficiency was not shown by smoothing the road, but by increasing his strength of his soul.

How has God been sufficient in your times of loss?

In some ways this question must be answered by Jesus. Every situation is different and although we can hear the promises of Scripture and rejoice in the experience of others, each time we experience loss, we need to decide if we will allow Jesus into that situation. It is only as we do so, that we will find that He is sufficient. We can’t pre-determine what will happen in any given situation, and each time, Psalm 34:8 invites us to, “Taste and see that the Lord is good…” When we do, we will find all the different ways in which Jesus is sufficient.

How do we move to this point? We can look at promises, we can encourage ourselves by past experiences - ours and others - but finally we need to make a decision. Will I trust in Him? The path to finding Jesus sufficient is an act of faith! We are called to put our trust in Him and it is only by putting our trust in Him that we will discover the many ways in which He is sufficient. All we can say is, “God has promised, my past experience suggests that God is sufficient, and in this moment of loss, I will choose to trust Him.” If God is God, we will find Him sufficient.

Is Jesus sufficient when we have it all together?

But there is another time in our life when it is perhaps even more difficult to find Jesus sufficient and that is when it seems that we don’t need Him. Is He sufficient then? How do we get to that place?

Do we need Jesus?

I can’t be honest for you, but I can be honest for myself. When I am honest with myself, I have to admit that there are times when I believe, if not consciously with my mind, at least by the evidence of my life that I don’t need Jesus. There are times when self satisfaction is more than a passing thought, and perhaps even the philosophy by which I live my life. I don’t need Jesus to feed me. The 5000 were out in the wilderness without food and needed Jesus to feed them, but I have enough money in the bank and good credit at the Co-op and lots of food in my refrigerator that I don’t need Jesus. I don’t need Jesus to make me happy. I have a good wife, great children, enjoyable relationships with lots of people, fun stuff to do, entertainment on TV, a warm house and a soft bed. I don’t need Jesus to make me happy. I don’t even need Jesus to help me deal with my sins. I have never murdered anyone or committed adultery. I have a good family background, I see the value of being good and don’t find it hard to be a pretty good guy.

If you are honest with yourself and get rid of all the “Sunday School” answers, do you ever think like that?

With our great abundance, the great country we live in and the fact that we are pretty good, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we don’t need Jesus. However, if we dig just a little deeper, we will find that even in abundance we don’t have it all together.

Another part of the story is that even though I am a pretty good guy and basically obedient, there are some sins in my life that I just can’t seem to get rid of. One day I feel pretty good about myself and the next I know that I have committed the same sin again and again and again. One day I think I have that sin beat and a week or so later I realize that I have fallen prey to its destructive ways again.

Even when life is pretty good, we may realize that somewhere deep down there is a nagging dissatisfaction with life. People who have lots of resources and are able to buy themselves any pleasure they want often find out that boredom still exists in their life. People who do not have as many resources are always striving for the next thing and derive a certain satisfaction from constantly striving. But if we look carefully we will discover a pattern. Whatever we strive for is soon no longer satisfying and we desire to strive for the next thing. That should give us a clue that in pursuing happiness on this earth and from things that this world offers we will never find lasting and complete satisfaction.

Life is good and there is nothing that is difficult enough to drive me into the arms of Jesus. However, the whole picture as we have just considered it, invites us to consider the sufficiency of Jesus. Is Jesus enough when all is good?

Connecting Abundance and Jesus.

If we have abundance and a good life, how do we get to the place where we realize that Jesus is sufficient?

Paul discovered that all that he thought was sufficient was really not and in Philippians 3:8 he says, “I consider everything loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Although he looked like he had it all together as a Pharisee and persecutor of the church, when he met Jesus he discovered that the contrast between pleasing God by legalism and having an intimate relationship with Jesus was so great that he knew what he wanted. When he says, “I consider” we should understand that this was a choice he made. In this verse in Philippians, written many years later, interestingly while he was in prison, we learn that he had found Jesus sufficient. So much is this so that he speaks of it as “the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.”

How do we get to the place where we would be able to speak this way?

Drawn By Love

One of the things which draws us is the love of God. A few weeks ago I was reading I John 3:1-3 with a few other people. As we read it, the phrase which most impacted me was verse 1, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.” As I read that, a picture came into my mind in which I was sitting on the lap of the Father, like a little child, and He was holding me in His arms. What’s wrong with that picture? Absolutely nothing unless we don’t believe that it is absolutely true.

Do you know that you are loved? There is no reason why all of us should not know, in our minds, that it is true. The evidence of Scripture is so powerful and so pervasive that we can hardly miss it. Exodus 34:6,7 speaks about, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” Jeremiah 31:3 says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” John 3:16 reminds us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” And you and I know that with these three verses we are just scratching the surface of all the passages which talk about God’s love. We have every reason to know it in our minds, but do we know it in our hearts? The Father is drawing us with love and as we yield to that love and know it in our hearts, we will discover more and more that Jesus is sufficient.

Drawn By Life

God draws us by His love, but He also draws us by the life He offers. I remember preachers telling the story years ago about the man who was crossing the ocean by sailing ship. When he left land, he had packed food for himself for the two week journey. The first two days his food tasted OK, but as the days passed, the bread got stale and the cheese began to have mold on it. He had to ration what he had to make sure that even under adverse weather conditions he would have enough. Late in the journey when only hunger could induce him to eat the distasteful food, he discovered that food for the journey was covered under his ticket and that he could have been enjoying the hot and abundant meals which the ships chef prepared. I like that story because it illustrates what so many of us are tempted to do. God has invited us to a life that is abundant. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” No matter what our pleasure is whether it is sports, watching sports, travel, music, or something else, there will come a time when we will ask, “Is that all there is?” I read an article in a newspaper this week about one of the up and coming hockey players. He has succeeded in the junior circuit and has been drafted by an NHL team, but has decided to give it up for exactly this reason. He has played so much hockey that he is bored with it. Is that the abundant life?

God draws us to find our sufficiency in Him with the offer of life that is life indeed. Listen to the offer He makes to us in Matthew 16:25, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Life that will satisfy, life that is full, life that will have meaning for all eternity is found when we sacrifice our lives to Him and find our all in Him. God draws us to that kind of a full life and in finding that life, we will find our sufficiency in Him.

Conclusion

Is Jesus sufficient? Yes! But each of us must find that sufficiency on our own. I can tell you that I have found Jesus sufficient when I have faced the difficult times in my life. I can tell you how satisfying it is to know Jesus in an intimate relationship because I have experienced His incredible love and I can tell you how satisfying it is to give my life as a living sacrifice to Him, but unless you rest in Him in trial, unless you allow Him to hug you with His love and unless you offer your life to Him in service, you will not know that He truly is sufficient.

When you go rappelling, you have to trust the ropes and the belayer. When you step off the cliff, you can’t do it half way. If you try to hug the rock wall and hold the rope while jumping down you will bang into the wall, scrape yourself and have a miserable ride. If you fully throw yourself over the wall, trusting the rope, you can have a great ride. Why not throw yourself wholly onto Jesus whether you are experiencing trial or abundance and you will find the sufficiency of Jesus.

Nurturing A Relationship With God

Introduction

When we were in Germany, we rented a car for three weeks. Driving in those countries is different than driving in western Canada. There are roads every few kilometers and the maps needed to negotiate the roads is about the size of a small set of encyclopedias. My brother has a GPS unit for Europe and he loaned it to me and it worked very well. We called it Peggy Sue because she spoke to us in a woman’s voice. We asked her questions, like, “can you show us the way to Innsbruck?” and she told us each step of the way - which turns to make and how far the next turn was and even when we arrived. If we made a mistake, she said, “recalculating” which let us know that we had made a mistake, but then she told us how to correct the error we had made. One time I asked her to tell me where the nearest gas station was and she directed us right to it. She was wonderful and we depended on her to get us around and she always got us where we wanted to go.

There are times when I feel like I had more of a relationship with Peggy Sue than I do with God. Peggy Sue spoke to us, told us which path to take and always got us where we wanted to go. Sometimes God’s Word is hard to understand and God seems silent. Is that what God intends?

Created For Relationship

When we read the Bible, it becomes clear that God has created us for a relationship with Himself.

Made In God’s Image

In the creation account, we learn that when God created human beings, they were created differently than all the rest of creation. They alone were created, as Genesis 1:27,28 says, “in his own image…” One aspect of the image of God is that God exists in relationship. Although there is only one God, God has made Himself known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each a person and although there is a lot of mystery about this, one thing is clear, God exists in relationship. Therefore if we are created in the image of God, we also are created for relationship.

God Speaks

Another way in which we see that God has created us for relationship with Himself is that God speaks. God’s communication with human began in the creation account. We read in Genesis 1:28, “and God said to them…” From the story in the early chapters of Genesis, we continue to see God in relationship with the people He has created. God made a garden and put Adam and Eve in the garden and from what we read in Genesis, we get the impression that He had a relationship with them there. Even after they broke his command not to eat of the tree, he continued to speak with them as we see in Genesis 3:9. The relationship which happened in the garden was not an anomaly, but what we were created for.

God has continued to take the initiative to communicate with human beings. In Genesis 12:1, and in numerous other places, God spoke with Abraham. In Exodus 3:4, we read “God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses, Moses.’” The story of Moses is another story of God’s communication and is also a story in which God seeks to establish a relationship with His people. Hebrews 1:1,2 brings the whole matter of God’s communication down to us today. There we read, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son…” God continues to speak and his clearest and most powerful effort to establish relationship with people is in sending Jesus.

Relationship Imagery

On top of that, the Bible is loaded with relationship imagery. In John 15:5, we are told to “abide in the vine.” Abiding in the vine is a biological image of connection, of relationship. It describes how God wants to relate to us.

In I Corinthians 2:12 we hear language of knowing. It says, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” Knowing is also relationship imagery. God wants us to know about Him and also to know Him.

Jesus speaks words of wonderful intimacy when he says in John 15:15, ^{ “}I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

As we read in Romans 8:15, however, the relationship we have with God is even more than one of friendship, but also one of family. We are called sons and daughters of God and He is our Father. We read, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” As if that were not a close enough relationship, we also have many places where our relationship with Jesus is described using the imagery of marriage. He is the bridegroom and we, the church are the bride. We find this imagery in Ephesians 5 and Revelation 21.

Sometimes the silence of God causes us to doubt, but there can be no doubt for there is far too much in Scripture showing that God wants a relationship with us.

Entering Into Relationship

Broken Relationship

On Wednesday of this past week, I heard on the radio that on that day, 47 years ago, they began construction of the Berlin Wall. I remember hearing stories about how that wall separated people from one another.

In Bethlehem, there is a wall which separates Israel from the Palestinian territories. It is higher and longer than the Berlin wall was. We met with people on both sides of the wall who recognize that this also is a wall of separation.

There is another wall, which is not made of concrete and brick, but one which separates nevertheless. It is the wall of separation between us and God. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Even though we have been created for relationship, we cannot know God and are separated from the glory of God because of sin.

Reconciliation

In 1989 the Berlin wall began to be demolished and the process toward German reunification began. That has caused major changes for people in Germany and allowed many families to once more be reunited.

In a much more dramatic way, Jesus has broken down the wall which exists between us and God.

Derek Flood writes, “The incarnation is about God's self-revelation of his very being to us relationally. It is about personal self-disclosure for the purpose of bringing us into relationship.”

Two weeks ago, Jonathan spoke on II Corinthians 5, a passage in which we have the language of reconciliation. God has reconciled us to himself. He has broken down the wall. He has made friends with us again. He has crossed the barrier and made it possible for us to be in a relationship with Him.

As a result, the new reality is, as I John 1:3b says, “…our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

Growing Intimacy with God.

So, we have been created for relationship with God. We have been re-created for relationship with God. This means that being a Christian is being a person in relationship with God. What does it mean to speak of being a Christian in terms of a relationship with God?

Some Christians know God, but feel that He is distant. They believe the right things and do good things, but don’t really think of God as someone with whom they have a personal relationship. To some, intimacy with God sounds great, but they don’t personally experience it as a daily reality. And then there are others who know God in a personal relationship and are growing in intimacy with Him.

I don’t know where you are in your relationship, but this morning, I would like to extend an invitation to all of us to grow in our intimacy with God. Do you have a longing for God? That is God drawing you. How can you nurture that relationship?

In the last while, I have been thinking about this and would like to share with you some of the things I am learning about growing in relationship with God.

Trust His Interest In Us.

One of the encouraging things which I am learning is that God is much more interested in a relationship with us than we are with him.

In Psalm 139:1-4 the writer recognizes the deep way in which God knows him when he says, “ O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.” In this Psalm, the writer speaks very personally about the way in which God knows all about us. This isn’t language about the people of God, but about the personal relationship of the Psalmist with God and about God’s deep and personal knowledge about him.

I remember when one of our children called home and told us about a girl he wanted to go out with. He was agonizing over whether he should take a risk and ask her out. He wasn’t sure she was interested in going out with anyone. He wasn’t sure that she liked him and it was torture not knowing if she would be interested. We encouraged him to take a risk and things worked out rather well because today she is his wife.

If we have any doubts in our mind about whether God is interested in us, likes us, wants a relationship with us, we can put those doubts right out of our mind. God takes the initiative in our relationship with him. In fact, John 6:44 says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” If we have an interest in God, it is God who has put it there.

It is important that we trust that God is truly interested in us. If we doubt His interest in us, we cut ourselves off from relationship. If we believe His interest in us, we open ourselves up to relationship.

Talk To Him

One of the fundamental aspects of relationship is communication. Have you ever had a conversation with someone and you weren’t sure they wanted to see you or be with you? What a difficult conversation! It is usually hard to sustain such a conversation for very long. If we know that God desires a relationship with us, we know that we can speak to Him and that He is listening.

The Bible repeatedly invites us to “seek the Lord.” Psalm 105:4 says, “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” We know that He is near and so we are able to call upon Him.

There are two things which we expect of a conversation with a friend. We expect it to be an open conversation and we expect it to occur regularly. Since God is interested in us and since God is listening as a friend, we can have exactly those kind of conversations with Him. We can speak to him openly. Are you rejoicing? Tell God. Are you confused? Talk to God about it. Are you angry at God? Let Him know. What is the point of hiding from God what He knows is there? It is like the child playing hide and seek who thinks that if her eyes are covered, you don’t know where she is. The other invitation is to speak to him regularly. When people are really good friends, they don’t always talk to each other, but they do communicate regularly and they don’t take each other for granted. Since God desires relationship with us, if we want to live in relationship with Him, we need to talk to Him regularly.

Listen To Him

The thing which is probably the most unusual thing for us, the thing we are not used to is that communication also involves listening to God. Friends not only speak to each other, but also listen to each other.

He Speaks

I hope that we have established that God is interested in us and that He listens when we speak to Him, but we also need to recognize that God speaks to us. I don’t know why we have a hard time accepting that God also speaks to us because Scripture is full promises that God is speaking to us. In John 10, Jesus is presented as the good shepherd and in verse 27 he says, “My sheep listen to my voice…” In John 16:12-13 Jesus says to His disciples, “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.” Romans 8:16 reveals how God’s Spirit speaks to our Spirit when Paul says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

How God Speaks

How does God speak to us?

Have you ever had a bad conscience when you did something wrong? That may well be God speaking to you because the Spirit of God convicts us of sin as we read in John 16:8-11.

The most objective communication which God has with us is through His Word. Psalm 119:105 reminds us, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” However, we need to be careful how we read that word. We need to read it accurately, in context and allowing it to speak as God intends it to speak. However, we also need to allow it to speak not only to our minds, but also to our hearts. In the book, “Can You Hear Me,” Brad Jersak remarks that Scripture cannot be “mere data that fills the head without penetrating the heart.” (Jersak p. 38)

The Bible is also quite clear that God speaks through prophets. It is interesting that we accept Jeremiah and Daniel as prophets through whom God speaks, but are somewhat more reluctant about recognizing that God still speaks through people whom He has given the gift of prophecy. Paul warns us in I Thessalonians 5:19 – 21, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; ^20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. ^21 Test everything. Hold on to the good.” The words of prophets need to be tested, but we often stop far short of testing their words and dismiss them before we even listen to see if what they are saying comes from God.

God also speaks to us within our own hearts. In I Kings 19, after Elijah had had his great victory over the Baal prophets, he fled because he was afraid that he was the only one in all of the nation of Israel who was faithful to God. He fled to a mountain wilderness and there God met him. God promised him an encounter and Elijah hid in the mountain waiting for God to show up. He observed a great and powerful wind, but God was not in the wind. He experienced a great earthquake, but God was not in it. He saw a fire, but God was not in the fire. Finally, when all the noise had subsided, he waited and in the silence, he heard the still small voice of God. I believe that one of the problems we have is that we expect God to speak in great ways and we expect him to show Himself in the powerful and spectacular. Sometimes he does that, but He also speaks to us in the still small voice.

We Need To Listen

God has created us for relationship. God takes the initiative to relate to us. God speaks to us, but…are we listening?

When Jesus was on the mount of transfiguration, God spoke to those assembled there, which included three of his disciples and said in Matthew 17:5, “listen to Him.” Are we listening?

One of the last things I did on the sabbatical was spend time in prayer and listening to God and it was a wonderful experience. God spoke to me, encouraging me in my walk with Him. I listened as I tried to understand what I needed to do as I returned to work and I believe that God gave me guidance. One of the blessings was that I had time to sit and listen, and as I have returned home, I have tried to develop better habits of listening to God. Through that experience, I have been reminded that God is speaking and that I need to take the time to listen.

In order to listen to God, we need to take up the posture of a listener.

1. We need to have focused attention. We need to get rid of all the distracting thoughts and direct our complete attention to God. Listening to God requires silence. If the noises in our heads and around us are so great that we can’t hear God, it will be difficult to listen to Him. Listening to God requires a space which allows us to hear above the noise of the world.

2. We need to have a love longing. Jersak says in his book, “If we treat God as an impersonal force to be manipulated(magic) or merely as a deeper part of our ‘self’ to be discovered (enlightenment), we might access some level of psychic power or information, but we will not attain Him. The heart that knows God intimately is the one that loves him deeply and thirsts for his presence.” Jersak p. 74. Remember last week I spoke of God being our treasure. If He is our treasure, our hearts will be much more open to hearing Him.

3. Listening to God involves hearing Scripture as a living Word. God’s Word must always be interpreted within its intended meaning, but it is not only a static book, but a Word which continues to speak to us today. We need to learn to listen to God to hear what He is saying each day. I would like to invite you to a different way of listening to God. I would like to encourage you to sit down with your Bible. Begin in an attitude of prayer and open your heart to listening to God. Read a passage of scripture slowly several times. Don’t try to analyze it or evaluate the connections between its parts. Don’t read a commentary on it. Read it with the recognition that this is the living Word of God and that God has a word for you in it. Listen to what God is saying to you and write down His message to you. If you want a specific passage with which to do this, although many will do, I would suggest John 15:1-9. I have been reading the Bible this way and it has been very encouraging to hear what God is saying.

4. The fourth attitude is that of humble waiting. If God’s voice isn’t heard, simply abide in Him and rest in Him. Jersak says, “listening prayer should be more like the infant’s enjoyment of nursing than an exercise in spiritual constipation!” Jersak p. 75

Conclusion

If God is our treasure, a natural accompaniment to that is living in relationship to Him, speaking to Him and listening to Him.

What is your relationship with God like? Is it cold and impersonal or is it growing in intimacy. My prayer for myself and for each one of you is that it will be a relationship that will grow in intimacy.

Where your treasure is…

Introduction

Over the last half year, God has been inviting me to think about a hard question.

It all came about through a number of different things that happened and that entered my thinking. As you know, we spent seven weeks this spring traveling first to Israel and then to Europe. It is the most extravagant thing we have ever done. Now that we have a taste of this kind of traveling, we want more, because it was very enjoyable. However, even as we planned it, I thought about how that extravagance fit into my life as a Christian.

In contrast to that, we had an experience when we were in Bethlehem. We had visited the old part of the city and were walking back to our hotel. On the way a little boy, about 6-8 years old was constantly touching my elbow and asking for a shekel. Now a shekel is worth about 30 cents Canadian. We had been encouraged not to give to those who beg, but it was hard not to and again I wrestled with how I should respond as a Christian.

Over the last half year or so, I have also thought about my spiritual life. I have thought about where my joy comes from. I have wrestled with the question, “am I going through the motions or am I following God from my heart?” I have always had a dislike for living a faith life which is simply carried out because of duty. Not that I can’t do it that way. Remember the chip commercial in which the tag line is, “you can’t eat just one?” Well I think I could eat just one, but is that really how I want to have a relationship with God? Is that what God wants for me?

Being on sabbatical also allowed me to think about the job I have. Why do I preach and visit and lead a church? Is it because it is my job or is it because I love Jesus and want to serve Him?

With all of these questions and experiences rolling around in my mind, one day God asked me, “Am I your treasure?” The question went deep and I have thought about it often since. I am not done thinking about this question and this morning I would like to share with you three passages in the Bible which speak about the question of where our treasure is.

Matthew 6:19-21 - “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Luke 12:32-34 - “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 13:44-46 - “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

Why Jesus As Our Treasure?

The Treasure – Heart Connection

In Matthew 6:21, Jesus makes a direct connection between our treasure and our heart. It isn’t hard to discover where our treasure is because there is a direct connection between it and our heart.

I often have said, “There are three things I don’t share: my canoe because there is a lot of sweat equity in it and it is very special to me; either of two cakes my mom makes (napoleon or Christmas cake) because they taste so good; and my wife, whom I love dearly. What am I saying? These things are dear to my heart and because they are, it is evident, because I won’t share them, that they are treasures to me.

In the Life Application Bible Commentary it says, “whatever occupies a person’s thoughts and consumes his or her time – that is the person’s ‘treasure.’” In other words, whatever is our treasure will fill our hearts and occupy our mind and take up our time.

How do you feel about this question? What happens in your heart as it is asked? Is it warmed or does it become agitated when you think about Jesus as your treasure? If God were to ask you this question, how would you answer?

Earthly Treasure Doesn’t Last

One of the reasons I am glad to think about this is that I have done enough things and bought enough things and lost enough and experienced enough grief to know that whatever we treasure on this earth won’t last.

One of the places we visited in Germany was the well known Neuschwanstein castle. It was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria. He had grown up and was actually reigning as king in Hohenschwangau castle, but wanted an ideal medieval castle. He began building on September 5, 1869 and it took him 17 years to build. However, after he moved in, he lived in it for less than half a year when he died in his forties.

When we do business on earth, we try to make the best deal we can. If we can afford 30 year shingles, we buy them. If the warranty is 25 years instead of 20, we take that into consideration because we want what will last. Jesus counsels us in Matthew 6:19-20, to recognize that whatever we treasure on earth will not last.

In the Middle East, some clothes were so well made that they were considered a form of wealth. Remember the story when Elisha healed Naaman, the ruler from Aram and refused payment from him? After Naaman left, Gehazi went after him and asked for two suites of clothing. This story illustrates that clothing was a precious commodity. However, especially in those days, clothing was also subject to moths. It may have been precious, but it would not last.

Jesus also speaks about rust. All Bibles translate this Greek word as “rust,” but it actually means, “what is eaten” and so can refer to metal eaten away by rust but also to grain eaten by mice. Whatever we possess has a way of being eaten away. Even bank accounts and investments can be eaten away as many in the US and Canada are finding out these days.

He also talks about what can be stolen. No matter how secure we think our treasure is, there are ways for it to be taken from us. For example, not only can our house be robbed, but our health can be stolen by illness. No treasure on earth is permanent.

William Barclay notes, “All purely physical pleasures have a way of wearing out…It requires more of them to produce the same effect…A man is a foolish man who finds his pleasures in things which are bound to offer diminishing returns.” He also speaks of pleasures which “lose their attraction as a man grows older…In life a man should never give his heart to the joys the years can take away…”

Herod the Great was an amazing builder. While in Israel, we saw a number of his building projects. We saw the ruins of his palaces at Herodium and Caesarea Maritima. Herod was desperate to retain his position as ruler. This is shown in the fact that rather than prepare for his successor to enjoy what he had built, he killed his wife and some of his sons so they could not take his place. Well Herod isn’t ruling in the palaces he built or even living in them. They are ruins and just a tourist attraction.

As people think about these things, some are tempted to reject all enjoyment of the things that are in this world. I do not believe that that is what God has in mind. He has given us many wonderful things in this world to enjoy and we should enjoy them, but if they are our treasure, then we have set our heart on something that will not last.

Even if our treasure is our family and friends the same thing holds. Family and friends are precious, no doubt, and God intends them to be precious. But if they are our treasure, we will experience much grief when we lose them or the relationships change.

One of the questions I am wrestling with is this: “We live in this world and as long as we do, we will participate in and enjoy earthly things, but, what does it mean to enjoy the blessings of this world – pleasures, good things, family, friends and loved ones, but have Jesus as our treasure?

The Father Has Given Us The Kingdom

One of the reasons that we often cling so tightly to the things of this world is that we fear what we will lose if we don’t have some treasure. What if our friends aren’t our treasure? Will we lose having relationships? What if we don’t make sure that our money is our treasure, will we be taken care of? Out of fear we hold tightly to these things and they become our treasure.

In Luke 12:32, Jesus comforts us in these fears and gives us another reason why He alone can be our treasure.

Jesus says to us, “Do not be afraid…” We fear that we will not be taken care of and that we will miss out on fun. What are your fears? Whatever they are, Jesus says, “do not fear.”

He goes on to address us as “Little flock…” What a wonderfully endearing term. It speaks of the shepherd’s care for those who are weak and assures us that we are under that wonderful care.

Then to add power to this blessing he says, “it has pleased…” What God does for us is not done because God is pressured by guilt to give us His blessing. What God does for us is not done because God owes us something for all our hard work and faithfulness. What God does for us is done because “it has pleased” Him to do it. Have you ever had joy to bless someone and it pleased you to do something for them? That is the attitude God has towards us and towards His giving to us.

He gives as a Father. There are fathers who are so only as a biological fact, but there are others who are fathers who care for their children and nurture them and provide for them and love them. It is in that sense and out of that motivation that God blesses us.

His blessing is a gift given to us. By “us,” Jesus refers to everyone who is His child.

The thing which the Father has given us is the kingdom. He has given us all. Remember the promises sometimes made by kings, “I will give you up to half my kingdom?” God has given us all of His kingdom and we have the privilege of being heirs and children, blessed by a Father who is pleased to bless us in this way.

I have to confess that one of the biggest problems with wanting God to be my treasure is that I do not seem to be able to trust Him. For some reason or other, I want to retain a little treasure that I have control over. I am reluctant to give myself over completely to God so that He alone is my treasure. But when I read such promises as this, I know that there is no reason for such fear and holding back. As I was meditating on this one day, I asked myself, “why don’t I trust Him completely?” As I meditated, God encouraged me by reminding me: It isn’t that He has no power – He created all things! It isn’t that He doesn’t love me – He sent Jesus to die! It isn’t that He doesn’t know me – He is near me! It isn’t that He doesn’t know what is coming – He is eternal! It isn’t that His plans aren’t good – He is righteousness and justice!

If Jesus Is Our Treasure

So as we think about these things, realizing that there is a very close connection between our treasure and our heart and we will treasure whatever is in our heart; understanding that whatever we treasure on earth will not last and realizing that God has already shown Himself faithful, the thought of having God as our treasure is very appealing.

What If He Is Our Treasure?

What will it look like if Jesus is our treasure?

If Jesus is our treasure, we will desire Him more than anything else. In Mt. 13:44-46 we have a picture of such longing. This chapter contains a series of parables describing the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus speaks about a man who finds a treasure hidden in a field. This was not an unusual thing in that place. In a land which was invaded quite often, wealth was frequently put in a jar and buried in a field. When the foreign occupation was over, the person could come back and find his belongings again. However, sometimes he didn’t come back and years later, someone would dig up the hidden treasure. Jesus says that if a person found such a treasure in a field that didn’t belong to him, he would go to great lengths to legally become the owner of the treasure because it was such a great treasure.

In the second image, he speaks of a person who was a dealer in pearls. At that time wealth was often held in precious stones or gold. This is still true in the Middle East today, which is why we saw so many jewelry shops in old Jerusalem. This man found a pearl of unusual quality and wanted it as his treasure. He also “sold everything he had” in order to purchase that which was his treasure.

If Jesus is our treasure, it will also be with joy that we will be willing to sell all and make Him our all. Myron Augsburger says, “Such is the nature of full dedication to Christ, not a painful exercise of becoming religious, but a joyous relationship with the Redeemer.” John Piper says, “Don’t miss the word “joy” in this verse: “In his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” The loss of all things is not sad if we gain Christ.”

Living With Jesus As Our Treasure

What will our life look like if Jesus is our treasure? Since it is true that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” we know that whatever is in our heart will also be lived.

If Jesus is our treasure, then we will obey Him out of a glad heart. There will be a willingness to our obedience to whatever Jesus wants from us. Such willingness will arise out of a deep gratitude for the gift of salvation we have been given by Jesus’ sacrifice. It will arise out of a recognition that we are working for that which lasts.

If Jesus is our treasure, then there is hope when the situation around us is one of devastation. One of the most devastating things that can happen to us is that we will die. William Barclay says, “If everything which a man counts valuable is on this earth, then he will leave this earth reluctantly and grudgingly; if a man’s thoughts have been ever in the world beyond, he will leave this world with gladness, because he goes at last to God.”

If Jesus is our treasure, then we will offer sacrificial service with joy. I was reminded of the story of Joseph. Joseph fell in love with Rachel, but Laban required that he work seven years for her. In Genesis 29:20 it says, “So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.” If we are truly in love with Jesus, then our service for Him will be equally a joy, whatever that service may be.

If Jesus is our treasure, our lives will be marked by generosity to others in need.

In Matthew 13:44, it says about the man who found the treasure in the field, that “in his joy went and sold all…” If Jesus is our treasure, then it will be no difficulty to give with generosity.

When talking about treasure in Luke 12:32 when Jesus encourages us not to be afraid, he also shows the way to that kind of love and freedom when he says, “sell your possessions and give to the poor…” If Jesus is our treasure, it will be a joy for us to give generously. Such generosity includes the giving of financial things. However, it is also generosity of time, by which we become willing to give that most precious of commodities - portions of the 24 hours a day with which we are all equally blessed. It is also generosity of spirit by which we extend grace to one another in all our relationships.

If we love Jesus, such generosity will be no burden because it will be a natural expression of our love for Jesus. But we need to think about this the other way around as well. If in our heart we want Jesus as our treasure, sometimes we have to show our wallet and our hands that we really mean that Jesus is our treasure by physically reaching down into our wallet or, grabbing our day planner and actually choosing to demonstrate where our treasure is by giving away the $20 in our pocket or serving with the precious moments of our day.

The rich young ruler was invited to give away his possessions, but walked away. One of the first reactions of Zacchaeus when he met Jesus was to promise to give away much of his wealth. What was the difference? One man had come to love Jesus. But what if I am more like the rich young ruler? After warning that it is hard for the rich to get into the kingdom of heaven because they find it hard to give up on their treasure and make Jesus their treasure, Jesus also promises that what is impossible with men is possible with God. John Piper comments, “But what they can't do, Jesus says, God can do. What is impossible with men, is possible with God. That's what conversion is: the work of God changing the heart and filling it with the wealth of the glory of Christ and freeing it from slavery to the vain glory of things.”

Conclusion

So when God asked me the question, “Am I your treasure?”, how did I answer? I’m still working on that, but, I am drawn to Him. I want Him to be my treasure. I see the joy and blessing and peace that comes from having Him as my treasure and I desire that. So I have asked Him to continue to draw me, to change my heart so that He will be my treasure.

In Isaiah 55:1-3a God makes this invitation: He asks, ““Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread,

and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.”

That is my invitation to you today, but I would like to make it more than just a passive invitation. I would like to invite you to act on that invitation. I would like to invite you to do one of three things. You can either:

1. Go and talk to God. Ask Him if He wants you to make Him your treasure and then ask Him what that will mean for you.

2. Read these verses again slowly and carefully several times and listen to what God is saying to you through them.

3. Choose to make a sacrificial donation that God is asking you to make – a donation of time, money or grace – and act on that generosity because He is your treasure.

Is Jesus your treasure?