It is Near
Trey Little | 17-Jan-10
"It is near"
Will Willamon, a wonderfully gifted preacher--actually I was supposed to begin a week long Doctorate class with him tomorrow but had to change my plans--anyway, Willamon tells about going with his wife to the funeral of a friend, which was held in a little country church out in the backwoods. The minister took advantage of the occasion to berate those who had come. He said, "You people need to decide for Jesus now. This dear, departed brother is safe because he had chosen Christ. Now is the time! REPENT before it is too late!"
After the service, Willamon said, "Can you get over that guy, taking advantage of having all of us there to beat us over the head about how it is important to make a decision right now."
Willamon's wife replied, "Yes--and the worst thing about it is--he is right!"
Today, as we continue in our study of the Kingdom of God, we will do so within the context of time--is there really any need to rush?
Turn with me to Mark 1: 14-20.
What emotions are stirred within you when you hear the word "near?"
Let me get a little more specific: If you were standing "near" the edge of the roof of a ten story building--what emotions would be churning within you? How about if you were sitting in your car--pulled over on the side of 9-mile hill with your window down--and in your mirror you saw Officer Perez coming "near." How about when tax day comes "near?"
Have you ever heard someone say, "You are in my space"? It is when someone crosses that sacred, yet imaginary, boundary line. That line we have drawn which only a select few are allowed to cross. And if someone crosses that line and comes too "near" without our permission--we get uncomfortable and either run for the hills or suggest they do! (Thinking about walking in the congregation at this point and getting "near" someone.)
What emotions are stirred within you when you hear the word "near?"
What if you were standing on the corner, just down the street, and you overheard a man speaking in a loud tone. You peer across the street and see him standing by the courthouse sign--seeing him allows you to tune in to what he is saying. You hear it loud and clear--he is saying, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near."
There is that word again--"near." This word "near" has the power to move us. If we get too "near" something we may move back. If something gets too "near" to us, we may push back. If something or someone is "near" we may move closer or further away. The question remains however, "Which way will we move?"
This morning I want to encourage you to MOVE towards the GOOD NEWS!
You see, at the very core of Jesus' teaching was that the long-awaited Messiah had come to break the power of sin and begin God's personal reign on earth. This was indeed GOOD NEWS from God. Jesus' words offered freedom to the oppressed; hope for the hopeless; provision; freedom from sin; mercy from God and energy for a new life in Christ.
I don't know about you, but my heart has been very heavy this week. Ever since the news came out about the devastating earthquake in Haiti I have been overcome with a sense to move. Certainly, our hearts, thoughts, prayers are with the people of Haiti--even though we do not personally know many of them. Certainly we have been moved by the images we have seen on the computer or television news reports--pictures of bloody little children barely visible under piles of rubble. Pictures of buildings crumbling--people running--chaos so present one could practically feel it--those images have filled the front pages of the newspapers and certainly have been in the forefront of many of our minds this week. We must continue to pray--but also, we must MOVE as God leads us--to give of our resources and/or our time.
But here is what hurts my heart the most--there was no warning. There was no one standing on the court house lawn of Port-au-Prince saying "It is near." There was no time to prepare to move--no time to secure things--including their lives.
Friends, what if a catastrophic earthquake rocked your world today--are you prepared?
So many of us wake up every day convinced that it will be just another day--no reason to think otherwise. I am sure the Haitian people thought the same when they went to bed on Monday night. When we go through life thinking that "this" won't happen today or "that" won't happen tomorrow, we become very apathetic with our lives. We no longer MOVE but instead we STAND STILL.
This is very evident in the life of the church. Many profess a faith in Jesus Christ yet procrastinate when it comes to living out their profession. They say, "I will get plugged into a Bible Study next month. I will start coming to "The Thing" next week. I will serve on a ministry team some other time. I will start praying for my children when they get a little older." For whatever reason, we live in this false sense of security that we can keep putting off getting serious about our walks with Christ--we think the kingdom really won't come for a while--or anything happening to us is far away--so why rush?
Friends, Jesus said: "The kingdom of God is near."
Jesus has shouted out the warning--it is time to respond.
The way I see it, two things need to happen in the hearts of us all. First, we need to REPENT!
Now listen, repentance is not like the person who sent the IRS a check for $150 with a note that said, "If I can't sleep, I'll send you the rest."
To repent is to turn away from self and turn toward the Lord. Becoming a follower of Christ means turning away from our self-centeredness and "self" control and instead turn our lives over to Christ's direction and control. Repentance literally is a profound change of mind and heart--it is a conversion involving the change of direction from a life that has been all about "me" to a life that is all about "He." A repentant life is made visible by our attitudes and actions.
A repentant heart counts blessings--while a self-centered heart always wants more. A repentant heart prays for others first. A repentant heart lives in honesty--a self-centered heart lives in denial. A repentant heart seeks Christ first--a self-centered heart seeks "self" first. A repentant heart is humbly grateful for God's gracious forgiveness--a self-centered heart points out that they are not as bad as that other guy. A repentant heart strives to look at others with the same compassion as Christ looked at them. A repentant heart no longer justifies unrighteous action but instead calls on the Righteous One to take action.
Allow me to frame it in this context: a painter won a bid to completely repaint the outside of an old church--a significant job for this painter. But what the church did not know was that the reason this painter's bid was so low was because he poured paint thinner into the paint he used--making it possible for each can of paint to go farther and thus limiting his expense but also delivering a less than quality product for the unsuspecting customer.
As the story goes, the painter was literally minutes away from completing the project, when OUT OF NOWHERE a thunderstorm came and hovered directly over the church. It poured down rain for several minutes--washing all the thinned paint right off of the walls of the church.
As the painter stood there in disbelief a deep voice spoke from the clouds, "Now--RE-PAINT and THIN no more!"
Friends, a repentant heart is a heart that has been converted--not one that has simply been comforted. There are no "short cuts."
But Jesus also said, BELIEVE--believe the GOOD NEWS. Do you really believe that God has provided a way of redemption through His Son Jesus Christ or do you believe you can still do it on your own!
It is near--repent and believe--and let Jesus get all up in your space!
Let me close with this--it is a story about sculptor Aguste Rodin (1840-1917), who is most famous for his work "The Thinker." It seems that one day Rodin noticed a large crucifix that had been discarded in a pile of trash. Although it was terribly marred and defaced, Rodin perceived that it could be restored to its original beauty. Consequently he and some companions carried it to his home. But the cross was too big for the house. What to do? Rather than return it to the trash heap, Rodin decided to knock out some walls and raise the roof of his house to make room for the cross.
IT IS NEAR--perhaps it's time to knock out some walls and raise the roof of your life and make room for Christ! When you do--that's Kingdom living. AMEN.
Will Willamon, a wonderfully gifted preacher--actually I was supposed to begin a week long Doctorate class with him tomorrow but had to change my plans--anyway, Willamon tells about going with his wife to the funeral of a friend, which was held in a little country church out in the backwoods. The minister took advantage of the occasion to berate those who had come. He said, "You people need to decide for Jesus now. This dear, departed brother is safe because he had chosen Christ. Now is the time! REPENT before it is too late!"
After the service, Willamon said, "Can you get over that guy, taking advantage of having all of us there to beat us over the head about how it is important to make a decision right now."
Willamon's wife replied, "Yes--and the worst thing about it is--he is right!"
Today, as we continue in our study of the Kingdom of God, we will do so within the context of time--is there really any need to rush?
Turn with me to Mark 1: 14-20.
What emotions are stirred within you when you hear the word "near?"
Let me get a little more specific: If you were standing "near" the edge of the roof of a ten story building--what emotions would be churning within you? How about if you were sitting in your car--pulled over on the side of 9-mile hill with your window down--and in your mirror you saw Officer Perez coming "near." How about when tax day comes "near?"
Have you ever heard someone say, "You are in my space"? It is when someone crosses that sacred, yet imaginary, boundary line. That line we have drawn which only a select few are allowed to cross. And if someone crosses that line and comes too "near" without our permission--we get uncomfortable and either run for the hills or suggest they do! (Thinking about walking in the congregation at this point and getting "near" someone.)
What emotions are stirred within you when you hear the word "near?"
What if you were standing on the corner, just down the street, and you overheard a man speaking in a loud tone. You peer across the street and see him standing by the courthouse sign--seeing him allows you to tune in to what he is saying. You hear it loud and clear--he is saying, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near."
There is that word again--"near." This word "near" has the power to move us. If we get too "near" something we may move back. If something gets too "near" to us, we may push back. If something or someone is "near" we may move closer or further away. The question remains however, "Which way will we move?"
This morning I want to encourage you to MOVE towards the GOOD NEWS!
You see, at the very core of Jesus' teaching was that the long-awaited Messiah had come to break the power of sin and begin God's personal reign on earth. This was indeed GOOD NEWS from God. Jesus' words offered freedom to the oppressed; hope for the hopeless; provision; freedom from sin; mercy from God and energy for a new life in Christ.
I don't know about you, but my heart has been very heavy this week. Ever since the news came out about the devastating earthquake in Haiti I have been overcome with a sense to move. Certainly, our hearts, thoughts, prayers are with the people of Haiti--even though we do not personally know many of them. Certainly we have been moved by the images we have seen on the computer or television news reports--pictures of bloody little children barely visible under piles of rubble. Pictures of buildings crumbling--people running--chaos so present one could practically feel it--those images have filled the front pages of the newspapers and certainly have been in the forefront of many of our minds this week. We must continue to pray--but also, we must MOVE as God leads us--to give of our resources and/or our time.
But here is what hurts my heart the most--there was no warning. There was no one standing on the court house lawn of Port-au-Prince saying "It is near." There was no time to prepare to move--no time to secure things--including their lives.
Friends, what if a catastrophic earthquake rocked your world today--are you prepared?
So many of us wake up every day convinced that it will be just another day--no reason to think otherwise. I am sure the Haitian people thought the same when they went to bed on Monday night. When we go through life thinking that "this" won't happen today or "that" won't happen tomorrow, we become very apathetic with our lives. We no longer MOVE but instead we STAND STILL.
This is very evident in the life of the church. Many profess a faith in Jesus Christ yet procrastinate when it comes to living out their profession. They say, "I will get plugged into a Bible Study next month. I will start coming to "The Thing" next week. I will serve on a ministry team some other time. I will start praying for my children when they get a little older." For whatever reason, we live in this false sense of security that we can keep putting off getting serious about our walks with Christ--we think the kingdom really won't come for a while--or anything happening to us is far away--so why rush?
Friends, Jesus said: "The kingdom of God is near."
Jesus has shouted out the warning--it is time to respond.
The way I see it, two things need to happen in the hearts of us all. First, we need to REPENT!
Now listen, repentance is not like the person who sent the IRS a check for $150 with a note that said, "If I can't sleep, I'll send you the rest."
To repent is to turn away from self and turn toward the Lord. Becoming a follower of Christ means turning away from our self-centeredness and "self" control and instead turn our lives over to Christ's direction and control. Repentance literally is a profound change of mind and heart--it is a conversion involving the change of direction from a life that has been all about "me" to a life that is all about "He." A repentant life is made visible by our attitudes and actions.
A repentant heart counts blessings--while a self-centered heart always wants more. A repentant heart prays for others first. A repentant heart lives in honesty--a self-centered heart lives in denial. A repentant heart seeks Christ first--a self-centered heart seeks "self" first. A repentant heart is humbly grateful for God's gracious forgiveness--a self-centered heart points out that they are not as bad as that other guy. A repentant heart strives to look at others with the same compassion as Christ looked at them. A repentant heart no longer justifies unrighteous action but instead calls on the Righteous One to take action.
Allow me to frame it in this context: a painter won a bid to completely repaint the outside of an old church--a significant job for this painter. But what the church did not know was that the reason this painter's bid was so low was because he poured paint thinner into the paint he used--making it possible for each can of paint to go farther and thus limiting his expense but also delivering a less than quality product for the unsuspecting customer.
As the story goes, the painter was literally minutes away from completing the project, when OUT OF NOWHERE a thunderstorm came and hovered directly over the church. It poured down rain for several minutes--washing all the thinned paint right off of the walls of the church.
As the painter stood there in disbelief a deep voice spoke from the clouds, "Now--RE-PAINT and THIN no more!"
Friends, a repentant heart is a heart that has been converted--not one that has simply been comforted. There are no "short cuts."
But Jesus also said, BELIEVE--believe the GOOD NEWS. Do you really believe that God has provided a way of redemption through His Son Jesus Christ or do you believe you can still do it on your own!
It is near--repent and believe--and let Jesus get all up in your space!
Let me close with this--it is a story about sculptor Aguste Rodin (1840-1917), who is most famous for his work "The Thinker." It seems that one day Rodin noticed a large crucifix that had been discarded in a pile of trash. Although it was terribly marred and defaced, Rodin perceived that it could be restored to its original beauty. Consequently he and some companions carried it to his home. But the cross was too big for the house. What to do? Rather than return it to the trash heap, Rodin decided to knock out some walls and raise the roof of his house to make room for the cross.
IT IS NEAR--perhaps it's time to knock out some walls and raise the roof of your life and make room for Christ! When you do--that's Kingdom living. AMEN.
