But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

Dear Faithful and Fruitful Seed-Sowers,

It is my prayer that each and every one of us are walking with Jesus and that we are surrounded by His powerful presence, perfect peace and rescued by His precious grace.

Our “SO WHAT?” questions from last week were:

What is the most important thing you have or own? (Pause. List a few.)
What is the most important thing you know?
What is the one thing you want to pass on to your family and friends?

Before we go to God’s living words of life, let us come to our Living Lord in a moment of prayer.  “Lord, God of all hope and healing, we come today to be touched and renewed, restored and resurrected by Your Living Word.  Come, Holy Spirit, speak to us. Cleanse us of our wrong thinking and guide us in Your ways. Amen.”

Take a moment and read I Corinthians 15:1-11.

The Apostle Paul lays claim to the power and hope of the resurrection right here. But, first, we need to take a moment to reflect upon who Paul is and how he came to this knowledge.

POINT 1: Paul the Persecutor
Paul was a Jew who grew up and sat at the feet of Gamaliel, the greatest Pharisee and teacher of the law.  Paul learned the law and lived the law.  Paul became an aggressive persecutor of the newly formed Christian Church. In chapter seven of the Book of Acts, we find Paul holding the cloaks of those stoning Stephen, the first martyr for Christ and of the church.   By chapter nine of Acts, Paul goes to the High Priest to receive papers to go to Damascus to find the followers of the Way, the followers of Christ.  Paul had been imprisoning them and had these Christians beaten and put to death. The Bible tells us that Paul was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” (Acts 9:1)

Take in this picture of Paul. A man highly educated, passionate about God and filled with fire for keeping the law of God. Are you in this story today?

Have you ever been lost? 
Have you ever felt as if you had gone too far to return to God?
Have you ever looked down on someone and judged them beyond hope?
Maybe you think you are beyond hope?

If so, then this story of Paul’s conversion and encounter with grace is for you!

In the eighteenth century, there were two young men in England whose names were Lord Lyttleton and Gilbert West. They were unbelievers. In fact, they were strong in their unbelief. They were also both lawyers, with keen minds, and they thought they had good reasons for rejecting Christianity. One day in a conversation one of them said, “Christianity stands upon a very unstable foundation. There are only two things that actually support it: the alleged resurrection of Jesus Christ and the alleged conversion of Saul of Tarsus. If we can disprove those stories, which should be rather easy to do, Christianity will collapse like a house of cards.” Gilbert West said, “All right, then. I’ll write a book on the alleged resurrection of Jesus Christ and disprove it.” Lord Lyttleton said, “If you write a book on the resurrection, I’ll write on the alleged appearance of Jesus to the apostle Paul. You show why Jesus could not possibly have been raised from the dead, and I’ll show that the apostle Paul could not have been converted as the Bible says he was—by a voice from heaven on the road to Damascus.” Each went off to write their book. Sometime later they met again, and one of them said to the other, “I’m afraid I have a confession to make. I have been looking into the evidence for this story, and I have begun to think that maybe there is something to it after all.” The other said, “The same thing has happened to me. But let us keep on investigating these stories and see where we come out.”

In the end, after they had done their investigations and had written their books, each had come out on exactly the opposite side he had been on when he began his investigation. Gilbert West had written The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, arguing that it is a fact of history. And Lord Lyttleton had written The Conversion of St. Paul.^[i]

By treating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the conversion of the apostle Paul as the two great pillars of Christianity, these men were saying that if the apostle Paul was not converted as the ninth chapter of Acts says he was, and as he himself declares in his own recorded testimonies both before the Jews and the Gentiles, then Christianity loses one of its two most important bulwarks. Moreover, it loses its most able theologians.

Point 2: Paul the Proclaimer of GRACE
Listen to Herschel H. Hobbs’ (author and theologian) thoughts on law and grace:

I read an illustration about a man who is standing at a fork in the road trying to decide which way to go. One road has a sign which says “law.” The other has a sign reading “grace.” If he chooses to travel the law road, he falls away from the grace road. It is not a matter of being in grace and falling out of it. It is a matter of never having been in grace. One cannot travel both roads. For law and grace negate each other. If it is by works, it cannot be by grace, grace is a gift. If it is by grace, then it cannot be by law. Christ is in the grace road. So, if you travel the law road, you are cut off from Him and His saving power. To depend upon legalism in any form or degree for salvation is to turn your back upon Christ.[ii]

Paul stood on the fork in that road. He had to choose between law and grace.  I believe that we all come to this fork in the road many times in our lives. Maybe you are at one today.

I love how Paul puts it in this letter to Corinthians … Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 1 Corinthians 15:8-11

“But by the grace of God I am what I am.”  What a powerful statement.

Paul was transformed from a powerful persecutor of the church into a passionate preacher proclaiming Christ and Him crucified, dead, buried and risen! Paul was presented Grace Road and he left the fork in the road that day.

Paul told the church in Colossae these words … “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” Colossians 1:2-5

I know many people who quote only part of this famous saying.  Many say, “I am what I am.” But we need to include the last part of this verse: by the grace of God.

Paul’s life was forever changed and transformed by God’s grace.  Pick up your Bible and you will read how Paul begins most of his letters to the churches with “grace” and he ends most of his writings with words of “grace.” Paul had been trained for years in the law. He stood at the fork in the road for an exceptionally long time. Friends, it is only the grace of God that can change us from being a sinner to saint, from a persecutor to a proclaimer. GRACE: God RICHES At Christ’s Expense—a free gift for all. We cannot buy this precious, priceless commodity. Grace is God’s free gift.

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eightfold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law—each offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.[iii]

The Gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection de-centers unbelievers from the center of their own life.  That is what it did for Paul.  Paul stood at the intersection of Law and Grace and recognized his unworthiness. Paul recognized a truth I want us all to remember “I AM WHAT I AM BY THE GRACE OF GOD.”

Where would you be today without God’s grace?

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

So What?
Brennan Manning has been one of my favorite authors.  I was able to go and hear him speak in person on many occasions.  I have read and reread his books.  They have ministered to me in many ways throughout my years of ministry and my years of being rescued from myself. I stood at the intersection of law and grace often. Manning has written: “The Ragamuffin Gospel, Ruthless Trust, Abba’s Child, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus.”  Get ready for the title of his last book: “All is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir.” Manning was a recovering alcoholic.  Brennan died of wet brain syndrome, Weirnecke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS).  Brennan struggled with alcoholism. Listen to some of his last words:

“Do you believe that the God of Jesus loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity—that he loves you in the morning sun and in the evening rain—that he loves you when your intellect denies it, your emotions refuse it, your whole being rejects it. Do you believe that God loves YOU without condition or reservation and loves you this moment as you are and not as you should be?”[iv]

Many of you know that the past few years have been difficult for my wife and I. We have lived through the sorrow and grief of the deaths of four family members and a very close friend who was like family.  I went back to Illinois this past month to help clean out some of the personal items in my dad’s home where he and my mom lived for many years. My mom died in this home. I was with her. This is the same home where my dad and stepmom lived for another 20 years. In mid-May Jodi, Juliet, Brian, and I traveled to the house (from Texas and California) in order to pick up boxes that my stepmom had set aside for the Peters family. We moved the boxes to a storage building in Rochelle. Jac and I planned a cross-country trip for July in order for me to go through those boxes. A few weeks later, I bought a few additional items from the estate sale and had a good set of friends deliver those items to the storage shed.

As Jac and I stood in that old storage building in Rochelle the last week of June, it hit me. I was standing at the intersection of law and grace like my brother, Paul. I actually heard a soft, still voice within my heart, soul, spirit, mind say, “Dave, I want to tell you why this has intruded into your life. I know how busy you are, but you have a platform to proclaim my grace to many. Here is what I want you to know: Unlike you, I go to an awful lot of estate sales every single day. You went to your first estate sale and brought a few family heirlooms back home. Dave, I go to every estate sale I know of and I go every single day. You know what I do? I buy my people back. It’s okay. You are at the same intersection Persecutor Paul found himself at so very long ago: Law or Grace? Paul was blinded. He was guided to town and laid in a bed for days. Paul had plenty of time to pray and to think. So have you. I will imprint on your heart what I imprinted on Paul’s: Forget what lies behind. Focus on what lies ahead. CHOOSE GRACE EVERY TIME.”

Grace.  We cannot earn it. We  cannot buy it.
Grace is a free, priceless gift of God offered to us through the life, death, and resurrection of His one and only Son—Jesus Christ.

A long time ago our blue van housed a bumper sticker on the back end:  HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN? TURN RIGHT. GO STRAIGHT. We drove that van for 350,000 miles. It went to the ballpark several nights a week. One day my wife was working at the concession. A little boy ran up to her and said, “Hey! I turned right and I’m going straight to heaven!” It was good advice for him. It’s good advice for you and me.

Paul had a history. He turned RIGHT and went STRAIGHT. Thank God.

You and me? Same choice. I don’t know about you but I’m turning right and going straight….by the GRACE OF GOD…I AM WHAT I AM.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Join us for worship on Sunday mornings at 9am Pacific at 9284 Baseline Road Rancho Cucamonga, California.  If you are not able to join us in person you are invited to watch out live-stream and connect with us through your chats, prayers and worship.  You can always go to our YouTube channel and wrtch the weekly worship service, children’s messages and sermons.  The YouTube channel is The Seed Christian Fellowship.

[i] My version, an old one, has West’s and Lyttleton’s books bound together: Lord Lyttleton on the Conversion of St. Paul and Gilbert West on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (New York: The American Tract Society, 1929). In some editions the flyleaf contains the words: “Blame not until thou hast examined the truth.” The story of these two men is told in R. A. Torrey, The Bible, and Its Christ (New York: Revell, 1904–1906), 98–100.

[ii] Hobbs, H. H. (1990). My favorite illustrations (p. 132). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

[iii] Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing about Grace?, Zondervan, 1997

[iv] Brennan Manning, All is Grace, 2011, David C Cook

“Now, brethren, I want to remind you of the Gospel i preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” I Corinthians 15:1-4

Dear Faithful Seed-Sowers,

Today is the day before 9-11; the 20th anniversary. It is my prayer that you all are well and healthy today and are walking with the Lord. Let us continue in prayer for our nation, our world, and for one another.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about the church over the past year.  Not just The Seed Christian Fellowship, I have been thinking about the church universal. I do not want to bore you with statistic and numbers but my first degree from college was in Business and Accounting. I love to work with numbers.  The funny thing is that God called me out of counting financial reports and called me to counting sheep. A glorious by-product of this new style of counting is that I no longer count sins, forgiving and forgetting sins instead of logging all the hurts and betrayals of sins on my ledger sheet. I don’t know if God has called you to this new style of counting but, for sure, it is my new way of living.

The other day I was reading and article on numbers about the church and church membership in America. A recent Gallup poll shows that church membership in America has dropped to below 50% for the first time in eight decades — that is 80 years if you are counting. Today church membership in local congregations stands at 47% when in 1999 (22 years ago) church membership was around 70%.  Gallup’s reports says that “The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preferences.”  You know those forms at hospitals and other places where you fill them out and you can put your religious preference on them? The box for religious preference is now being marked  “NONE.”  The NONEs have it! (or do they?)

George Barna is a Christian researcher.  His organization did some research on the meaning of Easter.  Here are some of the things that they found. Within the religious definitions offered by Americans, there is a certain degree of confusion: 2% of Americans said that Easter is about the “birth of Christ”; another 2% indicated it was about the “rebirth of Jesus”; and 1% said it is a celebration of “the second coming of Jesus.” Not included in the theistic category was another 3% who described Easter as a celebration of spring or a pagan holiday.  On the non-religious side, 13% of respondents said they were not sure how to describe Easter. Another 8% of Americans said the holiday means nothing to them or that they do not celebrate the occasion. Other non-religious descriptions of Easter included: getting friends and family together (4%), spring break (3%), a symbol of new beginnings, rebirth, and renewal (2%), a time to dye and hide eggs (2%), an event for children to have fun (2%), the Easter bunny (1%), an occasion that is too commercialized (1%), and an opportunity to enjoy food and candy (1%).

What I find most interesting is how unchurched people view Easter. In terms of the audience that most Christian churches attempt to attract every Easter weekend – non-churchgoing adults – the research shows that only 25% of the people connect the EASTER holiday to Jesus’ resurrection! Church, we need to do a better job of proclaiming EASTER! Like the verse above says, I tell you what is most important: Jesus died. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose from the dead.

It can’t be said much easier. The GOSPEL is this: Jesus died for our sins. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose from the dead.

Resurrection Reminder
“Now, brethren, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.” I Corinthians 15:1

Paul wants to encourage the church (we are the church now) to remember!

Remember the Gospel!

The Greek word for Gospel is “εὐαγγέλιον euaggelion” which means “Good News” and it is the word from which we get the word “evangelism.”

So What is the “Good News” to you? What is it that you will take a stand on?

What do you believe and what is it that you are willing to hold onto no matter what?

When Billy Graham was preaching in Germany one day, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer invited him to his office: Coffee was served, but before Billy’s first sip, Chancellor Konard started in: “Young man, do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?” “I most certainly do,” Billy replied. “So do I, Chancellor Konard said. If Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead, there is not one glimmer of hope for the human race. When I leave office, I am going to spend the rest of my life studying and writing about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s the most important event in human history.” [i]

In the words of Jaroslav Pelikan, an American scholar, “If Christ is risen—then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—then nothing else matters.”[ii]

Timothy Keller, a pastor, wrote, “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said?[iii]

Paul wanted the early church to take a stand and remember the Good News! In Paul’s day being a Christian was more than intellectual assent to a group of doctrines. The social price that followers of Christ paid forced them to take a stand in a hostile world. I think we can learn a little from Paul as we go through this worldwide pandemic called COVID-19. With all the news we are bombarded with 24 hours a day: what is the Good News?  What can you and I stand on?

Listen to Paul: We stand on the hope and power of the resurrection.

My favorite comes from Paul’s letter to Romans — …if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)

With all that the world is going through, we are living in a time when we need to stop and remember what our north star is, what is our center point of our faith.

Here’s your homework: What (or who) is my north star?  What (or who) is the center point of my faith?

So What?
John Stott, a wonderful pastor and teacher, wrote these words about the resurrection of Christ: “The Resurrection somehow resonates with our human condition. It speaks to our needs as I reckon no other event of antiquity does, or even could.”

In other words, it is not up to us to make the resurrection relevant; it already is relevant without us. We just need to proclaim it and apply it with joy and confidence. Christ’s resurrection from the dead is not just an idea, a concept, or a doctrine—although it is truly a breathtaking and revolutionary doctrine! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the power that will usher broken fragile humanity into Christ’s “newness of life”.

I love that Matthew ends his gospel with Christ ascending from the mountain, saying, “I’ll be with you til the very end of the age.”

Where are you in this story? Paul is writing a letter to his friends and family in the church in Corinth. Evil abounds everywhere they go. The world is calling out to them every day. Can you relate? I can.

Imagine receiving an email or a text from Paul right now: I Corinthians 15:1-11 — Put your name in the Bible. Put your name in all the blank lines below.  Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and put your name in the story.

Now,  YOUR NAME _________, I want to remind you _____ of the gospel I preached to you _______ , which you ______  received and on which you ______ have taken your _____ stand. By this gospel you ______ are saved, if you ______ hold firmly to the word I preached to you ________.  Otherwise, you _______ have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you _________  as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 

Every day I get to go spend time with my father-in-law whom I call dad.  He is 89 and slowly fading away.  Every day he says to my wife and I, “I haven’t seen my wife in a long time. She must be dead. I just can’t believe that she’s gone.”  His wife of 71 years is gone but every time we talk about Mom’s death, I get the blessed opportunity to talk to dad about heaven, about the hope and power of the resurrection and the forgiveness of our sins that comes with faith in Jesus.  He has learned to love to hear about forgiveness. He has the hope of the resurrection within his heart and mind and he is not afraid of dying like he was.  The resurrection has put the living face and name of Jesus Christ into his heart. Dad knows that some day he will die and that he will be able to live forever without any more pain, suffering or tears.

Here is you final “so what?” You are on a deserted island…the world is on one side…calling your name…offering you trinkets of fame, gold, fortune…on the other side stands the risen Jesus Christ…calling your name…offering you His legacy of grace, forgiveness, mercy, joy and love. Do you know what side you are standing on?

My wife and I talk every morning. We read our devotionals and discuss the high points. This morning I asked how she was doing. “I’m sad. They lost my Covid test and I can’t go see Dad until I redo another test, which means 3 more days and it’s already been 2.” Fortunately, they didn’t lose my test and I am able to go visit Dad. (The care home is now requiring two tests a week from non-vaccinated people. We cannot get the vaccine at this time due to health issues and we are happy to test–despite the great inconvenience. The end goal is our ability to see Dad.) Jac told me about an article she had read about a red cord and she said, “It reminded me of how Rahab hung a scarlet cord in her window after hiding the spies in enemy territory. They promised that if she hung the red cord in her window, they would find her and rescue her. That’s how I’m feeling. This is really hard–what I’m doing with Dad and with covid but I hear, ‘I see you. I see your red cord in the window. I will rescue you. Wait.'” I’ve thought about how her thoughts apply to us all. There’s no magic-8 ball with all of the answers–at least there’s no human, magic-8 ball. We have the Bible (basic instructions before leaving earth) and we have the hope of the risen Jesus Christ. He sees your red cord in the window of your heart. Wait. He’s coming back.

Long ago, I counted financial reports and profits and loss and numbers. It took a whole new call for this former accountant to learn how to count on Christ–who is actually counting on me. Together, Jesus and I are an overwhelming majority. This coming week, I will fly home to be a Spiritual Director on a men’s grace weekend. I leave you with one, last thought and prayer:  the world or Jesus…what side are you standing on?

Paul says, “I give to you the 3 most important things I know: Christ died for your sins. Christ was buried. Christ rose from the dead.”

Sometimes the GOSPEL is that easy. You only have to know how to count to three.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www,theseedchristianfellowship.com

Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fantastic Seed-Sowers,

Grace and peace to you all.  I pray that the Lord watches over you and keeps you from all harm.  We have so much to be praying for in our families, schools, churches,nation, and world.  Praying for all those who are struggling with Covid-19.  Praying for those who have lost loved-ones.  Praying for firefighters, police-officers, all medical teams, and all of our military personnel who stand in the gap and defend our lives and our freedom.

Open your bible to John 2:1-11.  This is one of those famous stories of Jesus’ life and His miracles. This is the first miracle that Jesus performs. We could spend a lot of time looking at the miracle and what it means in light of Jesus.  Have you ever stopped to think about those servants at the wedding?  They get advice from Jesus’ mom.  Do you notice that they didn’t ask for it but they got it anyway? And I am so glad they did. Because it really is the best advice any mother ever gave.

In the NASB translation it is seven little words, “WHATEVER HE SAYS TO YOU DO IT!”  In our reading today from the NIV, it is five words, “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”  In the original Greek it is six words and when translated literally, it is “WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”

I would like to take a few moments and take a look at these words, the best advice any mother could give:
“Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you.”

WHATEVER
Think of the word “whatever.” I know many have used that as a slang when asked to do something … whatever and shrug their shoulders and walk away.  Mary tells the servants “WHATEVER” Jesus tells you to do — do it!
Have you ever thought of the scope, the scale, the possibilities, the potentials, the prospect, the options, and opportunities of “WHATEVER”?

In the Greek,  “whatever” is actually three words translated into one word.  It is a relative pronoun that means, “anyone, anything, who, what, whoever, whichever, and whatever.”  This is an all-inclusive word that says — “whatever, whenever, whoever, anyone or anything.”

This is the same word used when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in the middle of the night in John 3. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16  Same word Jesus spoke to the woman at the well in John 4 — “but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  John 4:14

Maybe a good “so what?” for us right now is “WHATEVER” –whatever is Jesus asking you to do? I mean it, stop and ask yourself this important question.

Did you notice that the servants did exactly what Mary told them to do?  They did not hesitate, or make excuses, or look for someone else to do the work.  They did not ask why me? They did not say you sound like a crazy mom.

We need to remember that there have been no miracles done by Jesus yet.  The blind have not been given their sight back. The lame and paralyzed have not been healed. The lepers have not been made clean. There has been no multiplication of fish and bread to feed thousands. No walking on water and no storms stilled.  No demon possession and deliverance. These people have not seen any resurrections from the dead.

But here we are at a family wedding celebration.

And mama says, “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO.”

These humble servants were asked to simply obey. But what a strange request. There is no wine but go and fill these 6 stone water jars that hold twenty to thirty gallons up to the brim with water.  Do you know that one gallon of water is 8.34 pounds?  Let us do a little math: 20 gallons of water would weigh 166.8 lbs. — roughly 167 pounds.  If they were 30 gallons, they would have weighed 250lbs. that means they were asked to carry up to 1500 lbs. of water?  Can you imagine what these servants were being asked to do? Enter the story.  Jesus has just asked YOU to go carry 1,500 pounds of not wine but water!

This is not the first time God had given unusual instructions.

Go back to Moses who tells the people to put the blood of a Lamb over your doorway. Naaman, was told by Elisha to go dip 7 times in the Jordan. Joshua told the Priests to take up the ark of the covenant and step into the Jordan at flood stage. Joshua was instructed to march around the walls of Jericho for six days without shouting or making a sound. Then on the seventh day walk around the city seven times and on the last time around– shout and blow the trumpets. Rahab was asked to hang a scarlet rope out of her window so that she and her household would be saved.

To be honest with you, none of those things would have made sense to anyone. Truly it is the same way today. We are called to obey whatever Jesus tells us, no matter how unusual it seems.

HE TELLS
DO WHATEVER “He tells” is one of the verbs in this sentence. Of course, it is a present active verb, meaning that that action is continuous and never ending.

Jesus has not stopped speaking. Have we stopped listening?

Notice that HE is Jesus!  Jesus is the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Jesus is our Savior and we called to trust Him for forgiveness and eternal life.

Why do we not trust and obey our Savior?

SO WHAT?
Sometimes men and women who never stand in a pulpit preach the greatest sermons simply through living out the living Word in their daily lives. 

Jesus’ mother said, ‘’Whatever He says to you, do it!” What a power sermon of seven words!

Drop the mic. Turn off the TV. Stop the train. Let go of your electronics.

“Whatever He says to you, do it.”

‘WHATEVER!” This means YOU….do and keep doing…whatever Jesus asks you to do.

Remember the sheriff in Groom, Texas. He was sitting at the cafe wondering what he would say to 3 little children whose mama had just died. Jac and I were leaving the big, white cross display when I felt a total nudge to go eat lunch in Groom, Texas. I ignored it. I got on the highway. “Turn around and go eat lunch in Groom.” I turned around. We went in. We stuck out like sore thumbs in our flip flops and tee shirts. We enjoyed a fantastic lunch. The sheriff paid and went outside. Jac went outside and made mention of the Sheriffs tee shirt. He asked what I did for a living. And then he waited for me to pay. For the next 60 minutes the sheriff and I talked about Jesus and heaven. He needed help in knowing how to tell 3 little children sad, sad news. We talked, we prayed and he left–encouraged. For 100% sure whatever HE tells you to do…do it.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Dear Faithful, Fearless, and Fruitful Seed-Sowers,
May the God of all grace and mercy surround you with His grace, mercy and love.  May you know that God is with you and His promise is that He will never leave you or forsake you. COUNT ON THIS AS YOU FACE THE FUTURE.

Last week, we heard a word to the troubled in heart as Jesus walked down the Emmaus Road with His disciples.  Today we turn to Luke 24 where we will hear a word to the skeptical and scared.

With his news-assignment request approved, the CNN News cameraman quickly used his cell phone to call the local airport to charter a flight. He was told a twin-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport.  Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a plane warming up outside a hanger. He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, “Let’s go!” The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into the wind and took off. Once in the air, the cameraman instructed the pilot, “Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can get shots of the fires on the hillsides. “Why?” asked the pilot. “Because I’m a cameraman for CNN,” he responded, “and I need to get some close-up shots. “The pilot was strangely silent for a moment. Finally, he stammered, “So, what you are telling me, is…you’re not my flight instructor?^[i]

What a case of mistaken identity!

Have you ever mistaken the identity of someone or something?

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead caused even His followers to mistake His identity.  At the tomb, Mary Magdalene thought Jesus was the gardener.  The disciples on the road to Emmaus thought Jesus was the only one in Jerusalem who did not know what terrible things had just happened in Jerusalem.

In the Gospel of Luke, we have three different records of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It would be just like our detailed, Dr.  Luke to paint a tapestry of three different panels. One panel is the story found in Luke 24:1-12 that we read on Easter Sunday.  Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women go to tomb early in the morning and find that the stone is rolled away; they see two men glowing like lightening.  These two angels say to the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee.  The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.” (Luke 24:5-7) Dr. Luke tells us that the women ran back to tell the disciples the good news.  The disciples think the women are talking nonsense. However, we learn that Peter ran to the tomb–only to find it was empty.  Peter walked away wondering what in the world had happened.  This is the first panel Dr. Luke has painted for us.

The second panel is the story found in Luke 24:13-34. We studied this story last week.  This panel is painted with Cleopas and another (Mary his wife, Mary) walking home to Emmaus from Jerusalem. Out of the blue, Jesus started walking alongside them.  As they walked and talked, Jesus opened all of the Scriptures to them–beginning with Moses and the prophets and explained to them all that must happen to the Messiah.  Even after all of this, they still had a case of mistaken identity of their mystery man who had joined them on their walk.  It was not until Jesus broke bread with them that their eyes were opened.  “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

What does it take for our hearts to burn within us?  What would it take for us to know the real Christ and not to have a case of mistaken identity regarding Him?  What would it take for us to pick up and run back the seven miles we just walked in order to tell others that we have seen the risen, living Christ?  Why is that we have such a hard time seeing Jesus come alongside us in our lives?   Why is that that we mistake His identity time and time again?

Today we turn to the third panel of Luke’s magnificent tapestry of the resurrection story.  Today, may our eyes be opened once again to see the risen Christ.  May our hearts be strangely warmed as we open up God’s Word and read Luke 24:36-53.

As always, place yourself into our story. Be a part of the living word of God. We are in the Upper Room, gathered together and huddled in fear. Now, let us introduce Dr. Luke’s three panels of resurrection stories and three cases of mistaken identity:  Mary Magdalene thought Jesus was the gardener.  Cleopas and his companion on the way to Emmaus had no clue who their traveling companion was. Was this mysterious traveler the only one who did not know the things that had happened in Jerusalem? They all had a case of mistaken identity.  After Jesus opened up the Scriptures to Cleopas and the other disciple, after Jesus broke bread with them–they immediately ran 7 miles back to Jerusalem to tell all those gathered in the Upper Room that they had just been with the risen Christ.

Can you imagine?  It is still Resurrection Day.  Jesus’ disciples have run the gamut of emotions for one day!  Are you there with me? What a day! Do you think after Cleopas shares his news that they are all talking at the same time?  Imagine you are in the midst of a crowd. What is going on after all of these people tell us that Jesus is not dead—his tomb is empty and he is alive—and not just in Jerusalem, He is even alive in Emmaus.

I imagine the group is asking questions, making statements, wondering out loud.  Joy, excitement, bewilderment, confusion, fear and skepticism are running rampant in the room.  The doors are locked because of their fears and then…suddenly… Jesus walks into the room and says, “Peace be with you.”

Imagine the scene.  Huddle together.  The doors are locked!  We are all afraid and we are hiding. We are hearing the Good News of Jesus being raised from the dead!  Jesus is alive?  All of our hopes that were dashed are now being rekindled.  Dreams that were shattered are being restored! Now imgaine, Jesus walks into the room and says to us, “Peace be with you.”  “Eirene hymin” in Greek and “Shalom alakem,” are the common terms of greeting.   What a day this has been for anyone inside that Upper Room!

Here is a lesson we can glean from this third panel of the Resurrection Day Tapestry: Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our fear!  Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our bewilderment! Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our doubts!  Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our confusion! Jesus wants to bring His peace to all who are skeptical.  Jesus wants to bring peace.

Listen!  The Good News!

No matter what kind of day we are having, Jesus wants to bring peace into our lives!

What happens next is another profound example of mistaken identity.  The disciples are gathered together in the Upper Room.  They have heard from Mary Magdalene, Cleopas, and the other disciple that they have seen the risen Christ.  Mary thought He was the gardener at first.  Cleopas and his companion thought Jesus was this short of being an idiot.  They are all wondering what in the world is going on and now Jesus Himself is standing right in front of them.  What is their response?  They think they are seeing a ghost.

On January 28, 1945, as World War II was groaning to a close, 121 elite Army Rangers liberated over 500 POWs, mostly Americans, from a Japanese prisoner of war camp near Cabanatuan in the Philippines. The prisoners, many of whom were survivors of the infamous Bataan death march, were in awful condition, physically and emotionally. Before the Rangers arrived, the primary Japanese guard unit had left the camp because of Japan’s massive retreat from the Philippines. The new situation was precarious. Japanese troops were still around and, in the camp, but they kept their distance from the prisoners. The men of Cabanatuan did not quite know what to make of their new freedom—if freedom was in fact what it was. And then, without warning, the American Rangers swept upon the camp in furious force. But one of the most interesting facets of the story was the reaction of many of the prisoners. They were so defeated, diseased, and familiar with deceit that many needed to be convinced they were actually free.

They were skeptical and scared.

Was it a trick? A trap? Was this real? One prisoner, Captain Bert Bank, struggling with blindness caused by a vitamin deficiency, could not clearly make out his would-be rescuers. He refused to budge. Finally, a soldier walked up to him, tugged his arm, and said, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you want to be free?” Bank, from Alabama, recognized the familiar southern accent of his questioner. A smile formed on his lips, and he willingly and thankfully began his journey to freedom. Finally, far away from what had been, for years, the site of an ongoing, horrific assault on their humanity, the newly freed prisoners began their march home.

In the description of one prisoner, contrasting it with the Bataan nightmare years earlier, “It was a long, slow, steady march …but this was a life march, a march of freedom.”^[i]

SO WHAT?
I believe that we are a lot like those prisoners.  We have been set free from our captivity and, yet, we stand frozen in our tracks.  We have heard of the resurrection of Christ from the tomb, but do we really believe it? Did Jesus really rise from the dead?  Is Jesus really the promised Messiah?  Would Jesus walk into my confusion, bewilderment, doubts, fears, frustrations, hurts, addictions, pain, worries, skepticism, scared heart and messed-up life?

Timothy J. Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism said; “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”[ii]

So, what? What do you believe?  Are you a prisoner of skepticism?  Are you frozen in fear? Are you scared like the early disciples? Hear these words:
“Peace be with you.” May these words soak and saturate deeply into your heart.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

Greetings Faithful Friends and Fearless Seed-Sowers,
I am sorry it has taken me so long to write a Seed of Faith.  I have been busy and maybe I have been confused and troubled.  I just returned home from Illinois after cleaning out some of my dad’s personal items from his home.  My step-mom is moving and I needed to go through some of my dad’s items that were in his home for the past fifty some years (photo albums mainly.)

Today we are going to take a walk with Jesus. We are on the road to Emmaus.  Emmaus is a town.  The Emmaus Road story is one of the most famous and familiar stories that Dr. Luke tells.  Today we meet two disciples who are also making their way home from the Passover festival.  This is the same day that Jesus rose from the tomb.  These two disciples happen to be followers of Jesus, just like us. They are heart-sick, heart-broken, depressed and confused about Jesus’ crucifixion and now they are walking home—7 miles back home. Think about where 7 miles from your home is–and imagine walking there right now. As you are walking, let me ask you a few questions.

Have you ever been heart-sick before?
Have you ever-been heart-broken before?
Have you ever been down or depressed before?
Have you ever been confused before?

Our good friend, Dr. Luke, now introduces us to two disciples, one named Cleopas and one that is not named.  Scholars have debated about who these two disciples are. Some scholars say that Cleopas is a follower of Jesus and the other, unnamed person is none other than Dr. Luke. Some have said that Cleopas is the Cleopas mentioned by the Gospel of John in John 19:25 when we are told that Mary’s sister was the wife of Cleopas and her name was Mary, also.  If this is the case, then these two disciples were Jesus’ aunt and uncle–headed home to Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.   Whoever they were, these two had been in Jerusalem for the Passover festival with a million other Jews.  They were followers of Jesus.  They were there when Jesus entered the town riding on a donkey.  They were there with all of the people shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna — Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”  They heard the crowd shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him!”  We are also told in the Scriptures that “Mary, the wife of Cleopas” was at the cross with Jesus’ mother.  Mary, the wife of Cleopas, was with her sister, Mary, the mother of Jesus, at Jesus’ crucifixion. Are you in this story yet?
These two disciples loved Jesus with all of their hearts.  They were in Jerusalem for a Passover festival, a celebration.  They were not expecting what happened.  The person they loved, Jesus, had been arrested, tried, and whipped. Jesus was crucified and these two are heart-sick!  They are heart-broken!  They are depressed! They are confused!  And they are beginning their long, 7-mile walk back home.
Can you identify with being heat-broken, depressed, confused, disappointed, and downcast?  Just say — Covid-19 or quarantine, lockdown, stay-at-home, no school, no sports, no going out, no family …. No, no, no, no! I think we can all identify with being heart-broken this past year.

Dr/ Luke tells us that as they were walking along, they were discussing the events of the past week.  The Greek word for “discussing” is “syzeteo” which is a present tense verb.  This means that they were discussing and discussing and discussing over and over again all of the things that had happened.  They were on a roller coaster of grief and confusion, going up and down and all around and around; discussing the life and death of Jesus.

As they were walking and talking, the RESURRECTED Jesus walked up behind them and asked them what they were talking about.  They did not recognize Jesus.  The original Greek tells us that “they were kept from recognizing Him.”  Why?  We really do not know.  Commentaries suggest it was because they were looking into the sun and the shadows prevented them from recognizing Jesus.   Perhaps they were so overcome with grief, their hearts so broken that in the midst of their grief and confusion they could not see who it was that was standing in front of them.  They simply did not recognize Jesus. If you are taking notes — write this one down.  It is really important!

Jesus finds us in our confusion!  Jesus finds us when our hearts are broken, and we are overwhelmed with grief.  Jesus wants to enter into our story—right where we are, no matter where we are.
I am praying that our eyes will be opened and that our hearts will be strangely warmed as we recognize Jesus whenever, wherever, He walks into our lives.

So What?
In 2015 an EF4 tornado with winds of 200 mph hit my hometown of Rochelle, Illinois. I remember that night, I was heartsick, and heartbroken to hear of the devastation the tornado caused.  My heart was heavy and burdened with grief. The day after the tornado, our good friends called.  We had raised our children with them, went on vacation with them—their family was our family and vice versa.  We knew on the night of the tornado that their niece’s home had been destroyed by the tornado.  The next morning our friend called to tell us this story:

Her niece and her husband have three, small children—5,3, and 5 months.  When the sirens went off, they hurried down to the southwest corner of their basement.  Looking out the basement window, they saw their wooden swing set blow away like toothpicks and disappear.  Her niece held all three of the children while her husband formed a human shield of protection over them; spread eagle like a cross.  In less than a minute, their house and everything they owned was gone.  The first floor had collapsed into the basement, missing them by inches.  Her niece had cried out, “We’re going to die.”  Across the street, another young family had sought shelter from the tornado in their own basement. After the tornado had safely passed, the young father grabbed a flashlight and ran over to help the family across the street whose home had been blown away. In the darkness, he found the five of them in the southwest corner of the basement—the only corner that sustained no damage—and he helped pull them all to safety.  The next day, our friend, brought in heavy equipment that lifted the collapsed first floor from the basement so that our friends could sort through what was left of their home.  Here is all they found:  the five-year old’s Mickey Mouse that he sleeps with, the 3-year-old’s blankie that she sleeps with, a pillow that said HOME, a sign that said THANKFUL and her very beat up and, almost unrecognizable, laptop.  Someone took the laptop to a techy who carefully removed from it the stored photos and documents.  Everything else was gone.

Here is the “so what?” for this week that I want you to remember forever:

Jesus meets us in our confusion, in our heart-sickness, in our depression, in our fears and doubts.
Jesus WILL bring clarity into our lives.
Jesus WILL bring comfort into our lives…All through the living, abiding, Word of God.
YOUR HEART WILL BE STRANGELY WARMED–and that, my friends, is just God at work.

Just as the father I told you about covered his family in order to protect them, Jesus does the same for you and me.  In the midst of our confusion, our grief, our depression, our sorrow, our heartsickness, our heartbrokenness, our doubts, our fears, our shame, our guilt—Jesus covers us. Friends, this is the hope and the power of the RESURRECTION. Today as we travel along our own EMMAUS ROAD, may our eyes be opened,  may our hearts be strangely warmed as we break bread together.  May we recognize the crucified, risen Christ in our midst!

Back to being in Rochelle to go through some of my Dad’s personal things, I decided that since my wife would be with her father here in California that it might be nice to have my son or daughters fly with me to Rochelle. Our eldest has 7 children and couldn’t get away but she prayed for us. Our son drove his truck up from Waco, Texas; there were two toolboxes that he could have. Our youngest daughter brought her daughter and we flew together. Jesus was with us all the way. We had a ton of turbulence on the first flight then our plane was delayed due to weather in Dallas. We sat in the Dallas airport for six, long hours–wearing a mask. We were there all night. I know the man who designed the train system in Dallas and so I got the girls to ride the rails with me.  Strangely, we felt God was with us as we waited for our flight to Chicago. We arrived in Chicago at 5 am–walked through the terminal and got a hotel room because we were exhausted. Later, we rented a Jeep and headed to Dad’s. Our eldest daughter was brought home to this house in 1974. Our son and daughter who were with me had experienced birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays in this home–like their entire lives have had memories there. As we sorted in the basement, I felt my heart strangely warmed. My brother, Joe, came over and helped. We were able to move Dad’s tools from a shed the next day. We loaded up Brian’s truck with two toolboxes. Through the week, I was able to see close friends and family. Heck, we even drove to Milwaukee to see the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brewers! Through it all, through all of the sorrow and sadness, the risen Christ was with us, warming our hearts with the love of family.

I’m praying for you. You are loved.

See You Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

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“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:38-40

Dear Faithful – Fearless and Fruitful Seed Sowers,

This is Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ earthly life.  I encourage you take some time and read the accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life. Read and compare the four Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) or pick one to read one this week.  Here are the Gospel accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life, Holy Week  — Matthew 21-28, Mark 11-16, Luke 19:28-24 and John 12-21.

Today we are going to look at Luke 19:28-44 and at the Old Testament prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9-12.

Think about this for a moment.  I mean, stop, and really think about where you are in this story of the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem? Where are you in your faith walk with Jesus? There were crowds of people in this story.  Scholars believe that there were over 2 million people in Jerusalem during the time of the Passover.  They estimate the crowd at the “Palm Parade” was around 200,000 people.  Jesus was riding into town on a donkey and the crowds went wild. Yet, there are at least three types of people in this story. As you read, figure out where you are. Which of these three crowds do you belong in?

1. The people who knew their Scriptures and were waiting for God to send a KING to overthrow the Roman government—this crowd went wild with praise! PRAISERS.

2. The crowd of the Pharisees did not go wild with praise.  They went wild with protest. PROTESTORS. 

3. The third kind of crowd was absolutely passive—to them, this parade was no big deal either way. PASSERS.

Praising, protesting or passive! Faithful one or faithless one! What crowd will you find yourself in today?

Will we praise Jesus?
Will we protest Jesus?
Will we be passive about Jesus?

Imagine for a moment 100,000 to 200,000 people moving, waving palms, and shouting!  The Rose Bowl holds around 92,000 people, double that crowd, imagine the noise and hysteria of the crowd on that first Palm Sunday. Can you feel the energy?

Can you enter into the picture?  A few million people are milling around Jerusalem.  There are people everywhere! Today would be Sunday, the Sunday before they celebrated Passover, and this is the very reason why all of these people were there.  Today is known as “Lamb Selection Sunday” and thousands of lambs are being led into town for Thursday’s annual Passover sacrifice event. Everyone is selecting their family’s sacrificial lamb.  Think of the tension in the air as the Roman centurions walk around — angry that the crowd is so large.   Their swords and shields are ready at a moment’s notice to keep the peace.  Jesus makes his way through the nearby town of Bethany, down the Mount of Olives and enters the city of Jerusalem.  Jesus has been in ministry for three years.  The people have seen Him in action or they have heard about Him.  The crowd is energized, and the excitement keeps building and building!  Jesus is riding into town on a donkey and the crowd goes wild.  They have been waiting for this day! These people know their scriptures. They don’t have the new testament—only the old! They can easily equate Zechariah 9…with what they are seeing!  All of sudden, this is the biggest parade you have ever seen, everyone is breaking off palm branches from the palm trees and waving them. They are taking off their outer coats to throw them on the dirt road that Jesus is riding into town on!  Are you with me?  Can you hear the excitement as the crowd begins to shout, “HOSANNA — HOSANNA — HOSANNA!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the king of Israel.”  (Makes me think of when we shout USA in the Olympic games.)

The Hebrew word “hosanna” literally means “save us, we pray, save us now, save us–we beseech you.”  The crowd is shouting at the top of their lungs, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna!”

What about you?  Are you in this crowd? 

Do YOU PROTEST Jesus?
There is another crowd we need to pay attention to.  I love that Luke puts these two verses into his detailed storyline, “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’ ‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’”  This is the last mention of the Pharisees in Luke’s account.  The Pharisees went out to meet Jesus because they understood why He was coming to town.  This Jesus was about to turn their entire lives completely upside down.  The Pharisees were comfortable and in control, or so they thought.  Luke records that some of the Pharisees were shouting out to Jesus.  Imagine how loud they must have been shouting to have their voices heard over the crowd.  This crowd of Pharisees wanted to silence the crowd and Jesus.  Imagine how they felt when Jesus responded that even if the crowd was silent, the very stones on the ground would cry out. (I’d like to be around for that!)

The voices of two contrasting crowds:  One crowd is wild with excitement, shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna” —“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” The other crowd is shouting “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Two crowds: One crowd praises Jesus while the other crowd protests Him.

We come to the final group:  the crowd who simply pass.  They do not care enough one way or the other.  Jesus?  Who?  Did what?  Yeah, I am really busy doing my own thing.  I am going to pass on that.   I’m taking a pass today. Maybe next time.

This the “So what?” for YOU today:  what crowd are YOU in?

·         Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PRAISE-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?

·         Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PROTEST-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?

·         Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PASS-on-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?

So What?

One day Mark Twain took his little daughter on his knee and told her all about the rulers and other prominent men whom he had met in his travels. She listened attentively. When he had finished, she said, “Daddy, you know everybody but God, don’t you?” Mark Twain was certainly an intelligent person. Yet he rejected God.1

Praise.  Protest.  Pass.  Our choice.  Today’s “So What?” comes down to a choice…made by me…made by you…to either PRAISE…PROTEST. …or PASS this JESUS OF NAZARETH.

PRAISE…PROTEST…or PASS.

When we were raising our kids, my wife and I lived on the parade route. If there was a parade, it was going to go right past our house! Anyone who knew us knew that they could find a spot on our lawn and sit and enjoy the parade.  They also knew they could use the restroom, and could count on brownies with powdered sugar on top and water or pop (yes, in Northern Illinois–soda is POP!) Guess what? Today I know of a house (point to your heart) that is on the PALM SUNDAY parade route! It’s your heart. It’s YOU! Jesus is riding down the road in front of YOUR heart today! ARE YOU PRAISING? I surely hope you are!

We ended our worship on Palm Sunday with Chris Tomlin’s “IS HE WORTHY?” I double dog dare you to listen to it and PRAISE JESUS.

Friday is here…but…SUNDAY’S COMING!

See you Easter Sunday — SPOILER ALERT:  the tomb is empty!!!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“For [God] has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’  So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?'” Hebrews 13:5–6 NRSV 

Dear Faithful – Fearless & Fruitful Seed Sowers,
Last week we began a SEED OF FAITH on Daniel in the Lion’s Den.  I encourage you to take a few minutes to read Daniel 6.  Daniel had faith to stand against those who accused him. Daniel had faith to transform his environment. Do you? Do I?

The GOD of the entire universe ….says to you and me,  “I will never leave you or forsake you. So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’”  This is the faith that Daniel had!

Do you have this kind of faith?
Do you believe that God is your helper?
Do you believe that no matter what comes your way, GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU or FORSAKE YOU?

In 1940 Vincent and Margaret Crossett were missionaries in Mainland China. They struggled against poverty and paganism in a remote village in order to tell others about Jesus. The work was very slow and difficult, but after much sacrifice a small church was established. The church was no larger than a small Bible study group. Right on the threshold of this small triumph for the kingdom of God, Satan began his work. The Communist takeover of China during the Cultural Revolution forced all missionaries to leave China. The Crossetts hated to leave. Their fledgling flock of believers hardly seemed ready to withstand the coming onslaught. An atheistic, dictatorial government dedicated to wiping out all Christian influence was beginning its rule with ruthless power. How could this little church survive? From the world’s perspective there was nothing anyone could do. The church seemed destined to die. But Vincent and Margaret did not see through the world’s eyes. They saw through the eyes of faith that their God was faithful to those who honor him. The Crossetts were like faithful family sedans. They continued to do their duty. Though the missionaries were chased out, their prayers were not. For nearly forty years the Crosetts daily kept their prayer window opened toward China. They dutifully prayed in faith that God would one day triumph over Communism. The Crosetts heard nothing of their Chinese friends for forty years, but still they faithfully prayed for God to be victorious in the church they left behind. Finally, the walls of China came down. As the political climate changed, the nation was opened to western visitors. The Crossetts returned to the village where they had left the tiny, struggling group of believers. There was no small church in the village anymore! Instead, from that Bible study had grown a church of four thousand people! This body of believers had planted dozens of other churches as well, each with a membership of at least a thousand. All the Crossetts did was pray with their prayer window open to the focus of their prayer—China. The God of Daniel is alive and well.[i]

Romans 8:28, do you know it? “AND WE KNOW THAT GOD WORKS ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE GOD!”
The Crossetts knew their God and they prayed in faith for the little church they left behind in China.

SO WHAT?
When Daniel was threatened with his life to conform to the new edict, he got down on his knees and prayed.  He asked God to help him like God had helped him all his life. Daniel had faith that his God could do immeasurably more than he could ask or imagine. Daniel knew that God was with him. Immanuel: GOD With ME.

In 2013 I came down with an infection of some kind in my body. It started in my left leg and spread to my right leg.  This infection manifested itself in painful blisters and oozing sores. It wasn’t just one or two of these sores but patches of skin, 8 inches long by 4 inches wide. Pretty soon the infection spread to  my chest and back.  I was sent to 14 different doctors. This infection stayed with me for 4 years. It went to the inside of my body and the outside of my body. None of the doctors knew what was wrong with me. My wife had gone to see a doctor in 2001. She had dropped a heavy piece of furniture on her toe and Dr. Zimmerman had helped her. We were grasping at straws at this point, and I was in horrible pain, sleeping in the recliner.  Jac (my wife) kept asking me to go see Dr.  Zimmerman. Out of desperation, I agreed. Dr. Z started treating me.  His words, “This infection is trying to kill you.  I will not send you to the hospital because I fear you would die of MRSA or staph in there.” He was afraid with all of the open, oozing sores, I’d get something worse than what I already had. Dr. Z gave me topical relief but the rash continued to progress. My wife began to have involuntary muscle twitches. She had suffered from mercury poisoning in 2005 and when she went to her doctor, her doctor retested her heavy metals levels. The doctor thought her mercury levels were back up. The test revealed severe lead poisoning. We have a seriously smart doctor, and she called me in and tested me for my heavy metal levels. Both Jac and I were living in a home that was putting out 6 times the limit of lead particles. I had ten times the lethal limit of lead in my body, Jac had 12! No wonder we were so sick. During all of these years of battling the infection, I had learned to be a man of prayer.  Good thing, because chelation is hard on a body! From September of 2017 to the summer of 2019, I did 3 chelations.  I am down to two times the lethal limit. Chelation is no fun. The doctor says I have one chelation left before I read the lethal  limit.

Here’s why I’m telling you this story. Between the past 7 years of oozing sores and chelations, I have learned to become a man of constant prayer.  I have learned to pray, “GOD WITH ME.” My faith in God has grown stronger day by day. God has shut the mouths of the lions I’ve been facing. God will do the same for you.

Daniel did not conform to the pressures of his world. He did not conform to the pressures of the King or of his “friends” and co-workers. Instead of conforming, Daniel transformed. He transformed his corner of the world.  When Daniel came out of the lions’ den after spending a night with the lions. he was untouched.  The King was elated and passed an edit that all people should worship the God of Daniel.  I love the wording of King Darrius law … Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: “May you prosper greatly! “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian

If you are taking notes, here you go. Here are 5 points from King Darius worth remembering:

1.  THE LIVING GOD ENDURES FOREVER — GOD WITH US

2.  GOD’S KINGDOM WILL NOT BE DESTROYED — GOD WITH US

3.  GOD’S DOMINION WILL NEVER END — GOD WITH US

4.  GOD RESCUES AND SAVES —- GOD WITH US

5. GOD PERFORMS SIGNS AND WONDERS IN THE HEAVENS AND ON THE EARTH — GOD WITH US.

NO MATTER WHAT:
KEEP YOUR FAITH IN GOD: There’s a fourth man in the fire with you.
KEEP YOUR FAITH IN GOD: There’s an angel who will SHUT THE MOUTHS OF THE LIONS IN YOUR DEN.

In the face of this year long epidemic, keep your faith. Our God is with us. Your God is with you. Say it with me and make it personal: GOD WITH ME.

When times are hard this week, say it out loud, “GOD WITH ME.” Think about Daniel.  Think about being thrown into the lions’ den for no good reason at all—except that your coworkers are jealous and envious of you. I always tell you to put yourself into the story.  Well.  DO!

Here you are—they’ve thrown you into the pit. They’ve sealed the pit so you can’t escape.  YOU ARE THERE, IN THE PIT, ALONE.  I’m guessing it’s dark–because lions like to hunt at night! I’m also guessing Daniel prayed. An angel came and shut the lions’ mouths. And after that long, long night—Daniel was rescued by the KING…and, don’t miss this, the scripture says,  “So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian..”

Did you hear that? So Daniel prospered.

Tell yourself this story this week…over and over again…until you believe it. And, by the way, you are NOT ALONE in that lions’ den…not at all. That fourth man in the fire? He’s WITH YOU.

GOD WITH US.  GOD WITH ME.  

There isn’t a dream team on earth who can team up against you to defy God’s will and plan for your life. DO YOU BELIEVE IT?

Despite this pandemic and whatever else you are facing, I want you to stand on this promise: So Daniel prospered. That’s my prayer for you! Jac’s “Daddy-oh” has been with us for 400 days now. He has Alzheimer’s and emphysema and a severe case of sundowners. Dad is up all night making many trips around the house and the bathroom. The doctors have said, “It is time. He needs 24/7 supervision.” Because of covid, we can’t hire night-time help. We will be placing Dad into a nearby memory care home this coming week. It is time for Jac and me to have a living faith for Dad; a faith that says, “God’s will for Dad is for him to prosper in this next move.” Immanuel. God with us. God with me. I’m praying for you.  Will you pray for us?

See You Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18

Dear Faithful, fearless & fruitful Seed sowers,

“God With Us” is the series that we are working through at The Seed Christian Fellowship of Rancho Cucamongam California! It is my prayer that as we look at the big stories of the Bible we see how God was with all the people and that God is with us, too.  In last week’s Seed of faith we laid a foundation of Daniel 3 and the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

In this story you can find at least three different groups of people. The conformer, those who bow down and worship the golden statue.  Then there are the informers, those who are jealous of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego because they will not bow down. This group goes and tells.  And you have the last group, the reformers. The reformers are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They did not bow down. This is how it is recorded in Daniel 3:12 — “But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

The convictions, the beliefs and the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego provided their enemy (and  coworkers) with an opportunity to accuse the four men of sedition, disloyalty, subversion and treason. The informers go to work doing what informers do:  they phrase their remarks in such a manner as to work King Nebuchadnezzar into the greatest possible rage and agitation. “Furious with rage” is what we are told.  Nebuchadnezzar brought the three young men before him and probed them for a confession. “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?” Daniel 3:14

No reply is recorded, but there must have been one. They must have told the king that what he had been told about them was correct.

Nebuchadnezzar offered to give them another chance.

Here in this story lies a problem that confronts every follower of the One True God: when the requirements of serving God come into conflict with the demands of a secular world—to whom do you bow down to?

Are you in this story, yet? Put yourself in Babylon, standing in front of the King. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do not go to seek more time or to get a professional lawyer’s advice. These young men did not rationalize their options.  They did not try to justify their actions.  They did not go and discuss their decision with others. They did not stop to consider the arguments of others. They simply remained faithful to their one, true God.

What is the king’s reply?  “But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Daniel 3:15

These words written in Daniel 3:16-18 are some of the most memorable verses in the Old Testament.  “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’” Daniel 3:16-18

What in the world? Are you with me? Are you right here in this story? You are standing before the pagan King Nebuchadnezzar with your BFF’s. Here’s a great idea to ponder: What gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the conviction and the faith they needed to remain loyal to? Here’s my answer.  I believe that they knew that the God whom they worshiped and served was sovereign.  They knew their Scriptures and they were not going to worship any false idols.  They were willing to die for their faith.  These three were faithful!

When we read the rest of the story, Nebuchadnezzar is furious with rage; he has his soldiers light the fire in the furnace seven times hotter! Then orders the three men — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego– to be thrown into the fiery furnace.  The furnace is so hot that the soldiers who bound the 3 men together and threw them into the furnace are killed by the intensity and searing heat of the fire. Are you in this story? This is one red, hot fire.

What happens next is miraculous! In the middle of the fiery furnace Nebuchadnezzar sees not three men, but four. He knows he threw three men into the furnace but now—he sees four in furnace.

Who is the fourth man?

Is this the pre-incarnate Christ?  Is this “GOD WITH US”?

Nebuchadnezzar is astonished and calls for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come out of the fiery furnace.  They come out unharmed, no smell of smoke or fire and not a hair is singed.  ARE YOU STILL WITH ME IN THIS STORY ?

These three were fearless and faithful and because they were fearless and faithful, they were fruitful.

Nebuchadnezzar now expresses a profound truth by saying — “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” Daniel 3:28

This past week I celebrated my 23^rd year of ordained ministry. I have served four churches during those 23 years. I have faced elder boards and church kings and queens who would have preferred I had a softer world view of loving Jesus. If only I’d bow just a little bit, I would fit in better with the people and my approval ratings could soar. There was only one problem here for me: I gave up everything in order to follow Jesus. Conform. Inform. Reform. Transform. What would I choose?

What will you choose? Who will you choose when it’s your turn in the fire?

I want to be able to say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

That’s my prayer for each one of us. I want you to be faithful. I want you to know that no matter what fiery furnace you face being thrown into, there’s a fourth man in the fire! His name is Jesus Christ. He is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. He’s beaten that fiery furnace. He has also defeated hell, death and the grave.  He rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of GOD ALMIGHTY. And it is Jesus who will help you to become faithful, fearless, and fruitful.

A long time ago, and I mean a long time ago, it was so long ago that it was during the days I had turned my back on Jesus. I was rambunctious. And I became a part of plan to tell a small fib to the police.  Do you hear me? It was innocent enough. I was at home with my wife but my friend had outrun the police for speeding and somehow ended up at my house. If my friend confessed, he would lose his license. I did what any friend would do. I went to the police station and said it was me. I thought they’d give me the ticket and let me go. Nope. They threw the book at me: evading the police, disturbing the peace and finally lying to the police. Let me tell  you something, my wife was furious with me. She went down to bail me out, and the police interrogated her in a separate room and she sang like a bird! You see, Jac told the truth. She wasn’t going to lie for me. She told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Fortunately for me, they let me go.  The next morning at 6 a.m. the phone rang. It was my Nana. Jac answered the phone and Nana said, “Put David on the phone.” Nana loved Jesus. Nana had raised me. I explained what had happened. (Nana had heard the morning police report!) I will never forget what she told me, “David, all you have is your name. Do not bow to this world. Under zero circumstances, do not bow to this world.” She hung up on me. Listen, I didn’t know it at the time but I know it now. Jesus was the fourth man in that fire. I began to live for Christ again and I’ve not ever bowed to any other God. There isn’t a church that can make me retract my love for God. There’s not an elder board that make me go backwards with fear instead of forward in faith. Like Martin Luther, “Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me.”

Are you in the fire today? Look around. There’s a champion in there with you. The Lord Jesus Christ is a firefighter like no other. It may get hot but not a hair on you will be singed. Keep your eyes on the one, true God.

I’m praying for you!

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I! 
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fruitful Seed Sowers,

This is my prayer for you as we travel through some of the big, bible stories together. I pray you remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray the Holy Spirit emboldens you to remain fearless and I pray that you plant all the seeds you can and that those seeds grow each season.

Do you believe these three words: GOD WITH US? or even GOD WITH ME?

How do these three words affect your life? How could these three words affect your life? 

Over the next few weeks, we will spend time together in the Old Testament book of Daniel.  Today we jump into the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and then we find our ourselves in the lion’s den with Daniel.
Get ready! This is going to be a great series to put yourself into the story! Maybe you already feel like you’re there, living the story! Maybe it feels like you have been in a fiery furnace this past year or maybe you’ve found yourself in the lion’s den with this worldwide pandemic.

The GOOD NEWS is found in these three, small, but mighty, words:

GOD WITH US.

GOD WITH ME.

Let’s set the stage for the next two weeks as we study Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel:

Babylon is the ruling power in the days of Daniel.  Nebuchadnezzar is the King of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar has already attacked the southern kingdom of Judah three times, beginning in 605 B.C. The second invasion occurred in 597 B.C. when Jehoiakim, son of the king of Judah mentioned in Daniel 1:1–2, was compelled to surrender Jerusalem and go into captivity with many of the Jewish leaders, including the royal family, the commanders of the army, craftsmen, and some of the priests like Ezekiel. The third invasion is the one I remember the most. It took place in 586B.C. when Jerusalem was completely destroyed, and the people of the land were deported to Babylon. A side note of interest is that the prophet Jeremiah was in Jerusalem at the time of this final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

Daniel and his three friends were taken in the first deportation of the people of Judah under King Jehoiakim.  All four of these young men came from noble or royal descent and were teenagers when taken into captivity. All four had been given Jewish names that reflected their families’ faith and their God: Daniel and Mishael both end in “el’ which is the plural for “Elohim.” Daniel means — “God is my Judge,” Mishael means, “Who is like God?” The names of the other two, Hananiah and Azariah, both contain a shortened form of the name Jehovah. Hananiah means “Jehovah is Gracious” while Azariah means “Jehovah is my Helper”. The very names of these men were reminders of their heritage and a challenge for them to remain faithful to the Lord. But now, they were deported into a strange, pagan land, and their names were changed. Add insult to injury because their new names contain a reference to one of the false gods of the ancient Babylonians:  Marduk, Aku and Nego. Daniel wan renamed Belteshazzar, which means “Guard my life,”  it was a prayer to Marduk, one of the Babylonian pagan gods.  By changing their Jewish names to Babylonian names, this was a way of saying that these four, young men who had been servants of the Jewish God, were now servants and worshipers of the gods of the pagan pantheon. How would you like to be renamed by a pagan system, after a false god?

I want to emphasize something here, and it’s a good “SO WHAT?” for us. The change of their names accomplished nothing.
You see, King Nebuchadnezzar had changed the men’s names, but he could not change their hearts. What does this mean for you and me? No matter we are going through, no matter how tough life is–no one can change your heart without your permission. Remember this.

The four men remained faithful to the true God of Israel.

Will we be faithful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? When life gets burning hot, will I remain faithful? (Write that down.  Think about that!)

As we begin this story, I want you to place yourself into what’s going on. We’re not in Kansas anymore. We’re in Babylon. Nothing is the same, nothing is familiar anymore; they have even changed our names to honor their gods. 

Can you relate? A year ago, things were pretty normal but not for long. Covid 19 hit us and so did masks, gloves and the rush on paper products! Life has not been normal. Life has been anything but normal this past year. And, yet, can we be more like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Can we remain faithful to God? 

GOD WITH US!

GOD WITH ME.

When Daniel and his three friends were taken captive to a foreign land and given different names did God make a mistake?  Did God forsake them?  As we are all faced with a world-wide pandemic, does God not know what is happening?  Has God forgotten us?

Has your faith begun to fail?  Go ahead and read this story. Put yourself right there into Babylon. And answer this question:

To whom or to what do I bow?

As you read, remember this:  These young men did not sit down and rationalize our their options.  They did not justify their actions.  They did not go and discuss their decision with others. They did not stop to consider the arguments of others. These young men simply remained faithful to their one, true God.

So What?
I am reminded of the great theologian and church reformer, Martin Luther, when he was on trial at the Diet of Worms. Luther was told by his authorities to recant his convictions, and to recant the 95 questions on the door of the Wittenberg Castle. Listen to Luther’s reply as his very life was at stake: “Here I stand.  I can do no other. May God help me.”

I have a long homework project for you to do this week. Read the following question. Pray about it. Think about it. You can even discuss it with people you love. Here’s the question:

What are my convictions? (Conviction: a firmly held belief or opinion.)

And now a final “So What?” homework question: which of the above convictions are worth the fiery furnace to you?

“HERE I STAND. I CAN DO NO OTHER. May God be with me.” Isn’t it just another way of saying, “GOD WITH US” or “GOD WITH ME”? 

As I close, the past few weeks have been pretty intense for my wife and I. Caring for Dad in our home has many challenges. Remember the recent MOHS surgery I had on my nose and shoulder? I’m sensitive to the stitches, the gauze, the tape that were used. I have four, dissolvable stitches in my shoulder and it’s going to take 3-4 months for them to dissolve. My entire left side of my shoulder is aflame. I’ve not been taken into captivity by any means but let’s just say, “I get Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And, I’m not bowing down to anything or anyone except the one, true God.” 

Are you there? Are you with me? 

Next week we conclude the fiery furnace and move into the lions’ den. Oh, man! I can hardly wait!

Spoiler alert for next week: there’s a fourth man in the fire and there’s another in your fiery furnace, too.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I! 

Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Join us for worship on Sunday at 10am Pacific.  The link for the live interactive worship is:

theseedchristianfellowship.online.church

if you miss the 10am worship on Sunday you can always go to our YouTube channel and watch the complete worship service or just the children’s message for your children or the weekly sermon.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

Dear Faithful and Fruitful Seed-Sowers,

It is my prayer that each and every one of us are walking with Jesus and that we are surrounded by His powerful presence, perfect peace and rescued by His precious grace.

Our “SO WHAT?” questions from last week were:

What is the most important thing you have or own? (Pause. List a few.)
What is the most important thing you know?
What is the one thing you want to pass on to your family and friends?

Before we go to God’s living words of life, let us come to our Living Lord in a moment of prayer.  “Lord, God of all hope and healing, we come today to be touched and renewed, restored and resurrected by Your Living Word.  Come, Holy Spirit, speak to us. Cleanse us of our wrong thinking and guide us in Your ways. Amen.”

Take a moment and read I Corinthians 15:1-11.

The Apostle Paul lays claim to the power and hope of the resurrection right here. But, first, we need to take a moment to reflect upon who Paul is and how he came to this knowledge.

POINT 1: Paul the Persecutor
Paul was a Jew who grew up and sat at the feet of Gamaliel, the greatest Pharisee and teacher of the law.  Paul learned the law and lived the law.  Paul became an aggressive persecutor of the newly formed Christian Church. In chapter seven of the Book of Acts, we find Paul holding the cloaks of those stoning Stephen, the first martyr for Christ and of the church.   By chapter nine of Acts, Paul goes to the High Priest to receive papers to go to Damascus to find the followers of the Way, the followers of Christ.  Paul had been imprisoning them and had these Christians beaten and put to death. The Bible tells us that Paul was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” (Acts 9:1)

Take in this picture of Paul. A man highly educated, passionate about God and filled with fire for keeping the law of God. Are you in this story today?

Have you ever been lost? 
Have you ever felt as if you had gone too far to return to God?
Have you ever looked down on someone and judged them beyond hope?
Maybe you think you are beyond hope?

If so, then this story of Paul’s conversion and encounter with grace is for you!

In the eighteenth century, there were two young men in England whose names were Lord Lyttleton and Gilbert West. They were unbelievers. In fact, they were strong in their unbelief. They were also both lawyers, with keen minds, and they thought they had good reasons for rejecting Christianity. One day in a conversation one of them said, “Christianity stands upon a very unstable foundation. There are only two things that actually support it: the alleged resurrection of Jesus Christ and the alleged conversion of Saul of Tarsus. If we can disprove those stories, which should be rather easy to do, Christianity will collapse like a house of cards.” Gilbert West said, “All right, then. I’ll write a book on the alleged resurrection of Jesus Christ and disprove it.” Lord Lyttleton said, “If you write a book on the resurrection, I’ll write on the alleged appearance of Jesus to the apostle Paul. You show why Jesus could not possibly have been raised from the dead, and I’ll show that the apostle Paul could not have been converted as the Bible says he was—by a voice from heaven on the road to Damascus.” Each went off to write their book. Sometime later they met again, and one of them said to the other, “I’m afraid I have a confession to make. I have been looking into the evidence for this story, and I have begun to think that maybe there is something to it after all.” The other said, “The same thing has happened to me. But let us keep on investigating these stories and see where we come out.”

In the end, after they had done their investigations and had written their books, each had come out on exactly the opposite side he had been on when he began his investigation. Gilbert West had written The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, arguing that it is a fact of history. And Lord Lyttleton had written The Conversion of St. Paul.^[i]

By treating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the conversion of the apostle Paul as the two great pillars of Christianity, these men were saying that if the apostle Paul was not converted as the ninth chapter of Acts says he was, and as he himself declares in his own recorded testimonies both before the Jews and the Gentiles, then Christianity loses one of its two most important bulwarks. Moreover, it loses its most able theologians.

Point 2: Paul the Proclaimer of GRACE
Listen to Herschel H. Hobbs’ (author and theologian) thoughts on law and grace:

I read an illustration about a man who is standing at a fork in the road trying to decide which way to go. One road has a sign which says “law.” The other has a sign reading “grace.” If he chooses to travel the law road, he falls away from the grace road. It is not a matter of being in grace and falling out of it. It is a matter of never having been in grace. One cannot travel both roads. For law and grace negate each other. If it is by works, it cannot be by grace, grace is a gift. If it is by grace, then it cannot be by law. Christ is in the grace road. So, if you travel the law road, you are cut off from Him and His saving power. To depend upon legalism in any form or degree for salvation is to turn your back upon Christ.[ii]

Paul stood on the fork in that road. He had to choose between law and grace.  I believe that we all come to this fork in the road many times in our lives. Maybe you are at one today.

I love how Paul puts it in this letter to Corinthians … Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 1 Corinthians 15:8-11

“But by the grace of God I am what I am.”  What a powerful statement.

Paul was transformed from a powerful persecutor of the church into a passionate preacher proclaiming Christ and Him crucified, dead, buried and risen! Paul was presented Grace Road and he left the fork in the road that day.

Paul told the church in Colossae these words … “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” Colossians 1:2-5

I know many people who quote only part of this famous saying.  Many say, “I am what I am.” But we need to include the last part of this verse: by the grace of God.

Paul’s life was forever changed and transformed by God’s grace.  Pick up your Bible and you will read how Paul begins most of his letters to the churches with “grace” and he ends most of his writings with words of “grace.” Paul had been trained for years in the law. He stood at the fork in the road for an exceptionally long time. Friends, it is only the grace of God that can change us from being a sinner to saint, from a persecutor to a proclaimer. GRACE: God RICHES At Christ’s Expense—a free gift for all. We cannot buy this precious, priceless commodity. Grace is God’s free gift.

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eightfold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law—each offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.[iii]

The Gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection de-centers unbelievers from the center of their own life.  That is what it did for Paul.  Paul stood at the intersection of Law and Grace and recognized his unworthiness. Paul recognized a truth I want us all to remember “I AM WHAT I AM BY THE GRACE OF GOD.”

Where would you be today without God’s grace?

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

So What?
Brennan Manning has been one of my favorite authors.  I was able to go and hear him speak in person on many occasions.  I have read and reread his books.  They have ministered to me in many ways throughout my years of ministry and my years of being rescued from myself. I stood at the intersection of law and grace often. Manning has written: “The Ragamuffin Gospel, Ruthless Trust, Abba’s Child, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus.”  Get ready for the title of his last book: “All is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir.” Manning was a recovering alcoholic.  Brennan died of wet brain syndrome, Weirnecke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS).  Brennan struggled with alcoholism. Listen to some of his last words:

“Do you believe that the God of Jesus loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity—that he loves you in the morning sun and in the evening rain—that he loves you when your intellect denies it, your emotions refuse it, your whole being rejects it. Do you believe that God loves YOU without condition or reservation and loves you this moment as you are and not as you should be?”[iv]

Many of you know that the past few years have been difficult for my wife and I. We have lived through the sorrow and grief of the deaths of four family members and a very close friend who was like family.  I went back to Illinois this past month to help clean out some of the personal items in my dad’s home where he and my mom lived for many years. My mom died in this home. I was with her. This is the same home where my dad and stepmom lived for another 20 years. In mid-May Jodi, Juliet, Brian, and I traveled to the house (from Texas and California) in order to pick up boxes that my stepmom had set aside for the Peters family. We moved the boxes to a storage building in Rochelle. Jac and I planned a cross-country trip for July in order for me to go through those boxes. A few weeks later, I bought a few additional items from the estate sale and had a good set of friends deliver those items to the storage shed.

As Jac and I stood in that old storage building in Rochelle the last week of June, it hit me. I was standing at the intersection of law and grace like my brother, Paul. I actually heard a soft, still voice within my heart, soul, spirit, mind say, “Dave, I want to tell you why this has intruded into your life. I know how busy you are, but you have a platform to proclaim my grace to many. Here is what I want you to know: Unlike you, I go to an awful lot of estate sales every single day. You went to your first estate sale and brought a few family heirlooms back home. Dave, I go to every estate sale I know of and I go every single day. You know what I do? I buy my people back. It’s okay. You are at the same intersection Persecutor Paul found himself at so very long ago: Law or Grace? Paul was blinded. He was guided to town and laid in a bed for days. Paul had plenty of time to pray and to think. So have you. I will imprint on your heart what I imprinted on Paul’s: Forget what lies behind. Focus on what lies ahead. CHOOSE GRACE EVERY TIME.”

Grace.  We cannot earn it. We  cannot buy it.
Grace is a free, priceless gift of God offered to us through the life, death, and resurrection of His one and only Son—Jesus Christ.

A long time ago our blue van housed a bumper sticker on the back end:  HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN? TURN RIGHT. GO STRAIGHT. We drove that van for 350,000 miles. It went to the ballpark several nights a week. One day my wife was working at the concession. A little boy ran up to her and said, “Hey! I turned right and I’m going straight to heaven!” It was good advice for him. It’s good advice for you and me.

Paul had a history. He turned RIGHT and went STRAIGHT. Thank God.

You and me? Same choice. I don’t know about you but I’m turning right and going straight….by the GRACE OF GOD…I AM WHAT I AM.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Join us for worship on Sunday mornings at 9am Pacific at 9284 Baseline Road Rancho Cucamonga, California.  If you are not able to join us in person you are invited to watch out live-stream and connect with us through your chats, prayers and worship.  You can always go to our YouTube channel and wrtch the weekly worship service, children’s messages and sermons.  The YouTube channel is The Seed Christian Fellowship.

[i] My version, an old one, has West’s and Lyttleton’s books bound together: Lord Lyttleton on the Conversion of St. Paul and Gilbert West on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (New York: The American Tract Society, 1929). In some editions the flyleaf contains the words: “Blame not until thou hast examined the truth.” The story of these two men is told in R. A. Torrey, The Bible, and Its Christ (New York: Revell, 1904–1906), 98–100.

[ii] Hobbs, H. H. (1990). My favorite illustrations (p. 132). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

[iii] Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing about Grace?, Zondervan, 1997

[iv] Brennan Manning, All is Grace, 2011, David C Cook

“Now, brethren, I want to remind you of the Gospel i preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” I Corinthians 15:1-4

Dear Faithful Seed-Sowers,

Today is the day before 9-11; the 20th anniversary. It is my prayer that you all are well and healthy today and are walking with the Lord. Let us continue in prayer for our nation, our world, and for one another.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about the church over the past year.  Not just The Seed Christian Fellowship, I have been thinking about the church universal. I do not want to bore you with statistic and numbers but my first degree from college was in Business and Accounting. I love to work with numbers.  The funny thing is that God called me out of counting financial reports and called me to counting sheep. A glorious by-product of this new style of counting is that I no longer count sins, forgiving and forgetting sins instead of logging all the hurts and betrayals of sins on my ledger sheet. I don’t know if God has called you to this new style of counting but, for sure, it is my new way of living.

The other day I was reading and article on numbers about the church and church membership in America. A recent Gallup poll shows that church membership in America has dropped to below 50% for the first time in eight decades — that is 80 years if you are counting. Today church membership in local congregations stands at 47% when in 1999 (22 years ago) church membership was around 70%.  Gallup’s reports says that “The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preferences.”  You know those forms at hospitals and other places where you fill them out and you can put your religious preference on them? The box for religious preference is now being marked  “NONE.”  The NONEs have it! (or do they?)

George Barna is a Christian researcher.  His organization did some research on the meaning of Easter.  Here are some of the things that they found. Within the religious definitions offered by Americans, there is a certain degree of confusion: 2% of Americans said that Easter is about the “birth of Christ”; another 2% indicated it was about the “rebirth of Jesus”; and 1% said it is a celebration of “the second coming of Jesus.” Not included in the theistic category was another 3% who described Easter as a celebration of spring or a pagan holiday.  On the non-religious side, 13% of respondents said they were not sure how to describe Easter. Another 8% of Americans said the holiday means nothing to them or that they do not celebrate the occasion. Other non-religious descriptions of Easter included: getting friends and family together (4%), spring break (3%), a symbol of new beginnings, rebirth, and renewal (2%), a time to dye and hide eggs (2%), an event for children to have fun (2%), the Easter bunny (1%), an occasion that is too commercialized (1%), and an opportunity to enjoy food and candy (1%).

What I find most interesting is how unchurched people view Easter. In terms of the audience that most Christian churches attempt to attract every Easter weekend – non-churchgoing adults – the research shows that only 25% of the people connect the EASTER holiday to Jesus’ resurrection! Church, we need to do a better job of proclaiming EASTER! Like the verse above says, I tell you what is most important: Jesus died. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose from the dead.

It can’t be said much easier. The GOSPEL is this: Jesus died for our sins. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose from the dead.

Resurrection Reminder
“Now, brethren, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.” I Corinthians 15:1

Paul wants to encourage the church (we are the church now) to remember!

Remember the Gospel!

The Greek word for Gospel is “εὐαγγέλιον euaggelion” which means “Good News” and it is the word from which we get the word “evangelism.”

So What is the “Good News” to you? What is it that you will take a stand on?

What do you believe and what is it that you are willing to hold onto no matter what?

When Billy Graham was preaching in Germany one day, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer invited him to his office: Coffee was served, but before Billy’s first sip, Chancellor Konard started in: “Young man, do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?” “I most certainly do,” Billy replied. “So do I, Chancellor Konard said. If Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead, there is not one glimmer of hope for the human race. When I leave office, I am going to spend the rest of my life studying and writing about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s the most important event in human history.” [i]

In the words of Jaroslav Pelikan, an American scholar, “If Christ is risen—then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—then nothing else matters.”[ii]

Timothy Keller, a pastor, wrote, “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said?[iii]

Paul wanted the early church to take a stand and remember the Good News! In Paul’s day being a Christian was more than intellectual assent to a group of doctrines. The social price that followers of Christ paid forced them to take a stand in a hostile world. I think we can learn a little from Paul as we go through this worldwide pandemic called COVID-19. With all the news we are bombarded with 24 hours a day: what is the Good News?  What can you and I stand on?

Listen to Paul: We stand on the hope and power of the resurrection.

My favorite comes from Paul’s letter to Romans — …if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)

With all that the world is going through, we are living in a time when we need to stop and remember what our north star is, what is our center point of our faith.

Here’s your homework: What (or who) is my north star?  What (or who) is the center point of my faith?

So What?
John Stott, a wonderful pastor and teacher, wrote these words about the resurrection of Christ: “The Resurrection somehow resonates with our human condition. It speaks to our needs as I reckon no other event of antiquity does, or even could.”

In other words, it is not up to us to make the resurrection relevant; it already is relevant without us. We just need to proclaim it and apply it with joy and confidence. Christ’s resurrection from the dead is not just an idea, a concept, or a doctrine—although it is truly a breathtaking and revolutionary doctrine! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the power that will usher broken fragile humanity into Christ’s “newness of life”.

I love that Matthew ends his gospel with Christ ascending from the mountain, saying, “I’ll be with you til the very end of the age.”

Where are you in this story? Paul is writing a letter to his friends and family in the church in Corinth. Evil abounds everywhere they go. The world is calling out to them every day. Can you relate? I can.

Imagine receiving an email or a text from Paul right now: I Corinthians 15:1-11 — Put your name in the Bible. Put your name in all the blank lines below.  Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and put your name in the story.

Now,  YOUR NAME _________, I want to remind you _____ of the gospel I preached to you _______ , which you ______  received and on which you ______ have taken your _____ stand. By this gospel you ______ are saved, if you ______ hold firmly to the word I preached to you ________.  Otherwise, you _______ have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you _________  as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 

Every day I get to go spend time with my father-in-law whom I call dad.  He is 89 and slowly fading away.  Every day he says to my wife and I, “I haven’t seen my wife in a long time. She must be dead. I just can’t believe that she’s gone.”  His wife of 71 years is gone but every time we talk about Mom’s death, I get the blessed opportunity to talk to dad about heaven, about the hope and power of the resurrection and the forgiveness of our sins that comes with faith in Jesus.  He has learned to love to hear about forgiveness. He has the hope of the resurrection within his heart and mind and he is not afraid of dying like he was.  The resurrection has put the living face and name of Jesus Christ into his heart. Dad knows that some day he will die and that he will be able to live forever without any more pain, suffering or tears.

Here is you final “so what?” You are on a deserted island…the world is on one side…calling your name…offering you trinkets of fame, gold, fortune…on the other side stands the risen Jesus Christ…calling your name…offering you His legacy of grace, forgiveness, mercy, joy and love. Do you know what side you are standing on?

My wife and I talk every morning. We read our devotionals and discuss the high points. This morning I asked how she was doing. “I’m sad. They lost my Covid test and I can’t go see Dad until I redo another test, which means 3 more days and it’s already been 2.” Fortunately, they didn’t lose my test and I am able to go visit Dad. (The care home is now requiring two tests a week from non-vaccinated people. We cannot get the vaccine at this time due to health issues and we are happy to test–despite the great inconvenience. The end goal is our ability to see Dad.) Jac told me about an article she had read about a red cord and she said, “It reminded me of how Rahab hung a scarlet cord in her window after hiding the spies in enemy territory. They promised that if she hung the red cord in her window, they would find her and rescue her. That’s how I’m feeling. This is really hard–what I’m doing with Dad and with covid but I hear, ‘I see you. I see your red cord in the window. I will rescue you. Wait.'” I’ve thought about how her thoughts apply to us all. There’s no magic-8 ball with all of the answers–at least there’s no human, magic-8 ball. We have the Bible (basic instructions before leaving earth) and we have the hope of the risen Jesus Christ. He sees your red cord in the window of your heart. Wait. He’s coming back.

Long ago, I counted financial reports and profits and loss and numbers. It took a whole new call for this former accountant to learn how to count on Christ–who is actually counting on me. Together, Jesus and I are an overwhelming majority. This coming week, I will fly home to be a Spiritual Director on a men’s grace weekend. I leave you with one, last thought and prayer:  the world or Jesus…what side are you standing on?

Paul says, “I give to you the 3 most important things I know: Christ died for your sins. Christ was buried. Christ rose from the dead.”

Sometimes the GOSPEL is that easy. You only have to know how to count to three.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www,theseedchristianfellowship.com

Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fantastic Seed-Sowers,

Grace and peace to you all.  I pray that the Lord watches over you and keeps you from all harm.  We have so much to be praying for in our families, schools, churches,nation, and world.  Praying for all those who are struggling with Covid-19.  Praying for those who have lost loved-ones.  Praying for firefighters, police-officers, all medical teams, and all of our military personnel who stand in the gap and defend our lives and our freedom.

Open your bible to John 2:1-11.  This is one of those famous stories of Jesus’ life and His miracles. This is the first miracle that Jesus performs. We could spend a lot of time looking at the miracle and what it means in light of Jesus.  Have you ever stopped to think about those servants at the wedding?  They get advice from Jesus’ mom.  Do you notice that they didn’t ask for it but they got it anyway? And I am so glad they did. Because it really is the best advice any mother ever gave.

In the NASB translation it is seven little words, “WHATEVER HE SAYS TO YOU DO IT!”  In our reading today from the NIV, it is five words, “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”  In the original Greek it is six words and when translated literally, it is “WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”

I would like to take a few moments and take a look at these words, the best advice any mother could give:
“Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you.”

WHATEVER
Think of the word “whatever.” I know many have used that as a slang when asked to do something … whatever and shrug their shoulders and walk away.  Mary tells the servants “WHATEVER” Jesus tells you to do — do it!
Have you ever thought of the scope, the scale, the possibilities, the potentials, the prospect, the options, and opportunities of “WHATEVER”?

In the Greek,  “whatever” is actually three words translated into one word.  It is a relative pronoun that means, “anyone, anything, who, what, whoever, whichever, and whatever.”  This is an all-inclusive word that says — “whatever, whenever, whoever, anyone or anything.”

This is the same word used when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in the middle of the night in John 3. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16  Same word Jesus spoke to the woman at the well in John 4 — “but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  John 4:14

Maybe a good “so what?” for us right now is “WHATEVER” –whatever is Jesus asking you to do? I mean it, stop and ask yourself this important question.

Did you notice that the servants did exactly what Mary told them to do?  They did not hesitate, or make excuses, or look for someone else to do the work.  They did not ask why me? They did not say you sound like a crazy mom.

We need to remember that there have been no miracles done by Jesus yet.  The blind have not been given their sight back. The lame and paralyzed have not been healed. The lepers have not been made clean. There has been no multiplication of fish and bread to feed thousands. No walking on water and no storms stilled.  No demon possession and deliverance. These people have not seen any resurrections from the dead.

But here we are at a family wedding celebration.

And mama says, “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO.”

These humble servants were asked to simply obey. But what a strange request. There is no wine but go and fill these 6 stone water jars that hold twenty to thirty gallons up to the brim with water.  Do you know that one gallon of water is 8.34 pounds?  Let us do a little math: 20 gallons of water would weigh 166.8 lbs. — roughly 167 pounds.  If they were 30 gallons, they would have weighed 250lbs. that means they were asked to carry up to 1500 lbs. of water?  Can you imagine what these servants were being asked to do? Enter the story.  Jesus has just asked YOU to go carry 1,500 pounds of not wine but water!

This is not the first time God had given unusual instructions.

Go back to Moses who tells the people to put the blood of a Lamb over your doorway. Naaman, was told by Elisha to go dip 7 times in the Jordan. Joshua told the Priests to take up the ark of the covenant and step into the Jordan at flood stage. Joshua was instructed to march around the walls of Jericho for six days without shouting or making a sound. Then on the seventh day walk around the city seven times and on the last time around– shout and blow the trumpets. Rahab was asked to hang a scarlet rope out of her window so that she and her household would be saved.

To be honest with you, none of those things would have made sense to anyone. Truly it is the same way today. We are called to obey whatever Jesus tells us, no matter how unusual it seems.

HE TELLS
DO WHATEVER “He tells” is one of the verbs in this sentence. Of course, it is a present active verb, meaning that that action is continuous and never ending.

Jesus has not stopped speaking. Have we stopped listening?

Notice that HE is Jesus!  Jesus is the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Jesus is our Savior and we called to trust Him for forgiveness and eternal life.

Why do we not trust and obey our Savior?

SO WHAT?
Sometimes men and women who never stand in a pulpit preach the greatest sermons simply through living out the living Word in their daily lives. 

Jesus’ mother said, ‘’Whatever He says to you, do it!” What a power sermon of seven words!

Drop the mic. Turn off the TV. Stop the train. Let go of your electronics.

“Whatever He says to you, do it.”

‘WHATEVER!” This means YOU….do and keep doing…whatever Jesus asks you to do.

Remember the sheriff in Groom, Texas. He was sitting at the cafe wondering what he would say to 3 little children whose mama had just died. Jac and I were leaving the big, white cross display when I felt a total nudge to go eat lunch in Groom, Texas. I ignored it. I got on the highway. “Turn around and go eat lunch in Groom.” I turned around. We went in. We stuck out like sore thumbs in our flip flops and tee shirts. We enjoyed a fantastic lunch. The sheriff paid and went outside. Jac went outside and made mention of the Sheriffs tee shirt. He asked what I did for a living. And then he waited for me to pay. For the next 60 minutes the sheriff and I talked about Jesus and heaven. He needed help in knowing how to tell 3 little children sad, sad news. We talked, we prayed and he left–encouraged. For 100% sure whatever HE tells you to do…do it.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Dear Faithful, Fearless, and Fruitful Seed-Sowers,
May the God of all grace and mercy surround you with His grace, mercy and love.  May you know that God is with you and His promise is that He will never leave you or forsake you. COUNT ON THIS AS YOU FACE THE FUTURE.

Last week, we heard a word to the troubled in heart as Jesus walked down the Emmaus Road with His disciples.  Today we turn to Luke 24 where we will hear a word to the skeptical and scared.

With his news-assignment request approved, the CNN News cameraman quickly used his cell phone to call the local airport to charter a flight. He was told a twin-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport.  Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a plane warming up outside a hanger. He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, “Let’s go!” The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into the wind and took off. Once in the air, the cameraman instructed the pilot, “Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can get shots of the fires on the hillsides. “Why?” asked the pilot. “Because I’m a cameraman for CNN,” he responded, “and I need to get some close-up shots. “The pilot was strangely silent for a moment. Finally, he stammered, “So, what you are telling me, is…you’re not my flight instructor?^[i]

What a case of mistaken identity!

Have you ever mistaken the identity of someone or something?

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead caused even His followers to mistake His identity.  At the tomb, Mary Magdalene thought Jesus was the gardener.  The disciples on the road to Emmaus thought Jesus was the only one in Jerusalem who did not know what terrible things had just happened in Jerusalem.

In the Gospel of Luke, we have three different records of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It would be just like our detailed, Dr.  Luke to paint a tapestry of three different panels. One panel is the story found in Luke 24:1-12 that we read on Easter Sunday.  Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women go to tomb early in the morning and find that the stone is rolled away; they see two men glowing like lightening.  These two angels say to the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee.  The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.” (Luke 24:5-7) Dr. Luke tells us that the women ran back to tell the disciples the good news.  The disciples think the women are talking nonsense. However, we learn that Peter ran to the tomb–only to find it was empty.  Peter walked away wondering what in the world had happened.  This is the first panel Dr. Luke has painted for us.

The second panel is the story found in Luke 24:13-34. We studied this story last week.  This panel is painted with Cleopas and another (Mary his wife, Mary) walking home to Emmaus from Jerusalem. Out of the blue, Jesus started walking alongside them.  As they walked and talked, Jesus opened all of the Scriptures to them–beginning with Moses and the prophets and explained to them all that must happen to the Messiah.  Even after all of this, they still had a case of mistaken identity of their mystery man who had joined them on their walk.  It was not until Jesus broke bread with them that their eyes were opened.  “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

What does it take for our hearts to burn within us?  What would it take for us to know the real Christ and not to have a case of mistaken identity regarding Him?  What would it take for us to pick up and run back the seven miles we just walked in order to tell others that we have seen the risen, living Christ?  Why is that we have such a hard time seeing Jesus come alongside us in our lives?   Why is that that we mistake His identity time and time again?

Today we turn to the third panel of Luke’s magnificent tapestry of the resurrection story.  Today, may our eyes be opened once again to see the risen Christ.  May our hearts be strangely warmed as we open up God’s Word and read Luke 24:36-53.

As always, place yourself into our story. Be a part of the living word of God. We are in the Upper Room, gathered together and huddled in fear. Now, let us introduce Dr. Luke’s three panels of resurrection stories and three cases of mistaken identity:  Mary Magdalene thought Jesus was the gardener.  Cleopas and his companion on the way to Emmaus had no clue who their traveling companion was. Was this mysterious traveler the only one who did not know the things that had happened in Jerusalem? They all had a case of mistaken identity.  After Jesus opened up the Scriptures to Cleopas and the other disciple, after Jesus broke bread with them–they immediately ran 7 miles back to Jerusalem to tell all those gathered in the Upper Room that they had just been with the risen Christ.

Can you imagine?  It is still Resurrection Day.  Jesus’ disciples have run the gamut of emotions for one day!  Are you there with me? What a day! Do you think after Cleopas shares his news that they are all talking at the same time?  Imagine you are in the midst of a crowd. What is going on after all of these people tell us that Jesus is not dead—his tomb is empty and he is alive—and not just in Jerusalem, He is even alive in Emmaus.

I imagine the group is asking questions, making statements, wondering out loud.  Joy, excitement, bewilderment, confusion, fear and skepticism are running rampant in the room.  The doors are locked because of their fears and then…suddenly… Jesus walks into the room and says, “Peace be with you.”

Imagine the scene.  Huddle together.  The doors are locked!  We are all afraid and we are hiding. We are hearing the Good News of Jesus being raised from the dead!  Jesus is alive?  All of our hopes that were dashed are now being rekindled.  Dreams that were shattered are being restored! Now imgaine, Jesus walks into the room and says to us, “Peace be with you.”  “Eirene hymin” in Greek and “Shalom alakem,” are the common terms of greeting.   What a day this has been for anyone inside that Upper Room!

Here is a lesson we can glean from this third panel of the Resurrection Day Tapestry: Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our fear!  Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our bewilderment! Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our doubts!  Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our confusion! Jesus wants to bring His peace to all who are skeptical.  Jesus wants to bring peace.

Listen!  The Good News!

No matter what kind of day we are having, Jesus wants to bring peace into our lives!

What happens next is another profound example of mistaken identity.  The disciples are gathered together in the Upper Room.  They have heard from Mary Magdalene, Cleopas, and the other disciple that they have seen the risen Christ.  Mary thought He was the gardener at first.  Cleopas and his companion thought Jesus was this short of being an idiot.  They are all wondering what in the world is going on and now Jesus Himself is standing right in front of them.  What is their response?  They think they are seeing a ghost.

On January 28, 1945, as World War II was groaning to a close, 121 elite Army Rangers liberated over 500 POWs, mostly Americans, from a Japanese prisoner of war camp near Cabanatuan in the Philippines. The prisoners, many of whom were survivors of the infamous Bataan death march, were in awful condition, physically and emotionally. Before the Rangers arrived, the primary Japanese guard unit had left the camp because of Japan’s massive retreat from the Philippines. The new situation was precarious. Japanese troops were still around and, in the camp, but they kept their distance from the prisoners. The men of Cabanatuan did not quite know what to make of their new freedom—if freedom was in fact what it was. And then, without warning, the American Rangers swept upon the camp in furious force. But one of the most interesting facets of the story was the reaction of many of the prisoners. They were so defeated, diseased, and familiar with deceit that many needed to be convinced they were actually free.

They were skeptical and scared.

Was it a trick? A trap? Was this real? One prisoner, Captain Bert Bank, struggling with blindness caused by a vitamin deficiency, could not clearly make out his would-be rescuers. He refused to budge. Finally, a soldier walked up to him, tugged his arm, and said, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you want to be free?” Bank, from Alabama, recognized the familiar southern accent of his questioner. A smile formed on his lips, and he willingly and thankfully began his journey to freedom. Finally, far away from what had been, for years, the site of an ongoing, horrific assault on their humanity, the newly freed prisoners began their march home.

In the description of one prisoner, contrasting it with the Bataan nightmare years earlier, “It was a long, slow, steady march …but this was a life march, a march of freedom.”^[i]

SO WHAT?
I believe that we are a lot like those prisoners.  We have been set free from our captivity and, yet, we stand frozen in our tracks.  We have heard of the resurrection of Christ from the tomb, but do we really believe it? Did Jesus really rise from the dead?  Is Jesus really the promised Messiah?  Would Jesus walk into my confusion, bewilderment, doubts, fears, frustrations, hurts, addictions, pain, worries, skepticism, scared heart and messed-up life?

Timothy J. Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism said; “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”[ii]

So, what? What do you believe?  Are you a prisoner of skepticism?  Are you frozen in fear? Are you scared like the early disciples? Hear these words:
“Peace be with you.” May these words soak and saturate deeply into your heart.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

Greetings Faithful Friends and Fearless Seed-Sowers,
I am sorry it has taken me so long to write a Seed of Faith.  I have been busy and maybe I have been confused and troubled.  I just returned home from Illinois after cleaning out some of my dad’s personal items from his home.  My step-mom is moving and I needed to go through some of my dad’s items that were in his home for the past fifty some years (photo albums mainly.)

Today we are going to take a walk with Jesus. We are on the road to Emmaus.  Emmaus is a town.  The Emmaus Road story is one of the most famous and familiar stories that Dr. Luke tells.  Today we meet two disciples who are also making their way home from the Passover festival.  This is the same day that Jesus rose from the tomb.  These two disciples happen to be followers of Jesus, just like us. They are heart-sick, heart-broken, depressed and confused about Jesus’ crucifixion and now they are walking home—7 miles back home. Think about where 7 miles from your home is–and imagine walking there right now. As you are walking, let me ask you a few questions.

Have you ever been heart-sick before?
Have you ever-been heart-broken before?
Have you ever been down or depressed before?
Have you ever been confused before?

Our good friend, Dr. Luke, now introduces us to two disciples, one named Cleopas and one that is not named.  Scholars have debated about who these two disciples are. Some scholars say that Cleopas is a follower of Jesus and the other, unnamed person is none other than Dr. Luke. Some have said that Cleopas is the Cleopas mentioned by the Gospel of John in John 19:25 when we are told that Mary’s sister was the wife of Cleopas and her name was Mary, also.  If this is the case, then these two disciples were Jesus’ aunt and uncle–headed home to Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.   Whoever they were, these two had been in Jerusalem for the Passover festival with a million other Jews.  They were followers of Jesus.  They were there when Jesus entered the town riding on a donkey.  They were there with all of the people shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna — Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”  They heard the crowd shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him!”  We are also told in the Scriptures that “Mary, the wife of Cleopas” was at the cross with Jesus’ mother.  Mary, the wife of Cleopas, was with her sister, Mary, the mother of Jesus, at Jesus’ crucifixion. Are you in this story yet?
These two disciples loved Jesus with all of their hearts.  They were in Jerusalem for a Passover festival, a celebration.  They were not expecting what happened.  The person they loved, Jesus, had been arrested, tried, and whipped. Jesus was crucified and these two are heart-sick!  They are heart-broken!  They are depressed! They are confused!  And they are beginning their long, 7-mile walk back home.
Can you identify with being heat-broken, depressed, confused, disappointed, and downcast?  Just say — Covid-19 or quarantine, lockdown, stay-at-home, no school, no sports, no going out, no family …. No, no, no, no! I think we can all identify with being heart-broken this past year.

Dr/ Luke tells us that as they were walking along, they were discussing the events of the past week.  The Greek word for “discussing” is “syzeteo” which is a present tense verb.  This means that they were discussing and discussing and discussing over and over again all of the things that had happened.  They were on a roller coaster of grief and confusion, going up and down and all around and around; discussing the life and death of Jesus.

As they were walking and talking, the RESURRECTED Jesus walked up behind them and asked them what they were talking about.  They did not recognize Jesus.  The original Greek tells us that “they were kept from recognizing Him.”  Why?  We really do not know.  Commentaries suggest it was because they were looking into the sun and the shadows prevented them from recognizing Jesus.   Perhaps they were so overcome with grief, their hearts so broken that in the midst of their grief and confusion they could not see who it was that was standing in front of them.  They simply did not recognize Jesus. If you are taking notes — write this one down.  It is really important!

Jesus finds us in our confusion!  Jesus finds us when our hearts are broken, and we are overwhelmed with grief.  Jesus wants to enter into our story—right where we are, no matter where we are.
I am praying that our eyes will be opened and that our hearts will be strangely warmed as we recognize Jesus whenever, wherever, He walks into our lives.

So What?
In 2015 an EF4 tornado with winds of 200 mph hit my hometown of Rochelle, Illinois. I remember that night, I was heartsick, and heartbroken to hear of the devastation the tornado caused.  My heart was heavy and burdened with grief. The day after the tornado, our good friends called.  We had raised our children with them, went on vacation with them—their family was our family and vice versa.  We knew on the night of the tornado that their niece’s home had been destroyed by the tornado.  The next morning our friend called to tell us this story:

Her niece and her husband have three, small children—5,3, and 5 months.  When the sirens went off, they hurried down to the southwest corner of their basement.  Looking out the basement window, they saw their wooden swing set blow away like toothpicks and disappear.  Her niece held all three of the children while her husband formed a human shield of protection over them; spread eagle like a cross.  In less than a minute, their house and everything they owned was gone.  The first floor had collapsed into the basement, missing them by inches.  Her niece had cried out, “We’re going to die.”  Across the street, another young family had sought shelter from the tornado in their own basement. After the tornado had safely passed, the young father grabbed a flashlight and ran over to help the family across the street whose home had been blown away. In the darkness, he found the five of them in the southwest corner of the basement—the only corner that sustained no damage—and he helped pull them all to safety.  The next day, our friend, brought in heavy equipment that lifted the collapsed first floor from the basement so that our friends could sort through what was left of their home.  Here is all they found:  the five-year old’s Mickey Mouse that he sleeps with, the 3-year-old’s blankie that she sleeps with, a pillow that said HOME, a sign that said THANKFUL and her very beat up and, almost unrecognizable, laptop.  Someone took the laptop to a techy who carefully removed from it the stored photos and documents.  Everything else was gone.

Here is the “so what?” for this week that I want you to remember forever:

Jesus meets us in our confusion, in our heart-sickness, in our depression, in our fears and doubts.
Jesus WILL bring clarity into our lives.
Jesus WILL bring comfort into our lives…All through the living, abiding, Word of God.
YOUR HEART WILL BE STRANGELY WARMED–and that, my friends, is just God at work.

Just as the father I told you about covered his family in order to protect them, Jesus does the same for you and me.  In the midst of our confusion, our grief, our depression, our sorrow, our heartsickness, our heartbrokenness, our doubts, our fears, our shame, our guilt—Jesus covers us. Friends, this is the hope and the power of the RESURRECTION. Today as we travel along our own EMMAUS ROAD, may our eyes be opened,  may our hearts be strangely warmed as we break bread together.  May we recognize the crucified, risen Christ in our midst!

Back to being in Rochelle to go through some of my Dad’s personal things, I decided that since my wife would be with her father here in California that it might be nice to have my son or daughters fly with me to Rochelle. Our eldest has 7 children and couldn’t get away but she prayed for us. Our son drove his truck up from Waco, Texas; there were two toolboxes that he could have. Our youngest daughter brought her daughter and we flew together. Jesus was with us all the way. We had a ton of turbulence on the first flight then our plane was delayed due to weather in Dallas. We sat in the Dallas airport for six, long hours–wearing a mask. We were there all night. I know the man who designed the train system in Dallas and so I got the girls to ride the rails with me.  Strangely, we felt God was with us as we waited for our flight to Chicago. We arrived in Chicago at 5 am–walked through the terminal and got a hotel room because we were exhausted. Later, we rented a Jeep and headed to Dad’s. Our eldest daughter was brought home to this house in 1974. Our son and daughter who were with me had experienced birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays in this home–like their entire lives have had memories there. As we sorted in the basement, I felt my heart strangely warmed. My brother, Joe, came over and helped. We were able to move Dad’s tools from a shed the next day. We loaded up Brian’s truck with two toolboxes. Through the week, I was able to see close friends and family. Heck, we even drove to Milwaukee to see the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brewers! Through it all, through all of the sorrow and sadness, the risen Christ was with us, warming our hearts with the love of family.

I’m praying for you. You are loved.

See You Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

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“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:38-40

Dear Faithful – Fearless and Fruitful Seed Sowers,

This is Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ earthly life.  I encourage you take some time and read the accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life. Read and compare the four Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) or pick one to read one this week.  Here are the Gospel accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life, Holy Week  — Matthew 21-28, Mark 11-16, Luke 19:28-24 and John 12-21.

Today we are going to look at Luke 19:28-44 and at the Old Testament prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9-12.

Think about this for a moment.  I mean, stop, and really think about where you are in this story of the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem? Where are you in your faith walk with Jesus? There were crowds of people in this story.  Scholars believe that there were over 2 million people in Jerusalem during the time of the Passover.  They estimate the crowd at the “Palm Parade” was around 200,000 people.  Jesus was riding into town on a donkey and the crowds went wild. Yet, there are at least three types of people in this story. As you read, figure out where you are. Which of these three crowds do you belong in?

1. The people who knew their Scriptures and were waiting for God to send a KING to overthrow the Roman government—this crowd went wild with praise! PRAISERS.

2. The crowd of the Pharisees did not go wild with praise.  They went wild with protest. PROTESTORS. 

3. The third kind of crowd was absolutely passive—to them, this parade was no big deal either way. PASSERS.

Praising, protesting or passive! Faithful one or faithless one! What crowd will you find yourself in today?

Will we praise Jesus?
Will we protest Jesus?
Will we be passive about Jesus?

Imagine for a moment 100,000 to 200,000 people moving, waving palms, and shouting!  The Rose Bowl holds around 92,000 people, double that crowd, imagine the noise and hysteria of the crowd on that first Palm Sunday. Can you feel the energy?

Can you enter into the picture?  A few million people are milling around Jerusalem.  There are people everywhere! Today would be Sunday, the Sunday before they celebrated Passover, and this is the very reason why all of these people were there.  Today is known as “Lamb Selection Sunday” and thousands of lambs are being led into town for Thursday’s annual Passover sacrifice event. Everyone is selecting their family’s sacrificial lamb.  Think of the tension in the air as the Roman centurions walk around — angry that the crowd is so large.   Their swords and shields are ready at a moment’s notice to keep the peace.  Jesus makes his way through the nearby town of Bethany, down the Mount of Olives and enters the city of Jerusalem.  Jesus has been in ministry for three years.  The people have seen Him in action or they have heard about Him.  The crowd is energized, and the excitement keeps building and building!  Jesus is riding into town on a donkey and the crowd goes wild.  They have been waiting for this day! These people know their scriptures. They don’t have the new testament—only the old! They can easily equate Zechariah 9…with what they are seeing!  All of sudden, this is the biggest parade you have ever seen, everyone is breaking off palm branches from the palm trees and waving them. They are taking off their outer coats to throw them on the dirt road that Jesus is riding into town on!  Are you with me?  Can you hear the excitement as the crowd begins to shout, “HOSANNA — HOSANNA — HOSANNA!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the king of Israel.”  (Makes me think of when we shout USA in the Olympic games.)

The Hebrew word “hosanna” literally means “save us, we pray, save us now, save us–we beseech you.”  The crowd is shouting at the top of their lungs, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna!”

What about you?  Are you in this crowd? 

Do YOU PROTEST Jesus?
There is another crowd we need to pay attention to.  I love that Luke puts these two verses into his detailed storyline, “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’ ‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’”  This is the last mention of the Pharisees in Luke’s account.  The Pharisees went out to meet Jesus because they understood why He was coming to town.  This Jesus was about to turn their entire lives completely upside down.  The Pharisees were comfortable and in control, or so they thought.  Luke records that some of the Pharisees were shouting out to Jesus.  Imagine how loud they must have been shouting to have their voices heard over the crowd.  This crowd of Pharisees wanted to silence the crowd and Jesus.  Imagine how they felt when Jesus responded that even if the crowd was silent, the very stones on the ground would cry out. (I’d like to be around for that!)

The voices of two contrasting crowds:  One crowd is wild with excitement, shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna” —“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” The other crowd is shouting “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Two crowds: One crowd praises Jesus while the other crowd protests Him.

We come to the final group:  the crowd who simply pass.  They do not care enough one way or the other.  Jesus?  Who?  Did what?  Yeah, I am really busy doing my own thing.  I am going to pass on that.   I’m taking a pass today. Maybe next time.

This the “So what?” for YOU today:  what crowd are YOU in?

·         Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PRAISE-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?

·         Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PROTEST-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?

·         Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PASS-on-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?

So What?

One day Mark Twain took his little daughter on his knee and told her all about the rulers and other prominent men whom he had met in his travels. She listened attentively. When he had finished, she said, “Daddy, you know everybody but God, don’t you?” Mark Twain was certainly an intelligent person. Yet he rejected God.1

Praise.  Protest.  Pass.  Our choice.  Today’s “So What?” comes down to a choice…made by me…made by you…to either PRAISE…PROTEST. …or PASS this JESUS OF NAZARETH.

PRAISE…PROTEST…or PASS.

When we were raising our kids, my wife and I lived on the parade route. If there was a parade, it was going to go right past our house! Anyone who knew us knew that they could find a spot on our lawn and sit and enjoy the parade.  They also knew they could use the restroom, and could count on brownies with powdered sugar on top and water or pop (yes, in Northern Illinois–soda is POP!) Guess what? Today I know of a house (point to your heart) that is on the PALM SUNDAY parade route! It’s your heart. It’s YOU! Jesus is riding down the road in front of YOUR heart today! ARE YOU PRAISING? I surely hope you are!

We ended our worship on Palm Sunday with Chris Tomlin’s “IS HE WORTHY?” I double dog dare you to listen to it and PRAISE JESUS.

Friday is here…but…SUNDAY’S COMING!

See you Easter Sunday — SPOILER ALERT:  the tomb is empty!!!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“For [God] has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’  So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?'” Hebrews 13:5–6 NRSV 

Dear Faithful – Fearless & Fruitful Seed Sowers,
Last week we began a SEED OF FAITH on Daniel in the Lion’s Den.  I encourage you to take a few minutes to read Daniel 6.  Daniel had faith to stand against those who accused him. Daniel had faith to transform his environment. Do you? Do I?

The GOD of the entire universe ….says to you and me,  “I will never leave you or forsake you. So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’”  This is the faith that Daniel had!

Do you have this kind of faith?
Do you believe that God is your helper?
Do you believe that no matter what comes your way, GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU or FORSAKE YOU?

In 1940 Vincent and Margaret Crossett were missionaries in Mainland China. They struggled against poverty and paganism in a remote village in order to tell others about Jesus. The work was very slow and difficult, but after much sacrifice a small church was established. The church was no larger than a small Bible study group. Right on the threshold of this small triumph for the kingdom of God, Satan began his work. The Communist takeover of China during the Cultural Revolution forced all missionaries to leave China. The Crossetts hated to leave. Their fledgling flock of believers hardly seemed ready to withstand the coming onslaught. An atheistic, dictatorial government dedicated to wiping out all Christian influence was beginning its rule with ruthless power. How could this little church survive? From the world’s perspective there was nothing anyone could do. The church seemed destined to die. But Vincent and Margaret did not see through the world’s eyes. They saw through the eyes of faith that their God was faithful to those who honor him. The Crossetts were like faithful family sedans. They continued to do their duty. Though the missionaries were chased out, their prayers were not. For nearly forty years the Crosetts daily kept their prayer window opened toward China. They dutifully prayed in faith that God would one day triumph over Communism. The Crosetts heard nothing of their Chinese friends for forty years, but still they faithfully prayed for God to be victorious in the church they left behind. Finally, the walls of China came down. As the political climate changed, the nation was opened to western visitors. The Crossetts returned to the village where they had left the tiny, struggling group of believers. There was no small church in the village anymore! Instead, from that Bible study had grown a church of four thousand people! This body of believers had planted dozens of other churches as well, each with a membership of at least a thousand. All the Crossetts did was pray with their prayer window open to the focus of their prayer—China. The God of Daniel is alive and well.[i]

Romans 8:28, do you know it? “AND WE KNOW THAT GOD WORKS ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE GOD!”
The Crossetts knew their God and they prayed in faith for the little church they left behind in China.

SO WHAT?
When Daniel was threatened with his life to conform to the new edict, he got down on his knees and prayed.  He asked God to help him like God had helped him all his life. Daniel had faith that his God could do immeasurably more than he could ask or imagine. Daniel knew that God was with him. Immanuel: GOD With ME.

In 2013 I came down with an infection of some kind in my body. It started in my left leg and spread to my right leg.  This infection manifested itself in painful blisters and oozing sores. It wasn’t just one or two of these sores but patches of skin, 8 inches long by 4 inches wide. Pretty soon the infection spread to  my chest and back.  I was sent to 14 different doctors. This infection stayed with me for 4 years. It went to the inside of my body and the outside of my body. None of the doctors knew what was wrong with me. My wife had gone to see a doctor in 2001. She had dropped a heavy piece of furniture on her toe and Dr. Zimmerman had helped her. We were grasping at straws at this point, and I was in horrible pain, sleeping in the recliner.  Jac (my wife) kept asking me to go see Dr.  Zimmerman. Out of desperation, I agreed. Dr. Z started treating me.  His words, “This infection is trying to kill you.  I will not send you to the hospital because I fear you would die of MRSA or staph in there.” He was afraid with all of the open, oozing sores, I’d get something worse than what I already had. Dr. Z gave me topical relief but the rash continued to progress. My wife began to have involuntary muscle twitches. She had suffered from mercury poisoning in 2005 and when she went to her doctor, her doctor retested her heavy metals levels. The doctor thought her mercury levels were back up. The test revealed severe lead poisoning. We have a seriously smart doctor, and she called me in and tested me for my heavy metal levels. Both Jac and I were living in a home that was putting out 6 times the limit of lead particles. I had ten times the lethal limit of lead in my body, Jac had 12! No wonder we were so sick. During all of these years of battling the infection, I had learned to be a man of prayer.  Good thing, because chelation is hard on a body! From September of 2017 to the summer of 2019, I did 3 chelations.  I am down to two times the lethal limit. Chelation is no fun. The doctor says I have one chelation left before I read the lethal  limit.

Here’s why I’m telling you this story. Between the past 7 years of oozing sores and chelations, I have learned to become a man of constant prayer.  I have learned to pray, “GOD WITH ME.” My faith in God has grown stronger day by day. God has shut the mouths of the lions I’ve been facing. God will do the same for you.

Daniel did not conform to the pressures of his world. He did not conform to the pressures of the King or of his “friends” and co-workers. Instead of conforming, Daniel transformed. He transformed his corner of the world.  When Daniel came out of the lions’ den after spending a night with the lions. he was untouched.  The King was elated and passed an edit that all people should worship the God of Daniel.  I love the wording of King Darrius law … Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: “May you prosper greatly! “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian

If you are taking notes, here you go. Here are 5 points from King Darius worth remembering:

1.  THE LIVING GOD ENDURES FOREVER — GOD WITH US

2.  GOD’S KINGDOM WILL NOT BE DESTROYED — GOD WITH US

3.  GOD’S DOMINION WILL NEVER END — GOD WITH US

4.  GOD RESCUES AND SAVES —- GOD WITH US

5. GOD PERFORMS SIGNS AND WONDERS IN THE HEAVENS AND ON THE EARTH — GOD WITH US.

NO MATTER WHAT:
KEEP YOUR FAITH IN GOD: There’s a fourth man in the fire with you.
KEEP YOUR FAITH IN GOD: There’s an angel who will SHUT THE MOUTHS OF THE LIONS IN YOUR DEN.

In the face of this year long epidemic, keep your faith. Our God is with us. Your God is with you. Say it with me and make it personal: GOD WITH ME.

When times are hard this week, say it out loud, “GOD WITH ME.” Think about Daniel.  Think about being thrown into the lions’ den for no good reason at all—except that your coworkers are jealous and envious of you. I always tell you to put yourself into the story.  Well.  DO!

Here you are—they’ve thrown you into the pit. They’ve sealed the pit so you can’t escape.  YOU ARE THERE, IN THE PIT, ALONE.  I’m guessing it’s dark–because lions like to hunt at night! I’m also guessing Daniel prayed. An angel came and shut the lions’ mouths. And after that long, long night—Daniel was rescued by the KING…and, don’t miss this, the scripture says,  “So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian..”

Did you hear that? So Daniel prospered.

Tell yourself this story this week…over and over again…until you believe it. And, by the way, you are NOT ALONE in that lions’ den…not at all. That fourth man in the fire? He’s WITH YOU.

GOD WITH US.  GOD WITH ME.  

There isn’t a dream team on earth who can team up against you to defy God’s will and plan for your life. DO YOU BELIEVE IT?

Despite this pandemic and whatever else you are facing, I want you to stand on this promise: So Daniel prospered. That’s my prayer for you! Jac’s “Daddy-oh” has been with us for 400 days now. He has Alzheimer’s and emphysema and a severe case of sundowners. Dad is up all night making many trips around the house and the bathroom. The doctors have said, “It is time. He needs 24/7 supervision.” Because of covid, we can’t hire night-time help. We will be placing Dad into a nearby memory care home this coming week. It is time for Jac and me to have a living faith for Dad; a faith that says, “God’s will for Dad is for him to prosper in this next move.” Immanuel. God with us. God with me. I’m praying for you.  Will you pray for us?

See You Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18

Dear Faithful, fearless & fruitful Seed sowers,

“God With Us” is the series that we are working through at The Seed Christian Fellowship of Rancho Cucamongam California! It is my prayer that as we look at the big stories of the Bible we see how God was with all the people and that God is with us, too.  In last week’s Seed of faith we laid a foundation of Daniel 3 and the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

In this story you can find at least three different groups of people. The conformer, those who bow down and worship the golden statue.  Then there are the informers, those who are jealous of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego because they will not bow down. This group goes and tells.  And you have the last group, the reformers. The reformers are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They did not bow down. This is how it is recorded in Daniel 3:12 — “But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

The convictions, the beliefs and the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego provided their enemy (and  coworkers) with an opportunity to accuse the four men of sedition, disloyalty, subversion and treason. The informers go to work doing what informers do:  they phrase their remarks in such a manner as to work King Nebuchadnezzar into the greatest possible rage and agitation. “Furious with rage” is what we are told.  Nebuchadnezzar brought the three young men before him and probed them for a confession. “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?” Daniel 3:14

No reply is recorded, but there must have been one. They must have told the king that what he had been told about them was correct.

Nebuchadnezzar offered to give them another chance.

Here in this story lies a problem that confronts every follower of the One True God: when the requirements of serving God come into conflict with the demands of a secular world—to whom do you bow down to?

Are you in this story, yet? Put yourself in Babylon, standing in front of the King. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do not go to seek more time or to get a professional lawyer’s advice. These young men did not rationalize their options.  They did not try to justify their actions.  They did not go and discuss their decision with others. They did not stop to consider the arguments of others. They simply remained faithful to their one, true God.

What is the king’s reply?  “But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Daniel 3:15

These words written in Daniel 3:16-18 are some of the most memorable verses in the Old Testament.  “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’” Daniel 3:16-18

What in the world? Are you with me? Are you right here in this story? You are standing before the pagan King Nebuchadnezzar with your BFF’s. Here’s a great idea to ponder: What gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the conviction and the faith they needed to remain loyal to? Here’s my answer.  I believe that they knew that the God whom they worshiped and served was sovereign.  They knew their Scriptures and they were not going to worship any false idols.  They were willing to die for their faith.  These three were faithful!

When we read the rest of the story, Nebuchadnezzar is furious with rage; he has his soldiers light the fire in the furnace seven times hotter! Then orders the three men — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego– to be thrown into the fiery furnace.  The furnace is so hot that the soldiers who bound the 3 men together and threw them into the furnace are killed by the intensity and searing heat of the fire. Are you in this story? This is one red, hot fire.

What happens next is miraculous! In the middle of the fiery furnace Nebuchadnezzar sees not three men, but four. He knows he threw three men into the furnace but now—he sees four in furnace.

Who is the fourth man?

Is this the pre-incarnate Christ?  Is this “GOD WITH US”?

Nebuchadnezzar is astonished and calls for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come out of the fiery furnace.  They come out unharmed, no smell of smoke or fire and not a hair is singed.  ARE YOU STILL WITH ME IN THIS STORY ?

These three were fearless and faithful and because they were fearless and faithful, they were fruitful.

Nebuchadnezzar now expresses a profound truth by saying — “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” Daniel 3:28

This past week I celebrated my 23^rd year of ordained ministry. I have served four churches during those 23 years. I have faced elder boards and church kings and queens who would have preferred I had a softer world view of loving Jesus. If only I’d bow just a little bit, I would fit in better with the people and my approval ratings could soar. There was only one problem here for me: I gave up everything in order to follow Jesus. Conform. Inform. Reform. Transform. What would I choose?

What will you choose? Who will you choose when it’s your turn in the fire?

I want to be able to say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

That’s my prayer for each one of us. I want you to be faithful. I want you to know that no matter what fiery furnace you face being thrown into, there’s a fourth man in the fire! His name is Jesus Christ. He is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. He’s beaten that fiery furnace. He has also defeated hell, death and the grave.  He rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of GOD ALMIGHTY. And it is Jesus who will help you to become faithful, fearless, and fruitful.

A long time ago, and I mean a long time ago, it was so long ago that it was during the days I had turned my back on Jesus. I was rambunctious. And I became a part of plan to tell a small fib to the police.  Do you hear me? It was innocent enough. I was at home with my wife but my friend had outrun the police for speeding and somehow ended up at my house. If my friend confessed, he would lose his license. I did what any friend would do. I went to the police station and said it was me. I thought they’d give me the ticket and let me go. Nope. They threw the book at me: evading the police, disturbing the peace and finally lying to the police. Let me tell  you something, my wife was furious with me. She went down to bail me out, and the police interrogated her in a separate room and she sang like a bird! You see, Jac told the truth. She wasn’t going to lie for me. She told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Fortunately for me, they let me go.  The next morning at 6 a.m. the phone rang. It was my Nana. Jac answered the phone and Nana said, “Put David on the phone.” Nana loved Jesus. Nana had raised me. I explained what had happened. (Nana had heard the morning police report!) I will never forget what she told me, “David, all you have is your name. Do not bow to this world. Under zero circumstances, do not bow to this world.” She hung up on me. Listen, I didn’t know it at the time but I know it now. Jesus was the fourth man in that fire. I began to live for Christ again and I’ve not ever bowed to any other God. There isn’t a church that can make me retract my love for God. There’s not an elder board that make me go backwards with fear instead of forward in faith. Like Martin Luther, “Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me.”

Are you in the fire today? Look around. There’s a champion in there with you. The Lord Jesus Christ is a firefighter like no other. It may get hot but not a hair on you will be singed. Keep your eyes on the one, true God.

I’m praying for you!

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I! 
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fruitful Seed Sowers,

This is my prayer for you as we travel through some of the big, bible stories together. I pray you remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray the Holy Spirit emboldens you to remain fearless and I pray that you plant all the seeds you can and that those seeds grow each season.

Do you believe these three words: GOD WITH US? or even GOD WITH ME?

How do these three words affect your life? How could these three words affect your life? 

Over the next few weeks, we will spend time together in the Old Testament book of Daniel.  Today we jump into the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and then we find our ourselves in the lion’s den with Daniel.
Get ready! This is going to be a great series to put yourself into the story! Maybe you already feel like you’re there, living the story! Maybe it feels like you have been in a fiery furnace this past year or maybe you’ve found yourself in the lion’s den with this worldwide pandemic.

The GOOD NEWS is found in these three, small, but mighty, words:

GOD WITH US.

GOD WITH ME.

Let’s set the stage for the next two weeks as we study Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel:

Babylon is the ruling power in the days of Daniel.  Nebuchadnezzar is the King of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar has already attacked the southern kingdom of Judah three times, beginning in 605 B.C. The second invasion occurred in 597 B.C. when Jehoiakim, son of the king of Judah mentioned in Daniel 1:1–2, was compelled to surrender Jerusalem and go into captivity with many of the Jewish leaders, including the royal family, the commanders of the army, craftsmen, and some of the priests like Ezekiel. The third invasion is the one I remember the most. It took place in 586B.C. when Jerusalem was completely destroyed, and the people of the land were deported to Babylon. A side note of interest is that the prophet Jeremiah was in Jerusalem at the time of this final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

Daniel and his three friends were taken in the first deportation of the people of Judah under King Jehoiakim.  All four of these young men came from noble or royal descent and were teenagers when taken into captivity. All four had been given Jewish names that reflected their families’ faith and their God: Daniel and Mishael both end in “el’ which is the plural for “Elohim.” Daniel means — “God is my Judge,” Mishael means, “Who is like God?” The names of the other two, Hananiah and Azariah, both contain a shortened form of the name Jehovah. Hananiah means “Jehovah is Gracious” while Azariah means “Jehovah is my Helper”. The very names of these men were reminders of their heritage and a challenge for them to remain faithful to the Lord. But now, they were deported into a strange, pagan land, and their names were changed. Add insult to injury because their new names contain a reference to one of the false gods of the ancient Babylonians:  Marduk, Aku and Nego. Daniel wan renamed Belteshazzar, which means “Guard my life,”  it was a prayer to Marduk, one of the Babylonian pagan gods.  By changing their Jewish names to Babylonian names, this was a way of saying that these four, young men who had been servants of the Jewish God, were now servants and worshipers of the gods of the pagan pantheon. How would you like to be renamed by a pagan system, after a false god?

I want to emphasize something here, and it’s a good “SO WHAT?” for us. The change of their names accomplished nothing.
You see, King Nebuchadnezzar had changed the men’s names, but he could not change their hearts. What does this mean for you and me? No matter we are going through, no matter how tough life is–no one can change your heart without your permission. Remember this.

The four men remained faithful to the true God of Israel.

Will we be faithful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? When life gets burning hot, will I remain faithful? (Write that down.  Think about that!)

As we begin this story, I want you to place yourself into what’s going on. We’re not in Kansas anymore. We’re in Babylon. Nothing is the same, nothing is familiar anymore; they have even changed our names to honor their gods. 

Can you relate? A year ago, things were pretty normal but not for long. Covid 19 hit us and so did masks, gloves and the rush on paper products! Life has not been normal. Life has been anything but normal this past year. And, yet, can we be more like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Can we remain faithful to God? 

GOD WITH US!

GOD WITH ME.

When Daniel and his three friends were taken captive to a foreign land and given different names did God make a mistake?  Did God forsake them?  As we are all faced with a world-wide pandemic, does God not know what is happening?  Has God forgotten us?

Has your faith begun to fail?  Go ahead and read this story. Put yourself right there into Babylon. And answer this question:

To whom or to what do I bow?

As you read, remember this:  These young men did not sit down and rationalize our their options.  They did not justify their actions.  They did not go and discuss their decision with others. They did not stop to consider the arguments of others. These young men simply remained faithful to their one, true God.

So What?
I am reminded of the great theologian and church reformer, Martin Luther, when he was on trial at the Diet of Worms. Luther was told by his authorities to recant his convictions, and to recant the 95 questions on the door of the Wittenberg Castle. Listen to Luther’s reply as his very life was at stake: “Here I stand.  I can do no other. May God help me.”

I have a long homework project for you to do this week. Read the following question. Pray about it. Think about it. You can even discuss it with people you love. Here’s the question:

What are my convictions? (Conviction: a firmly held belief or opinion.)

And now a final “So What?” homework question: which of the above convictions are worth the fiery furnace to you?

“HERE I STAND. I CAN DO NO OTHER. May God be with me.” Isn’t it just another way of saying, “GOD WITH US” or “GOD WITH ME”? 

As I close, the past few weeks have been pretty intense for my wife and I. Caring for Dad in our home has many challenges. Remember the recent MOHS surgery I had on my nose and shoulder? I’m sensitive to the stitches, the gauze, the tape that were used. I have four, dissolvable stitches in my shoulder and it’s going to take 3-4 months for them to dissolve. My entire left side of my shoulder is aflame. I’ve not been taken into captivity by any means but let’s just say, “I get Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And, I’m not bowing down to anything or anyone except the one, true God.” 

Are you there? Are you with me? 

Next week we conclude the fiery furnace and move into the lions’ den. Oh, man! I can hardly wait!

Spoiler alert for next week: there’s a fourth man in the fire and there’s another in your fiery furnace, too.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I! 

Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Join us for worship on Sunday at 10am Pacific.  The link for the live interactive worship is:

theseedchristianfellowship.online.church

if you miss the 10am worship on Sunday you can always go to our YouTube channel and watch the complete worship service or just the children’s message for your children or the weekly sermon.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

Dear Faithful and Fruitful Seed-Sowers,

It is my prayer that each and every one of us are walking with Jesus and that we are surrounded by His powerful presence, perfect peace and rescued by His precious grace.

Our “SO WHAT?” questions from last week were:

What is the most important thing you have or own? (Pause. List a few.)
What is the most important thing you know?
What is the one thing you want to pass on to your family and friends?

Before we go to God’s living words of life, let us come to our Living Lord in a moment of prayer.  “Lord, God of all hope and healing, we come today to be touched and renewed, restored and resurrected by Your Living Word.  Come, Holy Spirit, speak to us. Cleanse us of our wrong thinking and guide us in Your ways. Amen.”

Take a moment and read I Corinthians 15:1-11.

The Apostle Paul lays claim to the power and hope of the resurrection right here. But, first, we need to take a moment to reflect upon who Paul is and how he came to this knowledge.

POINT 1: Paul the Persecutor
Paul was a Jew who grew up and sat at the feet of Gamaliel, the greatest Pharisee and teacher of the law.  Paul learned the law and lived the law.  Paul became an aggressive persecutor of the newly formed Christian Church. In chapter seven of the Book of Acts, we find Paul holding the cloaks of those stoning Stephen, the first martyr for Christ and of the church.   By chapter nine of Acts, Paul goes to the High Priest to receive papers to go to Damascus to find the followers of the Way, the followers of Christ.  Paul had been imprisoning them and had these Christians beaten and put to death. The Bible tells us that Paul was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” (Acts 9:1)

Take in this picture of Paul. A man highly educated, passionate about God and filled with fire for keeping the law of God. Are you in this story today?

Have you ever been lost? 
Have you ever felt as if you had gone too far to return to God?
Have you ever looked down on someone and judged them beyond hope?
Maybe you think you are beyond hope?

If so, then this story of Paul’s conversion and encounter with grace is for you!

In the eighteenth century, there were two young men in England whose names were Lord Lyttleton and Gilbert West. They were unbelievers. In fact, they were strong in their unbelief. They were also both lawyers, with keen minds, and they thought they had good reasons for rejecting Christianity. One day in a conversation one of them said, “Christianity stands upon a very unstable foundation. There are only two things that actually support it: the alleged resurrection of Jesus Christ and the alleged conversion of Saul of Tarsus. If we can disprove those stories, which should be rather easy to do, Christianity will collapse like a house of cards.” Gilbert West said, “All right, then. I’ll write a book on the alleged resurrection of Jesus Christ and disprove it.” Lord Lyttleton said, “If you write a book on the resurrection, I’ll write on the alleged appearance of Jesus to the apostle Paul. You show why Jesus could not possibly have been raised from the dead, and I’ll show that the apostle Paul could not have been converted as the Bible says he was—by a voice from heaven on the road to Damascus.” Each went off to write their book. Sometime later they met again, and one of them said to the other, “I’m afraid I have a confession to make. I have been looking into the evidence for this story, and I have begun to think that maybe there is something to it after all.” The other said, “The same thing has happened to me. But let us keep on investigating these stories and see where we come out.”

In the end, after they had done their investigations and had written their books, each had come out on exactly the opposite side he had been on when he began his investigation. Gilbert West had written The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, arguing that it is a fact of history. And Lord Lyttleton had written The Conversion of St. Paul.^[i]

By treating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the conversion of the apostle Paul as the two great pillars of Christianity, these men were saying that if the apostle Paul was not converted as the ninth chapter of Acts says he was, and as he himself declares in his own recorded testimonies both before the Jews and the Gentiles, then Christianity loses one of its two most important bulwarks. Moreover, it loses its most able theologians.

Point 2: Paul the Proclaimer of GRACE
Listen to Herschel H. Hobbs’ (author and theologian) thoughts on law and grace:

I read an illustration about a man who is standing at a fork in the road trying to decide which way to go. One road has a sign which says “law.” The other has a sign reading “grace.” If he chooses to travel the law road, he falls away from the grace road. It is not a matter of being in grace and falling out of it. It is a matter of never having been in grace. One cannot travel both roads. For law and grace negate each other. If it is by works, it cannot be by grace, grace is a gift. If it is by grace, then it cannot be by law. Christ is in the grace road. So, if you travel the law road, you are cut off from Him and His saving power. To depend upon legalism in any form or degree for salvation is to turn your back upon Christ.[ii]

Paul stood on the fork in that road. He had to choose between law and grace.  I believe that we all come to this fork in the road many times in our lives. Maybe you are at one today.

I love how Paul puts it in this letter to Corinthians … Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 1 Corinthians 15:8-11

“But by the grace of God I am what I am.”  What a powerful statement.

Paul was transformed from a powerful persecutor of the church into a passionate preacher proclaiming Christ and Him crucified, dead, buried and risen! Paul was presented Grace Road and he left the fork in the road that day.

Paul told the church in Colossae these words … “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” Colossians 1:2-5

I know many people who quote only part of this famous saying.  Many say, “I am what I am.” But we need to include the last part of this verse: by the grace of God.

Paul’s life was forever changed and transformed by God’s grace.  Pick up your Bible and you will read how Paul begins most of his letters to the churches with “grace” and he ends most of his writings with words of “grace.” Paul had been trained for years in the law. He stood at the fork in the road for an exceptionally long time. Friends, it is only the grace of God that can change us from being a sinner to saint, from a persecutor to a proclaimer. GRACE: God RICHES At Christ’s Expense—a free gift for all. We cannot buy this precious, priceless commodity. Grace is God’s free gift.

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eightfold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law—each offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.[iii]

The Gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection de-centers unbelievers from the center of their own life.  That is what it did for Paul.  Paul stood at the intersection of Law and Grace and recognized his unworthiness. Paul recognized a truth I want us all to remember “I AM WHAT I AM BY THE GRACE OF GOD.”

Where would you be today without God’s grace?

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

So What?
Brennan Manning has been one of my favorite authors.  I was able to go and hear him speak in person on many occasions.  I have read and reread his books.  They have ministered to me in many ways throughout my years of ministry and my years of being rescued from myself. I stood at the intersection of law and grace often. Manning has written: “The Ragamuffin Gospel, Ruthless Trust, Abba’s Child, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus.”  Get ready for the title of his last book: “All is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir.” Manning was a recovering alcoholic.  Brennan died of wet brain syndrome, Weirnecke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS).  Brennan struggled with alcoholism. Listen to some of his last words:

“Do you believe that the God of Jesus loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity—that he loves you in the morning sun and in the evening rain—that he loves you when your intellect denies it, your emotions refuse it, your whole being rejects it. Do you believe that God loves YOU without condition or reservation and loves you this moment as you are and not as you should be?”[iv]

Many of you know that the past few years have been difficult for my wife and I. We have lived through the sorrow and grief of the deaths of four family members and a very close friend who was like family.  I went back to Illinois this past month to help clean out some of the personal items in my dad’s home where he and my mom lived for many years. My mom died in this home. I was with her. This is the same home where my dad and stepmom lived for another 20 years. In mid-May Jodi, Juliet, Brian, and I traveled to the house (from Texas and California) in order to pick up boxes that my stepmom had set aside for the Peters family. We moved the boxes to a storage building in Rochelle. Jac and I planned a cross-country trip for July in order for me to go through those boxes. A few weeks later, I bought a few additional items from the estate sale and had a good set of friends deliver those items to the storage shed.

As Jac and I stood in that old storage building in Rochelle the last week of June, it hit me. I was standing at the intersection of law and grace like my brother, Paul. I actually heard a soft, still voice within my heart, soul, spirit, mind say, “Dave, I want to tell you why this has intruded into your life. I know how busy you are, but you have a platform to proclaim my grace to many. Here is what I want you to know: Unlike you, I go to an awful lot of estate sales every single day. You went to your first estate sale and brought a few family heirlooms back home. Dave, I go to every estate sale I know of and I go every single day. You know what I do? I buy my people back. It’s okay. You are at the same intersection Persecutor Paul found himself at so very long ago: Law or Grace? Paul was blinded. He was guided to town and laid in a bed for days. Paul had plenty of time to pray and to think. So have you. I will imprint on your heart what I imprinted on Paul’s: Forget what lies behind. Focus on what lies ahead. CHOOSE GRACE EVERY TIME.”

Grace.  We cannot earn it. We  cannot buy it.
Grace is a free, priceless gift of God offered to us through the life, death, and resurrection of His one and only Son—Jesus Christ.

A long time ago our blue van housed a bumper sticker on the back end:  HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN? TURN RIGHT. GO STRAIGHT. We drove that van for 350,000 miles. It went to the ballpark several nights a week. One day my wife was working at the concession. A little boy ran up to her and said, “Hey! I turned right and I’m going straight to heaven!” It was good advice for him. It’s good advice for you and me.

Paul had a history. He turned RIGHT and went STRAIGHT. Thank God.

You and me? Same choice. I don’t know about you but I’m turning right and going straight….by the GRACE OF GOD…I AM WHAT I AM.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Join us for worship on Sunday mornings at 9am Pacific at 9284 Baseline Road Rancho Cucamonga, California.  If you are not able to join us in person you are invited to watch out live-stream and connect with us through your chats, prayers and worship.  You can always go to our YouTube channel and wrtch the weekly worship service, children’s messages and sermons.  The YouTube channel is The Seed Christian Fellowship.

[i] My version, an old one, has West’s and Lyttleton’s books bound together: Lord Lyttleton on the Conversion of St. Paul and Gilbert West on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (New York: The American Tract Society, 1929). In some editions the flyleaf contains the words: “Blame not until thou hast examined the truth.” The story of these two men is told in R. A. Torrey, The Bible, and Its Christ (New York: Revell, 1904–1906), 98–100.

[ii] Hobbs, H. H. (1990). My favorite illustrations (p. 132). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

[iii] Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing about Grace?, Zondervan, 1997

[iv] Brennan Manning, All is Grace, 2011, David C Cook

“Now, brethren, I want to remind you of the Gospel i preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” I Corinthians 15:1-4

Dear Faithful Seed-Sowers,

Today is the day before 9-11; the 20th anniversary. It is my prayer that you all are well and healthy today and are walking with the Lord. Let us continue in prayer for our nation, our world, and for one another.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about the church over the past year.  Not just The Seed Christian Fellowship, I have been thinking about the church universal. I do not want to bore you with statistic and numbers but my first degree from college was in Business and Accounting. I love to work with numbers.  The funny thing is that God called me out of counting financial reports and called me to counting sheep. A glorious by-product of this new style of counting is that I no longer count sins, forgiving and forgetting sins instead of logging all the hurts and betrayals of sins on my ledger sheet. I don’t know if God has called you to this new style of counting but, for sure, it is my new way of living.

The other day I was reading and article on numbers about the church and church membership in America. A recent Gallup poll shows that church membership in America has dropped to below 50% for the first time in eight decades — that is 80 years if you are counting. Today church membership in local congregations stands at 47% when in 1999 (22 years ago) church membership was around 70%.  Gallup’s reports says that “The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preferences.”  You know those forms at hospitals and other places where you fill them out and you can put your religious preference on them? The box for religious preference is now being marked  “NONE.”  The NONEs have it! (or do they?)

George Barna is a Christian researcher.  His organization did some research on the meaning of Easter.  Here are some of the things that they found. Within the religious definitions offered by Americans, there is a certain degree of confusion: 2% of Americans said that Easter is about the “birth of Christ”; another 2% indicated it was about the “rebirth of Jesus”; and 1% said it is a celebration of “the second coming of Jesus.” Not included in the theistic category was another 3% who described Easter as a celebration of spring or a pagan holiday.  On the non-religious side, 13% of respondents said they were not sure how to describe Easter. Another 8% of Americans said the holiday means nothing to them or that they do not celebrate the occasion. Other non-religious descriptions of Easter included: getting friends and family together (4%), spring break (3%), a symbol of new beginnings, rebirth, and renewal (2%), a time to dye and hide eggs (2%), an event for children to have fun (2%), the Easter bunny (1%), an occasion that is too commercialized (1%), and an opportunity to enjoy food and candy (1%).

What I find most interesting is how unchurched people view Easter. In terms of the audience that most Christian churches attempt to attract every Easter weekend – non-churchgoing adults – the research shows that only 25% of the people connect the EASTER holiday to Jesus’ resurrection! Church, we need to do a better job of proclaiming EASTER! Like the verse above says, I tell you what is most important: Jesus died. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose from the dead.

It can’t be said much easier. The GOSPEL is this: Jesus died for our sins. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose from the dead.

Resurrection Reminder
“Now, brethren, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.” I Corinthians 15:1

Paul wants to encourage the church (we are the church now) to remember!

Remember the Gospel!

The Greek word for Gospel is “εὐαγγέλιον euaggelion” which means “Good News” and it is the word from which we get the word “evangelism.”

So What is the “Good News” to you? What is it that you will take a stand on?

What do you believe and what is it that you are willing to hold onto no matter what?

When Billy Graham was preaching in Germany one day, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer invited him to his office: Coffee was served, but before Billy’s first sip, Chancellor Konard started in: “Young man, do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?” “I most certainly do,” Billy replied. “So do I, Chancellor Konard said. If Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead, there is not one glimmer of hope for the human race. When I leave office, I am going to spend the rest of my life studying and writing about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s the most important event in human history.” [i]

In the words of Jaroslav Pelikan, an American scholar, “If Christ is risen—then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—then nothing else matters.”[ii]

Timothy Keller, a pastor, wrote, “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said?[iii]

Paul wanted the early church to take a stand and remember the Good News! In Paul’s day being a Christian was more than intellectual assent to a group of doctrines. The social price that followers of Christ paid forced them to take a stand in a hostile world. I think we can learn a little from Paul as we go through this worldwide pandemic called COVID-19. With all the news we are bombarded with 24 hours a day: what is the Good News?  What can you and I stand on?

Listen to Paul: We stand on the hope and power of the resurrection.

My favorite comes from Paul’s letter to Romans — …if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)

With all that the world is going through, we are living in a time when we need to stop and remember what our north star is, what is our center point of our faith.

Here’s your homework: What (or who) is my north star?  What (or who) is the center point of my faith?

So What?
John Stott, a wonderful pastor and teacher, wrote these words about the resurrection of Christ: “The Resurrection somehow resonates with our human condition. It speaks to our needs as I reckon no other event of antiquity does, or even could.”

In other words, it is not up to us to make the resurrection relevant; it already is relevant without us. We just need to proclaim it and apply it with joy and confidence. Christ’s resurrection from the dead is not just an idea, a concept, or a doctrine—although it is truly a breathtaking and revolutionary doctrine! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the power that will usher broken fragile humanity into Christ’s “newness of life”.

I love that Matthew ends his gospel with Christ ascending from the mountain, saying, “I’ll be with you til the very end of the age.”

Where are you in this story? Paul is writing a letter to his friends and family in the church in Corinth. Evil abounds everywhere they go. The world is calling out to them every day. Can you relate? I can.

Imagine receiving an email or a text from Paul right now: I Corinthians 15:1-11 — Put your name in the Bible. Put your name in all the blank lines below.  Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and put your name in the story.

Now,  YOUR NAME _________, I want to remind you _____ of the gospel I preached to you _______ , which you ______  received and on which you ______ have taken your _____ stand. By this gospel you ______ are saved, if you ______ hold firmly to the word I preached to you ________.  Otherwise, you _______ have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you _________  as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 

Every day I get to go spend time with my father-in-law whom I call dad.  He is 89 and slowly fading away.  Every day he says to my wife and I, “I haven’t seen my wife in a long time. She must be dead. I just can’t believe that she’s gone.”  His wife of 71 years is gone but every time we talk about Mom’s death, I get the blessed opportunity to talk to dad about heaven, about the hope and power of the resurrection and the forgiveness of our sins that comes with faith in Jesus.  He has learned to love to hear about forgiveness. He has the hope of the resurrection within his heart and mind and he is not afraid of dying like he was.  The resurrection has put the living face and name of Jesus Christ into his heart. Dad knows that some day he will die and that he will be able to live forever without any more pain, suffering or tears.

Here is you final “so what?” You are on a deserted island…the world is on one side…calling your name…offering you trinkets of fame, gold, fortune…on the other side stands the risen Jesus Christ…calling your name…offering you His legacy of grace, forgiveness, mercy, joy and love. Do you know what side you are standing on?

My wife and I talk every morning. We read our devotionals and discuss the high points. This morning I asked how she was doing. “I’m sad. They lost my Covid test and I can’t go see Dad until I redo another test, which means 3 more days and it’s already been 2.” Fortunately, they didn’t lose my test and I am able to go visit Dad. (The care home is now requiring two tests a week from non-vaccinated people. We cannot get the vaccine at this time due to health issues and we are happy to test–despite the great inconvenience. The end goal is our ability to see Dad.) Jac told me about an article she had read about a red cord and she said, “It reminded me of how Rahab hung a scarlet cord in her window after hiding the spies in enemy territory. They promised that if she hung the red cord in her window, they would find her and rescue her. That’s how I’m feeling. This is really hard–what I’m doing with Dad and with covid but I hear, ‘I see you. I see your red cord in the window. I will rescue you. Wait.'” I’ve thought about how her thoughts apply to us all. There’s no magic-8 ball with all of the answers–at least there’s no human, magic-8 ball. We have the Bible (basic instructions before leaving earth) and we have the hope of the risen Jesus Christ. He sees your red cord in the window of your heart. Wait. He’s coming back.

Long ago, I counted financial reports and profits and loss and numbers. It took a whole new call for this former accountant to learn how to count on Christ–who is actually counting on me. Together, Jesus and I are an overwhelming majority. This coming week, I will fly home to be a Spiritual Director on a men’s grace weekend. I leave you with one, last thought and prayer:  the world or Jesus…what side are you standing on?

Paul says, “I give to you the 3 most important things I know: Christ died for your sins. Christ was buried. Christ rose from the dead.”

Sometimes the GOSPEL is that easy. You only have to know how to count to three.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www,theseedchristianfellowship.com

Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fantastic Seed-Sowers,

Grace and peace to you all.  I pray that the Lord watches over you and keeps you from all harm.  We have so much to be praying for in our families, schools, churches,nation, and world.  Praying for all those who are struggling with Covid-19.  Praying for those who have lost loved-ones.  Praying for firefighters, police-officers, all medical teams, and all of our military personnel who stand in the gap and defend our lives and our freedom.

Open your bible to John 2:1-11.  This is one of those famous stories of Jesus’ life and His miracles. This is the first miracle that Jesus performs. We could spend a lot of time looking at the miracle and what it means in light of Jesus.  Have you ever stopped to think about those servants at the wedding?  They get advice from Jesus’ mom.  Do you notice that they didn’t ask for it but they got it anyway? And I am so glad they did. Because it really is the best advice any mother ever gave.

In the NASB translation it is seven little words, “WHATEVER HE SAYS TO YOU DO IT!”  In our reading today from the NIV, it is five words, “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”  In the original Greek it is six words and when translated literally, it is “WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”

I would like to take a few moments and take a look at these words, the best advice any mother could give:
“Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you.”

WHATEVER
Think of the word “whatever.” I know many have used that as a slang when asked to do something … whatever and shrug their shoulders and walk away.  Mary tells the servants “WHATEVER” Jesus tells you to do — do it!
Have you ever thought of the scope, the scale, the possibilities, the potentials, the prospect, the options, and opportunities of “WHATEVER”?

In the Greek,  “whatever” is actually three words translated into one word.  It is a relative pronoun that means, “anyone, anything, who, what, whoever, whichever, and whatever.”  This is an all-inclusive word that says — “whatever, whenever, whoever, anyone or anything.”

This is the same word used when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in the middle of the night in John 3. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16  Same word Jesus spoke to the woman at the well in John 4 — “but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  John 4:14

Maybe a good “so what?” for us right now is “WHATEVER” –whatever is Jesus asking you to do? I mean it, stop and ask yourself this important question.

Did you notice that the servants did exactly what Mary told them to do?  They did not hesitate, or make excuses, or look for someone else to do the work.  They did not ask why me? They did not say you sound like a crazy mom.

We need to remember that there have been no miracles done by Jesus yet.  The blind have not been given their sight back. The lame and paralyzed have not been healed. The lepers have not been made clean. There has been no multiplication of fish and bread to feed thousands. No walking on water and no storms stilled.  No demon possession and deliverance. These people have not seen any resurrections from the dead.

But here we are at a family wedding celebration.

And mama says, “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO.”

These humble servants were asked to simply obey. But what a strange request. There is no wine but go and fill these 6 stone water jars that hold twenty to thirty gallons up to the brim with water.  Do you know that one gallon of water is 8.34 pounds?  Let us do a little math: 20 gallons of water would weigh 166.8 lbs. — roughly 167 pounds.  If they were 30 gallons, they would have weighed 250lbs. that means they were asked to carry up to 1500 lbs. of water?  Can you imagine what these servants were being asked to do? Enter the story.  Jesus has just asked YOU to go carry 1,500 pounds of not wine but water!

This is not the first time God had given unusual instructions.

Go back to Moses who tells the people to put the blood of a Lamb over your doorway. Naaman, was told by Elisha to go dip 7 times in the Jordan. Joshua told the Priests to take up the ark of the covenant and step into the Jordan at flood stage. Joshua was instructed to march around the walls of Jericho for six days without shouting or making a sound. Then on the seventh day walk around the city seven times and on the last time around– shout and blow the trumpets. Rahab was asked to hang a scarlet rope out of her window so that she and her household would be saved.

To be honest with you, none of those things would have made sense to anyone. Truly it is the same way today. We are called to obey whatever Jesus tells us, no matter how unusual it seems.

HE TELLS
DO WHATEVER “He tells” is one of the verbs in this sentence. Of course, it is a present active verb, meaning that that action is continuous and never ending.

Jesus has not stopped speaking. Have we stopped listening?

Notice that HE is Jesus!  Jesus is the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Jesus is our Savior and we called to trust Him for forgiveness and eternal life.

Why do we not trust and obey our Savior?

SO WHAT?
Sometimes men and women who never stand in a pulpit preach the greatest sermons simply through living out the living Word in their daily lives. 

Jesus’ mother said, ‘’Whatever He says to you, do it!” What a power sermon of seven words!

Drop the mic. Turn off the TV. Stop the train. Let go of your electronics.

“Whatever He says to you, do it.”

‘WHATEVER!” This means YOU….do and keep doing…whatever Jesus asks you to do.

Remember the sheriff in Groom, Texas. He was sitting at the cafe wondering what he would say to 3 little children whose mama had just died. Jac and I were leaving the big, white cross display when I felt a total nudge to go eat lunch in Groom, Texas. I ignored it. I got on the highway. “Turn around and go eat lunch in Groom.” I turned around. We went in. We stuck out like sore thumbs in our flip flops and tee shirts. We enjoyed a fantastic lunch. The sheriff paid and went outside. Jac went outside and made mention of the Sheriffs tee shirt. He asked what I did for a living. And then he waited for me to pay. For the next 60 minutes the sheriff and I talked about Jesus and heaven. He needed help in knowing how to tell 3 little children sad, sad news. We talked, we prayed and he left–encouraged. For 100% sure whatever HE tells you to do…do it.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Dear Faithful, Fearless, and Fruitful Seed-Sowers,
May the God of all grace and mercy surround you with His grace, mercy and love.  May you know that God is with you and His promise is that He will never leave you or forsake you. COUNT ON THIS AS YOU FACE THE FUTURE.

Last week, we heard a word to the troubled in heart as Jesus walked down the Emmaus Road with His disciples.  Today we turn to Luke 24 where we will hear a word to the skeptical and scared.

With his news-assignment request approved, the CNN News cameraman quickly used his cell phone to call the local airport to charter a flight. He was told a twin-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport.  Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a plane warming up outside a hanger. He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, “Let’s go!” The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into the wind and took off. Once in the air, the cameraman instructed the pilot, “Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can get shots of the fires on the hillsides. “Why?” asked the pilot. “Because I’m a cameraman for CNN,” he responded, “and I need to get some close-up shots. “The pilot was strangely silent for a moment. Finally, he stammered, “So, what you are telling me, is…you’re not my flight instructor?^[i]

What a case of mistaken identity!

Have you ever mistaken the identity of someone or something?

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead caused even His followers to mistake His identity.  At the tomb, Mary Magdalene thought Jesus was the gardener.  The disciples on the road to Emmaus thought Jesus was the only one in Jerusalem who did not know what terrible things had just happened in Jerusalem.

In the Gospel of Luke, we have three different records of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It would be just like our detailed, Dr.  Luke to paint a tapestry of three different panels. One panel is the story found in Luke 24:1-12 that we read on Easter Sunday.  Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women go to tomb early in the morning and find that the stone is rolled away; they see two men glowing like lightening.  These two angels say to the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee.  The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.” (Luke 24:5-7) Dr. Luke tells us that the women ran back to tell the disciples the good news.  The disciples think the women are talking nonsense. However, we learn that Peter ran to the tomb–only to find it was empty.  Peter walked away wondering what in the world had happened.  This is the first panel Dr. Luke has painted for us.

The second panel is the story found in Luke 24:13-34. We studied this story last week.  This panel is painted with Cleopas and another (Mary his wife, Mary) walking home to Emmaus from Jerusalem. Out of the blue, Jesus started walking alongside them.  As they walked and talked, Jesus opened all of the Scriptures to them–beginning with Moses and the prophets and explained to them all that must happen to the Messiah.  Even after all of this, they still had a case of mistaken identity of their mystery man who had joined them on their walk.  It was not until Jesus broke bread with them that their eyes were opened.  “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

What does it take for our hearts to burn within us?  What would it take for us to know the real Christ and not to have a case of mistaken identity regarding Him?  What would it take for us to pick up and run back the seven miles we just walked in order to tell others that we have seen the risen, living Christ?  Why is that we have such a hard time seeing Jesus come alongside us in our lives?   Why is that that we mistake His identity time and time again?

Today we turn to the third panel of Luke’s magnificent tapestry of the resurrection story.  Today, may our eyes be opened once again to see the risen Christ.  May our hearts be strangely warmed as we open up God’s Word and read Luke 24:36-53.

As always, place yourself into our story. Be a part of the living word of God. We are in the Upper Room, gathered together and huddled in fear. Now, let us introduce Dr. Luke’s three panels of resurrection stories and three cases of mistaken identity:  Mary Magdalene thought Jesus was the gardener.  Cleopas and his companion on the way to Emmaus had no clue who their traveling companion was. Was this mysterious traveler the only one who did not know the things that had happened in Jerusalem? They all had a case of mistaken identity.  After Jesus opened up the Scriptures to Cleopas and the other disciple, after Jesus broke bread with them–they immediately ran 7 miles back to Jerusalem to tell all those gathered in the Upper Room that they had just been with the risen Christ.

Can you imagine?  It is still Resurrection Day.  Jesus’ disciples have run the gamut of emotions for one day!  Are you there with me? What a day! Do you think after Cleopas shares his news that they are all talking at the same time?  Imagine you are in the midst of a crowd. What is going on after all of these people tell us that Jesus is not dead—his tomb is empty and he is alive—and not just in Jerusalem, He is even alive in Emmaus.

I imagine the group is asking questions, making statements, wondering out loud.  Joy, excitement, bewilderment, confusion, fear and skepticism are running rampant in the room.  The doors are locked because of their fears and then…suddenly… Jesus walks into the room and says, “Peace be with you.”

Imagine the scene.  Huddle together.  The doors are locked!  We are all afraid and we are hiding. We are hearing the Good News of Jesus being raised from the dead!  Jesus is alive?  All of our hopes that were dashed are now being rekindled.  Dreams that were shattered are being restored! Now imgaine, Jesus walks into the room and says to us, “Peace be with you.”  “Eirene hymin” in Greek and “Shalom alakem,” are the common terms of greeting.   What a day this has been for anyone inside that Upper Room!

Here is a lesson we can glean from this third panel of the Resurrection Day Tapestry: Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our fear!  Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our bewilderment! Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our doubts!  Jesus wants to bring HIS peace into our confusion! Jesus wants to bring His peace to all who are skeptical.  Jesus wants to bring peace.

Listen!  The Good News!

No matter what kind of day we are having, Jesus wants to bring peace into our lives!

What happens next is another profound example of mistaken identity.  The disciples are gathered together in the Upper Room.  They have heard from Mary Magdalene, Cleopas, and the other disciple that they have seen the risen Christ.  Mary thought He was the gardener at first.  Cleopas and his companion thought Jesus was this short of being an idiot.  They are all wondering what in the world is going on and now Jesus Himself is standing right in front of them.  What is their response?  They think they are seeing a ghost.

On January 28, 1945, as World War II was groaning to a close, 121 elite Army Rangers liberated over 500 POWs, mostly Americans, from a Japanese prisoner of war camp near Cabanatuan in the Philippines. The prisoners, many of whom were survivors of the infamous Bataan death march, were in awful condition, physically and emotionally. Before the Rangers arrived, the primary Japanese guard unit had left the camp because of Japan’s massive retreat from the Philippines. The new situation was precarious. Japanese troops were still around and, in the camp, but they kept their distance from the prisoners. The men of Cabanatuan did not quite know what to make of their new freedom—if freedom was in fact what it was. And then, without warning, the American Rangers swept upon the camp in furious force. But one of the most interesting facets of the story was the reaction of many of the prisoners. They were so defeated, diseased, and familiar with deceit that many needed to be convinced they were actually free.

They were skeptical and scared.

Was it a trick? A trap? Was this real? One prisoner, Captain Bert Bank, struggling with blindness caused by a vitamin deficiency, could not clearly make out his would-be rescuers. He refused to budge. Finally, a soldier walked up to him, tugged his arm, and said, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you want to be free?” Bank, from Alabama, recognized the familiar southern accent of his questioner. A smile formed on his lips, and he willingly and thankfully began his journey to freedom. Finally, far away from what had been, for years, the site of an ongoing, horrific assault on their humanity, the newly freed prisoners began their march home.

In the description of one prisoner, contrasting it with the Bataan nightmare years earlier, “It was a long, slow, steady march …but this was a life march, a march of freedom.”^[i]

SO WHAT?
I believe that we are a lot like those prisoners.  We have been set free from our captivity and, yet, we stand frozen in our tracks.  We have heard of the resurrection of Christ from the tomb, but do we really believe it? Did Jesus really rise from the dead?  Is Jesus really the promised Messiah?  Would Jesus walk into my confusion, bewilderment, doubts, fears, frustrations, hurts, addictions, pain, worries, skepticism, scared heart and messed-up life?

Timothy J. Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism said; “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”[ii]

So, what? What do you believe?  Are you a prisoner of skepticism?  Are you frozen in fear? Are you scared like the early disciples? Hear these words:
“Peace be with you.” May these words soak and saturate deeply into your heart.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

Greetings Faithful Friends and Fearless Seed-Sowers,
I am sorry it has taken me so long to write a Seed of Faith.  I have been busy and maybe I have been confused and troubled.  I just returned home from Illinois after cleaning out some of my dad’s personal items from his home.  My step-mom is moving and I needed to go through some of my dad’s items that were in his home for the past fifty some years (photo albums mainly.)

Today we are going to take a walk with Jesus. We are on the road to Emmaus.  Emmaus is a town.  The Emmaus Road story is one of the most famous and familiar stories that Dr. Luke tells.  Today we meet two disciples who are also making their way home from the Passover festival.  This is the same day that Jesus rose from the tomb.  These two disciples happen to be followers of Jesus, just like us. They are heart-sick, heart-broken, depressed and confused about Jesus’ crucifixion and now they are walking home—7 miles back home. Think about where 7 miles from your home is–and imagine walking there right now. As you are walking, let me ask you a few questions.

Have you ever been heart-sick before?
Have you ever-been heart-broken before?
Have you ever been down or depressed before?
Have you ever been confused before?

Our good friend, Dr. Luke, now introduces us to two disciples, one named Cleopas and one that is not named.  Scholars have debated about who these two disciples are. Some scholars say that Cleopas is a follower of Jesus and the other, unnamed person is none other than Dr. Luke. Some have said that Cleopas is the Cleopas mentioned by the Gospel of John in John 19:25 when we are told that Mary’s sister was the wife of Cleopas and her name was Mary, also.  If this is the case, then these two disciples were Jesus’ aunt and uncle–headed home to Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.   Whoever they were, these two had been in Jerusalem for the Passover festival with a million other Jews.  They were followers of Jesus.  They were there when Jesus entered the town riding on a donkey.  They were there with all of the people shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna — Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”  They heard the crowd shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him!”  We are also told in the Scriptures that “Mary, the wife of Cleopas” was at the cross with Jesus’ mother.  Mary, the wife of Cleopas, was with her sister, Mary, the mother of Jesus, at Jesus’ crucifixion. Are you in this story yet?
These two disciples loved Jesus with all of their hearts.  They were in Jerusalem for a Passover festival, a celebration.  They were not expecting what happened.  The person they loved, Jesus, had been arrested, tried, and whipped. Jesus was crucified and these two are heart-sick!  They are heart-broken!  They are depressed! They are confused!  And they are beginning their long, 7-mile walk back home.
Can you identify with being heat-broken, depressed, confused, disappointed, and downcast?  Just say — Covid-19 or quarantine, lockdown, stay-at-home, no school, no sports, no going out, no family …. No, no, no, no! I think we can all identify with being heart-broken this past year.

Dr/ Luke tells us that as they were walking along, they were discussing the events of the past week.  The Greek word for “discussing” is “syzeteo” which is a present tense verb.  This means that they were discussing and discussing and discussing over and over again all of the things that had happened.  They were on a roller coaster of grief and confusion, going up and down and all around and around; discussing the life and death of Jesus.

As they were walking and talking, the RESURRECTED Jesus walked up behind them and asked them what they were talking about.  They did not recognize Jesus.  The original Greek tells us that “they were kept from recognizing Him.”  Why?  We really do not know.  Commentaries suggest it was because they were looking into the sun and the shadows prevented them from recognizing Jesus.   Perhaps they were so overcome with grief, their hearts so broken that in the midst of their grief and confusion they could not see who it was that was standing in front of them.  They simply did not recognize Jesus. If you are taking notes — write this one down.  It is really important!

Jesus finds us in our confusion!  Jesus finds us when our hearts are broken, and we are overwhelmed with grief.  Jesus wants to enter into our story—right where we are, no matter where we are.
I am praying that our eyes will be opened and that our hearts will be strangely warmed as we recognize Jesus whenever, wherever, He walks into our lives.

So What?
In 2015 an EF4 tornado with winds of 200 mph hit my hometown of Rochelle, Illinois. I remember that night, I was heartsick, and heartbroken to hear of the devastation the tornado caused.  My heart was heavy and burdened with grief. The day after the tornado, our good friends called.  We had raised our children with them, went on vacation with them—their family was our family and vice versa.  We knew on the night of the tornado that their niece’s home had been destroyed by the tornado.  The next morning our friend called to tell us this story:

Her niece and her husband have three, small children—5,3, and 5 months.  When the sirens went off, they hurried down to the southwest corner of their basement.  Looking out the basement window, they saw their wooden swing set blow away like toothpicks and disappear.  Her niece held all three of the children while her husband formed a human shield of protection over them; spread eagle like a cross.  In less than a minute, their house and everything they owned was gone.  The first floor had collapsed into the basement, missing them by inches.  Her niece had cried out, “We’re going to die.”  Across the street, another young family had sought shelter from the tornado in their own basement. After the tornado had safely passed, the young father grabbed a flashlight and ran over to help the family across the street whose home had been blown away. In the darkness, he found the five of them in the southwest corner of the basement—the only corner that sustained no damage—and he helped pull them all to safety.  The next day, our friend, brought in heavy equipment that lifted the collapsed first floor from the basement so that our friends could sort through what was left of their home.  Here is all they found:  the five-year old’s Mickey Mouse that he sleeps with, the 3-year-old’s blankie that she sleeps with, a pillow that said HOME, a sign that said THANKFUL and her very beat up and, almost unrecognizable, laptop.  Someone took the laptop to a techy who carefully removed from it the stored photos and documents.  Everything else was gone.

Here is the “so what?” for this week that I want you to remember forever:

Jesus meets us in our confusion, in our heart-sickness, in our depression, in our fears and doubts.
Jesus WILL bring clarity into our lives.
Jesus WILL bring comfort into our lives…All through the living, abiding, Word of God.
YOUR HEART WILL BE STRANGELY WARMED–and that, my friends, is just God at work.

Just as the father I told you about covered his family in order to protect them, Jesus does the same for you and me.  In the midst of our confusion, our grief, our depression, our sorrow, our heartsickness, our heartbrokenness, our doubts, our fears, our shame, our guilt—Jesus covers us. Friends, this is the hope and the power of the RESURRECTION. Today as we travel along our own EMMAUS ROAD, may our eyes be opened,  may our hearts be strangely warmed as we break bread together.  May we recognize the crucified, risen Christ in our midst!

Back to being in Rochelle to go through some of my Dad’s personal things, I decided that since my wife would be with her father here in California that it might be nice to have my son or daughters fly with me to Rochelle. Our eldest has 7 children and couldn’t get away but she prayed for us. Our son drove his truck up from Waco, Texas; there were two toolboxes that he could have. Our youngest daughter brought her daughter and we flew together. Jesus was with us all the way. We had a ton of turbulence on the first flight then our plane was delayed due to weather in Dallas. We sat in the Dallas airport for six, long hours–wearing a mask. We were there all night. I know the man who designed the train system in Dallas and so I got the girls to ride the rails with me.  Strangely, we felt God was with us as we waited for our flight to Chicago. We arrived in Chicago at 5 am–walked through the terminal and got a hotel room because we were exhausted. Later, we rented a Jeep and headed to Dad’s. Our eldest daughter was brought home to this house in 1974. Our son and daughter who were with me had experienced birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays in this home–like their entire lives have had memories there. As we sorted in the basement, I felt my heart strangely warmed. My brother, Joe, came over and helped. We were able to move Dad’s tools from a shed the next day. We loaded up Brian’s truck with two toolboxes. Through the week, I was able to see close friends and family. Heck, we even drove to Milwaukee to see the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brewers! Through it all, through all of the sorrow and sadness, the risen Christ was with us, warming our hearts with the love of family.

I’m praying for you. You are loved.

See You Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

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“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:38-40

Dear Faithful – Fearless and Fruitful Seed Sowers,

This is Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ earthly life.  I encourage you take some time and read the accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life. Read and compare the four Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) or pick one to read one this week.  Here are the Gospel accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life, Holy Week  — Matthew 21-28, Mark 11-16, Luke 19:28-24 and John 12-21.

Today we are going to look at Luke 19:28-44 and at the Old Testament prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9-12.

Think about this for a moment.  I mean, stop, and really think about where you are in this story of the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem? Where are you in your faith walk with Jesus? There were crowds of people in this story.  Scholars believe that there were over 2 million people in Jerusalem during the time of the Passover.  They estimate the crowd at the “Palm Parade” was around 200,000 people.  Jesus was riding into town on a donkey and the crowds went wild. Yet, there are at least three types of people in this story. As you read, figure out where you are. Which of these three crowds do you belong in?

1. The people who knew their Scriptures and were waiting for God to send a KING to overthrow the Roman government—this crowd went wild with praise! PRAISERS.

2. The crowd of the Pharisees did not go wild with praise.  They went wild with protest. PROTESTORS. 

3. The third kind of crowd was absolutely passive—to them, this parade was no big deal either way. PASSERS.

Praising, protesting or passive! Faithful one or faithless one! What crowd will you find yourself in today?

Will we praise Jesus?
Will we protest Jesus?
Will we be passive about Jesus?

Imagine for a moment 100,000 to 200,000 people moving, waving palms, and shouting!  The Rose Bowl holds around 92,000 people, double that crowd, imagine the noise and hysteria of the crowd on that first Palm Sunday. Can you feel the energy?

Can you enter into the picture?  A few million people are milling around Jerusalem.  There are people everywhere! Today would be Sunday, the Sunday before they celebrated Passover, and this is the very reason why all of these people were there.  Today is known as “Lamb Selection Sunday” and thousands of lambs are being led into town for Thursday’s annual Passover sacrifice event. Everyone is selecting their family’s sacrificial lamb.  Think of the tension in the air as the Roman centurions walk around — angry that the crowd is so large.   Their swords and shields are ready at a moment’s notice to keep the peace.  Jesus makes his way through the nearby town of Bethany, down the Mount of Olives and enters the city of Jerusalem.  Jesus has been in ministry for three years.  The people have seen Him in action or they have heard about Him.  The crowd is energized, and the excitement keeps building and building!  Jesus is riding into town on a donkey and the crowd goes wild.  They have been waiting for this day! These people know their scriptures. They don’t have the new testament—only the old! They can easily equate Zechariah 9…with what they are seeing!  All of sudden, this is the biggest parade you have ever seen, everyone is breaking off palm branches from the palm trees and waving them. They are taking off their outer coats to throw them on the dirt road that Jesus is riding into town on!  Are you with me?  Can you hear the excitement as the crowd begins to shout, “HOSANNA — HOSANNA — HOSANNA!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the king of Israel.”  (Makes me think of when we shout USA in the Olympic games.)

The Hebrew word “hosanna” literally means “save us, we pray, save us now, save us–we beseech you.”  The crowd is shouting at the top of their lungs, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna!”

What about you?  Are you in this crowd? 

Do YOU PROTEST Jesus?
There is another crowd we need to pay attention to.  I love that Luke puts these two verses into his detailed storyline, “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’ ‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’”  This is the last mention of the Pharisees in Luke’s account.  The Pharisees went out to meet Jesus because they understood why He was coming to town.  This Jesus was about to turn their entire lives completely upside down.  The Pharisees were comfortable and in control, or so they thought.  Luke records that some of the Pharisees were shouting out to Jesus.  Imagine how loud they must have been shouting to have their voices heard over the crowd.  This crowd of Pharisees wanted to silence the crowd and Jesus.  Imagine how they felt when Jesus responded that even if the crowd was silent, the very stones on the ground would cry out. (I’d like to be around for that!)

The voices of two contrasting crowds:  One crowd is wild with excitement, shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna” —“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” The other crowd is shouting “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Two crowds: One crowd praises Jesus while the other crowd protests Him.

We come to the final group:  the crowd who simply pass.  They do not care enough one way or the other.  Jesus?  Who?  Did what?  Yeah, I am really busy doing my own thing.  I am going to pass on that.   I’m taking a pass today. Maybe next time.

This the “So what?” for YOU today:  what crowd are YOU in?

·         Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PRAISE-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?

·         Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PROTEST-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?

·         Are you in the “THINK-I-WILL-PASS-on-Jesus-TODAY” crowd?

So What?

One day Mark Twain took his little daughter on his knee and told her all about the rulers and other prominent men whom he had met in his travels. She listened attentively. When he had finished, she said, “Daddy, you know everybody but God, don’t you?” Mark Twain was certainly an intelligent person. Yet he rejected God.1

Praise.  Protest.  Pass.  Our choice.  Today’s “So What?” comes down to a choice…made by me…made by you…to either PRAISE…PROTEST. …or PASS this JESUS OF NAZARETH.

PRAISE…PROTEST…or PASS.

When we were raising our kids, my wife and I lived on the parade route. If there was a parade, it was going to go right past our house! Anyone who knew us knew that they could find a spot on our lawn and sit and enjoy the parade.  They also knew they could use the restroom, and could count on brownies with powdered sugar on top and water or pop (yes, in Northern Illinois–soda is POP!) Guess what? Today I know of a house (point to your heart) that is on the PALM SUNDAY parade route! It’s your heart. It’s YOU! Jesus is riding down the road in front of YOUR heart today! ARE YOU PRAISING? I surely hope you are!

We ended our worship on Palm Sunday with Chris Tomlin’s “IS HE WORTHY?” I double dog dare you to listen to it and PRAISE JESUS.

Friday is here…but…SUNDAY’S COMING!

See you Easter Sunday — SPOILER ALERT:  the tomb is empty!!!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“For [God] has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’  So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?'” Hebrews 13:5–6 NRSV 

Dear Faithful – Fearless & Fruitful Seed Sowers,
Last week we began a SEED OF FAITH on Daniel in the Lion’s Den.  I encourage you to take a few minutes to read Daniel 6.  Daniel had faith to stand against those who accused him. Daniel had faith to transform his environment. Do you? Do I?

The GOD of the entire universe ….says to you and me,  “I will never leave you or forsake you. So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’”  This is the faith that Daniel had!

Do you have this kind of faith?
Do you believe that God is your helper?
Do you believe that no matter what comes your way, GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU or FORSAKE YOU?

In 1940 Vincent and Margaret Crossett were missionaries in Mainland China. They struggled against poverty and paganism in a remote village in order to tell others about Jesus. The work was very slow and difficult, but after much sacrifice a small church was established. The church was no larger than a small Bible study group. Right on the threshold of this small triumph for the kingdom of God, Satan began his work. The Communist takeover of China during the Cultural Revolution forced all missionaries to leave China. The Crossetts hated to leave. Their fledgling flock of believers hardly seemed ready to withstand the coming onslaught. An atheistic, dictatorial government dedicated to wiping out all Christian influence was beginning its rule with ruthless power. How could this little church survive? From the world’s perspective there was nothing anyone could do. The church seemed destined to die. But Vincent and Margaret did not see through the world’s eyes. They saw through the eyes of faith that their God was faithful to those who honor him. The Crossetts were like faithful family sedans. They continued to do their duty. Though the missionaries were chased out, their prayers were not. For nearly forty years the Crosetts daily kept their prayer window opened toward China. They dutifully prayed in faith that God would one day triumph over Communism. The Crosetts heard nothing of their Chinese friends for forty years, but still they faithfully prayed for God to be victorious in the church they left behind. Finally, the walls of China came down. As the political climate changed, the nation was opened to western visitors. The Crossetts returned to the village where they had left the tiny, struggling group of believers. There was no small church in the village anymore! Instead, from that Bible study had grown a church of four thousand people! This body of believers had planted dozens of other churches as well, each with a membership of at least a thousand. All the Crossetts did was pray with their prayer window open to the focus of their prayer—China. The God of Daniel is alive and well.[i]

Romans 8:28, do you know it? “AND WE KNOW THAT GOD WORKS ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE GOD!”
The Crossetts knew their God and they prayed in faith for the little church they left behind in China.

SO WHAT?
When Daniel was threatened with his life to conform to the new edict, he got down on his knees and prayed.  He asked God to help him like God had helped him all his life. Daniel had faith that his God could do immeasurably more than he could ask or imagine. Daniel knew that God was with him. Immanuel: GOD With ME.

In 2013 I came down with an infection of some kind in my body. It started in my left leg and spread to my right leg.  This infection manifested itself in painful blisters and oozing sores. It wasn’t just one or two of these sores but patches of skin, 8 inches long by 4 inches wide. Pretty soon the infection spread to  my chest and back.  I was sent to 14 different doctors. This infection stayed with me for 4 years. It went to the inside of my body and the outside of my body. None of the doctors knew what was wrong with me. My wife had gone to see a doctor in 2001. She had dropped a heavy piece of furniture on her toe and Dr. Zimmerman had helped her. We were grasping at straws at this point, and I was in horrible pain, sleeping in the recliner.  Jac (my wife) kept asking me to go see Dr.  Zimmerman. Out of desperation, I agreed. Dr. Z started treating me.  His words, “This infection is trying to kill you.  I will not send you to the hospital because I fear you would die of MRSA or staph in there.” He was afraid with all of the open, oozing sores, I’d get something worse than what I already had. Dr. Z gave me topical relief but the rash continued to progress. My wife began to have involuntary muscle twitches. She had suffered from mercury poisoning in 2005 and when she went to her doctor, her doctor retested her heavy metals levels. The doctor thought her mercury levels were back up. The test revealed severe lead poisoning. We have a seriously smart doctor, and she called me in and tested me for my heavy metal levels. Both Jac and I were living in a home that was putting out 6 times the limit of lead particles. I had ten times the lethal limit of lead in my body, Jac had 12! No wonder we were so sick. During all of these years of battling the infection, I had learned to be a man of prayer.  Good thing, because chelation is hard on a body! From September of 2017 to the summer of 2019, I did 3 chelations.  I am down to two times the lethal limit. Chelation is no fun. The doctor says I have one chelation left before I read the lethal  limit.

Here’s why I’m telling you this story. Between the past 7 years of oozing sores and chelations, I have learned to become a man of constant prayer.  I have learned to pray, “GOD WITH ME.” My faith in God has grown stronger day by day. God has shut the mouths of the lions I’ve been facing. God will do the same for you.

Daniel did not conform to the pressures of his world. He did not conform to the pressures of the King or of his “friends” and co-workers. Instead of conforming, Daniel transformed. He transformed his corner of the world.  When Daniel came out of the lions’ den after spending a night with the lions. he was untouched.  The King was elated and passed an edit that all people should worship the God of Daniel.  I love the wording of King Darrius law … Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: “May you prosper greatly! “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian

If you are taking notes, here you go. Here are 5 points from King Darius worth remembering:

1.  THE LIVING GOD ENDURES FOREVER — GOD WITH US

2.  GOD’S KINGDOM WILL NOT BE DESTROYED — GOD WITH US

3.  GOD’S DOMINION WILL NEVER END — GOD WITH US

4.  GOD RESCUES AND SAVES —- GOD WITH US

5. GOD PERFORMS SIGNS AND WONDERS IN THE HEAVENS AND ON THE EARTH — GOD WITH US.

NO MATTER WHAT:
KEEP YOUR FAITH IN GOD: There’s a fourth man in the fire with you.
KEEP YOUR FAITH IN GOD: There’s an angel who will SHUT THE MOUTHS OF THE LIONS IN YOUR DEN.

In the face of this year long epidemic, keep your faith. Our God is with us. Your God is with you. Say it with me and make it personal: GOD WITH ME.

When times are hard this week, say it out loud, “GOD WITH ME.” Think about Daniel.  Think about being thrown into the lions’ den for no good reason at all—except that your coworkers are jealous and envious of you. I always tell you to put yourself into the story.  Well.  DO!

Here you are—they’ve thrown you into the pit. They’ve sealed the pit so you can’t escape.  YOU ARE THERE, IN THE PIT, ALONE.  I’m guessing it’s dark–because lions like to hunt at night! I’m also guessing Daniel prayed. An angel came and shut the lions’ mouths. And after that long, long night—Daniel was rescued by the KING…and, don’t miss this, the scripture says,  “So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian..”

Did you hear that? So Daniel prospered.

Tell yourself this story this week…over and over again…until you believe it. And, by the way, you are NOT ALONE in that lions’ den…not at all. That fourth man in the fire? He’s WITH YOU.

GOD WITH US.  GOD WITH ME.  

There isn’t a dream team on earth who can team up against you to defy God’s will and plan for your life. DO YOU BELIEVE IT?

Despite this pandemic and whatever else you are facing, I want you to stand on this promise: So Daniel prospered. That’s my prayer for you! Jac’s “Daddy-oh” has been with us for 400 days now. He has Alzheimer’s and emphysema and a severe case of sundowners. Dad is up all night making many trips around the house and the bathroom. The doctors have said, “It is time. He needs 24/7 supervision.” Because of covid, we can’t hire night-time help. We will be placing Dad into a nearby memory care home this coming week. It is time for Jac and me to have a living faith for Dad; a faith that says, “God’s will for Dad is for him to prosper in this next move.” Immanuel. God with us. God with me. I’m praying for you.  Will you pray for us?

See You Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18

Dear Faithful, fearless & fruitful Seed sowers,

“God With Us” is the series that we are working through at The Seed Christian Fellowship of Rancho Cucamongam California! It is my prayer that as we look at the big stories of the Bible we see how God was with all the people and that God is with us, too.  In last week’s Seed of faith we laid a foundation of Daniel 3 and the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

In this story you can find at least three different groups of people. The conformer, those who bow down and worship the golden statue.  Then there are the informers, those who are jealous of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego because they will not bow down. This group goes and tells.  And you have the last group, the reformers. The reformers are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They did not bow down. This is how it is recorded in Daniel 3:12 — “But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

The convictions, the beliefs and the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego provided their enemy (and  coworkers) with an opportunity to accuse the four men of sedition, disloyalty, subversion and treason. The informers go to work doing what informers do:  they phrase their remarks in such a manner as to work King Nebuchadnezzar into the greatest possible rage and agitation. “Furious with rage” is what we are told.  Nebuchadnezzar brought the three young men before him and probed them for a confession. “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?” Daniel 3:14

No reply is recorded, but there must have been one. They must have told the king that what he had been told about them was correct.

Nebuchadnezzar offered to give them another chance.

Here in this story lies a problem that confronts every follower of the One True God: when the requirements of serving God come into conflict with the demands of a secular world—to whom do you bow down to?

Are you in this story, yet? Put yourself in Babylon, standing in front of the King. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do not go to seek more time or to get a professional lawyer’s advice. These young men did not rationalize their options.  They did not try to justify their actions.  They did not go and discuss their decision with others. They did not stop to consider the arguments of others. They simply remained faithful to their one, true God.

What is the king’s reply?  “But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Daniel 3:15

These words written in Daniel 3:16-18 are some of the most memorable verses in the Old Testament.  “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’” Daniel 3:16-18

What in the world? Are you with me? Are you right here in this story? You are standing before the pagan King Nebuchadnezzar with your BFF’s. Here’s a great idea to ponder: What gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the conviction and the faith they needed to remain loyal to? Here’s my answer.  I believe that they knew that the God whom they worshiped and served was sovereign.  They knew their Scriptures and they were not going to worship any false idols.  They were willing to die for their faith.  These three were faithful!

When we read the rest of the story, Nebuchadnezzar is furious with rage; he has his soldiers light the fire in the furnace seven times hotter! Then orders the three men — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego– to be thrown into the fiery furnace.  The furnace is so hot that the soldiers who bound the 3 men together and threw them into the furnace are killed by the intensity and searing heat of the fire. Are you in this story? This is one red, hot fire.

What happens next is miraculous! In the middle of the fiery furnace Nebuchadnezzar sees not three men, but four. He knows he threw three men into the furnace but now—he sees four in furnace.

Who is the fourth man?

Is this the pre-incarnate Christ?  Is this “GOD WITH US”?

Nebuchadnezzar is astonished and calls for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come out of the fiery furnace.  They come out unharmed, no smell of smoke or fire and not a hair is singed.  ARE YOU STILL WITH ME IN THIS STORY ?

These three were fearless and faithful and because they were fearless and faithful, they were fruitful.

Nebuchadnezzar now expresses a profound truth by saying — “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” Daniel 3:28

This past week I celebrated my 23^rd year of ordained ministry. I have served four churches during those 23 years. I have faced elder boards and church kings and queens who would have preferred I had a softer world view of loving Jesus. If only I’d bow just a little bit, I would fit in better with the people and my approval ratings could soar. There was only one problem here for me: I gave up everything in order to follow Jesus. Conform. Inform. Reform. Transform. What would I choose?

What will you choose? Who will you choose when it’s your turn in the fire?

I want to be able to say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

That’s my prayer for each one of us. I want you to be faithful. I want you to know that no matter what fiery furnace you face being thrown into, there’s a fourth man in the fire! His name is Jesus Christ. He is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. He’s beaten that fiery furnace. He has also defeated hell, death and the grave.  He rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of GOD ALMIGHTY. And it is Jesus who will help you to become faithful, fearless, and fruitful.

A long time ago, and I mean a long time ago, it was so long ago that it was during the days I had turned my back on Jesus. I was rambunctious. And I became a part of plan to tell a small fib to the police.  Do you hear me? It was innocent enough. I was at home with my wife but my friend had outrun the police for speeding and somehow ended up at my house. If my friend confessed, he would lose his license. I did what any friend would do. I went to the police station and said it was me. I thought they’d give me the ticket and let me go. Nope. They threw the book at me: evading the police, disturbing the peace and finally lying to the police. Let me tell  you something, my wife was furious with me. She went down to bail me out, and the police interrogated her in a separate room and she sang like a bird! You see, Jac told the truth. She wasn’t going to lie for me. She told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Fortunately for me, they let me go.  The next morning at 6 a.m. the phone rang. It was my Nana. Jac answered the phone and Nana said, “Put David on the phone.” Nana loved Jesus. Nana had raised me. I explained what had happened. (Nana had heard the morning police report!) I will never forget what she told me, “David, all you have is your name. Do not bow to this world. Under zero circumstances, do not bow to this world.” She hung up on me. Listen, I didn’t know it at the time but I know it now. Jesus was the fourth man in that fire. I began to live for Christ again and I’ve not ever bowed to any other God. There isn’t a church that can make me retract my love for God. There’s not an elder board that make me go backwards with fear instead of forward in faith. Like Martin Luther, “Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me.”

Are you in the fire today? Look around. There’s a champion in there with you. The Lord Jesus Christ is a firefighter like no other. It may get hot but not a hair on you will be singed. Keep your eyes on the one, true God.

I’m praying for you!

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I! 
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fruitful Seed Sowers,

This is my prayer for you as we travel through some of the big, bible stories together. I pray you remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray the Holy Spirit emboldens you to remain fearless and I pray that you plant all the seeds you can and that those seeds grow each season.

Do you believe these three words: GOD WITH US? or even GOD WITH ME?

How do these three words affect your life? How could these three words affect your life? 

Over the next few weeks, we will spend time together in the Old Testament book of Daniel.  Today we jump into the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and then we find our ourselves in the lion’s den with Daniel.
Get ready! This is going to be a great series to put yourself into the story! Maybe you already feel like you’re there, living the story! Maybe it feels like you have been in a fiery furnace this past year or maybe you’ve found yourself in the lion’s den with this worldwide pandemic.

The GOOD NEWS is found in these three, small, but mighty, words:

GOD WITH US.

GOD WITH ME.

Let’s set the stage for the next two weeks as we study Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel:

Babylon is the ruling power in the days of Daniel.  Nebuchadnezzar is the King of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar has already attacked the southern kingdom of Judah three times, beginning in 605 B.C. The second invasion occurred in 597 B.C. when Jehoiakim, son of the king of Judah mentioned in Daniel 1:1–2, was compelled to surrender Jerusalem and go into captivity with many of the Jewish leaders, including the royal family, the commanders of the army, craftsmen, and some of the priests like Ezekiel. The third invasion is the one I remember the most. It took place in 586B.C. when Jerusalem was completely destroyed, and the people of the land were deported to Babylon. A side note of interest is that the prophet Jeremiah was in Jerusalem at the time of this final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

Daniel and his three friends were taken in the first deportation of the people of Judah under King Jehoiakim.  All four of these young men came from noble or royal descent and were teenagers when taken into captivity. All four had been given Jewish names that reflected their families’ faith and their God: Daniel and Mishael both end in “el’ which is the plural for “Elohim.” Daniel means — “God is my Judge,” Mishael means, “Who is like God?” The names of the other two, Hananiah and Azariah, both contain a shortened form of the name Jehovah. Hananiah means “Jehovah is Gracious” while Azariah means “Jehovah is my Helper”. The very names of these men were reminders of their heritage and a challenge for them to remain faithful to the Lord. But now, they were deported into a strange, pagan land, and their names were changed. Add insult to injury because their new names contain a reference to one of the false gods of the ancient Babylonians:  Marduk, Aku and Nego. Daniel wan renamed Belteshazzar, which means “Guard my life,”  it was a prayer to Marduk, one of the Babylonian pagan gods.  By changing their Jewish names to Babylonian names, this was a way of saying that these four, young men who had been servants of the Jewish God, were now servants and worshipers of the gods of the pagan pantheon. How would you like to be renamed by a pagan system, after a false god?

I want to emphasize something here, and it’s a good “SO WHAT?” for us. The change of their names accomplished nothing.
You see, King Nebuchadnezzar had changed the men’s names, but he could not change their hearts. What does this mean for you and me? No matter we are going through, no matter how tough life is–no one can change your heart without your permission. Remember this.

The four men remained faithful to the true God of Israel.

Will we be faithful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? When life gets burning hot, will I remain faithful? (Write that down.  Think about that!)

As we begin this story, I want you to place yourself into what’s going on. We’re not in Kansas anymore. We’re in Babylon. Nothing is the same, nothing is familiar anymore; they have even changed our names to honor their gods. 

Can you relate? A year ago, things were pretty normal but not for long. Covid 19 hit us and so did masks, gloves and the rush on paper products! Life has not been normal. Life has been anything but normal this past year. And, yet, can we be more like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Can we remain faithful to God? 

GOD WITH US!

GOD WITH ME.

When Daniel and his three friends were taken captive to a foreign land and given different names did God make a mistake?  Did God forsake them?  As we are all faced with a world-wide pandemic, does God not know what is happening?  Has God forgotten us?

Has your faith begun to fail?  Go ahead and read this story. Put yourself right there into Babylon. And answer this question:

To whom or to what do I bow?

As you read, remember this:  These young men did not sit down and rationalize our their options.  They did not justify their actions.  They did not go and discuss their decision with others. They did not stop to consider the arguments of others. These young men simply remained faithful to their one, true God.

So What?
I am reminded of the great theologian and church reformer, Martin Luther, when he was on trial at the Diet of Worms. Luther was told by his authorities to recant his convictions, and to recant the 95 questions on the door of the Wittenberg Castle. Listen to Luther’s reply as his very life was at stake: “Here I stand.  I can do no other. May God help me.”

I have a long homework project for you to do this week. Read the following question. Pray about it. Think about it. You can even discuss it with people you love. Here’s the question:

What are my convictions? (Conviction: a firmly held belief or opinion.)

And now a final “So What?” homework question: which of the above convictions are worth the fiery furnace to you?

“HERE I STAND. I CAN DO NO OTHER. May God be with me.” Isn’t it just another way of saying, “GOD WITH US” or “GOD WITH ME”? 

As I close, the past few weeks have been pretty intense for my wife and I. Caring for Dad in our home has many challenges. Remember the recent MOHS surgery I had on my nose and shoulder? I’m sensitive to the stitches, the gauze, the tape that were used. I have four, dissolvable stitches in my shoulder and it’s going to take 3-4 months for them to dissolve. My entire left side of my shoulder is aflame. I’ve not been taken into captivity by any means but let’s just say, “I get Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And, I’m not bowing down to anything or anyone except the one, true God.” 

Are you there? Are you with me? 

Next week we conclude the fiery furnace and move into the lions’ den. Oh, man! I can hardly wait!

Spoiler alert for next week: there’s a fourth man in the fire and there’s another in your fiery furnace, too.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I! 

Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Join us for worship on Sunday at 10am Pacific.  The link for the live interactive worship is:

theseedchristianfellowship.online.church

if you miss the 10am worship on Sunday you can always go to our YouTube channel and watch the complete worship service or just the children’s message for your children or the weekly sermon.