Author: missionspaul

The Shepherd

John 10 v1-6

Jesus said: I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. ^2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.⁴  When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. ⁵ The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away. ⁶ Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.

It may be a new chapter but his is not a new chapter of life. It is in the context of Jesus being interrogated: Who are you? Where are you from? Are you from God? Why are you here?

So Jesus tells a story. It wasn’t a story they were expecting to hear.

Was it going to be a story showing the power of who he was? A warrior leading the people into battle over the Roman Empire?

He confuses them though I’m not sure why.

The story is not of a powerful leader but of a caring and loving shepherd.

The Bible is full of a God who loves as a shepherd.

Joseph described God, “God who has been my shepherd all my life” (Genesis 48:15)

Isaiah prophesies, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” (40:11)

And of course David says, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” (Psalm 23:1)

So it isn’t strange in the slightest for Jesus to reveal who he is by giving a story regarding a shepherd and the sheep.

Of course there is more than loving and caring. There is the voice that is recognised. There is the leadership ability to lead them out. But the voice and the leadership is set in the context of being a shepherd.

This week I along with colleagues will be interviewing prospective ministers. If this was the only lesson to be learnt by them as they set off into their new chapter of life then they would certainly succeed in God.

In the years to come when sheep remember the shepherds that have been responsible for their life. They will perhaps have forgotten the many words spoken and the way they were led into new things. But they will never forget they were shepherded, they were cared for, they were loved.

Sheep never forget the cross.

 

Virgin Mary and an order of onion rings

John 9 v35-41

“Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

 

Some will see their role in life is to excommunicate people (v35) and some will simply sit there, do nothing and become offended with those that are having a go (v40), but the Church needs to do what Jesus did. Jesus found the man (v35). We need to also search until we find the men and women that may have had encounters with God but are needing spiritual breakthroughs into knowing Him.

He called out, “Lord, I believe! (I rely on, I trust, I cleave to you!)” And he worshipped Him.

Many people are looking for proof before they believe.

In August 2017 a man called Jim, 48, spotted the Virgin Mary jutting out of the his onion rings as he prepared to tuck into his Weatherspoon’s pub meal with his girlfriend and two pals. The eerie lump of batter appeared to wear a veil and robes — which he instantly recognised as the garments of Mary. Jim, of Falkirk, said: “I couldn’t believe it. I’d ordered some drinks and a burger with half a dozen onion rings and among them was this. It looks like something out of a nativity play. I’ve seen this in the papers on toast before, but never this.”

“I’m not a religious man but I might have seen the light now.”

We go searching and we find those that need Christ. But what will it take for them to truly believe? An order of onion rings?!

It will take more than words, it will take their worship and that is going to cost them more than a pub meal, it will cost everything.

Caught in the middle of those who think they know and those who don’t what to know!

John 9 v 13-34

This is a long passage to read.

As you read it think of the interactions between the Pharisees and the man born blind, his family and in particular his journey of discovering who Jesus might be.

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵ Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. ¹⁷ Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” ¹⁸ They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹ “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” ²⁰ “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹ But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³ That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” ²⁴ A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” ²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” ²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” ³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. ³² Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” ³⁴ To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

 

The Pharisees were divided. They were arguing, some saying “It can’t be God as it is on the wrong day!” and others, “It is too good not to be God.”

There are experts everywhere. God experts. They know what, when and how God does things.

The parents were intimidated. They would prefer to throw their son under a bus than be cast out of the synagogue and be shamed in their community.

Blood is not always thicker than water. Sometimes the greatest distance is in the family. “We are not getting involved!”

But look at the man! The tough season can prove a defining moment for us all. He was caught in the middle of those who think they know everything and those who didn’t want to know anything. However, something wonderful was happening, he was coming to realise the truth about Jesus.

He believed Jesus was a special man, a prophet, other than that at first it was a puzzle, he just knew he was blind but now he could see. However by the end he was convinced. Jesus is definitely from God! Thank you my enemies, thank you my disengaged family, you have made me see who Jesus is!

Transformation isn’t easy for those observing it

John 9 v 8-12 “His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” ¹⁰ “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. ¹¹ He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” ¹² “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.”

There is a strange man hanging around the blind man’s home. Where is the blind man? He is not sitting in his usual begging place. Who is this strange man? Everyone has an opinion about everything and they did on this day regarding this stranger. “I am that man. This is my home.” Sometimes transformation isn’t easy.

People want you to progress and they want you to prosper and they may really want you to have your miracle. But when it happens they cannot fit the transformation into their small minded view of you. Some people need their own transformation to cope with your transformation!

He knew that he was a changed man. He knew that Jesus had been involved in the miracle.

What he didn’t know was where Jesus actually was.

There was a distance between himself and Jesus and he didn’t know what to do or where to go to find him. When he was blind he met Jesus but now that he could see he didn’t know where Jesus was.

Where is this miracle worker? How do we find Jesus? These are the questions that John answers in his gospel. These are still the questions that are being asked of us today.

When the connection is made between your transformation and Jesus then people will want to find him.

There are times when being spat at and having mud thrown at you is the best thing that ever happened to you!

John 9: 6-7

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth ….he spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.”

• This man had never seen.

Experiments across the world have shown for many years that those who cannot see are better than those who can at pinpointing sound and are more accurate at placing its distance. Blindness can develop other skills to compensate which the sighted do not have. However the list is endless of what the blind have missed of this world. I read a moving story yesterday: A 90 year old man approached his pastor after a meaningful time of worship. The man had been blind from birth and told the pastor he wanted to “see” him. He ran his fingers over the minister’s face, then began to cry. He asked, “When I open my eyes for the first time, you know who I will be looking at, don’t you?” The pastor said, “Yes, you will be looking at Jesus.” The man then cried out with joy. “Pastor, it is worth being blind for ninety years to know that the first time I open my eyes, I will be looking at Jesus!” Beautiful and true!

This man had never seen but when his eyes were opened he was still blind to who Jesus was and that would come later.

• This man never had spit and mud on his eyes.

Presumably!

There are some things that Jesus did and we don’t know why he did it the way he did. We could speculate but we would be in danger of missing the point. There are times when all we must do is trust Him. It may not be easy being spat at. It may not be easy having mud in your eyes. But it could be the beginning of an amazing miracle!

• This man had never been sent

Siloam means ‘one who has been sent’.

He was a beggar used to sitting by the roadside. He wasn’t for sending anywhere. No one had previously trusted him to do anything. It was ‘Go away’ and not ‘Go on a mission or an errand.’ But Jesus is sending him, he gives the man a purpose and dignity which he had never had before.

Are you ready to do something you’ve never done before?

Will you trust God even if he does it the unconventional way?

Are you ready to be the one to implement the changes necessary?

Some days there isn’t anyone to blame

John 9: 1-5

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

 

We are part of a blaming culture.

If Adam and Eve were alive today, they would probably sue the snake!

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But today we’re asking who pushed him!

There are many people who blame God for the hurt in their lives. The death of loved ones, health issues, job losses. The truth is, God has already blamed Jesus for all the sin that causes all the pain in all our lives.

Sometimes there’s no one to blame. At that point we need to look instead to what God can do.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28.

In Zundert, Holland in 1853, a Lutheran pastor became the proud father of a baby boy. At 16 the boy went to work for a firm of art dealers in The Hague. A few years later he took the opportunity to travel to England. There he fell in love with his landlady’s daughter, but she rejected him. In his grief he turned to Christ. He began helping a Methodist minister in Turnham Green and Petersham. The conviction grew that he should become a full-time evangelist, and in his mid-twenties he returned to Holland. He soon found great success in preaching to the poor, dressed like a peasant and living in their company. He washed their clothes, cared for their sick, consoled their dying and he led them to Christ. However, the Church leaders of the day rejected him and forced him to give up his ministry. For many this would have brought a crushing blow with no recovery. But God can bring light out of darkness.

He went back to the world of art and tried his hand at painting. His name was Vincent van Gogh.

 

Maybe you have unanswered questions like the blind man. Maybe you have pain in your life. Maybe you can make no sense of it all

But there is hope. Great hope. There always is with a God who is the light of the world.

Psalm 23:4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

You only get a shadow when there is a shining light creating it. Right there in our ‘darkness’, God’s brilliant light is giving us hope. He is our hope in a dark world.

 

The power of pre-existent Jesus

John 8 v48-59 “The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” ⁴⁹ “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honour my Father and you dishonour me. ⁵⁰ I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.” ⁵² At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” ⁵⁴ Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵ Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”⁵⁷ “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” ⁵⁸ “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” ⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”

 

We start this passage which brings a section to a close with some initial name-calling by the Jews. It would end with them picking up stones that were on the ground in the Temple to try and kill Jesus.

Jesus’ reply was this (using my inflection): I am not demon possessed and the proof is I am honouring God my Father, no demon would do that. Secondly, I am not even answering the Samaritan charge because I have already demonstrated the Father loves them as much as you.

They move from name-calling to twisting his words, v52.

Jesus’ reply was this: I never said they wouldn’t taste death, you said that. I said that whoever walks with me will never see it. They will never be overwhelmed by the fear of death.

They move from twisting his words to incredulous defamation, v53.

Jesus reply led to them picking up the stones: I AM!

This was the most incredible, confrontational and boldest statement Jesus ever made.

Some are so earthly focused that they have reduced their relationship with Jesus to all about what happens here and now. But the offer of Jesus is to discover and live your life through the filter of eternity.

Jesus had said many things to the Jews that had got him into trouble but his claim of pre-existence was the one they balked at the most.

Jesus was fully aware of his pre-existence. This was not some re-incarnation understanding. But rather the incarnation of the Son of God in human life-form on earth.

Jesus was fully aware that He existed before this life on earth.

When God revealed himself early in His Word He used the words I AM = I will be whatever I need to be, healer, saviour etc. It is the title of deity. There is no greater title.

Jesus is the I AM. We have read so far that he said: I am the bread of life, 6:35 and I am the light of the world, 8:12.

I AM

The Jews saw only the historical manifestation and not the eternal person.

Jesus did not begin 2000 years ago, that was just when the incarnation took place. He had no beginning. He was before beginning. Because of this we can say He has seen it all and He knows it all.

There have been no accidents in your life, neither your birth, nor your death, nor anything in between. He knows the beginning and the end for each one of us.

We can invite Jesus into our existence – but there is a far greater invitation. An invitation for us to live our lives in His pre-existence.

You might not know why some things have happened or why they haven’t. But He knows. We are called to be content in that.

Jesus is able. He is pre-existent and 2,000 years on from his incarnation He is here right now in the place where you are reading this.

The ‘I AM’ stands before you today. That means God is here. The same God who said ‘I will be what I will be.’ The same God who led Israel out of Egypt and sustained them in the desert is here. The same God who entered humanity is here with you now. He is here to live, speak, call, ask, act, decide, love, forgive.

 

WHAT IF hypocrisy is closer to those with a Christian heritage?

We are in danger as a Church in permitting the re-making of Jesus to one that fits the times we are living in.

We are reading a passage which shows a man (Jesus) surrounded by a crowd (good religious people) who were increasingly becoming angrier with him. Amongst them are the religious leaders (spiritual advisers and representatives of God to the people) who want nothing more than to kill Jesus. The heritage of these people did not protect them from their hypocrisy in fact it heightened it.

Does this still exist today in our Churches?

WHAT IF …?

John 8 v 33-47

How can you say that we shall be set free?’ ³⁴ Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it for ever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸ I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.’ ³⁹ ‘Abraham is our father,’ they answered. ‘If you were Abraham’s children,’ said Jesus, ‘then you would^[c] do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.’ ‘We are not illegitimate children,’ they protested. ‘The only Father we have is God himself.’ ⁴² Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.’

 

WHAT IF members of a Church are not members of the family of God? V35

WHAT IF those who own a Bible and have it on a shelf don’t have it in their hearts? V37

WHAT IF people sneered at a beautiful move of God in the past meaning they also missed what God was doing in the present? V41 (they were indicating questions over Jesus’ birth)

WHAT IF unkind and hurtful people in the Church were carrying out the devil’s desire? V44

WHAT IF people in the pew and behind the pulpit are not hearing what God is saying? V47

WHAT IF?

Don’t paint brush the past. It doesn’t own you but it doesn’t have to be ignored.

John 8 v 31-33

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

 

It is strange how we forget history, conveniently.

They go all the way back to Abraham, missing out Moses and the Exodus where from? From slavery! They have been slaves before historically but they seem to have overlooked this detail.

Some desire to cover over their past for fear of exposure and the shame of an event. Some disown themselves from it, they paint themselves out of the picture and say they were not there.

No one is free from the failures of the past. But ignoring those failures can keep us trapped within them.

The step to freedom is truth.

 

The rescuer is still here

John 8 v21-30 (see at the end of the devotion)

This is day one of ten days of further forecasted rain where I live. It means that once again the river which has already burst its banks bringing devastation to many homes is going to rise again. Once again the Environment agency will be trying to rescue people and once again some will resist that rescue not wanting to leave their homes.

Jesus the Messiah came to rescue people but the people resisted.

It was a dangerous time. The forecasts were not good. People were living under the oppression of the pagan Romans. Great instability was taking place in the whole region. If only they had received the rescuer their lives would have been spared. That’s what John and the other gospel-writers record, v21 “you will die in your sin when I have gone away.” But it goes over their heads. They don’t pay attention to the threat. If only they knew what was around the corner. That in their lifetime, within the next 30-40 years tremendous hardship and persecution would come on their beautiful city by the Roman emperors. But their thoughts are on Jesus. “Where is he going? What does he mean?”v22.

We are then taken to the cross in the gospel. Jesus says they would lift him up, inferring their part they would play and not just the Romans in putting him on the cross, v28. But that it would be the cross which answers their question of “who are you?” in v25. The cross still does that. To know Him is to go through the way of the cross. Our sin put him there.

But they are going to miss this truth. They are of this world and they will not receive it, v23.

Destruction will soon come.

Today we wake and once again the coronavirus will be front pages of our news feeds. It is spreading across the world. Will this be a pandemic? How many will die? When will it be contained?

I will be in Kenya soon and today it faces Biblical proportions of locusts devastating that nation.

Great persecution will continue today in many parts of the world and the saints will be martyred again.

The world will miss the rescuer though the signs are all around that it needs rescuing.

BUT NOT EVERYONE!

The question is still being asked of Jesus, ‘who are you?’ and it is still causing many to believe in him, v30.

 

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.’ ²² This made the Jews ask, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, “Where I go, you cannot come”?’ ²³ But he continued, ‘You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.’ ²⁵ ‘Who are you?’ they asked. ‘Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,’ Jesus replied. ²⁶ ‘I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.’ ²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.’ ³⁰ Even as he spoke, many believed in him.