Luke 13:18-21 Sermon Reflection

Missions Weekend

Guest Speaker: Pauline Fong (IVCF)

Discovery: Pauline shared this past Sunday from Luke 13:18-21. She talked about how Jesus used the imagery of the mustard seed and the yeast to explain the expansion of the Kingdom of God. She explained that at many different levels this was a difficult and controversial teaching. Jesus used a common weed (mustard seed), a negative symbol (yeast was often used in Scripture as word picture for the pervasiveness of evil), and a woman to describe the dynamics of the Kingdom. But at the heart of this teaching is a dramatic and radical concept that God can and will use the simple and small things to do the incredible and awesome.

Application: This passage is very appropriate when we think of missions because God can and will use the simple things that we have to expand His Kingdom. Pauline shared a number of stories in which God used people's gifts, talents, and availability to spread the good news of the Gospel. It was inspiring to see how God used these different people to share the gospel with people who have never heard the gospel before.

I realize that most of my duties at church deal with shepherding and caring for those who are already believers. This pastoral calling is one that I really enjoy and thrive in. However, I am reminded this weekend that there are many people who are not within the family of God because of personal, intellectual, and spiritual barriers. Being missions minded is about crossing and overcoming these barriers in order to share the Gospel. As much as I enjoy being a part of our church family, I also want to see this church family expand through our witness and steps of faith. Especially at a small church like MVCCC, it isn't about coming up with new programs or methods. Rather it is about intentionally reaching outside of our normal relational circles and inviting them to glimpse into our lives. This call to cross barriers and introduce people to Jesus in this natural and relational way is one that truly inspiring to me.

Prayer: Help me have the heart and willingness to cross barriers for You so that others can experience what I have in You.

2 Corinthians 4:1-18 Sermon Reflection

"No Longer Much Afraid"

Discovery: The main verses for this week come from vv. 16-18. This is Paul's exhortation to the church in the midst of the problems and difficulties of ministry life.

1. Don't lose heart: v. 16 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." It hard for us to have the proper perspective in life when things are difficult. It is easy for us to give up or to "lose heart." Paul reminds us that it is only through faith in Jesus that we can have the proper perspective when it comes to dealing with the struggles of life. It may seem like we are "wasting away" but faith allows us to see that there is something deeper happening within us.

2. Don't get bogged down with the "here and now": v. 17 "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Our problem hardly seem "light and momentary" but that is what Paul calls them. He tells us not to be fixated on the problems of this world. Otherwise, we miss the bigger picture. We end up being paralyzed by our present situations and not seeing God deeper activity in our lives.

3. Don't put our focus on the things that we can control and understand: v. 18 "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." It is hard to focus on the unseen. It feels silly, irresponsible, or blind. Instead, we rather "struggle" with our present situation because it seems more responsible, practical, and godly. The reality is that that we enjoy a certain level of control when we try to handle our own problems. Giving up this control is the real issue. We need to acknowledge, understand, and ultimately surrender the questions, problems, and struggles that we are going to. We cannot fix them! We need to turn to the only One who can...

Application: I shared about the book, "Hind's Feet on High Places" by Hannah Hurnard. I have always enjoyed this allegory of the Christian life. I can relate with the ways that the main character Much Afraid is someone who desires to move from the valley of Fearing to the High Places that the Good Shepherd promises to lead her. I can also relate with the ways that the two guides that the Good Shepherd gives her are Sorrow and Suffering. Who in their right mind would choose to have these two as their traveling guides in life? Yet these are the two that the Good Shepherd has given her.

Needless to say, I don't enjoy sorrow or suffering. Yet when I look back on my life, I can see how His presence has been most intimate to me during these times. Truth be told, I would still rather avoid these two things if it were my personal choice. However when I am confronted with these two things, I hope my response is not "Why are you doing this to me, Lord?" but rather, "God what are you trying to teach me in the midst of this?"

Prayer: Give me a humility that doesn't try to fix my own problems. Instead give me a heart that asks the right questions in the midst of life's difficulties and surrenders to You.

2 Corinthians 3:7-18 Sermon Reflection

"Marked By Glory"

Discovery: Verse 12 is the verse that stood out to me the most in this passage. "Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold." Paul is talking about a hope that comes from the surpassing glory of Christ. If the Israelites in the Old Testament could experience the glory of God through the Law, how much more should we experience the glory of God through the sacrificial love of Christ?

Moreover, Paul goes on to say that we can/should be bold about this hope. Previously, there were barriers that prevented us from seeing and experiencing the full glory of God. Paul refers to the veil that covered Moses face and the veil that covered our understanding of God's Word. But verse 16 states that this is no longer the case in Christ: "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."

The word for glory in the NT is the root word "doxa." It refers to the splendor, radiance, majesty, and preeminence of God. In the OT, we see the glory of God through various images of divine transcendence (i.e. burning bush, parting of Red Sea, Moses' face shining with the glory of God, etc.). In the NT, we see the glory of God personified in the person of Christ (John 2:11 "This, the first of the miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him."). In our passage, Paul states that we are marked by His glory and are called to share this with the world around us.

Application: I confess that I have a very weak and small picture of God's glory. Just the other day, I was running late to pick up my son and I made it just in time before the 6pm cutoff (afterward 6pm, we get charged $1 per minute that we are late). I remember saying out loud, "Praise God!" I remembering catching myself right when I said this. Giving praise and glory to God has to be much more than just thanking Him for helping me through life's inconveniences.

I love verse 17: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." I want to have the freedom, boldness, and courage that comes from experiencing His glory each and everyday. Rather than being limited or veiled in my understanding of God's activity in my life, I want that freedom and boldness that comes through this transforming faith.

I think this quote from Marianne Williamson which Nelson Mandela used during his presidential inaugural speech in 1994 expresses my heart's desire.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Prayer: Let me experience Your glory anew this week so that I can have the freedom and boldness to be a shining light to the various people that I come in contact with this week.

2 Corinthians 2:12-3:6 Sermon Reflection

"Who is up for a challenge?"

Discovery: In vv. 12-13 we see Paul explaining why he left the great ministry opportunity in Troas (which is located across the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor) to travel to Macedonia. In v. 13, Paul tells us that he "...still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there." Apparently Titus as a liaison between the Corinthian church and Paul. When Titus never came with a response to Paul's earlier correspondence, we see Paul leaving this great opportunity to go tend to his relationship with the Corinthian church. Paul's conviction is clear: right relationships are far more important than great opportunities and people are much more important than events and programs.

Application: In the NIV, this section of text is entitled, "Ministers of New Covenant." The word minister or ministry is used only twice in this section. In 2 Cor. 3:3 it says, "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry..." and in 2 Cor. 3:6 it says, "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant..."

The words used here for ministry in the original Greek are diakoneo and diakonos. The word literally means "to serve" and this is where we get the title of deacon. Through this section Paul tells us what ministry is/should be about. It is about elevating people over programs, it about making indelible impressions on people's heart versus writing down laws and rules on tablets, and it is about serving.

Our understanding of ministry can be really messed up. Even the office of pastor seems to be more about being a project manager or worse yet a product manager than it is about directly ministering and serving at the ground level of people's lives.

Our understanding of service can also be equally messed up. Are we serving the church as an institution or organization? Are focused on planning, leading, or attending events versus investing in and growing in relationships with people? Are we following the strategies and technics of this world or are we getting "back to basics" and following Jesus' model of evangelism and discipleship?

Serving people is not alway easy. Ministering to people is not easy. Paul makes is clear in our passage in v. 16, "To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?"

Who indeed is up for this challenge?

Prayer: Help me love people with the tenacity and uncompromising conviction that You desire. Remind me each moment that this is what ministry is all about.