Series: Conversations with Jesus
John 10:1-10
“A Leader Who Brings Life”
Here we have Jesus’ conversation with the Jewish leaders who were not leading their people in the right way. Today I have two key roles for leaders to
have, each one of you are leaders. Leaders are called to be gates for
those around them. John 10:1-10 the challenge of this passage was two-fold:
• Be the gate that protects the lives of those around you from predators and attacks.
• Be the gate that opens to new opportunities for all those who pass through it, not limiting but expanding options and skills, hopes and dreams
INTRO
After last weekend at Mandate I thought it might be good to describe the State of the British Man—according to a survey conducted by Beta Research and reported in an edition of Esquire magazine
- the average male is BROKE-but then we already know this
- men over 25 carry an average credit card debt of nearly 3300 dollars
- those under 25—carry a debt closer to 33 million
- men worry more about gaining weight than losing their career (which means there must be huge anxieties out there)
- a high percentage believe in God (78%)—this is the good news!
- but most (64%) never go to church—or go only on holidays—and that’s the tragic news
- 85% would rather be a CEO than a winner of the x factor
- most would rather be short, boring, rich—than tall, charismatic, and poor
- and most men—if they could have any guest at a party, would invite the following
four— Jesus, Bono, Bill Clinton and Ghandi
- but let me share a story with you of Mr Merv Grazinski, Mr Grazinski purchased a large Winnebago motor home, on his first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver’s seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, he vehicle left the road, crashed and overturned. Mr Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the owner’s manual that he couldn’t actually do this. The jury awarded him just under 2 million dollars, plus a new motor home, the company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were other complete morons buying their recreation vehicles, sometimes men are idiots.
In John 10—Jesus had His own conversation with men
- those who were the leaders of His day
- the religious leaders of Israel to be precise - (John 10:1-10)
The first thing we notice is that He began the conversation in the abstract
- there is something cryptic going on
- such that John tells us those He conversed with had no idea what all of this had to do with anything
- they did not know, realize what He was saying—who He was saying it to
But then these words may be even more foreign to us
- we have not grown up with shepherds and sheep and pens and pastures and gates
a. our images of leadership are CEO’s running big corporations, presidents running banks, coaches leading teams
b. our images of gates are firewalls keeping viruses out, gates serving as security check points for those getting on a plane
c. our images of caring for animals are dogs and cats and pet lizards-not goat herds or flocks of sheep
But there is some common ground
- everything I have read about sheep suggests they are singularly unintelligent
- dense, stupid, dim, brainless
- prone to wander, get lost
- unable to find a sheep pen, even when it is within sight
- which sounds a lot like the long list of animals I have lived with
- especially our most recent dog Ruff—who has the IQ well below that of a flea
- and would not find our house if he was in the front garden
- who gives his best intellectual efforts to eating his own tail, Skip is another quality altogether, he could escape from Colditz if there was a biscuit on the other side of the wall.
What these leaders in John 10 missed was this
- Jesus was talking about them
- using the cryptic language of gates and watchmen and shepherds—
- Jesus was making this singular point—
THEY FAILED THEIR CALL TO BE LEADERS
- they missed this—that in pastoral terms—
LEADERS ARE CALLED TO BE GATES (verses 7-10)
- and gates do two things
A. GATES MUST PROTECT
- for gates are placed at the most vulnerable part of an enclosure
- the break in the wall
- those who are leaders position themselves at the entrance
- where there are gaps-where things are exposed
- standing, laying across the entry way if necessary
- positioning himself as protector-stopping sheep from getting out and predators from getting in
1. Jesus as the consummate leader identified Himself this way—I AM THE GATE
(verse 7)
- the sentry who positions his life between the flock and danger
2. in contrast—Jesus indicted Israel’s leaders for this—they were not gates
- rather the metaphors that applied to them were thieves, robbers- verse 8
- instead of serving as protectors—they were predators
- rather than preservers—they were pretenders
But leadership involves something else
- the other purpose gates serve
B. GATES MUST PROVIDE ENTRY INTO OPPORTUNITY
- it’s one thing to be a gate of protection—providing a secure pen
- but pens do not enable sheep to grow
- gates must swing the other direction—opening the sheep to the wild open fields
This is other side of leadership—leaders enable people to enter into the world
- they set free people to find pasture, luxurious forage, refreshment, satisfaction, freedom of movement
- “Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to”
1. this is how Jesus described His purpose for coming
- to be the gate through which followers find pasture (a.k.a) life itself-vs 10b
- this theme is found everywhere in John
- 1:4-in Him was life-and this life was the light of men
- 5:40-come to Me and have life
- 6:48-I am the bread of life
- 7:38-whoever follows Me-streams of living water will flow from within
- here-He expands on the idea-life “to the full”
- life in all its fatness—life at its scarcely imagined best
- life that transcends time—that is everlasting—that does not have an expiry
date
- life that has eternal significance
- life that transcends our personal purposes
- life that takes on God like proportions
- life that “presses all the way in and all the way up to the ultimate purpose of
God—and joins Him in it”
2. Unfortunately—the leaders of Israel did just the opposite
- they were thieves who came to steal and kill and destroy-10a
- steal away peoples’ resources
- kill the spirit—kill passion and desire
- destroy life—the kind God intended
- rather than serve as gates that opened into pastures
- they constricted Israel to a pen of obligations
- they confined them to a maze of rules and regulations from which they could not find their way out
- created a religious establishment that drained the very life out of souls
In all of this—we hear a conversation that echoes one God had with leaders in the OT
- who failed their calling to be Israel’s watchmen
- who too were nothing less than frauds
- Isa 56:9-12-Israel’s watchmen are blind—they love to sleep—have all turned to their own way
- -Jer 23:1-4-woe to the shepherds who destroy the sheep
- -Ezekiel 34-woe to Israel’s leaders-who take care of only themselves—and scatter the sheep, leaving them to be plundered by the wild
APPLICATION
Jesus’ words in John 10 certainly have application to us
- male, female—young, old—called to this task of leadership—called to be gates
- outside of advancing God’s kingdom-nowhere is leadership more important than providing leadership to the next generation
- called to create “SPIRITUAL CHAMPIONS”
Unfortunately—we are not doing so well
We are all leaders, but a key to leadership is sacrifice, as Christians we lead the way God wants, people look to us to be light and salt in the world, from the leader of a nation to the parents of a family, the tribe is not there for the benefit of the chief, the chief is there to serve the tribe. God has given us authority, to devote our lives to leading well, Jesus sacrificed his life for you, and you have to sacrifice for others. You also have to listen, and be faithful and serve, even when it hurts. We always have the example of Jesus before us, when we follow his example when we turn to him, when we experience the life he has for us, others will see it and want him too, that is the core of what we are about. To follow Jesus and to lead others to be followers too.
A. BE THE GATE THAT PROTECTS
- the firewall of sorts
- for what has not changed from first century to 21st century
- is that our world is still filled with predators
- only they are much more subtle—they get past locked doors and closed windows
- thieves that aim to destroy our spirit
- robbers that want to steal our purity
- websites that want to corrupt our virtues
- pop culture that wants to coarsen souls
- cynicism that wants to deprive hope
- it’s critical to position ourselves at the gate
- not that we should be insulators—over-protection has its price
- but neither should we treat the world as if there is no evil, no threats
- to lay our lives down for others so that they may live.
B. BE THE GATE THAT LEADS TO OPPORTUNITIES
- that points the way, leads to wide open spaces
- introduces life
- for at the deepest level—people want to live—we all do
- many are bored—but few are content to merely exist, drift, take up space, fell they are just using up oxygen
- deeper than our instinct to live is our longing to be alive
- and it seems Christians are called, to point this way to life
- to ask—what makes you come alive?
- and help them get there--what one is destined for, created for
- In other words like the words of a Boy’s brigade camp grace “dear Lord do not make us like porridge which is difficult to stir and slow to serve. But more like corn flakes, crisp and fresh and ready to serve” Be the watchmen and the shepherds that God has called you to be, protect and serve, love and enable, love as Jesus has loved you.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
“The Effect God Calls Us To Have In This World”
Series: Conversations with Jesus
John 9:1-41
“The Effect God Calls Us To Have In This World”
Tells the tragedy of a climber who recently became a part of the world’s highest graveyard, Mt Everest
- David Sharp, a teacher from England was almost at the summit, but fatigue and lack of oxygen began to take their toll on his body, leading to his death
- The real tragedy however was this, that some 40 climbers, in their dash to get to the top and get their trophy, passed the ailing climber without stopping to help
- As one coldly remarked, “He was effectively dead, so we carried on.”
- But one put it more correctly: “Me, I think some climbers’ sense of morality is effectively dead.”
It’s one story, but it is all too illustrative of the age in which we live
- That has lost its lines, its compass, its bearings, its ethics: ITS VIRTUES!
But it is hard to expect much more when we refuse to hold to absolute truths
- Which leads to the inevitable embrace of individualism, every man for himself
Illustration - Daughter’s graduation: class resolved to reject those who say there are absolutes
How does God speak to this?
- How did God speak to the darkness of His age?
- John 8:12 tells us that Jesus stood up and declared with stunning force “I AM
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”
- And demonstrated it by entering into the world of a man who never saw light
- Who knew only darkness
- And gave this man sight
- And in the process confirmed the blindness of most everyone around him
- The neighbours who were not certain if they could really see, recognize who he was
- The parents, who were blind to what this formerly blind son needed them to be in the moment
- And worse of all, the Pharisees, the religious police
- Who supposedly had the light
- But were the blindest of all
- Who could see no further than the fact this happened on the
Sabbath (following on from what Bill spoke of last week)
- Could not see the hand of God in front of their faces
- And in the face of the blind man’s probing threw him out
- But Jesus is famous for tracking down rejected people (verse 35)
- You and I are testimonies of this (we have the good news stories, lives healed, restored forgiven)
- And He entered into a conversation
- “Do you believe?” (verse 35b)
- “Are you willing to put your trust in Me?”
- And the man who now could see, went on to see what most everyone else was blind to
- He saw God present and at work in his life
- He saw the Messiah face to face
- And so He received and worshiped Jesus (verse 38)
- Like lots of people today, he was done with traditional religion
- He was ready for something, someone authentic
- Ready to give his life to someone who sought and embraced him, and surely told him that He loved him
- People don’t bow down unless they know this
Illustration – novelist Donald Miller interviewed Toni Morrison
- Why she became a great writer
- Was it her method, structure, education?
- “I am a great writer because when I was a little girl and walked into a room, my father’s eyes would light up. That’s why. There is no other reason.”
- I think Jesus’ eyes lit up whenever He found the marginalized, when He found this man
- And then Jesus did a most amazing thing
- He ended the conversation with words that seem out of sync
- But then, it is the glory of Christ to be out of sync with the world
- “If He fit nicely, He would be of little use” - Piper (read verse 39)
- It is in these words we see the tough, blunt, fierce form of Jesus’ love
- In these, I hear Jesus telling the blind man why He has come
- He has come for him
- Because of his blindness, He exchanged eternity for time, heaven for a place
- But the softness of these words is matched by piercing words that declare “I have also come to blind”
- Which may offend our sensibilities
- They’re meant to!
- For these are words that correspond to the real world of full and disbelieving hearts
- These are words that reflect who Jesus is
- He is the Light, the Light of the whole world
- And it’s the nature of Light to divide, distinguish
- For when light enters the darkness, it can ATTRACT
- Opens our eyes, reveals what is really right side up and what is upside down
- But on the other hand, light can also REPEL
- Give offense
- For light penetrates and exposes, uncovers darkness, draws evil out of the shadows, exposes the foulness of all alternative kingdoms
- The result:
1) Either we will RUN TO HIM
- We will see our darkness, our desperate need, and cry out for
illumination
2) Or we will RUN AWAY FROM HIM
- We will see our darkness and will do everything to hide it
- In part because men by nature love darkness rather than light
(John 3:19)
- For light exposes what people refuse to see
- That only He can be the God of our lives, not us
- That there are absolute truths
- That there are ethics that transcend what we think they should be
- That God requires nothing less than a radical change
- That all of their righteous deeds amount to filthy rags
- This is why the Pharisees hated Jesus so much
- Like insects on a turned over rock, they were suddenly exposed
- He revealed their rotted goodness, the rags of their self-righteousness
- Their thinness, the religious veneer that covered their corrupted core
- Their hypocrisy, their orthodoxy vacant of orthopraxy
- Their blindness in contrast to their assumed illumination
- As McLaren puts it: “He violated their taboos (healing on the
Sabbath), honored their villains (the tax collectors and whores and sinners), and vilified their honorees (the scribes, the priests of the day).”
- He knew that for evil to do its worst, it must look its best
- So He exposed their treachery
- HE CAME TO MAKE ALL THE DISCTINCTIONS CLEAR
- And so their blood pressure rose, their fists were clenched
- And they rejected Him, like so many today
- Who are so certain they can see on their own
- Too arrogant to admit the depth of their blindness
- And in the process bring judgment upon themselves
- This is what Jesus was referring to in verse 39
- He came for the purpose of judgment
- He came to draw a line, shine the light
- And when men reject Him, they consign themselves to:
a. The judgment that comes from sin
- For when men refuse to let go of their sin,
God gives them over to themselves
- Over to the sins they will not let go of
- And the painful confusions and consequences sin serves up become somber prophecies of a greater judgment to come
b. The judgment that comes from a life of meaningless
- For when men disregard the Light, men settle for the darkness of emptiness and meaninglessness
- When they accept fate and chance rather than God, they settle for all the barrenness that comes with anything that assumes God’s place
- When we settle for a life void of God, and give it to things, to ourselves
- We can’t help but come to the point we ask ourselves whether anything really matters
c. The judgment that comes from an eternity apart from God
- An eternity of spiritual death rather than eternal life
- So what is Jesus saying in this conversation to us?
- To us who live in our own world of darkness?
- Perhaps it is something like this…
- If you are going to be a follower of Mine, faithful to truth, called to
be the light of the world YOU TOO WILL BE A DIVIDER
- You will attract or repel
- To some, they will see the light of our good works and praise God
- To others, the light that enlightens will blind
- As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:16, we are the aroma of Christ
- Meaning for one we will be the fragrance of life
- To another, we will be the smell of death
Point - This is the offensive nature of the gospel
- A genuine encounter with God will never leave a person neutral
- A genuine encounter with us who follow Jesus will force people to make a choice
- I’ve modified this a bit, but a prayer by Piper is so fitting
“Lord, thicken our skin. Not that we be less tender, but that we be less easily offended. Give us a passion for truth that is stronger than our desire to be liked.”
- Help us to be both tough and tender
- Guard us from words of condemnation, but don’t let us become so mushy we can’t speak a firm word in season
- Help us to be the Light of the world
John spoke about the man in this passage who knew all his life only darkness but then met the light of the world and He (Jesus) removes that darkness. He seeks out this marginalized person as He seeks us out and performs a miracle of grace upon him as He does with us.
What was Jesus’ purpose in leaving heaven? Verse 39 has a two-fold answer, to bring “sight” where needed and to bring “blindness” were wanted. The result is we either, run to Him with need and receive, or we run away from Him and reject the light.
A follower of Jesus will be a divider, too. We can’t live our life in shades of gray.
John 9:1-41
“The Effect God Calls Us To Have In This World”
Tells the tragedy of a climber who recently became a part of the world’s highest graveyard, Mt Everest
- David Sharp, a teacher from England was almost at the summit, but fatigue and lack of oxygen began to take their toll on his body, leading to his death
- The real tragedy however was this, that some 40 climbers, in their dash to get to the top and get their trophy, passed the ailing climber without stopping to help
- As one coldly remarked, “He was effectively dead, so we carried on.”
- But one put it more correctly: “Me, I think some climbers’ sense of morality is effectively dead.”
It’s one story, but it is all too illustrative of the age in which we live
- That has lost its lines, its compass, its bearings, its ethics: ITS VIRTUES!
But it is hard to expect much more when we refuse to hold to absolute truths
- Which leads to the inevitable embrace of individualism, every man for himself
Illustration - Daughter’s graduation: class resolved to reject those who say there are absolutes
How does God speak to this?
- How did God speak to the darkness of His age?
- John 8:12 tells us that Jesus stood up and declared with stunning force “I AM
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”
- And demonstrated it by entering into the world of a man who never saw light
- Who knew only darkness
- And gave this man sight
- And in the process confirmed the blindness of most everyone around him
- The neighbours who were not certain if they could really see, recognize who he was
- The parents, who were blind to what this formerly blind son needed them to be in the moment
- And worse of all, the Pharisees, the religious police
- Who supposedly had the light
- But were the blindest of all
- Who could see no further than the fact this happened on the
Sabbath (following on from what Bill spoke of last week)
- Could not see the hand of God in front of their faces
- And in the face of the blind man’s probing threw him out
- But Jesus is famous for tracking down rejected people (verse 35)
- You and I are testimonies of this (we have the good news stories, lives healed, restored forgiven)
- And He entered into a conversation
- “Do you believe?” (verse 35b)
- “Are you willing to put your trust in Me?”
- And the man who now could see, went on to see what most everyone else was blind to
- He saw God present and at work in his life
- He saw the Messiah face to face
- And so He received and worshiped Jesus (verse 38)
- Like lots of people today, he was done with traditional religion
- He was ready for something, someone authentic
- Ready to give his life to someone who sought and embraced him, and surely told him that He loved him
- People don’t bow down unless they know this
Illustration – novelist Donald Miller interviewed Toni Morrison
- Why she became a great writer
- Was it her method, structure, education?
- “I am a great writer because when I was a little girl and walked into a room, my father’s eyes would light up. That’s why. There is no other reason.”
- I think Jesus’ eyes lit up whenever He found the marginalized, when He found this man
- And then Jesus did a most amazing thing
- He ended the conversation with words that seem out of sync
- But then, it is the glory of Christ to be out of sync with the world
- “If He fit nicely, He would be of little use” - Piper (read verse 39)
- It is in these words we see the tough, blunt, fierce form of Jesus’ love
- In these, I hear Jesus telling the blind man why He has come
- He has come for him
- Because of his blindness, He exchanged eternity for time, heaven for a place
- But the softness of these words is matched by piercing words that declare “I have also come to blind”
- Which may offend our sensibilities
- They’re meant to!
- For these are words that correspond to the real world of full and disbelieving hearts
- These are words that reflect who Jesus is
- He is the Light, the Light of the whole world
- And it’s the nature of Light to divide, distinguish
- For when light enters the darkness, it can ATTRACT
- Opens our eyes, reveals what is really right side up and what is upside down
- But on the other hand, light can also REPEL
- Give offense
- For light penetrates and exposes, uncovers darkness, draws evil out of the shadows, exposes the foulness of all alternative kingdoms
- The result:
1) Either we will RUN TO HIM
- We will see our darkness, our desperate need, and cry out for
illumination
2) Or we will RUN AWAY FROM HIM
- We will see our darkness and will do everything to hide it
- In part because men by nature love darkness rather than light
(John 3:19)
- For light exposes what people refuse to see
- That only He can be the God of our lives, not us
- That there are absolute truths
- That there are ethics that transcend what we think they should be
- That God requires nothing less than a radical change
- That all of their righteous deeds amount to filthy rags
- This is why the Pharisees hated Jesus so much
- Like insects on a turned over rock, they were suddenly exposed
- He revealed their rotted goodness, the rags of their self-righteousness
- Their thinness, the religious veneer that covered their corrupted core
- Their hypocrisy, their orthodoxy vacant of orthopraxy
- Their blindness in contrast to their assumed illumination
- As McLaren puts it: “He violated their taboos (healing on the
Sabbath), honored their villains (the tax collectors and whores and sinners), and vilified their honorees (the scribes, the priests of the day).”
- He knew that for evil to do its worst, it must look its best
- So He exposed their treachery
- HE CAME TO MAKE ALL THE DISCTINCTIONS CLEAR
- And so their blood pressure rose, their fists were clenched
- And they rejected Him, like so many today
- Who are so certain they can see on their own
- Too arrogant to admit the depth of their blindness
- And in the process bring judgment upon themselves
- This is what Jesus was referring to in verse 39
- He came for the purpose of judgment
- He came to draw a line, shine the light
- And when men reject Him, they consign themselves to:
a. The judgment that comes from sin
- For when men refuse to let go of their sin,
God gives them over to themselves
- Over to the sins they will not let go of
- And the painful confusions and consequences sin serves up become somber prophecies of a greater judgment to come
b. The judgment that comes from a life of meaningless
- For when men disregard the Light, men settle for the darkness of emptiness and meaninglessness
- When they accept fate and chance rather than God, they settle for all the barrenness that comes with anything that assumes God’s place
- When we settle for a life void of God, and give it to things, to ourselves
- We can’t help but come to the point we ask ourselves whether anything really matters
c. The judgment that comes from an eternity apart from God
- An eternity of spiritual death rather than eternal life
- So what is Jesus saying in this conversation to us?
- To us who live in our own world of darkness?
- Perhaps it is something like this…
- If you are going to be a follower of Mine, faithful to truth, called to
be the light of the world YOU TOO WILL BE A DIVIDER
- You will attract or repel
- To some, they will see the light of our good works and praise God
- To others, the light that enlightens will blind
- As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:16, we are the aroma of Christ
- Meaning for one we will be the fragrance of life
- To another, we will be the smell of death
Point - This is the offensive nature of the gospel
- A genuine encounter with God will never leave a person neutral
- A genuine encounter with us who follow Jesus will force people to make a choice
- I’ve modified this a bit, but a prayer by Piper is so fitting
“Lord, thicken our skin. Not that we be less tender, but that we be less easily offended. Give us a passion for truth that is stronger than our desire to be liked.”
- Help us to be both tough and tender
- Guard us from words of condemnation, but don’t let us become so mushy we can’t speak a firm word in season
- Help us to be the Light of the world
John spoke about the man in this passage who knew all his life only darkness but then met the light of the world and He (Jesus) removes that darkness. He seeks out this marginalized person as He seeks us out and performs a miracle of grace upon him as He does with us.
What was Jesus’ purpose in leaving heaven? Verse 39 has a two-fold answer, to bring “sight” where needed and to bring “blindness” were wanted. The result is we either, run to Him with need and receive, or we run away from Him and reject the light.
A follower of Jesus will be a divider, too. We can’t live our life in shades of gray.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
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