|
Go directly to the Message
SNEADS Version John 3:1
But there was a man of the Pharisees named
Nicodemus, and a leading-authority of the Jews. 2 Out of the night he
came to Jesus and said to him, We know you have come as a teacher of the
Almighty, for no one can do these signs you do if the Almighty is not with
him. 3 Jesus answered and said to him, Amēn, Amēn, I tell you, if anyone
is not born from above, that one cannot perceive the Reign of Yahweh.
John 15:9-17.
{Yahshua speaking} As the Father has loved me, so
have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will
abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide
in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in
you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love
one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this: that
a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do
what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does
not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all
that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not
choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear
fruit, and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the
Father in my name, he may give it to you. This I command you, to love one
another. (NRSV+)
Job 29:2-16.
{Job speaking} Oh, that I were as in the
months of old, as in
the days when Elohim
((l) watched
over me: when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked
through darkness; as I was in my autumn days, when the friendship of
Elohim was upon my tent; when the Almighty was yet with me, when my
children were about me; when my steps were washed with milk, and the rock
poured out for me streams of oil!
When I went out to the
gate of the city, when I prepared my seat in the square, the young men saw
me and withdrew, and the aged rose and stood; the princes refrained from
talking, and laid their hand on their mouth; the voice of the nobles was
hushed, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. When the ear
heard, it called me blessed, and when the eye saw, it approved; because I
delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless who had none to help
him.
The blessing of him who
was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing
for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a
robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. I was
a father to the poor, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not
know. (RSV+)
Road Games
Truck driver Pat
Quid’s trucking cargo across the Australian Outback. He becomes convinced
that a man in a green van is a criminal who picks up hitchhikers, then
disposes of them. He convinces his dispatcher to help him catch this guy
and thwart his criminal enterprise. A battle of wits and engines is
fought between the two drivers, ¿but is
everything as it seems?
The dispatcher
finally gets fed up with Quid’s attempts to capture bad guys and screams
through the 2 inch speaker of the CB radio, “Cut the cow and get on the
road, Quid. Remember, you’re just a truck driver!” But Quid’s quick to
respond. With determination in his voice, he proclaims, “I may drive a
truck, but that doesn't make me a truck driver!” Then he goes right
on with the mission. (Road
Games, Stacy Keach, 1981)
We live in this
world, work in this world and die in this world. But when we’ve
experienced the new birth, we may still drive that truck, but it no longer
defines us. We define ourselves by what we’re becoming rather than
what we must temporarily be doing. We expect others to start
redefining us based upon our newborn set of behaviors and attitudes
– those qualities from above rather than below. When Yahweh pushes
us through the new birth canal, we continue to work in this world –
we must! – but we no longer need be a work of this world.
We may have a dispatcher, but within the framework of what we
henceforth do, our dispatches emanate from above.
Heart Surgery Necessary
A few months ago, a
fellow went into a Virginia hospital for emergency heart surgery. The
surgical team was too hasty, and after they started the operation, the
patient caught on fire. Yes, the alcohol they’d cleaned him in hadn’t
time to dry before the surgeon set it aflame with his laser scalpel. Did
you hear about that? I’m sorry to say, the patient died.
When the Holy Spirit
enters into your chest to circumcise the stone from your heart,
you’ll catch fire. But you won’t die as a result: you’ll be born anew and
thenceforth never will you die. Yahshua told Martha, “I
am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die,
yet shall he live and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”
Then he tested her faith by asking, “Do you
believe this?”
As we recognize the
new spirit, then our whole reason-to-be starts changing. That “truck
driver mentality” is slowly but surely transformed into that of “an angel
on assignment,” like Quid – a job becomes a mission. We begin to
perceive all the things we do not as attempts to redeem ourselves,
justify ourselves or get ahead, behind or comfortable, but all we do
become acts of redeeming – i.e. taking back goods and
persons stolen and misused by the devil. Everything we grasp, we carry to
the redemption center up yonder, returning with that which is new, fresh,
clean and holy. This is how we take our part in Messiah’s ongoing process
of recreation.
Tax Stamps
As a boy in Ohio,
pre-paid sales “tax stamps” were stapled to everything I bought. Tax
stamps were a couple inches square and
 came
in colors, depending on their value. Each green tax stamp was
worth one mill - 1/20 of a cent. If you collected twenty greens,
you could redeem them for a penny. Finding twenty green tax stamps was a
lot of work for only a penny, even for a second grader. Twenty greens
would only buy you one little gum ball. But our teachers had all
us students collecting tax stamps from trashcans to bring to school.
Legions of children collected tax stamps in Ohio, millions were brought
in, sorted and redeemed for thousands of dollars that bought school
supplies in hard times.
A penny’s worth of
labor done for a common cause by a million students aggregated
exponentially. Yet no child was legally employed as a tax stamp
collector – child labor was against the law. No, children were first
students; in the course of their studies, they collected for
the school. We benefited by receiving a better education and a sense of
having contributed to the common welfare of all.
Students of the
Master collect and redeem on behalf of the school of the Kingdom
all the time. Our petit labors also add up – we know not to what degree.
But someday we’ll see the balance sheet recording our every
little effort of redemption, from the baking of that pecan pie to the
building of the grand cathedral. Yet the true value is far more than the
appraised because we all redeemed together as friends. Our
blessing benefits the whole world. We should always consider what that
future bottom line will be, after we, like Job, have
delivered the poor who cried, the fatherless
who had no help; blessed him who was about to perish; caused the widow's
heart to sing; put on the robe of righteousness; became eyes to the blind,
feet to the lame, mother to the poor, and savior of strangers.
(Job 29:14-16)
Poor People Listen
It’s in anticipation
of someday looking back upon our deeds of redemption that we can so
confidently receive the instruction that the Master gave the poor:
Mat 6:31-33: Never say, What will we eat? or,
What will we drink? or, How will we be clothed? (Unbelievers look for
these things.) Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. So
then, first seek the kingdom of Yahweh and his righteousness; and
all that you need will be given.
Some of Yahshua’s
hearers had hope enough through these words to give up crying poor and
start talking possibilities. Those of simple faith who heard and believed
him became disciples.
Disciples are Paying Students
What’s a disciple? A
disciple’s nothing more than a student searching for tax stamps. There’s
no law forcing any student to excel or pass a certain grade. Students who
go farther take on the Rabbi by choice. Had he lived, the man on
the Virginia operating table might’ve learned a lesson. He was coerced
to go under the knife – no choice, he was told. Instead of receiving
life-giving therapy, he was set afire.
Any decision to
become a disciple made through coercion, fear, family pressure, threats of
hellfire, in the foxhole or on the operating table seldom lasts or leads
to true discipleship. Likewise, a man who becomes a disciple in
order to get something will get more of the same. Every thinking
person should carefully evaluate what the Master has to say and
offer, then make an informed, personal decision whether to employ him
as teacher or not, gravely considering the rigors of pursuing his
version of academics, not yours. In simple words, one must
count the cost. His halacha / way isn’t for the “religious
hobbyist” or “seeker of smooth things” (1QH 2.32).
The Master warned
potential students: “Which of you,
desiring to build a silo, doesn’t first sit down ||
and count the cost || whether
he has enough to complete it?” What is the cost of your
education, my friend?
Right before the
Master said “sit down and count the cost,” he told enthusiasts what the
cost would be. Do you remember the cost? Look it up – Luke 14:27 – “Whoever
doesn’t bear his cross and follow me, can’t be my disciple.” You
might remember where he took his cross. Is discipleship worth the
price to you?
Judas Iscariot did
NOT count the cost. Judas thought Jesus was the key to a beautiful wife,
a beautiful life, a life without strife, have fun, gain gain, get girls,
let go and let god. That’s why he engaged the Master. But he
wasn’t taught those helpful little strategies for successful living
that he expected.
Instead, the Master
taught him certain illegal practices, like speaking the name of
the Creator – which was, at that time, a serious crime, and, in our
time, considered a waste of time – but, the Master insisted that we access
the Most High through his set-apart name. Yahshua taught
observance of Yahweh’s commands: that the Sabbath is holy but not a
taskmaster, that adultery would ruin a family, that parents ought to be
respected if a child wanted to live long, that good teachers and preachers
and leaders deserved a good living, that hoarders of money would be
impoverished, that killers would be killed, slanderers would be slandered,
evildoers would be punished and that thinking evil was as bad as doing
evil.
Rabbi Yahshua taught
absolute moral values – who was the neighbor, who was the Father,
who was the teacher, who was the prophet, who was the poor of spirit, how
they were to be treated, how the mission was to be completed. He taught
practical lessons – what should be eaten and what shouldn’t, what should
be said and what shouldn’t, what should be done and what shouldn’t, who
should be judged and who shouldn’t, who should be approached and who
shouldn’t, who could be forgiven, and who couldn’t – right and wrong. He
also taught mercy, redemption, friend-making, evil-exposing,
sin-forgiving, self-sacrificing – and he showed us when violence was
the only recourse.
He also taught
very esoteric and difficult-to-understand topics including how one might
acquire wisdom, supernatural power, and live on for ages.
Yet the foundation of
all his teaching is discovered in but nine words – words we
need to account for. He said: “seek
first
the kingdom of Yahweh and his righteousness.” Friends, is that
what you’re doing? I know some of you are.
Judas Iscariot
would’ve spared his own life had he but considered the conditions of his
discipleship before blurting our false promises. The priceless
pearls of wisdom the Master had for him weren’t to his liking. He spilled
them all out into that deep, rocky gorge.
Disciples May Become Apostles
However, those who
heeded the ground-rule progressed in their studies. The Master laid hands
on his graduates, conferring them with the power to forgive, which
also was illegal and carried a death sentence. Then he sent them out on
secret missions in small teams. They were no longer just students; they’d
become apostles. “Apostle” simply means “one sent on a mission.”
“Apostle” is exactly the same as “missionary.” They went forth in the
learnings and empowerments with which he’d entrusted them. When they
returned from their first redemption mission, taking back the tormented,
perplexed, sin-soaked folk from the devil, they rejoiced: “Master, even
demons are subject to us in your name!”
The mission wasn’t
easy – it was sometimes embarrassing – tedious and uncertain – difficult,
especially with the scarcity of equipment he sent with them. They had no
grand auditoriums, well-thought-out church growth schemes or teeth-filling
anointings – they didn’t even have the Jesus movie. But such as they had,
they gave, and what they gave of themselves was good enough to redeem the
things and people they cared for wherever they went. And that’s exactly
what they were sent to do. {More
here.}
But greater than
their enthusiasm beforehand were the wonderful testimonies of their
redeeming work after – they’d gone into that foul den of mortal sin
down the road to destroy the works of the devil and redeem whatever or
whomever they could. Even the least experienced came back rejoicing. He
couldn’t wait for the next time. He couldn’t wait for the next mission.
He couldn’t wait to steal more tax stamps out of the devil’s trash bin and
redeem them for the benefit of an unseen Kingdom. That’s the sign of an
exciting life – a man or woman who can’t wait for the next opportunity to
steal a soul from Satan’s storehouse.
Apostles Can Become Friends
These apostles had a
new “job description.” “Make disciples of
all tribes (eqnoi),” they were commanded. With a job
well done, they advanced to a new level. Not a new pay grade or title –
they’d always be disciples and apostles – but a higher level of
relationship with their Master. They’d be his friends, his
companions, colleagues, peers, co-redeemers. “I
no longer call you slaves,” he said, “but
friends. You are my friends because you do as I say.”
Sometimes this
reading is somewhat harsh: “If
you do as I say, then you can be my friends.” But I believe
that true friendship’s based on mutual trust. Ours is a dangerous
business. We can only trust our friends.
We’d best remember that! We can’t
afford conditional, “iffy” relationships –
our lives are at stake. Our friendship with Yahshua is
conditional for our own good. Like the value of the Commandments – we
keep them not because we want to become legalists or Pharisees, but
because they protect us from convicts
who roam free yet remain imprisoned in sin. Do you get
it? Even our convicted enemies may be redeemed, especially
while trying to do hurt. They’ll either have the stones circumcised
from their hearts, or, while in surgery, they’ll be set ablaze. “If
your enemy’s hungry, feed him; if he’s thirsty, give him drink: By so
doing you’ll heap burning coals on his head. Don’t be beaten by evil, but
beat evil with good” (Romans 12:20,21). {More here . . .}
Redemption of Enemies
Yes, this is how we
overcome an enemy: through friendship. If we’re to be friends, we do as
he says –
John 15:17. This I command you to love one
another.
I heard one dear lady
reciting a poem last week. I asked her for a copy. It’s called “Dr.
Fell.” Here it is:
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell;
The reason why, I cannot tell.
But this I know, and know full well:
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell.
 Love
is not fond affection. Love is not like. Love is not
attachment. It’s ok not to like somebody – for love is
different – it is compassion in action. We can love people
we don’t like, even sinners and enemies, in that way – liking is
optional. Who knows, those who’ve done us wrong may be redeemed.
Maybe our feelings can even be redeemed. How so? Look to the Master’s
example and learn redemption:
Father, forgive them for they know not what they
do. Yahweh sent the Son into the world not to condemn but that the world
might be saved. Greater love has no man
than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Friendship is important
because friends tell friends that:
John 3:18. He who
believes is not condemned; he who doesn’t believe is already condemned.
Why? Because he hasn’t accepted the name of Yahweh’s only Son
as true.
We can each make a lot of difference by just contributing a little bit
– maybe just naming the name – maybe just a kind, sincere word to an enemy
– it doesn’t take a whole lot of theology or energy or even effort
to just follow your friend. The more you do, the more you want to do,
because you see, as He has taught us, that He is faithful. {More
here.} One by one, deed by deed, friend by friend, we’ll build a holy
Nation.
The Star Chucker
One morning an
aged fellow limped down the beach on his cane as he had every day for the
last sixty years, looking at what had washed up on the sand. Once in a
while he’d bend to pick something up, then chuck it into the ocean. He
was chucking starfish. Every time he found one, he’d chuck it into the
surf.
(“I” is
metaphorical. This isn’t a first hand experience, though I’ve known many
who minister in this way.)
I asked him
why. He said, “Starfish are beached at low tide. If they don’t get back
in the water, they'll dry up and die by noon.” I said, “Man, there’s
miles of sand and millions of stars. What difference can you
make?”
The guy bent
over his cane and chucked out another starfish. He turned my way and
said, “Makes a difference to that one.” {More here.}
We lose a lot,
but then we start to win one by one. It’s hard and against the rules,
it’s Quid the Truckdriver’s kind of business. But we get to loving our
mission, because we start seeing accumulations that look like green paper
mountains of tax stamps. Little green lives that were lost to the trash
heap are rescued, redeemed, watered and grown.
Then there’s
the day we no longer fear anything, even judgment day – because he’s
brought us to his inner circle – he’s confided in us and commended us –
and we’ve become not only partners, but friends.
Prayer
of a Working Class Hero:
Take our jobs and make them
yours, pounding nails or scrubbing floors.
Take our minds and make them one with the purpose of your Son.
Father, take our occupations; make it into our vocations.
Let us show someone your way when we’re in the field today.
Sharing witness of our King, seeking him in everything.
In our faith I’ll do the deed – We’ll convince that friend in need.
Name the name above all names; we so dare to make my claims.
Gath’ring tax stamps, we build our piles that folks will spot from many
miles.
Claiming souls until the sun shows us that our day is done.
Then we’ll gaze on our reward – mountains rising to our Lord.
But best of all, at mission’s ends; we’ll proudly boast, “we
are his friends.”
– J. Snyder, October, 1994
MORE . . .
{The first missions
of these apostles remind me of the Kairos Prison Ministry team that stayed
here. Some of those men and women were on their very first mission.
These apostles were aglow with the Spirit, very excited about the
days to come. Most want out of prison, but these apostles were raring
to get in, though they had little more that the very first
missionaries – a Bible, a guitar, a knapsack – and the Master’s training.}
{Not
My Job, Man I like what Jeff
Spiller of Christ’s UMC in Mobile said about making friends. Jeff
pioneered Christ’s when he was 25. He’s been there about twenty-five
years. Now his is the biggest church in lower Alabama. Once I asked him,
“Jeff, just how’d you grow this church?” He told me, “I didn’t.
That isn’t my department. I just follow the Master.”
{Can collecting a tax stamp make a difference?
The answer is YES! If that one little act of compassion is completed,
that one little green piece of paper collected – rendered and saved day
after day, year after year, huge mountains accumulate. Compounded
interest is the secret of wealth. When the day comes for you to receive
your commendation as a friend, the mountain of tax stamps and their value
will astound you – because before you’d only seen your mountain one stone
at a time.}
Jesu! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesu! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me;
He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving:
He is with me to the end.
–
J. Wilbur Chapman, 1901; tune: Hyfrydol
Do you realize that you may befriend the Heavenly Friend and befriend
your enemy at the same time? He’s the friend of sinners and enemies, and
so are we. Of course we don’t trust them, but we trust them
to his redeeming power. Listen: The only
friend my foe may see is my dear Friend who stands in me.}
{ That’s what
collection, redemption and discipleship are all about. We hear the word
of our Master; we follow him, keeping sight of his back. We walk along
side him and learn to obey. He chucks us out of the classroom onto some
seemingly insignificant mission. He gives us hardly any resources but his
name, his word, our wit and maybe a little truck or something. If we
don’t get to the water, we dry up and die by noon. } |
