Whom Shall I Send?

Matthew 28:16-20

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028%3A16-20&version=NIV;GNT

  

Do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? I do. I was in a meeting when one of the members got word of a plane flying into the World Trade Center. According to the History Channel website, President George W Bush spoke to America that night from the Oval Office declaring:

 

“Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.”

 

Later, in a reference to the eventual U.S. military response he declared, “We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.”

 

As a result, the United States military was sent to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network. With the authority of President Bush, our men and women engaged in this mission.

 

¹⁸ Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.     GNT

 

With these words, Jesus sent his disciples into action; into battle really. He could do this because all authority had been given to him. It was with that authority, that the disciples turned the world upside down.

 

Being “sent” is a very familiar concept in the Bible. God sent Abraham to a land he had never seen. God sent Moses to Egypt to lead His people. The prophets were sent to speak God’s word. God sent Jesus to bring salvation. In turn, Jesus sent his disciples to make disciples. And now, God sends you and me.

 

He sends us to our work place; to our neighborhood; to our church; to our community; and to our family. Wherever we are, there we have been sent to make disciples with the promise that Jesus will be with us always.

 

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”                       Isaiah 6:8 NIV

 

 

It’s time for us to go now. For we have been sent.

 

 

 

 

 

HE DOESN’T RAISE THE BAR! HE IS THE BAR!

Romans 3:21-29 & Romans 6:23

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%203%3A21-29%2CRomans%206%3A23&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

There’s a series of recent Ford F150 commercials that sells the popular pickup truck in very clever and creative ways.

         One talks about how the F150 re-writes the “Truck Laws” for pickup trucks because of how many different ways you can use it.

         Another speaks metaphorically. As the screen flashes back and forth between NFL football and your F150, it suggests that you’re the quarterback and your truck is your offensive line.

         The third one praises the F150 for being “Brainiac Smart” because of all the protective sensors it has.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=2018+Ford+F150+commercials
 

Each one of these commercials finishes with the narrator powerfully saying, “THIS IS THE NEW 2018 FORD F150! IT DOESN’T JUST RAISE THE BAR PAL! IT IS THE BAR!” In 30 seconds you have been convinced that Ford F150 “Is the bar” for other trucks to reach.

 

Paul was trying to sell something to his peers by setting the bar. The Jewish culture of his day, set the bar of righteousness by focusing on the Law. Even Paul, before his conversion, had bought into this belief. However, he changed dramatically.

 

²¹ But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping

the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. ²² We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.                   NLT

 

This statement must have rankled the Jewish religious establishment who firmly believed in living by the Law to attain righteousness. The idea that all you had to do was believe in Jesus must have been heretical.

 

In fact, it was more than that. It was a statement of freedom. Freedom from the rules of man born out of pride. Pride that said, “Look at what I did”. Pride that believed in self-righteousness, not God-righteousness. With pride, we don’t need God.

 

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (The bar.) ²⁴ Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.           NLT

 

In other words…

JESUS DOESN’T JUST RAISE THE BAR PAL! HE IS THE BAR!

 

 

 

 

 

The River

Revelation 22:1-5

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2022%3A1-5&version=ESV;NLT

 

Was there a river running through your life when you grew up? You’ve probably never heard of a small town called St. Louis, Michigan. That’s where I grew up. Winding

through the town is the Pine River. It was there before we arrived. It was there after we moved away. It’s still there. Every day, it wound around people’s lives.

 

When I lived there, the river took you past everything that seemed important. For instance, Westgate subdivision that included the grade school where I attended. The Chemical plant that provided hundreds of jobs including my Dad’s. The power plant with its turbines generating electrical power.

 

The river flowed past the edge of Main Street where people shopped at the IGA or A&P and at the dime store. Then, just before meandering out of town, the river ran right behind St. Louis High School; home of the Sharks. For generations, SLHS prepared young people for the rest of their lives.

 

For myself, I lived in a house which was located on a hill that overlooked the river. The river was a place for fun for me. It provided frogs and turtles to hunt. It provided ice skating where I pretended to be an Olympic speed skater.

 

The river provided for the lives of the people of St. Louis. Where it started or ended, I didn’t know. It was just there; always there.

 

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ² It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.         NLT

 

What river runs through your life? The Pine River didn’t look like much. It certainly didn’t look anything like the River of Life. But it did bring life to the people of St. Louis.

 

The River of Life brings hope and healing. It brings eternal life. It brings Living Water. It brings light. It brings the presence of the Lamb of God. It is the presence. For the people who live by the River, their lives are transformed.

 

 

Welcome Home

Revelation 21:1-7

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2021%3A1-7&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

Where is home for you? Several years ago, my siblings and I had a family reunion in Charleston, WV. All of us were born there, although we moved when I was four. For my older brother and two sisters though its home.

My brother and sisters at Panther Rock in 2014.

 

Still it was fun to watch them reminisce as they walked down Valley Road. Each house seemed to be the home of a memory; the memory of a friend and some mischief they got into like building rockets that were more like a bomb made from steel pipes and gun powder. Later we visited Panther Rock, a great place to climb around as a kid, although not so much when you’re a senior.

 

Home is where the heart is. Home is where we belong. Home is where we are going. John draws a great picture of this for us.

 

³ I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among

his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”      NLT

 

Life on earth is temporary and can often be like running on a treadmill. We can invest our time and energy on advancing our career. We can drive our kids from sport to sport, never ending. We can fight with personal demons that debilitate and destroy. We can do all this and more, but never find home.

 

But there will come a day when none of it matters anymore. And on that day when we do go home, our Heavenly Father will be at the door to welcome us. To take us into His arms and say, “Well done my faithful daughter; my faithful son. Welcome home.”

 

 

 

(Feel free to use the link below to enjoy the song Home by Chris Tomlin.)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtUTa5Nc-e0