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Year- A Vision for 2008 'The Next Step: Bigger Trust'
By Jack Hickman
OUR STRENGTH
The path of discipleship is made of 'faith hope and love'. The greatest virtue according to Jesus is of course, love. He sets a clear example of loving his enemies and praying for violent, harsh people. And when the Spirit of Jesus fills you, he begins to work love into you. One of the things I am proud of is our tangible love here at the Vineyard. There is encouragement and healing here.
If you look around you see graduate students, people connected with the university who have an intellectual bent. Others come who through our Alpha Course. Many have no part in the academic world. But it is the love of Christ that holds us together. If you understand what we are hoping to do at the Vineyard, and if you are comprehending our values even on some low level, you will see kindness and Christian love as our ethic. I personally want to grow smaller in sarcasm and stronger in charity. It is the big goal.
Now if any of us would stand in front of America's greatest personal trainer and say 'hey what do you think?' Perhaps the trainer would look at our biceps and say 'holy toledo! You are an animal!' But looking at our legs it might be another thing altogether. In a low voice the trainer might offer: 'you might want to start off with some squats'. So one area can be strong, but there are still significant places that need work. And it is true of us as a community. I think the area God wants to strengthen is our level of trust in God.
THE CANAANITE
Matthew tells a story about a person in true pain. A woman comes to Jesus asking nothing for herself, but she needs big help for her child. The incident flows in such a way (matthew 15.21) you see everything working against her. The disciples want her to leave. Jesus will not talk to her. He is silent. She is being ignored. Verse 23 says 'send her away'.
She persists even though it looks like nothing is going to happen. Jesus tells her she is in the wrong place. He says he is busy helping Jewish people. It is really strange how she keeps after him even though she has been rebuffed. She will not quit.
Many people stop following Christ if things do not go their way. Discouragement, unbelief and bitterness start to fill lots of hearts and minds. But not the Canaanite. She walks around after the Lord and the disciples. Verse 23 says 'send her away, she cries out after us!' Her focus is total. She looks like the star performer at the assertiveness seminar.
In the Fall of 2007 it came to light that Mother Teresa was not the serene peace filled saint everyone thought she was. Some of her letters were noted in Time Magazine. She was filled with doubts and felt God was silent and very far away for most of her life. She calls herself a 'hypocryte' in some of her letters. It was an 'if they only knew' type of moment.
An Op-Ed Article in the New York Times proved very helpful. James Martin ( 8.29.07 New York Times) explains that 1946 was a turning point for Teresa. She heard a 'voice' and felt peace: God was calling her to work with the very poor. After many years of hard silence and darkness God came close to Teresa before her death. She found peace. Teresa was like the Canaanite. She never gave up.
The crowning blow of Matthew 15 is when Jesus calls the Canaanite a dog! He says 'it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs' (26). She quickly comes back and says 'yes Lord but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table' (the Message). And Jesus likes the tenacity and gall of the woman. He smiles ( I see him smiling- how could he not?) and says 'great is your faith!' And she obtained her request- her daughter was healed. She had a confidence and trust in Jesus that was not able to be broken. In the gospel she stands almost alone.
No one is commended for having faith in Matthew ( exception: the soldier in 8.10). The disciples are rebuked for misunderstanding Jesus' teachings (16.8) and later they cannot help the little boy who always falls into the fire (17.20). They can't figure it out! He says it is because of the smallness of their faith, and comments the key is prayer ( and some manuscripts say fasting).
He points out faith is counter-intuitive. You imagine you need a gallon or a cartload of faith: not so. You need a mere seed.
THE CHALLENGE FOR THE NEXT 12-24 MONTHS IS TO GET AHOLD OF THE TINY SEED OF TRUST.
It is impossible to move mountains and hills without trucks, dynamite and a massive workforce: but Jesus says faith can do just that. And he has called us together and given us little signs and a taste of what he will do. You know our community is like a big closed gate. But God can open every door. He shuts one door and opens another. And I think he has bigger plans for you than you think he does!
So here are several ways to stretch your trust:
1.KEEP ASKING
Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock. The verbs are really 'keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking'. James tells us to examine our motives, but often 'you don't have because you don't ask' ( James 4.2). The little widow is commended for asking and challenging the powerful judge (Luke 18.1). God will bring about an answer if you persist. Hebrews 5 tells us Jesus prayed out in a loud voice. We will see help and power come if we really pray.
What are you seeking? Why are we praying? We should pray for more power and freshness to help the people who come to us. Those who are in jobs and ministries where you help people and continually do 'social worker' interventions are at great risk for burnout. Burnout occurs when you have no sharpness or edge, and you are supposed to care, but you don't care anymore. We simply have to have fresh fire from God. Pray for that.
2. SCRIPTURE
The Bible is our life. We find faith in the stories and descriptions of what God has done in the past. Psalm 44 says 'we have heard it with our ears O God, our ancestors have told us what you did in their days long ago'. God does big things. He stops the lions mouth, he sets a table in the wilderness. Hebrews 11 shows how God calls people out and puts his hand on them. Jaroslov Pelikan the historian is right- it is always the dead faith of the living VS the living faith of the dead.Read the Bible often and find the faith and power of the sisters and brothers who traveled this path.
3. GET ALONE AND PRAY
Jesus often retreated and prayed alone. Luke 4 shows many coming to Jesus for help, and the next few verses say 'at daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place' (42). It was his habit, and you can learn alot from his method of being alone.
Fasting is another way of finding God's power and his voice. It can be misunderstood as 'arm twisting' but it is better thought of as 'waiting' and listening to God's voice.
4. WASH YOUR HEART AND MIND
Satan fights against us in confusion and condemnation and temptation. Every day he stands near you whispering doubt and other routes for you to travel. He works against marriage and discipleship. Ineffective fretters and harsh churches are his specialty: but Jesus has another way. Jesus brings peace.
The atonement has broken the darkness and power of sin. Paul urges Christians to tap into the power of the cross. Romans 6 shows us a way to 'consider yourselves dead' to sin. The truly amazing news is our 'aliveness' and the availability of the grace of God. Have you been baptized? Then you are dead to sin. There is peace for you. And you are alive to God. Wash yourself in that all day long.
*****
what happens if we become more like the canaanite? i think
three things happen: a) we change- we grow in power and focus
b) the people we pray for change (do not forget-her daughter
WAS healed c) the reputation of Jesus gets bigger. in 2008
let's pray for change!
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