Scripture: John 10:17-18; Acts 4:8-12
Sermon Title: Jesus’ Intentional Interruptions
4/21/2024
Introduction –
Listen to Jesus’ amazing promises again in John 10:
“17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Jesus! God’s everlasting, trustworthy Living Word–always makes dead people alive.
Jesus is risen!
We will come back to the importance of Jesus–making dead people alive–soon. But first–to understand what makes Jesus’ living faith–the one true faith–we need to take an open/honest look at what Jesus’ living faith is NOT about.
Specifically, I want to look at three popular world-views that are easy to believe (they creep into churches too), but they have nothing to do with Jesus’ living faith.
1.) Jesus’ living faith is NOT a “self-help guide”. You know…follow these 8 rules…these 15 tips…these 100 ways…on how to be a stronger/prettier/better you…IF…(the reward is contingent on the big “Ifs”)…if you follow these simple rules…you’ll get the life you’ve always dreamed of!
Really?!
How do you know that you’ll reach that “dreamy life” at the end?
What if you mess up rule 7 and 8, tips 13-15, ways 10-20…how do you correct your mistakes, and if you do, how do you know where you stand?
Will your mistakes count against you?
How do you know?
It’s confusing–maddening! Sooner than later–you throw that self-help guide in the garbage. It’s like a New Year’s resolution…it starts off hot…but a couple weeks later…it fizzles out.
2.) Jesus’ living faith is not like a “Pyschology Today” magazine. To be clear, I’m not talking about the importance of getting help by trained Pyschologists/therapists if real problems need to be remedied. God uses doctors/therapists, etc. to help provide prefessional care that we need. Thank God for that!
Rather, I’m talking about turning Jesus’ living promises into confusing, pyschological jargon that promotes bettering your mind, bettering your self-image, bettering your purpose without Jesus.
How is that even possible?
The majestic Creator and Savior of all that is seen and unseen–the Living Word of God–who knows every hair on your head–who–“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us,“–shouldn’t He have a say in the purpose–the image–we are bearing?
Of course! Without Jesus’ salvation, without His life-giving promises in our lives, we are lost in a sea of confusing images that leads to more emptiness. You don’t need to look very far to see this.
So, Jesus’ living faith isn’t a self-help guide. His trustworthy, living Word isn’t like a Psychology Today magazine. Let’s take a look at the third one. It’s a huge, easy trap to fall into. I say it’s huge because–left to our own devices–we can’t stand the following promise that comes from Jesus.
Are you ready for this?
Jesus’ salvation–His amazing grace and faith–are not based on our performances. In other words–this salvation that Peter and John preached about in Jerusalem–that–“There is no other name under heaven given to mankind in which we must be saved,”–it’s not dependent on how well we peform. This goes against everything that our prideful, self-righteous society believes in…
How many points did I score?
How many ribbons, trophies, awards–do I have?
How many professional degrees do I have?
Is my name listed in the Hall of Fame?
Listen, I’m not discouraging the different ways God uses our God-given abilities for His eternal glory. Rather, I’m talking about our sinful natures wanting to outdo Jesus and our neighbors. We actually believe that we know better than Jesus does about our lives, our desires, our rules, our plans…don’t we?
We want to prove to all those doubters in our lives that we’ve climbed the ladder of success and that nobody can stand in our way. But here’s the brutally honest part about trying to out perform God/others. When the emotions wear off—when people forget or don’t care about how important you are–what new level do you reach for next? And when that level wears out, what’s the next one? And the next one?
It’s a dark, vicious cycle. Regardless of the activity you are involved with–trying to prove yourself–what’s the end game?
It’s all about Me! But here’s the major problem with the worship of Me and My performances–I’m honestly broken, have many limitations, and the most humiliating thing is that I have an expiration date. We all do. Nobody is immune from death. So, when we die, we don’t take our ladders of success with us, and those people we’ve tried to out perform, they’ve already moved on.
So, thank God Jesus’ living Word and faith that saves us is not based on our performances.
Okay, Jesus’ living faith isn’t a self-help formula. The Savior’s living faith isn’t like a popular Psychology Today magazine. It’s not based on you and me trying to earn God’s approval, so what is Jesus’ living faith based on?
Contrasting Jesus’ faith-filled plans–compared to our plans–my father-in-law told me a funny story about a message on a church sign that he saw. I laughed because it’s so true. The message on the sign said: “You want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans.”
Folks, Jesus has an amazing sense of humor! Jesus uses intentional interruptions all the time to get our attention on His Holy Spirit-filled plans that make dead people alive!
(Jesus is risen!)
Really, how far do our perfomance-based rules/plans take us when we’re talking about the Author of Life?
Isn’t that the main lesson we learned about in the fourth chapter of Acts?
Jesus uses another intentional interruption to draw the people/to draw us to Himself. Look at the story again. The temple priests, Sadducees, and Pharisees–they were the members of the sanhedrin–i.e. the religious ruling council–who were responsible for putting Jesus to death on the cross. Remember, they were the “good guys“. They followed the rules. They memorized the laws that God gave to Moses. They knew the religious festivals like the back of their hand. They were the “clean ones“…their righteousness was at the top tier…are you catching a pattern? Their religious beliefs/actions were performance-based.
But, here’s the real, messy truth. These religious leaders couldn’t achieve what the laws of Moses commanded. And you know what? Neither can we. You might be wondering, “Who were the Sadducees?”
They were an elite religious class that only believed in the first five books of the Old Testament (a.k.a. the Law or Torah). Very performance based, wouldn’t you say? Besides that, they missed out on a lot of great stuff about Jesus–the coming Savior–proclaimed in the prophets and Psalms.
But even with the first five books of the Bible–Moses–filled with the Holy Spirit–spoke and wrote the Law to ultimately point the people of Israel/the world to the one true Prophet–Jesus Christ–who would deliver them from sin and death–from their/our inability–to keep God’s commandments.
There’s more to these Sadducees. The most glaring problem with their theology (i.e. their views of God) is that they didn’t believe in the resurrection–that Jesus makes dead people alive. Despite their/our failings to understand Jesus’ Living Word, Jesus is the Resurrection and Life, just as He promised:
“I am the Resurrection and the Life, whoever believes in Me will live even when they die, and those who believe in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Peace Lutheran, do you believe–this Jesus–who makes dead people alive?
Jesus–who makes dead people alive–He was the Spirit-filled message that Peter and John confessed in Jerusalem. Peter and John were put in prison and put on trial for telling the crowds about the resurrected Jesus: “Who gave you this authority?! The religious council demanded, “What makes you think you’re in charge here?!”
What authority were the religious experts talking about?
I love this part in the story. It’s about Jesus’ intentional interruptions. Peter and John went to the temple for a prayer meeting when they they noticed a crippled man begging them for money. They didn’t have money, but Peter–filled with the Holy Spirit–told the crippled man, “In the name of Jesus Christ, stand up!” and immediately this crippled man, shot up–not only having new legs–but a new, resurrected heart and life–as He praised the risen Savior!
Can’t you just see this man running inside the temple, jumping up and down, singing at the top of his resurrected lungs about how Jesus restored his broken life? Oh the holy commotion! It caused quite an interruption! This man’s excitement reminds me of the living faith Jesus gives His little children. Don’t you love it when children sing praises to Jesus?
This past week–during our preschool chapel time–we sang the song, “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”…the last stanza of that song…we sang…”If you’re happy and you know it sing, “I love Jesus!”…oh folks…you should have heard these preschoolers shout at the top of their lungs…”I love Jesus!” This place rocked! Oh the holy interruption!
Joni and April smiled from ear to ear inside their office, listening to the little children shouting Jesus’ praises.
You see, God’s gift of faith. It’s not a self-help guide, a Psychology Today magazine, or a performance-based religious practice. Rather, Jesus’ intentional interruptions draw us to Himself–to the Savior who makes dead people alive–who makes the lame leap up and proclaim His salvation–who makes the little children shout, “I love Jesus!”
Let’s face it. You can’t keep the Resurrected Savior contained.
Isn’t that what Peter and John confessed?
Filled with the same Holy Spirit who healed the crippled man–Peter and John–have nothing to hide to the religious council about the holy commotion going on at the temple.
Listen again…Acts 4:
“Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,
10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Following that Holy Spirit-filled message–nearly 5,000 people believed in Jesus’ salvation…that’s nearly half the size of Belgrade!
Jesus’ intentional interruptions…He uses infants and little children…He uses a crippled man again…he uses unschooled men–these ordinary fishermen–Peter and John–who touched, ate with, and witnessed Heaven’s Resurrection and Life–they told thousands that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Peace Lutheran–Jesus’ intentional interruptions–drawing you to Heaven’s Resurrection and Life–what is Jesus calling you to do with His living faith?
The calling that God gives to you in Jesus–it’ll be another intentional interruption that makes the dead–alive!
Jesus is risen!
Let’s pray.