“Paint or Get off the Ladder”
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Isaiah 58:1-14

Introduction: It is in the nature of people to be curious about religion. Why? Because it is in our nature to worship something or someone. If we are not worshipping God, then we might worship nature, movie stars, art, whatever. And yet, even as a Christians, believing and worshipping the One true God, it’s still possible to serve God in the wrong way; in ways that actually don’t please God. As we look at Isaiah 58 today, we need to understand that this is what the chapter is about—the practice of true worship vs. false worship; true religion vs. false religion.
It is important to note that Isaiah served God as a prophet for more than 50 years in Jerusalem. He started his work at the end of the reign of King Uzziah, then also served under King Jotham, King Ahaz, and then King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was one of Israel’s best kings, because he instituted a number of reforms. Because of this, you might think that things were going well. But God has something important to say through Isaiah to Hezekiah and the rest of Israel, and us in Isaiah 58.

I. Playing Church- (Isaiah 58:1-5; Micah 6:8; James 1:27)
a. Not as it seems- Let me give you a little history for a moment.
Isaiah, during his time of service, had seen war four times. One was a civil war with the Northern tribes. He had seen the fall of Samaria in 722 BC. He had watched the downfall of the nation after the kingdom was divided after King Solomon had died. From the time of King David to the time of Isaiah the nation of Israel had gone downhill, even in the midst of prophets speaking to the people on behalf of God.
The people liked to think that things were good; that their behavior was as it should be; that they were being faithful. But sometimes things are not as they seem. And so Isaiah starts with some painful language, but also some promises… Listen again to verses 2-3, “For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'…”
God is speaking here through the prophet Isaiah, and there is a bit of sarcasm, or tongue in cheek language. He is remarking that His people are busy with the activities of religion (like temple services, rituals, music and programs), but something is wrong. In verse 2 God talks about the people seeming to be seeking Him out, eager to know God’s ways, appearing to be righteous, but the implication is that it is not what it seems. Israel is not a nation that does righteousness.
If you were to study the nation of Israel, you would see that most of the time the spiritual life of Israel was carried by a remnant, or inner core of godly people. But this chapter is about the WHOLE nation of Israel; all of the people. And when you look at the whole, you will see decadence, discontinuity between what is professed and their actual behavior, and the crumbling of a nation. Israel was busy trying to look righteous, but they had really forsaken God and what God truly wanted.
b. False vs. real- The whole idea about false religion is that it’s
impersonal and program-centered. However, God is a personal God and is interested in intimate, personal relationships. He doesn’t care about ritual, liturgy, and ceremony as much as He cares about us being fully committed to Him! As we are told in Micah 6:8- “He has showed you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you. To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” We can easily drift into going to church out of habit. We can easily drift into religious activity and programs. So we need to ask ourselves the question: “Why am I here?”
This question will help us to avoid what the theologian Jay Vernon McGee calls “playing church.” It is not about ritual, but about helping others. It is not about requirement, but about being motivated to love. It is not about fulfilling a duty, but about serving the Lord, and being connected with God. As James says in the book of James, 1:27- “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit widows and orphans in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” But the visiting and the keeping from the world is to be out of love, not out of obligation!
At the end of verse 3 Isaiah gives an example when he says: “… ‘Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.’” In other words, God tells his people that they’ve set their priorities on their own personal pleasures and it’s just “business as usual” to them. Their lifestyles are centered on their dreams, their goals, their ambition, their careers, their homes, their families. You get the point? Seeking God hasn’t changes the way they live at all.
In fact, Isaiah gives an example in verse 4 where he says: “Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife and in striking each other with wicked fists.” Wow. Did you catch that? In the midst of their fasting, which is supposed to be a religious ritual, they end up fighting! They have lost any sense of what it means to be in a relationship with God; to have God as their Lord and Creator. What God sees in His people’s hearts is not acceptable, and they are really wasting their time.

II. Showing Humility- (Isaiah 58:6-7; Matthew 9:37)
a. Self-centered- The problem is that the people were showing an
outward sign of humility, but that wasn’t what God wanted. We read in Isaiah 58:6-7, “Is not this the fast that I chose to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” God wants his people to stop being like a ‘country club’—ingrown and self-centered—and to get out in to the middle of this world because people are lost and they don’t know they are lost. People are in bondage to sin and they need somebody to break them free. God wants to pour out his love through His people, through you and me. God wants us to loose the bonds of wickedness, breaking every yoke, and sharing bread with the hungry.
Example- The other day my family was at my aunt and uncle’s. They had a box of Legos that Tiffany started to play with. She was building some kind of a tower. At one point she went with my aunt to go get our dinner, and so Tyler began to build an “addition” to her building. When she got back she was upset that Tyler had messed with what she was building. Then later Tyler took a couple of the Legos to build something himself. Tiffany got upset, because he took a piece that she needed to complete her building. As she was complaining to me, I discovered that Tyler had about 6 Lego pieces, and Tiffany had about 60! And yet they got into a big argument and were all upset.
Why did this all happen? Because they were being selfish and not sharing and not working together. They didn’t care about what the other person was doing, only what they were doing. They didn’t care how it might negatively affect their relationship. They just wanted to have what they wanted. And that happens in the church all the time. We get caught up in what we want, and we don’t share. We don’t share the good news of Jesus with our community. We don’t share our resources very well. We don’t seek to go out of our comfort zone.
b. Going out- Now what happens if you get a bunch of Christians
hiding in the church? No, this is not the start of a joke, it is a legitimate question. You get God being unhappy with us, because God wants to get us loose and involved in our community. God wants us to show the love of Jesus to people. People will want to become Christians after they see the love of Christ manifested in our lives. Even if they don’t want to become Christians, the Holy Spirit is going to be free to do His work.
If you were to look at the numbers, there is actually a small percentage of people in Long Beach who attend church each week. Which is just like what Jesus said in Matthew 9:37, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.’” And this can cause us to be afraid to go out into the community, or it can cause us to make excuses about why we won’t go.
Isaiah challenges us to get personally involved with people at a deeper level—where they are really hurting, regardless of who they are or their place in society. We read in Isaiah 58:8, “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” God is saying here to do what He calls us to do, go out into the community, and it will give us a new feeling about our Christian life. Not only will those who are newly saved have restoration to their lives, but those of us who see God restoring people will have our own personal restoration and healing in our lives. God will be there to protect you and go before you. God’s presence will be evident. You will call out to God and God will be there to answer.
Earlier in the text we saw that the people were calling out to God and they didn’t feel that God was there to answer. They were complaining about God not being there for them; feeling like they were ignored. But when we are serving God, when we are out doing the things God wants us to do, then we can call and God will immediately answer. And because we are in this revived relationship with God, we will sense His presence all the more.
From verse 9 to verse 12 we see Isaiah challenge his people, and us, in regards to the ways we can make our light shine, God’s light shine. It happens when we get rid of the gossiping and bickering, and stereotyping, and hurting others around us. It’s not about organizing committees or more programs. It is about getting busy using what we have; the love of God in us. To let God’s light shine is to get personally involved.

Conclusion: Are you bored in your Christian life? Do you feel lonely in your relationships? Does your life have a sense of being meaningless and empty? God wants to banish your gloom. God wants you to bless someone else, encourage someone else, challenge someone else. To do this we need to realize that the Lord is with us, as Isaiah says in verse 11, “The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” This is great language reminding us of God being able to bless us in our serving Him. God will heap upon us good things and fruitful results. And Isaiah concludes with these words: “Then you will find your joy in the Lord…”
When we demonstrate the kind of love and energy I’ve talked about in this sermon, people will notice and respond. The title of this sermon is “Paint or get off the ladder.” What that means is that God has never designed us to be people who are uninvolved. If you are on a ladder with a paint brush, it is expected that you will paint. If not, then you need to get off so that someone else can climb on the ladder and paint. Let us be a people who are not only able, but are willing to put our faith into practice, and show our faith by going out into the world to love people for God. Amen.

“When In Doubt, Go Fishing”
Sunday, April 26; John 21:1-17

Introduction: We are a couple of weeks post Easter, and so I want to focus on a story that happens just after Easter. The Scripture tells us that this is the third time that Jesus had appeared to His disciples after He had rose from the dead. Why is this? Why did Jesus stay around and visit them 3 times? I think it is because they were still having doubts: doubts about who they were as disciples (remember, even though Jesus has visited them, He is no longer physically present with them); doubts about what they were to do; and doubts about their ability. They had never really had any ministry success.
And so Jesus appears “again” to the disciples, verse 1 tells us. And when does He appear? He appears in the morning, after they have been fishing all night. Now the nighttime was the best time to fish, because the water was calm, and they have their torches lit, and they can see the fish in the reflection of the water. Once they spot the fish the fisherman fling their net. This fishing, this flinging their nets, is what they had been doing all night; but they had not caught any fish.

I. At the Foundation- (Jn. 13:13-15, 6:68; Matt. 7:29, 9:6; Luke 8:24-25)But let’s take a step back for a moment, because this passage is not about
fishing; it is about something much deeper.
a. The empty grave- Have you ever had a situation where something
happened, but in the end you realized that what you learned was different than the event itself? Let me give you an example…About a year ago I got an invitation to join “Facebook.” Facebook is an online website that allows you to post pictures, and stay connected with other people who are your “friends.” I decided to join, and was going to invite a few of my friends to join with me. However, I accidentally sent an invitation to “ALL” of my e-mail mailing list; a couple hundred people which included ministry contacts. The funny thing is, throughout the year, many of these people have since joined! Now, Facebook can be a lot of fun. I can go on and see pictures that others have posted, and they can see my pictures. There are games on there to play. You can even “fling food” at each other. But something else has come from this. I have recently re-connected with many of my ministry friends from when I was doing ministry at the Crystal Cathedral some 25 years ago. These contacts have been a great source of encouragement and affirmation for me these last couple of months! I believe that my joining Facebook, while at first was for fun, has been one thing God has used to bless me in my ministry.
The grave is like this as well. When it was discovered that Jesus wasn’t in the grave, at first it was very disconcerting for them; the disciples didn’t know if they could believe it, and what to make of it. But when they realized that Jesus was not in the grave, but alive, they rejoiced. Yet, they still didn’t understand the full implication of this.
b. Jesus is Lord- What it was to really mean for them was that Jesus shows
that He is Lord. Not only God in the flesh, as He claimed while here on the earth, but God the Son, as He was before He took on flesh.
But what does this mean?
Jesus many times referred to Himself as Lord. You might remember in John 13, right after Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, He had this to say; verses 13-15: “You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
As Lord, Jesus sets an example to follow; an example that comes from God, Himself.
And even the disciples grasped this to an extent, as we hear Peter answer Jesus in John 6:68, “Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” This was in response to Jesus asking them if they were going to desert Him.
This word “Lord” comes from the Greek word kurios. It refers to having authority or power. For Jesus to be Lord means that Jesus has authority: authority in the world and authority in our lives. Jesus even displayed this authority many times: In Matthew 7:29 we are told: “because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” In Matthew 9:6 we read: “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home.” And when there was a great storm, we see in Luke 8:24-25, “Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25"Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
So we see His authority in the world. But what it really meant for Jesus to be gone from the grave and to appear to His disciples was that He was alive as Lord. The foundation of all things, of the earth and of our lives is that Jesus is Lord. For this to make a difference, we have to let Jesus have the authority in our lives. We will see this come into play later on in this Scripture with Peter.

II. Peter and his friends- (John 21:2-3)
a. Fishing together- Jesus had appeared to the disciples, and yet they
were still doubting. We like to bash Peter, because he was one of the disciples that couldn’t stay awake in the garden to pray for Jesus, and he was the one who denied Jesus 3 times. But Peter does something good here, and that is he takes some friends with him to go fishing. Or actually, they decide to go with him. But he takes the time to let them know what he was doing.
We read again from Jn. 21:2-3, “Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3’I'm going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We'll go with you.’..”
Peter decides he is going to go fishing. He probably decides this for a couple of reasons: first, it allows him to get out. Instead of just dwelling on what they are supposed to do next, WITHOUT JESUS, he decides it is better to be active. Second, he decides to do what he knows. Peter was a fisherman before he started following Jesus. He knows about fishing. It is his comfort zone. He figures that doing something he knows how to do, and does well will be beneficial for his mind, body, and spirit.
Now, the passage tells us that after Peter tells the disciples that he is going to go fishing, they say to him: “We’ll go with you.” Whether this is because they want to get out as well, or because they don’t want Peter to be alone, they decide to go. We will talk about this in a moment when we get to point three.
The funny thing is that even though Peter knows fishing, he doesn’t catch any fish until Jesus comes around. This is significant, and I think purposeful. I’ll get to talking about this in a moment as well. But let me ask you a question:
b. Sticking together- Where are you doubting in your life right now?
This is an important question, because we are always doubting in life in some way. It could be in regards to going to school, or changing jobs, or your living situation, or health issues, or family or friendships. We have many areas of life that cause us concern. Or there are times when we might question decisions and choices we have made. Where are you doubting in your life right now?
Chances are, in the midst of your doubting, you are going it alone. This is the tendency for most people. Maybe you don’t want anyone you know to know that you have questions and concerns in your life because you might not look like you have it together. Maybe you think that you have to be strong and do everything yourself. Maybe you don’t have anyone that you feel you can really trust. Whatever it is, you are probably going it alone.
Illus. “Peace That Transcends All Earthly Turmoil,” Long ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered. The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled. As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd. A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner. The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace? A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power. A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.
Berit Kjos, A Wardrobe from the King, pp. 45-46.
Often times, all it takes is your mentioning to someone something out loud, like “I’m going out to fish,” or “I think I need a change in where my priorities lie,” and you will probably have several people say, “I’ll walk with you in that.” And having these friends there with you helps you to be at peace. I know that when I am with my good friends, and I can talk to them about all that is going on, and they are there to encourage me, and support me, and walk with me through my doubts, I feel like these birds nestled in the elbow of the branch. There is protection within this special kind of friendship. There can be peace in our doubts. And God gives us these people. Who in your life sticks with you in your time of doubting? Who do you stick with when they doubt?

III. Peter goes fishing- (John 21:3-14)
So Peter goes fishing. As I said before, probably to get away. Maybe even to
test whether or not he is going to go back to fishing, instead of continuing in this crazy journey of starting a movement for Christ. He was doubting his place in what Jesus was wanting him to do. How could he do it without Jesus? Peter was doubting himself in the midst of his own failures.
As we get to the end of John 21:3, we read: “So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” This seems like such a simple phrase, “they caught nothing.” That happens to fishermen all the time, amateur and professional alike. I went fishing with my dad all the time as a kid, whenever we went camping, but never caught a fish. Then there is my daughter Tiffany, who only went fishing one time, in a very small pond, only 5 years old, and caught a fish right away! So for Peter to go fishing and not catch anything shouldn’t be a big deal, right? Why even mention it?
God doesn’t waste words in the Bible. God had John write these words, because they all fit together. From the doubting of Peter, to his decision to go fishing, to his not catching anything, was all part of God’s plan. The plan was to move Peter to the place of understanding. So we continue in our passage…
“4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. 6He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some."
Let’s stop here for a moment. It says that they didn’t recognize Jesus, but when he tells them to throw their net on the other side, even though they had been fishing all night with no luck, they did. Back to the passage…
“When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water…”
When Peter realizes that Jesus is there, he just jumps in the water. He is so excited that he doesn’t want to take the time to row the boat in. And then Jesus has a fish barbecue with them! Continuing on, the Scripture says: “None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.”
Jesus seeks Peter out. We see Jesus in essence re-calling Peter as he was fishing, similar to Peter’s first call. We see Jesus feeding them with bread and fish, like He did the 5,000. We see Jesus eating a meal with them, just like He did at the Last Supper; the last time they had been together. Jesus does all of this to set up what He is going to do for Peter next; help Peter deal with his doubts.

IV. Struggling with internal doubts- (John 21:15-17)
The wonderful thing about Jesus is that He knows what people are thinking.
Jesus knows that Peter has been doubting himself. Jesus knows that Peter is struggling with his call. Jesus knows that Peter is ready to give it all up and go back to fishing. That is why Jesus takes this time to visit the disciples, and Peter a third time. Jesus wants to make sure that Peter is ready to do the most significant work of his life; to fulfill his call and spread forth the Christian faith.
Illustration: Walk through the pictures of Jesus…….
1. Jesus as an innocent baby; 2. Jesus being dedicated as a baby in the temple;
3. Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist as He was being prepared to start His ministry; 4. Jesus holding a child and showing how all were important, and all were to be welcomed; 5. Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration showing His glory; 6. Jesus at the temple reading the scripture and teaching the people with authority; 7. Jesus eating with the disciples at the Last Supper, His last time with His disciples; 8. Jesus in deep prayer as He prepared Himself to follow the will of the Father and go to the cross to be crucified for the sins of the world; 9. Jesus being crucified so that we could all have forgiveness for our sins and be restored to God; 10. Jesus being resurrected from the grave; 11. Jesus calling the disciples from the boat to come and eat with him; 12. Jesus, the Good Shepherd……
We see the many faces of Jesus. And we come to this last one, The Good Shepherd, as Jesus passes the torch to Peter to be the Good Shepherd. Listen to how the conversation goes: “15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ 16Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me?’ He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ 17 The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.”
As Peter is struggling with his internal doubting, Jesus comes to him, seeks him out, and shows Peter that He still loves him, and still believes in him, and has still called him to be the rock of the church. This is a good thing, because who knows what would have happened had Peter let his doubting lead him back to fishing. This is the future that Jesus has for Peter: Feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.

Conclusion: Where are you doubting? We often try to deny our doubts, or run away from them. Know that Jesus will seek you out; Jesus will try to fellowship with you; Jesus will be there to restore you and lift you back up to your calling. When Peter realized the Lord was there, he ran to Jesus. That is what we all need to do, especially in our times of doubting….run to Jesus. Be willing to see Jesus lift us up and affirm where He wants us to be and what He wants us to do.
Open your eyes to the people around you who can walk with you. Be willing to be there for your friends who might be doubting themselves. But most of all, let Jesus walk with you and help you find the answers! AMEN.

“The Harvest of the Fruit of the Spirit in Jesus”
Series: Winning the War Within; 4/12/09
Easter Sunday; Galatians 5:22-23, Luke 22:31-34, 47-48, 24:18-27

Introduction: In life we set goals all the time. The challenge for us is usually not setting goals, but following through on our goals. In Galatians 5:16 the apostle Paul says: “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. And then Paul gives a list of some of the desires of the flesh, as he says “the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness (or lacking moral restraint), idolatry, sorcery, strife, jealousies, anger, quarrels, envy, drunkenness. This is quite a list, although not exhaustive. Then Paul says that in light of all of this, instead of this kind of living, we need to put on the “fruit of the Spirit.”
These last 7 weeks we have been talking about the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This morning I want to talk about what happens when we put it all together!

I. How Jesus Did it- (Hebrews 4:15; Phil. 2:7-8; John 6:38;
Luke 22:31-32, 24:26-27)
Let us not think that because Jesus was God in the flesh, that Jesus
didn’t have to work at living out the Fruit of the Spirit. Jesus was tested and tempted in many ways. Last week I read Hebrews 4:15 which talks about how Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, but was without sin. We see in the Scriptures how Jesus was tempted by Satan, even before He began His ministry.
We see in the life of Jesus the Fruit of the Spirit regularly lived out:
The first is Love- It is completely evident that Jesus loves us, because we see Jesus giving of Himself without concern for His own well being. The apostle Paul tells us Philippians 2:7, that Jesus “..made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” It was out of love that Jesus chose to come to this earth. It was out of love that Jesus died on the cross.”
Next is Joy- Jesus experienced the full extent of joy in His life. This was not because His life was all nice and easy. To the contrary, Jesus had a very difficult time just coming into this world, being born in a stable, life threatened by King Herod, he and His family having to flee to Egypt, then He was questioned and harassed by the religious leaders, and ultimately arrested, beaten, and killed on a cross. But Jesus found joy in these words in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” Jesus knew that the Father was with Him at every step, and in this He felt joy.
Peace- Along with love and joy, Jesus lived at peace. Jesus knew who He was, and what He was called to do. Jesus knew that His life had purpose, and anytime that He was troubled, He went to the Father in prayer. Jesus could be at peace even when there was a storm. You might remember how Jesus was sleeping in the boat during the storm while the disciples were greatly distressed!
Patience- When it came to patience, Jesus needed to have it. Why? Because He was dealing with 12 men, who became His disciples, who had no training for what there were being called to do. They regularly doubted and questioned Jesus, were troubled by His words, tried to keep people from coming to Him, and failed Him on many occasions. Still, Jesus did not give up on them. In Luke 22:31-32, He said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail…” And in our Bible reading this morning, we see that Jesus, after He had been resurrected, appeared to some, but at first they did not see who He was. And they were confused still about why all this had happened. Jesus’ response was this in Luke 24:26-27, “Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” He explained it to them beginning with Moses. Now that is patience!
Kindness- Then there is Jesus’ kindness. When Jesus was asked to get more wine for the wedding, He didn’t just give them average wine, He turned the water into what was said to be the “best” wine. When there was a great crowd with Him, and they needed food to eat, He fed them with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. When the woman was caught in adultery, He not only forgave her, but helped, others around her to understand why they shouldn’t judge her. He didn’t just heal the leper, He did it by TOUCHING him so that it would be seen that the leper could again be restored into society.
In these examples we see both the kindness and the generosity of Jesus!
Faithfulness- When it comes to faithfulness, there is no one more faithful than Jesus. Even though Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him, He still ate the last supper with Him; He still washed Judas’ feet. Even though Peter denied Him 3 times, He still came to Peter after He was resurrected and lifted Peter back up into the ministry to which Peter was called. Even though He was stressed to the point of sweating blood at the thought of going to the cross, He went for His Father, and for us! Jesus gives us the ultimate example of faithfulness.
Next we see Jesus’ Humility- Philippians 2:8 tells us- “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Jesus humbled Himself in going to the cross. Jesus humbled Himself in taking on flesh. Jesus humbled Himself in following the purpose of why He was here, “to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus humbled Himself by opening Himself up to the temptations of Satan. Jesus humbled Himself by letting Himself be arrested, beaten , questioned, and crucified!
Self-Control- Ultimately, we see Jesus living these all out through exhibiting self-control. Self-control is what kept Jesus from giving in when He was stressing about the cross. Self-control is what kept Jesus from giving up on the disciples when they just didn’t get it. Self-control is what kept Jesus from losing it all and wiping out the whole world for their defiance and sin. Instead Jesus wept when He saw all who were lost. Jesus exhibited self-control because He knew what the result would be.

II. How we can do it- (2 Peter 1:5-6)In 2 Peter 1:5-6 we are told: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness.” We are to make the effort. But sometimes the effort doesn’t seem like enough, and we feel like giving up.
The group U2 has a wonderful song called “Walk On.” The words are printed in your bulletin, along with some words from Mother Theresa. Listen to the song…

Walk On (Lyrics by Bono U2)
And love is not the easy thing; The only baggage you can bring...And love is not the easy thing...The only baggage you can bring; Is all that you can't leave behind

And if the darkness is to keep us apart; And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off; And if your glass heart should crack; And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on; What you got, they can't steal it
No they can't even feel it; Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight...

You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen; You could have flown away; A singing bird in an open cage;
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

Walk on, walk on; What you got they can't deny it; Can't sell it or buy it; Walk on, walk on; Stay safe tonight
And I know it aches; And your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much; Walk on, walk on

Home...hard to know what it is if you never had one
Home...I can't say where it is but I know I'm going home
That's where the heart is
I know it aches; How your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much; Walk on, walk on

Leave it behind; You've got to leave it behind
All that you fashion, All that you make, All that you build
All that you break, All that you measure, All that you steal, All this you can leave behind, All that you reason
All that you sense, All that you speak, All you dress up
All that you scheme...

Words of Mother Theresa: This is the difference. This is what made the difference in total surrender--to accept whatever He gives. And to give whatever it takes with a big smile. This is the surrender. To be cut. And to accept to be cut to pieces and to let every piece belong only to him. This is the surrender. To accept all the people that come, the work that you happen to do. Today maybe you have a good meal and tomorrow maybe you have nothing. There is no water in the pump working. To accept. And to give whatever it takes. It takes your good name. It takes your health. Yes. That’s the surrender. That is the clearing (?). You are free then.
The Walk On Video was produced by Rev. Gerald Arata of First Grace Presbyterian Church, Long Beach


Song is about 4:00 long…..
The song tells us that love is not an easy thing. Neither is joy, peace, patience, and the rest of the Fruit of the Spirit. But the song also encourages us to leave behind “All that you fashion, All that you make, All that you build, All that you break, All that you measure, All that you steal, All that you reason, All that you sense, All that you speak, All you dress up, and All that you scheme.
We leave this all behind because we cannot do it on our own. Just like a seed cannot produce a harvest itself, as it needs the soil, the water, and the sun, so we need those who will nourish us, and encourage us, and strengthen us. But most of all we need God to bless us.

Conclusion: On this Easter Sunday, we remember that it is because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that the Fruit of the Spirit can live in us. May we seek to put it to the test as we walk out this door today. Let us “walk on” in the life that God has for us; a life that will keep us from darkness, and lead us into the light of Christ. Blessed is the name of Jesus. And blessed is the life of those who live out the Fruit of the Spirit as Jesus did. We will see a great harvest when we do this. Amen!