A day at the Monastery
Lost on a rainy night, a man stumbles across a monastery and requests shelter there. Fortunately, he's just in time for dinner and was treated to the best fish and chips he had ever tasted.
After dinner, he went into the kitchen to thank the chefs. He was met by two of the Brothers. The first one says, "Hello, I am Brother Michael, and this is Brother Charles."
"I'm very pleased to meet you," replies the man. I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner. The fish and chips were the best I've ever had! Out of curiosity, who cooked what?"
Brother Charles replied, "Well, I'm the fish friar."
He turned to the other Brother and said, "Then you must be...?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so -- I am the chip monk."
I
Michael
Feldman opens his show with the phrase Whad’Ya Know?
A
The
audience responds, “Not much, Whad’Ya Know?.
B
Michael
goes into a monologue that is most often very humorous.
C
This
is a morning for humor and for seriousness.
II
Well,
this morning Whad’Ya Know?
A
Whad’Ya Know? About what?
B
Whad’Ya Know? About
Jesus?
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MAIN BODY:
I.
He spoke, words of awesome, unlimited, unleashed power and a world
was seen.
A.
He spoke
again, and the waters and lands were filled with plants and creatures, running,
swimming, growing, and multiplying—words of animating, breathing, pulsing life.
B.
Again he
spoke, and man and woman were formed, thinking, speaking, and loving—words of
personal and creative glory.
C.
Eternal,
infinite, unlimited—he was, is, and always will be the Maker and Lord of all
that exists.
II.
And
then he came in the flesh to a speck in the universe called planet earth.
A.
The mighty
Creator became a part of the creation, limited by time and space and
susceptible to aging, sickness, and death.
B.
But love
propelled him, and so he came to rescue and save those who were lost and to
give them the gift of eternity.
1.
He is the
Word; he is Jesus, the Christ.
2.
It is this
truth that the apostle John brings to us in this book.
III.
John's Gospel is not a life of Christ; it is a powerful argument
for the incarnation, a conclusive demonstration that Jesus was, and is, the
very heaven-sent Son of God and the only source of eternal life.
A.
John
discloses Christ's identity with his very first words:
1.
"In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2.
He was with
God in the beginning" (John 1:1-2); and the rest of the book continues the
theme.
B.
John, the
eyewitness, chose eight of Christ's miracles (or signs, as he calls them), to
reveal Christ's divine/human nature and his life-giving mission.
C.
These signs
are:
1.
turning
water to wine (John 2:1-11),
2.
healing the
official's son (John 4:46-54),
3.
healing the
invalid at Bethesda (John 5:1-9),
4.
feeding the
5,000 with just a few loaves and fish (John 6:1-14),
5.
walking on
the water (John 6:15-21),
For years the pastors of the
Baptist Church, Methodist Church and the priest from the Catholic Church had
gone fishing together on Saturday mornings. The Baptist pastor passed away and
a new pastor arrived. The Catholic and Methodist pastors went to meet the new
man and invited him to join them in their weekly fishing trips. He agreed and
they set up to meet the next Saturday morning to go fishing.
When they got to the lake, they
rowed out and started to get ready to fish. All of a sudden the Catholic priest
said: “I forgot my tackle box, I’ll just go get it and be right back.” Much to
the surprise of the Baptist pastor, the priest stood up in the boat jumped over
the side and skipped across the water to the bank, got his tackle box and
skipped back across the water to the boat and got in.
A little while later, the
Methodist pastor’s line broke and he said: “My reel is out of line. I have some
more in my car. I’m going to go get it and I’ll be right back.” Again, the
Baptist pastor watched in amazement as the Methodist pastor stood up in the
boat, jumped over the side and skipped across the water to the bank, got his
new fishing line, and skipped back to the boat and got in.
After about an hour of soul
searching and praying on his part, the Baptist pastor decided that he had as
much faith as the Catholic and Methodist and so he should also be able to skip
across the water. He said “I left something in my car, I’ll be right back.” He
stood up, jumped over the side of the boat and immediately sank in the water.
He was splashing around in the water and yelling for help.
After they pulled him from the
water, the pastor said: “I am a Baptist and I have devoted my entire life to
the service of the Lord. Why can you walk on water and I can not?” The two
pastors looked at each other, and the Catholic said to the Methodist “I thought
you were supposed to tell him where the stumps were!”
a.
Jesus did
not need stumps.
b.
He walked
on the water.
6.
restoring
sight to the blind man (John 9:1-41),
7.
raising
Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44), and, after the resurrection,
8.
giving the
disciples an overwhelming catch of fish (John 21:1-14).
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IV.
In
every chapter Jesus' deity is revealed.
A.
Jesus' true
identity is underscored through the titles he is given—Word, the One and Only,
Lamb of God, Son of God, true bread, life, resurrection, vine.
B.
And the
formula is "I am." When Jesus uses this phrase, he affirms his
preexistence and eternal deity.
C.
Jesus says:
1.
I am the
bread of life (John 6:35);
2.
I am the
light of the world (John 8:12; John 9:5);
3.
I am the
gate (John 10:7);
4.
I am the
good shepherd (John 10:11, 14);
5.
I am the
resurrection and the life (John 11:25);
6.
I am the
way and the truth and the life (John 14:6); and
7.
I am the
true vine (John 15:1).
V. We have another eye witness who
testifies to Jesus origins and purpose in life.
A.
6There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John.
B.
7He came as a witness to testify to the
light, so that all might believe through him.
C.
8He himself was not the light, but he
came to testify to the light.
D.
9The true light, which enlightens
everyone, was coming into the world.
E.
They would not come
to nor accept the light.
1.
You can
read John 3:17-21 and see what Jesus had to say about the light deniers.
17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the
world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those
who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are
condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son
of God. 19And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the
world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were
evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the
light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those who do
what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds
have been done in God.”
2.
They are inflicted with a light deficiency
There
is a Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression or
winter blues, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal
mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive
symptoms in the winter or, less frequently, in the summer,[1]
spring or autumn, repeatedly, year after year. In the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), SAD is not a unique mood
disorder, but is "a specifier of major depression".[2]
3.
This is created by
the cloudy, shortened days of winter.
a.
The antidote is a
light therapy
b.
You need to be
Exposed to light from 1 to four hours per day
c.
This light needs to
be about 10 time brighter than the average light bulb.
4.
Think of the people
who are experiencing the darkness of SIN.
a.
They also need light.
b.
The light of the
world is in the world.
c.
We have access to
this light and so are dominated or ruled by SIN.
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VI.
One of the saddest aspects of Jesus coming into our world is that
he was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world
did not know him.
A.
Jesus is challenged
at every turn and in every experience.
1.
Who gave
you this authority? Luke 20:1 -2 (NRSVA)
1One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling
the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders 2and
said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it
who gave you this authority?”
2.
Show us a sign. Mark 8:11-12 (NRSVA)
11The Pharisees came and
began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. 12And
he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation ask for a
sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
3.
Where did this man
get his education?. John 7:14-18 (NRSVA)
14About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and
began to teach. 15The Jews were astonished at it, saying, “How does
this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?” 16Then
Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. 17Anyone
who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God
or whether I am speaking on my own. 18Those who speak on their own
seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is
true, and there is nothing false in him.
4.
He does his
works by Beelzebul. Luke 11:14-23 (NRSVA)
14Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had
gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15But
some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
16Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. 17But
he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided
against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. 18If
Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?—for you say
that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. 19Now if I cast out the demons
by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists£ cast them out? Therefore
they will be your judges. 20But if it is by the finger of God that I
cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 21When
a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. 22But
when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his
armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. 23Whoever is not
with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
5.
One of the saddest
statements of all is reco0rded in verse 11.
a.
He came to what was
his own, and his own people did not accept him. Mark 6:1-6 (NRSVA)
1He left that place and
came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2On the
sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were
astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom
that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3Is
not this the carpenter, the son of Mary£ and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not
his sisters here with us?” And they took offense£ at him. 4Then
Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown,
and among their own kin, and in their own house.” 5And he could do
no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and
cured them. 6And he was amazed at their unbelief.
b.
Add to this what Luke records of the same experience in Luke
4:28-30 (NRSVA)
28When they heard this,
all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29They got up, drove him
out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was
built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30But he passed
through the midst of them and went on his way.
B.
We have enough to understand how his generation related to Jesus
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CONCLUSION
I.
Jesus
is a heroic figure who lived in the midst of a mostly faithless and perverse
generation.
A.
He provided
everything necessary for one’s salvation and spiritual growth.
B.
What we accomplish depends on what we do with the
Word and the light, grace, and truth that he offers us.
A couple months ago, I entered a contest and ended up winning a few acres of swampland below the flood plane in Mississippi. Before I knew it, right after that I won a $250,000 house, so naturally I built it on my new land. Last week, I won enough money in the lottery to quit my job and move down there for good. And just last night, as sat on my new porch watching the rain and listening to the thunder, it all started to sink in.[1]
1.
Do not let this happen to you.
2.
Accept the light and get out of the
swamp
Amen!