John 12:23-28 (NASB) 23And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25”He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 26"If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. 27"Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28"Father, glorify Your name " Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
Throughout His life we hear hints of purpose. Repeatedly Jesus says things like, “I have come that…” and “my hour has not yet come." It is as if He is sorting His way through life saying, “this is my purpose, that is not.” Do you and I have the kind of God given purpose we see and hear in the life of Jesus?
When we think about or talk about our purpose in life, the question I usually hear is “What is my purpose in life?” As Christians, I can tell you what our answer should be. Our purpose in life, yours and mine, is to serve the God we have known in Jesus. We are to serve God in our homes, in our work, in the church, and in the community. As Jesus served God with His life and with His death, so we are to serve God with the whole of our lives.
How do we discover a God given sense of purpose? A clue is given to us in the words of Jesus. “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Jesus was talking about His death and He is talking about you and me doing a certain kind of dying. His was death on a Cross. Ours is a dying to our self-centered ways.
We need to die to some attitudes that keep us from sensing God’s purpose. These attitudes are heard in questions like, will things go my way today? what’s in it for me? when is something good going to happen to me?
We may also need to die to the assumption that our role in life is our purpose in life. We can be blinded by important but temporary roles. If we die to attitudes, assumptions and distractions, we can be raised to a new life of a God given sense of purpose. We rise to a new life. We rise to a life where we see that God is weaving the dark, somber threads of our life with the brightly colored ones into a pattern that gives beauty to our life and fulfills God’s plan and purpose for us.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
June 18, 2010
June 17, 2010
DAY 7 - When We Allow, When We Accept
Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV) 1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying: 3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Certainly when we give advice the temptation is to dwell on what needs to be done, on what must be done, on what ought to be done. But, when Jesus goes up on the mountain to teach he does not start by telling the listeners what they need to do. He does not say that to be blessed you must become poor in spirit, you must mourn, you must be meek, or you must hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Rather, He dwells on what God will do. The unnamed focus in this passage is God and the unnamed response is acceptance.
When we are beaten up and battered by life, when we are down and discouraged, when we hit bottom, we shall receive the kingdom of heaven. When the world seems to have turned against Jesus, his disciples have deserted him, death coming agonizingly slow, there God’s rule had come. In a world that says, “When life is good, when everything is going your way and the money is flowing in, and you are on top of the world, you are blessed.” But Jesus says when you have been knocked down and crushed and deprived, you are blessed when God’s power comes to save. None of us want to be beaten up by life, but when that happens, the kingdom of heaven comes to invade our life. No matter how crushing the blow, we can still know and sense and be aware of God’s rule. God is still in charge.
None of us want to feel the pain of grief, none of us want to feel the hurt of loss, but when we do, we shall be comforted. For God will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to pull beside us. We shall sense the closeness of God. When our strength has been tamed, when we have learned the grace of acceptance we are free to live from a relaxed center.
The promise is for you, when you allow, when you accept. You shall be comforted. God will do it. You can count on it.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 31, 1999
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
June 16, 2010
DAY 6 - Called
Isaiah 9:2 (NIV) The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Matthew 4:12-22 (KJV) 12Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And immediately many of us wonder, “How could they?” Consider this possibility: they left their nets because of the power of the call that came from Jesus.
The power of a call gives passion to our life, energizes the timid recesses of the soul and brings out the hidden strength we did not know we have. The power of a call gives unity and focus to life. Instead of doing one thing after another, instead of going from one flaming demand to the next, we have one overriding purpose and passion for our life.
How many of us have known the power of a call? How many of us would leave everything to answer that call?
Isaiah had said “The people walking in darkness.” Matthew says, “people which sat in darkness.” To sit denotes sluggishness. It speaks of being immobilized and paralyzed. What is the darkness that immobilizes our life?
Could it be that the thing that keeps us in darkness is our busyness? Could it be that we are so preoccupied with success and survival that we are deaf to God’s call? Could it be that our sense of responsibility so dominates our life that we do not hear or see God’s call?
We never know how or when the reality of God’s presence and God’s rule will break into our life. The good news is that no matter how deep the darkness, God’s call comes to us. The kingdom of God is near. Turn from the darkness that immobilizes and take a step or two toward the glimmer of light we sense in Jesus Christ.
This is how it was for the disciples. They were not sure who Jesus really was. They only sensed a power in the call that comes from him. And the whole experience is not romantic, adventuresome or overwhelming. The call comes through the simple words of a carpenter turned teacher.
And when we follow it is like we have come into a darkened room. At first nothing is visible, then we see vague shapes, and then as we follow more light comes. We see more details. We see more of what we are being called to do. Jesus announces the presence and the rule of God as an accomplished fact. The sun will shine and the kingdom of God is here.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 24, 1990
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
Matthew 4:12-22 (KJV) 12Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And immediately many of us wonder, “How could they?” Consider this possibility: they left their nets because of the power of the call that came from Jesus.
The power of a call gives passion to our life, energizes the timid recesses of the soul and brings out the hidden strength we did not know we have. The power of a call gives unity and focus to life. Instead of doing one thing after another, instead of going from one flaming demand to the next, we have one overriding purpose and passion for our life.
How many of us have known the power of a call? How many of us would leave everything to answer that call?
Isaiah had said “The people walking in darkness.” Matthew says, “people which sat in darkness.” To sit denotes sluggishness. It speaks of being immobilized and paralyzed. What is the darkness that immobilizes our life?
Could it be that the thing that keeps us in darkness is our busyness? Could it be that we are so preoccupied with success and survival that we are deaf to God’s call? Could it be that our sense of responsibility so dominates our life that we do not hear or see God’s call?
We never know how or when the reality of God’s presence and God’s rule will break into our life. The good news is that no matter how deep the darkness, God’s call comes to us. The kingdom of God is near. Turn from the darkness that immobilizes and take a step or two toward the glimmer of light we sense in Jesus Christ.
This is how it was for the disciples. They were not sure who Jesus really was. They only sensed a power in the call that comes from him. And the whole experience is not romantic, adventuresome or overwhelming. The call comes through the simple words of a carpenter turned teacher.
And when we follow it is like we have come into a darkened room. At first nothing is visible, then we see vague shapes, and then as we follow more light comes. We see more details. We see more of what we are being called to do. Jesus announces the presence and the rule of God as an accomplished fact. The sun will shine and the kingdom of God is here.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 24, 1990
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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