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Posted on: February 16, 2019

Sixth Sunday in OT Year C - WHAT IS YOUR GOAL IN LIFE Luk.6:17-20

Sixth Sunday in OT  Year C – WHAT IS YOUR GOAL IN LIFE? Luk.6:17-20

What is your top priority in your life? What is your number one goal? We all have different goals, different priorities, things that are important to us, things that we would like to achieve in our lives. Some of your priorities might include losing weight, staying healthy, advancing in your job, saving for retirement, raising decent children. Those are all good priorities. but as we think about our top priority in life, God wants us to look up – to look at something higher than staying healthy, something deeper than saving for retirement, more spiritual than just raising kids that are successful and stable in life and to focus on something else. Today, we’re going to talk about what that something else is, that top priority, and how it affects the way we look at the things that happen in our lives.

Jesus spoke about this in our Gospel for this morning. Jesus was able to look into the hearts of his listeners, and as he did that, he could see that many of them had worldly goals. They might have looked spiritual on the outside, because they were listening to Jesus, but on the inside, they were worldly. “My top priority in life is to make good money,” some of them were probably thinking. “My top goal in life is to rise to the top of my career.”

The Bible sets priorities that lead to eternal life
Let’s consider three of these priorities:

When God gave the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai, He thundered these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2-3). God does not want us to place anything before Him. His desire is that we worship Him and Him alone. He must come first in our lives.

The Bible tells the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha, who were loyal friends of Jesus Christ. When Christ visited them, they wanted to serve Him in the way each considered was most important. Serving others is highly commended in the Bible, and it is certainly not wrong to serve. But in this instance priorities were an issue. Listening to Christ’s teachings was even more important than food preparation.

We have to be honest with ourselves. Are we putting our personal relationship with God first, or are we allowing other aspects of our lives to come before the worship of the true God?

German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe grasped the importance of priorities. He said, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”

Priorities that are in error
The Bible records an incident in which Peter, James and John, who Christ was calling to become His disciples, had their priorities right: “So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him” (Luke 5:11). On the other hand, the Bible records examples of people who had distorted priorities, and who actually rejected Christ’s offer to become one of His disciples. Read Luke 9:57-62. Apparently, physical comfort and prosperity were of greater importance to some. For others, taking care of family matters was more crucial than supporting Christ in preaching the gospel.
None of their excuses were of themselves wrong. Is it wrong to stay with a father until he dies or to devote an extended period of time to saying farewell to family members? Certainly not! However, Christ was teaching an important lesson: God was not first in their priorities. Leaving God out of our planning is unwise (James 4:13-16).
What is godly, righteous character?

A well-known educator in religious matters, Herbert W. Armstrong, defines Godly character as: “the ability, in a separate entity with free moral agency, to come to the knowledge of the right from the wrong—the true from the false—and to choose the right, and possess the will to enforce self-discipline to do the right and resist the wrong.”

How do we enforce this?
Our will or God’s will?
When it comes to important decisions, choosing to do God’s will over ours. To be led by the will of God is to embody the character of God—to become like God.

Christ set the perfect example
Even when faced with a horrifying trial of physical pain and mental torment, Jesus prayed, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Overcoming our selfish nature and replacing it with God’s character should be our priority.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught some of the most meaningful principles of Christian living in the entire Bible (Matthew 5-7). One of these is: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

This verse not only summarizes the first two priorities—focusing on God and His righteousness—but it brings to our attention the importance of the Kingdom of God.

How do we seek His Kingdom?
Repentance and belief are the two foundational stepping stones by which entrance into this glorious Kingdom will be permitted. The reason we must repent is because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Romans 6:23 adds that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

To repent means we must change our normal way of thinking, which is against God. The Bible reveals that the human mind is hostile to God because it is not subject to the law of God. We thus need a change in thinking that will then lead to turning away from sin and keeping God’s commandments. 

Posted on: February 10, 2019

Fifth Sunday in OT - STEPS TO RECOVERING FROM FAILURE LUK.5:1-11

Fifth Sunday OT Year C – RECOVERING FROM FAILURE Luk.5:1-11

Have you ever tried something that turned out to be a total a total flop? Have any of you ever had a failure in life? I know I have had so many in my life. Failures can be devastating. But folks here is a truth – failure can become a stepping-stone to success. An incident from Peter’s life in today’s Gospel illustrates this wonderful truth. 

In today’s Gospel story, Jesus surrounded by a crowd. They were pressing in on him – so he notices two boats on the shore – the fishermen were there too – they were putting away their nets after a long unsuccessful night of fishing. So Jesus gets into one of the boats and asks if they can move out in the water a bit. Of course they do and Jesus teaches the people from the boat.

The story tells us that the boat belongs to Peter yet Jesus did not ask for permission to get in the boat – it seems that he just did that. But the text does tell us that Jesus asks Simon Peter to move out a little from the shore so that he could teach the people from there. Simon Peter’s response was simple – he allows Jesus to be in charge. That’s the first point of recovery from failure.

1. ALLOW Jesus To Take Control

At this point in the story we don’t know how much Simon Peter knew about Jesus but he allowed Jesus to get into his boat. It does not say that he put up any argument.That’s the starting point. If you want to overcome failure – you’ve got to allow Jesus in your boat. You’ve got to allow him to be in charge. Nothing – absolutely nothing has greater influence on your personal success than having Christ in your life. Do you know what the Bible says? It says:

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Phil. 4:13. Through the strength and power of Christ – I can do all things. I can overcome my failures. I can become a great success.

It is important to note that he allowed Jesus to take control of an extremely important possession in his life – his boat. Peter’s boat represented his livelihood, his income. But Peter went ahead and let Jesus take control of it.

You know sometimes there are things we like to hold on to. Sometimes there are things that we don’t want others to touch. Sometimes there are things that we just won’t let go of. Those are the things we need to give to Jesus.

You see the first step to the road to success is putting Jesus in control of your life. But that’s not all – to overcome failure you need to:

2. DO What Jesus Asks

Our text says: “When Jesus finished teaching, he said to Simon, "Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch." Luke 5:4 

Even though Peter and his friends were fishermen, Jesus told Simon Peter – where to fish, when to fish, and how to fish. They had been out fishing all night and they had caught nothing – they failed. Simon Peter was tired – he was exhausted – he had come up empty handed – he was disappointed. I can kind of imagine what might be going on in Peter’s mind at this point. He may be thinking, “What’s the use. I gave it my best shot last night and I got nothing. I failed. Why try again and who does this Jesus think he is? He’s not a fisherman – he’s the son of carpenter. I’m the fisherman here. I’m the professional. I’m the expert. He thinks he knows more about fishing than I do?”

But look at what Simon Peter says: “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets." Luke 5:5. It is easy to call one a Christian but it is much harder to act like one. A true Christian is one who does what Jesus tells him to do. If you 

Do you know what Peter did? He went out to the deep water – he let down his nets – he started fishing – just a Jesus had been told him to do. It was the same lake he had fished in the night before – the same boat he had used – it was the same nets that had come up empty – he was the same man who had caught nothing the night before – but this time he listened to Jesus and he did what Jesus asked him to do. And what was the outcome this time? It was completely different than the night before – he had two boat loads of fish!

He had let Jesus be in control. He had let Jesus take charge. He had done what Jesus asked him to do and now he was successful. Now he overcame his failure. And now he would share the surplus. That’s point three:

3. SHARE the Surplus

The Gospel says, “When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.” Luke 5:6-7.

Simon Peter was blessed with much fish than he could handle. But Peter didn’t hold back his blessing – when he saw the abundance of fish coming in – he shared it. If you want to be a success – share your surplus. 

If you want to overcome your failures – if you want to be successful you need to allow Jesus to take control of your life – you need to do what he asks you to do – you need to share your surplus and you need to:

4. WALK Humbly Before God

Look at what Simon Peter said after the miracle of the fish. He cries out: “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" Luke 5:8. 

It just wasn’t by Peter’s efforts that the nets were full. Sure Peter had gone out in the deep water – sure Peter had let down his nets – but it was Jesus who gave him the fish. God blessed him and Peter knew that God had blessed him and he was humbled. A big part of Christian living is walking humbly before our God.

But that’s not the end of the story. In fact it was a new beginning for Peter’s life. Because of the miracle of the fish – Simon Peter resets the priorities for his life. And that is our last point:

5. RE-SET Your Priorities
The text says, “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” Luke 5:11.

Can you imagine this – when they got to land they left the greatest catch they had ever experienced sitting right there on the shore and went and followed Jesus! That experience put things into proper perspective for them. They suddenly realized what is most important in life; following Jesus who holds the key to everything they have ever wanted. And Jesus had invited them to become part of the greatest fishing trip in the history of the world. Jesus had said to them, “I’m going to make you fishers of men.”

How does this story relate to your life? Maybe you feel like the disciples in today’s Gospel story: “I’ve worked all night and come up with an empty net.” Does that describe your marriage, your job, your life?

Simon Peter didn’t say, “Lord, I’ve worked ten hours and didn’t catch anything – I give up. I’ve had it. I’m through.” No – He didn’t give in – he didn’t up – he let Jesus take control – he did what Jesus asked him to do – he shared the surplus – he walked in humbleness before God and he reset the priorities in his life and he became successful. How about you – what are you going to do? Let Jesus take control. Let him come into your boat and see what happens.

Posted on: February 3, 2019

Fourth Sunday in OT Year C: BLIND SPOTS Luk.4:21-30

Fourth Sunday in OT Year C – BLIND SPOTS Luk.4:21-30
o    If I ask you to look around you now in church to see if you can see everything you will say yes you can. But the truth is, whether our vision is 20/20 or corrected by lenses the reality is is, we cannot see everything around us.
o    The human eye has a spot which is a small area in the retina, the size of a pencil eraser without photoreceptors (a light sensitive cell). We aren’t aware of this spot bc our brain fills blank area with images thereby making our vision seamless.
o    We also have this blind spots in our lives, which negatively impacts us but we cannot see. Like a blind spot in driving, a spiritual blind spot that is ignored can lead to massive wrecks in our lives.
o    In today’s Gospel we see how Jesus’ audience will not accept him even after the miracle at Cana because they were blind sighted by prejudice 

What is your blind spot that hinders you entering into a total friendship with Jesus?Let’s consider some of these blind spots in our lives and how we can seek help for them:
1.    Stubborn Resistance (blinded by denial):
o    Pharaoh comes to mind here as a good example. When Moses went to him to allow him lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he resisted. Not even after seeing their entire livestock dead and the water turning into blood. Even these were not enough to break pharaoh .
o    We do the same. We become kings of stubborn resistance. We develop habits & we hang onto them. By doing so we hurt ourselves and our loved one by allowing these habits to fester in almost every area of our lives.
o    The crowd in today’s Gospel had people with this kind of problem. They had developed certain habits rooted in prejudice that they just couldn’t see pass it. Jesus just couldn’t be the Messiah.
o    The key to our healing here is OPEN-MINDEDNESS & a willingness to act. This leads to real change.

2.    Arrogant Entitlement (blinded by selfishness)
o    We live in a world that encourages my-way thinking. Everyday we are bombarded with ads that tells us to ‘have it your way’ whether it hurts others. You’re entitled to be happy. This self-centredness wants from others what is due to them.
o    This selfish sense of entitlement hinders our ability to achieve all that God has in mind for us because we cannot broaden our viewpoint to include others.’
o    The key to our healing here is HUMILITY. Real humility doesn’t climb on others but reaches out to connect with others, appreciating them for who they are.
o    A humble person does not use everything within himself to further his own cause but uses them to help others thereby fulfilling God’s will for him.

3.    Justifiable Resentment (blinded by bitterness):
o    Have you been so hurt by someone that feel that you have every right to remain angry and bitter? Have you done something so awful that you cannot forgive yourself?
o    If you carry around such feeling of bitterness know that it’s as dangerous as radioactive material because it will just eat away at who you are at the deepest level of your being.
o    Often we look for loophole to withhold forgiveness.
o    Often we think that the abuser deserves worse so we are unwilling to forgive. We think forgiving lets them go scot-free.
o    Jesus wants to set us free and give us peace but this is not possible as long as we do not let go.
o    No matter how deep the hurt is, choose to move on for your own sake. 


4.    Inexcusable Self-hate (blinded by a feeling of worthlessness):
o    Christians are not immune from self-hatred. We look around us and we compare ourselves and we don’t measure up. We hate ourselves for how we look, how we feel, our past , what’s been done to us & our 
o    This gives way to a feeling of worthlessness & rejection.
o    The problem with this is, over time we begin to see ourselves in this light before God. Then we cannot fathom how God who is Almighty, sovereign will even spare a thought for us. We are not worth his time.
o    Feeling this way makes accepting God’s love very difficult.
o    Do you believe what Jesus says about you or do you believe the lies that causes low self esteem 

This is what God says about you:
“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave power to become CHILDREN OF GOD.” John 1:12
o    When we grow in the understanding of who we are in Christ, we can then let go of wrong thinking or of a feeling of worthlessness

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