John

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Keepers of the Spring

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Keepers of the Spring

…The late Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the United States Senate, often told the story of the “Keeper of the Spring,” about a man who lived in the forest above a quaint Austrian village in the Alps.

The old gentle man had been hired many years earlier by a young town council to clear away the debris from the pools of water that fed the lovely spring flowing through their town. With faithful, silent regularity he patrolled the hills, removed the leaves and branches, and wiped away the silt from the fresh flow of water. By and by, the village became a popular attraction for vacationers. Graceful swans floated along the crystal clear spring, farmlands were naturally irrigated, and the view from restaurants was picturesque.

Years passed. One evening the town council met for its semiannual meeting. As they reviewed the budget, one man's eye caught the salary figure being paid the obscure keeper of the spring. Said the keeper of the purse, "Who is the old man? Why do we keep him on year after year? For all we know he is doing us no good. He isn't necessary any longer!" By a unanimous vote, they dispensed with the old man's services.

For several weeks nothing changed. By early autumn the trees began to shed their leaves. Small branches snapped off and fell into the pools, hindering the rushing flow of water. One afternoon someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown tint in the spring. A couple days later the water was much darker. Within another week, a slimy film covered sections of the water along the banks and a foul odor was detected. The millwheels moved slower, some finally ground to a halt. Swans left as did the tourists. Clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply into the village.

Embarrassed, the council called a special meeting. Realizing their gross error in judgment, they hired back the old keeper of the spring . . . and within a few weeks, the river began to clear up.

This story paints a beautiful picture of the church’s role as keepers of the spring of living water. Sadly, the church tends to act more as a gatekeeper restricting access to those who we deem worthy of a drink. It is as if we feel the need to ration a limited water supply for the sake of our own survival, not recognizing the abundance available to us and to the world in God’s eternal spring. Like the exiles in Jeremiah’s day, we in the church today have “forsaken [God], the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for [ourselves], cracked cisterns that can hold no water.” As it has throughout history, the life-giving water Christ offers will spring forth in the deserts beyond our walls, and even the deserts within our walls…

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Spiritual Awareness

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SPIRITUAL - PART 7

Spiritual Awareness
Sunday, June 16, 2019
John 16:12-15

“I have much more to say to you, but you can’t handle it now. However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you in all truth. He won’t speak on his own, but will say whatever he hears and will proclaim to you what is to come.

John 16:12-13

The Spirit may guide us in all truth, but that does not mean we have “all of the truth” about everything.

Sometimes truth may take generations to uncover or discern. How many centuries did astronomers study the skies before they realized the truth that the earth was round and revolved around the sun? Even when Copernicus first released this fundamental scientific truth, the church rallied against him declaring the scriptures such as Psalm 93 which declares that “God has fixed the earth as immovable and firm.” So was Copernicus listening to the Spirit of Truth or was the Church? It took generations to accept, but eventually the Church came to accept that they were wrong. This does not mean that nobody in the church was trying to listen to the voice of the Spirit, or that the Spirit was even directly involved in the natural discovery of scientific realities.

Throughout history, Christians across the globe have disagreed on countless “truth claims”. Early Christians argued over the divine nature of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Were they eternally begotten, co-equal with God, or where they created by God? Was Jesus fully Divine or fully human? Could he be both?

Century after century, groups of Christians separate over any number of “truth claims” ranging from the authority of the Pope to the method and meaning of Baptism. The Methodist Episcopal Church South and other Christians in the 1800’s stood firm on their “truth” that even slavery was an institution ordained and approved by God. Christians fought on both sides of the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, and virtually every other social and political conflict throughout history. Churches still split over almost anything and both sides of every split claim that their side stands on the “Absolute Truth” of Scripture.

Rev. James Howell notes that this “spirit of truth” is perilous, as too many Christians treat “truth” as some sledgehammer to judge or belittle others. St. Ephrem the Syrian (4th century) writes, “Truth and love are wings that cannot be separated, for Truth without Love is unable to fly, so too Love without Truth is unable to soar up; their yoke is one of harmony.” Denominations are lousy about truth; both “sides” blithely presume to have cornered it.

Good Bible believing Christians hold opposing views on countless political, ethical and even moral issues. Some may indeed be misinterpreting scripture. Some may be intentionally twisting scripture to fit their own agenda. But not all. Many people are sincerely trying to align themselves with God’s truth to the best of their ability and yet still come out on different sides of the aisle.

In Acts 15, we read the story of a conflict between Paul and Barnabas which ends in each of them parting ways. Who was right? Which one of them listened to the truth of the Spirit? Scripture doesn’t say, and perhaps it does not matter. In the end, the Spirit guided both of them in successful missionary journeys. Neither one was outcast by the church or by God and yet clearly they could not both have been “right”.

So where is this “Spirit of Truth”?

Why don’t we all hear the same truth when this Spirit speaks?

Perhaps we do. At least on the things that matter most. Holy Spirit reveals to us the nature of God. Holy Spirit teaches us the way of salvation. Holy Spirit convicts us of the truth of sin in our lives and leads us in the way of repentance. Holy Spirit resonates with our spirits to assure us that we are beloved children of the Most High.

Jesus told his disciples there were many things they were not ready to hear. In truth, there are still many things we are not ready to hear. There are many things good Christians have thought were true that are not so black and white. Just like Jesus, Holy Spirit knows the places in our lives where we are ready to see a bit more gray, to hear a more nuanced approach that isn’t always either/or, in/out, right/wrong. But Holy Spirit also knows the places in our lives we need a bit more certainty and assurance and the Spirit teaches us all that is spoken clearly by the Father and the Son. Holy Spirit is the Wisdom of God personified. Wisdom doesn’t simply teach us right and wrong. Wisdom also guides us in how to appropriately apply the truths we have learned.

We may know the truth, for example, that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom reminds us not to put one in a fruit salad or smoothie.

Likewise, Holy Spirit guides us in all truth, but she also grants us the wisdom not to use that truth as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. She grants us the wisdom to be patient with one another, bearing all things in love rather than quarreling with those who hold to a different truth. She even gives us a discerning ear and heart to learn from one another, perhaps even to be corrected in our own misunderstandings of what we thought was true. She gives us humility to admit when we are wrong and the humility to reign in our arrogance and pride in being right.

First and foremost, Jesus says that Holy Spirit will remind them of everything he taught them. This third person of the Trinity, fully divine as Christ and the Father are Divine, will consistently point believers to the Father. The disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father”. Perhaps our primary question pray should not be, “Spirit show me the truth so I can be right,” but instead simply pray, “Holy Spirit, show us the Father.”

Craig J. Sefa Spiritual Awareness
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Judge

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GOD – Part 7

GOD as Righteous Judge
Sunday, February 24, 2019
John 8:1-11, 12:44-50, 1 Corinthians 4:3-5

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Is there no one to condemn you?” She said, “No one, sir.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, don’t sin anymore.”

John 8:10-11

We’ve heard a million sermons on how it is not our place to judge. We know what Jesus says about the log in our own eye preventing us from clearly seeing the speck in the eye of a brother or sister (Matthew 7:1-6).

On the other hand, we know that God does judge our actions. This truth is uncomfortable for several reasons.

  1. The idea of judging someone has such a negative connotation that we don’t want to think of God as being “judgmental.”

  2. We know we are saved by grace, not by works, so why would our works be judged?

  3. Jesus says explicitly that he did not come to judge or condemn, but to save (John 3:17, 12:47).

And we’ve only scratched the surface.

In the infamous story of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus demonstrates that he is the only one righteous enough to enact true justice, and in the case of this woman, he declared her “forgiven” (John 8:1-11).

We must be careful not to mistake judgementalism with justice, righteousness and consequences.

God’s judgment is just and true, not judgmental. Where judgmentalism is often subjective, opinionated, condescending and condemning, God’s judgement stands as an objective, factual standard of what is right and good.

Dr. Robert Mulholland described God’s justice like gravity. If we choose to step off the roof of a building, we will fall. We will be hurt. We may even die. This truth does not imply that gravity had anything against us. The laws of nature were not punishing us. Rather, the fall is the natural consequence of our choice to act in a way that is contrary to the laws of nature.

In the same way, when we act against the moral laws rooted in the righteousness and love of God, we are bound to fall. This is why Paul writes that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). God is not out to condemn us, destroy us, or to harm us in any way. God desires that all might come to salvation.

And yet God’s perfect nature stands as a moral standard by which our lives are judged and by which natural consequences result. All sin leads us down a path of death and destruction, whether physical or perhaps emotional, mental, relational or spiritual.

As righteous judge, God forgives our sin, but the consequences of sin are ours to bear.

  • What emotions do you feel when you think of God as judge?

  • How do you see God as a judge in your life? Where do you feel convicted and where do you feel forgiven?

  • In what ways do you try to step into God’s role as a judge over others? How does your judgment of others differ from God’s pure and perfect judgement?

“Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.” (Psalm 94:15)

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GOD as Righteous Judge
Craig J. Sefa
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Father

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GOD – Part 4

GOD as Loving Father
Sunday, January 27, 2019
John 11:18, 5:16-42, 14:1-14

No one has ever seen God. God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made God known.

John 1:18

We begin our prayers as Jesus taught us, by saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven…” but if we’re honest, sometimes the Father image of God is one of the most difficult roles to accept.

For so many who grew up with absent or even abusive father figures, it is no wonder they might not be interested in some all-powerful father in the sky. The image of father often brings pain and even trauma in a society where fatherhood is broken in so many ways.

Instead of allowing a broken father experience on Earth to cause rejection of the possibility of experiencing a good Father in Heaven, why don’t we allow for the possibility of a good Father in heaven to heal our memory of a broken Father on Earth?

J.D. Walt, Seedbed Daily Text

Even for those who have good relationships with their fathers, it may be difficult to see the need for another one. My father died when I was 20 and everyone said, “Don’t worry, God will be your father.” The last thing I wanted was an “invisible father replacement.” I wanted my real father back.

We don’t hear God the Father speaking very much in scripture, at least not directly. God typically speaks through prophets and mostly through the Son. We can see the face of Jesus but the face of the Father seems obscured by the light of glory. Even if we wanted to, how can we know this “Divine Father figure” who exists so far beyond our comprehension?

We are not alone in our confusion, our uncertainty, or even our fear around the idea of Father God. Even Jesus’ own disciples didn’t quite get it.

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father; that will be enough for us.”

Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time?

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I have spoken to you I don’t speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me does his works. Trust me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on account of the works themselves.

John 14:8-11 (CEB)

Regardless of how close or distant your Heavenly Father may seem, I invite you to check out the full sermon below as we wrestle more with what it means to be “fathered by God.”

  • What emotions do you feel when you think of God as father? Joy, pain, sadness, love, hope, comfort, anger, fear, insecurity… etc.

  • How does your relationship with your earthly father affect or inform your relationship with God?

  • In prayer, come as a child to God your Father. What do you want to say to your Heavenly Daddy? What does he say to you? How does it feel to be wrapped up in his embrace?

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,  is God in his holy dwelling” (Psalm 68:5)

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GOD as Loving Father
Craig J. Sefa
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Shepherd

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GOD – Part 3

GOD as Good Shepherd
Sunday, January 20, 2019
John 10:1-16, Ezekiel 34:11-16

[The shepherd] calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Whenever he has gathered all of his sheep, he goes before them and they follow him, because they know his voice.

John 10:3b-4

Every one of us has most likely experienced a time or even a season in life where we felt hopelessly and utterly lost. I don’t mean that our GPS stopped working and we took a wrong turn. Rather, we have probably had that moment, likely more than once, when we paused just long enough to look at our life and wonder, “How did I get here?” or “Where am I going?” We might have even asked ourselves, “Where is here?” or “Where am I?”

These are existential questions about the meaning and purpose of life, about our journey and the path it has taken us on. Robert Frost wrote that we should consider taking the road less traveled rather than following the crowd, but there are times when we stop and say, “I took the road less traveled and now I don’t know where I am!”

If we’re not careful we find ourselves walking with Jesus and one day we look out from the mountaintop like Peter and John and say, “This is a nice place, let’s just pitch our tent and stay here.” Then Jesus wants to go back down to the valley and we think he’s crazy. Why would we want to go back down there.

It’s safe up here on the mountain. I have a comfortable pew. The light shines so beautifully through the stained glass. All my friends are here. And oh, by the way, did I mention it was safe?

The problem is that Jesus didn’t call us to “stay with him”. He said, “Come, follow me.” As our shepherd, he leads us beside still waters but he also leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. He cares for us in the safety of the sheep-pen but he also leads us out to pastures where we might just run into a few wolves.

Nobody ever said following the shepherd would be easy or safe. As C.S. Lewis puts it, “Of course he isn’t safe, but he’s good.”

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In what ways are you feeling a bit lost or disoriented in your life right now?

  • Where do you sense the shepherd leading you this week?

  • What practical steps would you need to take in order to follow?

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)

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GOD as Shepherd
Craig J. Sefa
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Redeemer

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GOD – Part 2

GOD as Powerful Redeemer
Sunday, January 13, 2019
John 8:31-36, Romans 6:12-23, Isaiah 43:1-3a

Jesus answered, “I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave isn’t a permanent member of the household, but a son is. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you really will be free. 

John 8:34-36

Our baptismal vows or membership vows as a professing Christian in the church are more than a simple statement that we believe in Jesus.

The second vow in the United Methodist Hymnal reads as follows:

Do you accept the freedom and power God give you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?

Baptismal Covenant I – United Methodist Hymnal

Likewise, in our confession and pardon we pray:

Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Confession & Pardon, Service of Word and Table I & II – United Methodist Hymnal

Perhaps it would be more prudent to notice what is not said. We do not simply accept freedom from death and hell. Rather we accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil and injustice of every kind in this life. We do not merely accept a free ticket to heaven when we die. Instead, we pray that God might free us for a life of joyful obedience.

This is not to question or deny the reality of eternal life in Glory of God through the grace of Christ. It does, however, significantly expand our understanding of redemption. Christ did not live among us and die as one of us just to redeem us in death. Jesus himself said that he came to set us free and that he came that we might have life, here and now, and life more abundantly (John 8:36, 10:10).

In Romans 6, Paul declares that we are dead to sin and therefore redeemed from the power sin once held over us. When Jesus says, “Go and sin no more,” he is not giving a command he knows we cannot keep (John 8:11). Rather, as Paul writes:

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB)

This verse is not, as many have claimed, a statement that God will not give us more than we can handle. In fact, it is just the opposite. We will face trials and temptations in life far beyond what we are able to handle on our own… but with those temptations, the Holy Spirit will provide a way so that we might endure in the power and all-sufficient grace of our Lord.

  • What does redemption mean to you personally?

  • How have you called upon the power of the Lord to set you free from sin this week?

  • What might be different about the week to come if you began each day by praying, “Lord, set me free for joyful obedience.”?

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! (Psalm 107:2)

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GOD as Redeemer
Craig J. Sefa

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