Churches are a little like the health and fitness center around January–Lots of extra people show up who are determined to give weights and cardio a try and at church to give God a try. Many of them will fade off after a week or two. I wanted this year to be different so today I challenged them to remove the pursuit of God from their “New Year’s resolutions List,” and try a different approach by joining us for a Resolution Revolution!
Why keep going with something that has such a poor track record? As far as New Year’s resolutions go–nearly 100 percent of us have made’m and nearly 100 percent of us keep breaking them!
Talk about your epic fail!
- Guess how long the typical resolution lasts?…ONE WEEK! That’s right, 7 days and you’re back to business as usual. Nevertheless, I know of few things the human race keeps returning to more ritualistically–with poorer returns–than this tradition of resolving to change on the first day of the year. It’s truly strange.
- So, we need a revolution from these useless things. The good news is that there is a way to bring about lasting change and the outcome has far better results…I’m talking 100 percent! Like those odds? Then read on…
- …Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” That means just what Paul said–God finishes whatever He starts. God’s not a quitter and those who place their trust in Christ for salvation will see the work of Christ completed in them–guaranteed!
- We learned today that true followers of Jesus are the ones who can expect this. But there’s another Jesus group I want to warn you about. It’s big! Much larger than the follower group (at least in American Evangelicalism). I’m talking about Jesus fans. It’s easy to be a fan–tough sometimes to be a true Follower–crucial to know the difference!
- Which are you?
- Are you sure?
- If you’re in the area, join us as we revolt against spectator Christianity and wimpy resolutions and discover the adventure and beauty of becoming a true follower of Jesus Christ! If you’re not in the area you can follow along on the podcasts or vodcasts (video casts of the message) on our website here, or on iTunes here.
- Got to step off our ridiculously high stage on Saturday night and walk among the congregation. I miss that from our little building on the hill (now crammed with hundreds of kids!)–thought the smaller, Saturday evening crowd would be the place to give it a try…and I loved it! It actually worked better @ 9:00 and 11:00 on Sunday because I could see the bleacher dwellers eye 2 eye!
- Also talked about how Jesus didn’t care about the size of the crowd. That’s hard for most American pastors to admit but I don’t know how you get around it. For example, look at Matthew 14:13-21, “
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”
The number 5,000 is mentioned, but then a quick side note about (and women and children). What? That’s it?! But that probably meant there were upwards of 20,000 plus there! You mean Jesus didn’t seize the opportunity to say, “Look at this crowd! This is a record hillside crowd! No one else is drawing this many people! Join the Jesus train or get left behind! Woo Whoo!”
No, no he didn’t. Why? Because they were fans, not followers.
In fact, Jesus shifted gears after miraculously feeding the huge crowd from one boy’s lunch (read about it here.) and took his preaching up a notch…or ten. Saying things like, “51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Let’s just say, it didn’t go over too well with the masses.
keep reading and look what happened…
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
and skip down to the saddest verse of all…verse 66
” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him”
And that’s what’s so sad. Twenty thousand plus “Fans” of Jesus…11 followers.
But I’d stack up the weakest follower I’ve ever seen against the strongest 10,000 fans any day. Those 11 guys (plus the apostle Paul a little later) changed the world! And granted, 20,000 is a pretty big crowd, but not as big as the hundreds of millions of Christ followers that will one day gather before the throne of Christ for the biggest celebration ever!
Can’t wait for that! Until then, I want to be a follower–not a fan.
BTW, did we have big crowds this weekend? Actually, yes–and I did my best to preach’m down to 12! I know I will only get one shot with some of those New Year’s Folks so why give’m fluff? Today they got revolutionary words! What matters to me is how many of them cross over from fans in the stands to followers in the field.
Time will tell.
Few more thoughts for the mind dump then I REALLY need to sleep…
- How come Christianity looks so different in America? Seriously, here we look at someone who is wealthy, healthy and successful and, as long as they claim to be a fan of Jesus we assume they must be a spiritual giant based on all the bells ans whistles God has bestowed upon them. You know what mighty men and women of the faith from all over the world think about that philosophy? That it’s NUTS! I agree. It’s also nowhere in the Bible. Oh, we can do some incredible exegetical gymnastics with different texts and tell ourselves it’s there–but guess what? It’s not. So, is it a sign of the opposite when a believer is healthy, wealthy and prosperous? No. God sometimes does bless people that way–and a million other ways! But, if we’re honest, the big three are what most of us really wants (health, wealth, and prosperity). And it’s sometimes difficult not to think a believer in America is being punished or that God is not favoring someone who has none of these. Just saying. But what about the blessing of a family who all knows Jesus as Lord and Savior? What about having friends and loved ones who cherish and honor you because you have been such a powerful and godly influence in their lives? For more on this let me give you a challenging book to read. It’s called, “Radical” and it’s by a pastor named David Platt. You can order it here. Read it. I dare you!
- Ok, I better go. Got the Monday morning men’s group bright and early tomorrow — barring a winter storm blast! Check back here late tonight for a final call on whether we’re still a go!