If you werent here last week, you missed out. Todd Powers did a wonderful job speaking on faith. I would encourage you to get that tape. It was a real blessing. We also had him minister our leadership on faithfulness. Some of our leaders who werent here-were sending you a copy of that tape. Dont take it personal. Dont say, Oh, what are they trying to tell me here? We just want you to hear it. In fact, I would really like to see that be a part of our GPS. If youre taking GPS, you get one of those tapes to listen to. It talks about faithfulness in the ministry. So we appreciate his dealing with the first part of the chapter, and well pick up where he left off at Verse 18 (of Luke 7, page 1022 of pew Bibles). Were going to talk about disappointment with God today. My first experience with God was one of disappointment. At age four, my father came down with cancer of the pancreas. I knew he was sick, but I didnt know he was going to die. In fact, really at age four, I was unfamiliar with death-the whole concept of death. One day I came home, and my father had passed away. My mother explained to me that my dad was not coming back. He had died and gone to Heaven. This God, who I was hearing about for the first time, lived there, and He needed my daddy, so He took him. He took him forever, and he would never be back. When I heard those words, I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember being angry. I remember going out in the back porch and shaking my fists at God and shouting to the Heavens, saying, God, you bring my daddy back. I need my daddy. I was crying, and I was angry. I remember being disappointed. I remember thinking a pretty deep thought for a four-almost five-year old, How could a God take away a little boys dad? So, I was disappointed. Everybody in this room, if were going to tell the truth, has been disappointed in their Christian walk. Or, some of you have not become a Christian up to this point because of disappointment that youve had: something that God has allowed in your life-something that has happened to you or did not happen to you-has left a bitter taste in your mouth. Youre a little bit disgruntled today, a little bit disappointed; [you have] a little bit of doubt and discouragement. Youre not alone. This whole room-we have experienced similar things. People in the Bible did as well. One of them that were going to look at this morning is John the Baptist. We think of John the Baptist as a guy who pretty much had it all together. He knew what his mission and his calling were from the time he was born. He knew he was destined to be the forerunner of the Messiah and prepare the people to receive the anointed One who was to come. John heard-from the time he was a little lad-that he was a special boy. His father told him about the angel Gabriels visit and how he first did not believe the words of the angel and thus could then not speak. [He told him] how God Himself had named him, how He had set him apart from the womb to be a Prophet-to prepare the way for the Messiah. John had heard these things from a little guy up, so he knew he had a special purpose in his life. At a very young age, John left home and went and lived in the wilderness. This was an eccentric guy. The Bible talks about his wardrobe choice: camel hair was what he wore. Lets see, should I wear this camel hair or this camel hair or maybe this camel hair? That was all of it: camel hair. Locus and wild honey were his diet, a high protein and high fiber kind of a diet. It is a strange diet, even back then, folks. That was not your normal cuisine. He lived out in the wilderness, and he dressed funny and ate funny. He proclaimed a message… He was not regarded as crazy because the words coming out of his mouth were just cutting edge. The words coming out of his mouth were of God. The words coming out of his mouth made people think about their lives. It lead them to repentance; it lead them to contemplate the meaning of life and the place that God had in their lives. John lived in the open sky, wind in his face, preaching in a loud voice for all who would hear. It didnt matter whom you were; it didnt matter how much money you had; it didnt matter how much power you had: John was going to tell it like it was. One day, he even spoke up to King Herod. He said, Your lifes not right. He confronted him on the sins in his life. One of them, in particular: he had stolen his brothers wife. He went to go visit his brother and took his wife. He (John) said, Thats wrong. Herod didnt like to be talked down to; he didnt like to be corrected, so he had John thrown in prison. Now John is sitting in prison. Just imagine: you lived in the wilderness, the desert, and the sky is your ceiling. All of the sudden, your confined to a dungeon. Youve been proclaiming out in the open air, and now all the sudden, your voice is silenced inside this cell. Hes thinking at the time Jesus has finally come, Im going to join forces with Him, and were going to take the region by storm. You find your ministry has come to a screeching halt. Imagine what hes going through. John preached a message of wrath. He would say, Who warned you to free from the wrath thats to come? He talked about His winnowing fork is in His hand, how you would throw the wheat into the air with the winnowing fork. The chaff would separate and blow away. He said, Hes going to burn the chaff; judgment is coming; Hes going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus comes, but Hes not preaching judgment. Hes preaching mercy. Hes not getting in the face of kings and Pharisees; well, He does get in the face of Pharisees, but Hes not going after the government of Rome like the Messiah is supposed to do. Hes doing ministry; Hes touching lives, and John is confused. John is confused by the actions of Christ; Hes not acting as he thought the Messiah would act. Hes not bringing judgment-thats for sure. Hes certainly letting John down. Do you think if Jesus had the power to raise the dead, He has the power to let John out of prison? [Of course], but He doesnt do it. He lets John stay in prison. In fact, John will eventually be beheaded in that same prison. His only crime was standing up for righteousness. Jesus is allowing all of this to happen. So, John is disappointed; hed discouraged; hes confused; hes frustrated. [He has] all of these emotions going on, and he sends some messengers to Jesus. [In] Verse 19, …He sent them to the Lord to ask, Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else? When the men came to Jesus, they said, John the Baptist sent us to You to ask, Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else? Understand the implications of that question. The implications of that question are derogatory in nature. Youre not doing the job. Youre not acting like youre supposed to act. Did I make a mistake? Are You the one? Because Im just not sure. Im here in a prison. Ive lost my freedom, and Youre not acting at all as I thought You would act. Youd think Jesus might get defensive-He might shout an attack back, but He doesnt do that. In fact, He says, Of those born of women, John is the greatest. Thats what Hes going to say. Hes like what did you expect to see when you went into the wilderness? A reed swaying in the wind? He says, No. A man? No, more than a man. A prophet. He was a man of courage. He was the greatest man born of women. Thats what Jesus said, but its interesting when they ask the question, Jesus does not immediately answer them. If you dont look carefully at the text, youre going to miss it. Take a look at what happens. Are You the one we should expect? Should we expect someone else? In other words, Youre not living up to what Youre supposed to live up to. At that very time… meaning when they asked the question. …at that very time, Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So He replied to the messengers, Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. See whats going on there? He does not answer their question. Are you the one? He simply starts to do the work that Hes been sent to do. He starts healing people. He starts delivering people. He starts doing all these wonderful things, and then He goes back to the men and answers the question. He says, Tell John what youve just seen. Tell him what youve heard. Let him know Im doing exactly what the Father sent Me here to do. In the early years of our church… I dont know if youve ever had anybody question you or contemplate whether what youre doing is with God in your ministry, but I know we have-especially in the early days when we met in a hotel. That has a certain stigma to it. Youre in a hotel. Youre non-denominational. What is that? Were [very much] a denominational town. Back then, churches didnt start in hotels. Its a pretty common place now, but they used to look at us funny. I once heard the word cult being whispered. My natural tendency when I heard that was to get very defensive…17 years ago. I said, Cult!?! Dont you know what a cult is? Nobody is worshipping me! Were not living in a commune here. I have my degree. Im a pastor! I was in Rockford, and Id start lecturing them on what a cult is. I prayed about it. The Holy Spirit said to me, Just be the church. Just speak sound doctrine, and just do the work Ive called you to do, and those kinds of people will learn the truth. Theyll see the truth. And, they did. I havent heard that for a long time. We put our services on the airways. Im not ashamed of anything we say or do here at Faith Community. We have a good reputation in our community. We didnt have to get all defensive and get in the flesh to get that. [We had to] simply do the work God called us to do. But, I was offended when that word was said. We rent a 12/12 building in the Fourth Ward every Sunday for services. My wife goes around in our church van, and she picks up the children. Parents-especially at first-begin to look at her funny. What church? What building? [There is] a certain stigma there or hesitance to send their children. Shed be frustrated. I said, You know what? Just keep doing the ministry. Keep faithfully sharing the Scriptures. Keep faithfully loving on the children. Those parents will come around. Theyll see who we are. Jesus talked about that very thing. He talked about the fickleness of people, their opinions, and their judgments. Look at Verse 31. He says, To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other… In other words, Hes saying theyre rather childish. Theyre rather spoiled; theyre rather hard to please. We played the flute for You, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge (a song)… and you did not cry. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, He has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But wisdom is proved right by all her children. He says, You know, John the Baptist comes and hes in the wilderness, and he has a pretty sad message. Its kind of a doom and gloom. Its a sort of dark message, judgment. Hes very aloof. He doesnt mingle with the people much. He comes and he gives his message. He baptizes and goes back into the desert, and you didnt like him. You thought he should be with the people more. We dont like his sad song. If hes really a prophet to the people, he should be among us, but he doesnt come with us. Jesus comes on the scene, and Hes the polar opposite. Hes not in the desert, the wilderness. Hes right there amongst the people. He goes to weddings; He goes to funerals-although the funerals dont last long when He was there. He goes to weddings, and Hes with the people. Hes going to their homes, and Hes having dinner. Hes spending time with people. They say, Hes too friendly. He eats too much. Hes a drunkard. Hes friends with sinners. We dont like that guy. Jesus is saying, Youre like little spoiled children that are impossible to please. You had John; you didnt like him. You have Me-the opposite-and you dont like Me either. You make judgments. Thats no way for a Prophet to carry on like that! He said, But wisdom is vindicated by your children. The fruit of My ministry, the fruit of Johns ministry, is going to bear witness that we are of the truth, that we are of God. If you know what you are doing is of God, and youre drawing criticism or slack, dont get in the flesh. Dont get all defensive. Simply keep doing what God has called you to do. Continue to be a light. Continue to speak truth. He says something very peculiar next. Look at Verse 23, Blessed is the man… or happy is the man, who does not fall away on a count of sin? No. The devil? No. The world? No. Me. …Blessed is the man who does not fall away because of Me. Isnt that a peculiar thing to say? Blessed is the man who does not stumble in their walk… They walk in faith because of Jesus. Well, I thought He was the one who kept us from stumbling, right? Now, Jesus is saying happy is the one who doesnt stumble because of Me. Thats what the word means. Fall away is the word we get scandal from. It means to stumble or to take offense at. So Jesus is saying happy is the man who does not take offense at the things I say or the things I do. Jesus was always offending people by what He said and did. He would do things on the Sabbath, and theyd be offended. He would say things about God. He would say things about Himself that would offend them. Sometimes, He would make them so mad, theyd pick up stones to try to kill Him. Theyd try to seize Him to try to kill Him. His ministry was very controversial. Jesus was not safe. He did not teach a safe message. It was a very dangerous message, and it offended a lot of people. In John 6, He talked about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. People said, Who can listen to this? and they walked away. He talked about His plan for His life. In Matthew 16, He said, I must go to the cross and suffer many things at the hand of evil men. I am going to die. He offended Peter. He became offended. Remember Peter says, It will never happen, Lord, that You would die. The Messiah is not supposed to die. Hes supposed to conquer. Jesus said, Get thee behind Me, Satan. You are a stumbling block for Me. You are a scandalon and offense to me. Your purposes are the purposes of man and not the purposes of God. See, Peter didnt understand the cross. Nobody really did. When Jesus died on the cross, were the believers excited? Did the believers leave Golgotha cheering and saying, Look, Jesus just conquered sin? My sin was with Him on the cross, and now I am free from the penalty of sin-which is death! Jesus had just sacrificed for my sin! Is that what they said when they left the cross? Not even close. They left the cross with their heads down; they left the cross crying; they left the cross defeated. Their dream was dead; it was gone. The cross was not a victory for them. The cross was a terrible, awful thing, but God was in control. There was a reason for that. You see, Christ becomes a stumbling block for us when you and I resist His sovereignty, when we think that our plan is better than His plan. Isaiah 55 says, As the Heavens are above the earth, so are My ways above your ways and My thoughts above your thoughts. As far as the Heavens are above the earth… When my dad died, I struggled with that for a long time. Years later, because a little boy needs his dad, my mom remarried. This new father became a Christian. He starting attending a church where they preached from the Bible. Id never really gone to church before. Id never heard the Gospel before. They began to preach the Gospel. I, as a little boy, prayed to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior. I grew up in that church. When I became a man, that same pastor became my boss. For almost eight years, I worked under his leadership and continued learning and growing. Then, that same man helped send me and my wife to Janesville to start a church called Faith Community that you are sitting in right now. I ponder to think how differently my life would have been. I am not saying its a good thing my father passed away or Im glad my father passed away. Im not saying that at all, but my father didnt walk with the Lord. My father had a drinking problem. He was not about to introduce me to church or the things of God. How would my life have been different if my dad hadnt come into the picture at age nine and become my father? [How different would it have been if he hadnt] taken me to church every Sunday? How different would my life have been? So Ive come to accept Gods sovereignty in that area. Thats an important step in the life of a believer: when we realize were not God; when we realize we dont have all the answers. Jesus is confronted with this question by John, and He simply does the work Hes been sent to do. Remember in the Book of Job [how] it deals with suffering and disappointment with God? Suffering of humanity? They have a lot of questions they pose of God, and God comes on the scene, and how does He respond to Job? Four chapters of resume. For chapters, He simply talks about His credentials. Were you there when I laid the foundation of the earth? Were you there when I told the proud waves of the ocean here is where you will stop? Were you there when I put the constellations in place? Were you there when I formed the delicate balance of nature? For four chapters, He does not answer the question that Job poses, but He talks about His credentials. He invites Job to contemplate those. Jesus sends word back to John the Baptist and says, Tell John the dead have been raised. I think if the dead are raised, He might know what He is doing. If leprosy is cured, if blind eyes are opened, if deaf ears are opened, maybe God is at work. You see, we try to put God in our image, and thats when He becomes a stumbling block to us because we try to create Him into an image He never intended us to have of Him. Sometimes we want to make God [out to be] the friendly grandfather, the grandfather who was a disciplinarian when you were a kid; but now all the sudden, Hes out buying ice cream cones, patting you on the head, and letting you watch as much TV as you want. Im just being stereotypical now. There might be some grandpas out there that arent like that. We want God to be this jolly grandfather who looks the other way with sin and just accepts everything, and thats not God. Thats not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible holds us accountable. Hes not the friendly grandfather that only exists to spoil you and give you gifts. Others of us want to see God as the soft teacher. Hes the God who drops our lowest scores, kind of forgets they ever happened. Hes the God who grades on the curve, so we can all pass. Were confronted with the God of the Bible, and thats not the God at all who grades on a curve. Hes the God who says be holy because I am holy. We want God to be our guardian, protect us from all the storms in life and all the trials of life, and all the hardship and loss. Thats not Him. In fact, if Im reading my Bible correctly in John 16, it says in this world, Jesus says you will have trouble. Theres a promise memory verse thats probably not on your refrigerator today. In this world, you will have trouble, but fear not. I have overcome the world. He could have rescued John from the prison. He could have stopped John from being beheaded, but He didnt. That tells us a lot, doesnt it? It probably raises a lot of questions too. Could it be that God sees life and death differently than we do? The Word says, Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His saints. [He says] the murder of John was not a sad thing, but [it was] something that was precious in the eyes of God as he went home to glory. Peter crucified upside down. Jesus foretells its going to happen. He says he indicated that to show what kind of death he would glorify God with. If Gods your guardian, and His job is to insure nothing bad ever happens to you, Hes doing an awful job, isnt He? This life is so temporary and fleeting. I get a feeling sometimes from when I read Scripture that Jesus says even if He were to explain everything that happens in this life, our minds wouldnt even be able to comprehend. In fact, there were times Jesus would say, I have more to tell you right now, but youre not ready. Youre not able to grasp what I have to say. Jesus becomes a stumbling block to us when we dont want to go to the cross. Do you know the Bible says the cross is an offence? The cross is a stumbling block? Thats what it says in 1 Corinthians 1. The cross is a scandalon. Its a stumbling block. Its an offensive. Jesus words still offend people today. The cross still offends people today. Why? The cross does not say, Youre basically a good person, and you need a little nudge. You just need a little help. Because God saw you were good, He sent a Savior to give you that little push, just to help you be a little bit better of a person; so, He sent Jesus. Thats not the message of the cross. The message of the cross is not youre basically a good person and need a little help. The message of the cross is that you and I are lost, and we need a Savior. Apart from a savior, we parish. Thats the message of the cross. The message of the cross is you cant do it, not even close. That goes against our pride, Well, we can do anything. Were Americans. If we just put our minds to it, we can accomplish it. You cant save your own soul, friends. Nobody can do that. The message of the cross is that your soul is dark, youre morally bankrupt, and that you need a Savior. For some, thats offensive. Ive been told by some who are skeptical or are not followers, I dont need a crutch. Thats what Christianity is, just a crutch for people. I want to ask them, Where did you get that idea? Where in the world does the Bible say Christianity is a crutch? A crutch is something someone needs to lean on because they need a little help. You had a little minor surgery. You had a little ankle sprain, so you had a crutch temporarily. The Bible doesnt say you need a crutch; it says you need an overhaul. It says you need open-heart surgery. You are corrupt, and you need a change of your heart that only God can do. Christianity is not about a crutch. Its about becoming a new person in Christ, a new creation in Christ. Thats offensive to people. Because we want to think of ourselves as basically good, that we can accomplish anything we put our minds to… Were not that. You cant rid your soul of the darkness of sin. If Christ is not going to be a stumbling block for me, I must not try to make Him into a man-made image but allow Him to be who He is. Know you are susceptible for Christ being a stumbling block… He was a stumbling block because he did not act the way he should act; he was disappointed that he was confined; Jesus became a stumbling block to John. Jesus was a stumbling block to Peter because of the cross. Peter said he would never be a stumbling block to Jesus, remember that? He said, Lord, others may deny You. Everyone will deny You, but I will never what? …fall away. Theres that word again. Scandalon. I will never fall away from You. Jesus says, Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times, Peter. We should not think we are exempt from this. If we start to make Christ in our image, how we want Him to be instead of whom He is, if we wrestle with His sovereignty-which is vanity in and of itself, we dont allow Him to be God-we dont accept His plan and Christ becomes a stumbling block for us. His words are offensive to us. But, if we have abandonment in our soul that says, You are God. Ill accept Your plan even though I dont understand it. Ill follow You wherever You take me, then He is not a stumbling block. He is our source of eternal life. No matter what we face, we face the reality that God is sovereign, that He has a plan. We talked about the darkness of the cross. We talked about how dark life can be, and maybe youre in a dark time right now. I want us to watch this media together that talks about that very truth. (You may purchase this video on sermonspice.com. The title is God Has a Plan. There is a three minute summary available there also.) Im going to ask our ushers to come forward and prepare to receive communion right now. Janet is also coming at this time and is going to share a song that talks about the subject matter weve been dealing with today. There is a tendency when communion trays are being passed in front of us, and there is motion with the communion ushers up and down, to be somewhat distracted. I want you to really focus. I want you to focus in on the message of this song. I want you to allow this song to help prepare your heart to receive of the Lords Supper this morning. The words are going to be on the background. You could put your song in here, your life story in here, and know that God is faithful. Just hold on to the elements until weve all received. In a few moments, Ill lead us together in partaking in the bread and cup. Lets listen as Janet sings Held. Lord, You could have rebuked John for questioning and doubting in his disappointment, but You chose not to. You allowed him to ask the question. You demonstrated that You were sovereign, that You are Lord. You asked him to trust You. The questions have not changed, and neither have the answers. Neither do You condemn us when we ask them. You also did not glorify them. You said, Happy is the man who does not fall away on account of Me. Happy is the one who has learned to trust in the Lordship and sovereignty of the Savior. Your way is the right way, and its not always the easiest way. This is demonstrated in no greater way than the cross. The cross was seen as defeat, as a place of suffering, torment, and death; but in Your wisdom and Your power, You transformed that. That was the place our sin was atoned for. That was the place where the opportunity to be made right before the Holy God was made available, where lost people could be found. Dark hearts can be cleansed, forgiven. You sealed that by rising from the dead, walking out of that tomb, to demonstrate that You accomplished what You said You would accomplish. So, Lord, help us in our struggle. Help us to live out that passage; to be happy that Youre Lord, and were not; to rejoice that Your ways are above our ways; Your thoughts above our thoughts; and to rest in that promise. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen Im reading from 1 Corinthians 11. The Apostle Paul says, For I receive from the Lord what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread; when Hed given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. Lets receive together of the bread. In the same way after supper, He took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of Me. Lets receive together of the Lords shed blood. Amen. Pastor Sean is going to continue on in Luke next week and pick up where we left off.