An atheist and a Christian were engaged in an intense public debate. The atheist did his presentation first. On the blackboard behind the podium he printed in large capital letters, “GOD IS NOWHERE.” Then, the Christian rose to offer his rebuttal. He quietly went up to the podium, and he rubbed out the W at the beginning of where and added that letter to the preceding word no. Then the statement read, “GOD IS NOW HERE.”[1]
Last Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this morning we sang “He Lives.” We sang, “He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.” Do you experience that? How do you meet the risen Christ in everyday life? How do you experience the resurrection life today? In order to answer this question, we should first define “the resurrection.” Here we're not talking about Jesus' survival in our minds, as a result of which we can say, “Well, he's alive," or, "He is living in me." We can say that about anybody who has died. For instance, in Latin America, there are many students who have such confidence in Che Guevara as one of their leaders that they often sing and chant, "Che lives." He hadn't risen from the dead, but his influence was still living.[2] I still remember one of my colleagues said, “It doesn’t matter whether Christ has been raised from the dead or not. What matters most is to learn his teaching, his life, and his mind.” But the Bible does not say that. 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” We are talking not about his survival, but about his resurrection. God did conquer the death and rescue Jesus out of the realm of death; and transformed his body into a new resurrection body, so that he had a new power and was now immortal, never to die again. Jesus himself said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven in order to experience this resurrection power and life. This promise is available to us today. That’s why Paul said, in Philippians 3:10, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.”
God Is Now Here!
Last Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this morning we sang “He Lives.” We sang, “He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.” Do you experience that? How do you meet the risen Christ in everyday life? How do you experience the resurrection life today? In order to answer this question, we should first define “the resurrection.” Here we're not talking about Jesus' survival in our minds, as a result of which we can say, “Well, he's alive," or, "He is living in me." We can say that about anybody who has died. For instance, in Latin America, there are many students who have such confidence in Che Guevara as one of their leaders that they often sing and chant, "Che lives." He hadn't risen from the dead, but his influence was still living.[2] I still remember one of my colleagues said, “It doesn’t matter whether Christ has been raised from the dead or not. What matters most is to learn his teaching, his life, and his mind.” But the Bible does not say that. 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” We are talking not about his survival, but about his resurrection. God did conquer the death and rescue Jesus out of the realm of death; and transformed his body into a new resurrection body, so that he had a new power and was now immortal, never to die again. Jesus himself said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven in order to experience this resurrection power and life. This promise is available to us today. That’s why Paul said, in Philippians 3:10, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.”
God Is Now Here!
The resurrection power and life are available to us today. The question is how. How do you meet the risen Christ in everyday life? How do you experience the resurrection life and power today? We can find the answer from the story of one man just like us – the story of “runaway Jacob.” In today’s passage we find a fascinating story how Jacob meets the living God in the most unexpected place – somewhere in the middle of nowhere! Think about what Jacob is going through. He has lied to his blind, old father. He cheated his brother. So the brother was so mad that he’s threatening to kill him. And now he has to run away in order to save his life. Socially, he is separated from his family and fleeing for his life. Materially, he has nothing but the shirt on his back. Spiritually, he is distant from God and alone and without hope.[3] In a word, Jacob is pressed on every side by troubles. He is wrestling with the past, facing an anxious present, and a very uncertain future.
It’s the very moment when Jacob is the most in need of God. It’s the very place where God breaks through into Jacob’s life. And he begins to experience God’s resurrection power and life. On the way to Haran, in the wilderness he dreams; he sees a stairway and God’s angels are ascending and descending on it. And he hears God say, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you!” Then Jacob confesses, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I wasn’t even aware of it!” Before, Jacob worked hard to take God’s blessings, but he felt like “God is nowhere.” But now, in the middle of nowhere he is empty, hungry, lonely, and he sees his great need. And he meets the living God who begins working with him and opens his eyes to see, “God is now here.” How about you? Are you somewhere in the middle of nowhere? It’s a good place to meet the living God, the risen Christ. Talk to him and admit, “Lord, I have a need I can’t handle by myself. I need you!” And he will begin to work with you.
Meeting the Risen Christ
It’s the very moment when Jacob is the most in need of God. It’s the very place where God breaks through into Jacob’s life. And he begins to experience God’s resurrection power and life. On the way to Haran, in the wilderness he dreams; he sees a stairway and God’s angels are ascending and descending on it. And he hears God say, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you!” Then Jacob confesses, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I wasn’t even aware of it!” Before, Jacob worked hard to take God’s blessings, but he felt like “God is nowhere.” But now, in the middle of nowhere he is empty, hungry, lonely, and he sees his great need. And he meets the living God who begins working with him and opens his eyes to see, “God is now here.” How about you? Are you somewhere in the middle of nowhere? It’s a good place to meet the living God, the risen Christ. Talk to him and admit, “Lord, I have a need I can’t handle by myself. I need you!” And he will begin to work with you.
Meeting the Risen Christ
Recently, I met the risen Christ in an unexpected place, in the middle of St. Simons Island, Georgia, where I was attending the conference. The conference theme was “evangelism” mostly in an urban context. All of the sessions were excellent, but there was a question in my mind: “How about the rural church?” Around that time, I felt “stuck” and didn’t know exactly why and where to turn. I was empty, hungry, desperate. And I waited, waited, waited on God. And God revealed to me the root cause of the problems. That had to do with my “effectiveness-driven” mentality – “Make an impact on many and change the world” mentality. When I was appointed to our church in 2014, my initial goal was to shake things up and change the church, the culture, the community for Jesus’ sake. But apparently, it didn’t work. As a result, after three years, I felt “stuck,” and my sense of significance and self-worth diminished. And I asked myself: “Am I effective? Is my ministry here effective? Am I a right person here? When am I going to make an impact on more people in a larger ministry setting?
While I was in St. Simons Island, God did speak to me through worship, fellowship, prayer and devotional times. The word given to me was “abide.” I thought I did abide, but in fact, it was revealed that what I did was tolerating and enduring, but not abiding. I did not make my home among the people and the community. Then, God showed me what Jesus did: He made his home among us (cf. John 1:14). He chose to abide with us. He brought God’s kingdom to earth. Then, God gave me assurance that I am called to abide, not to change and that my first commitment should be present to people where they are and love them as they are. That revelation changed everything. That changed me. With tears of joy, I shouted, “Surely the Lord is here in this place and I didn’t know it!” Now my pastoral vision is to “abide” where I am planted. The direction of my ministry goal has changed from the ministry of transformation to the ministry of presence. It is to stay put, to be present, and to love people and the community with all my heart. (So now you are stuck with me!) And now I see my Bethel is Houlton and Hodgdon, and I begin to see God’s kingdom here and now. Praise God!
Where Is Your Bethel?
While I was in St. Simons Island, God did speak to me through worship, fellowship, prayer and devotional times. The word given to me was “abide.” I thought I did abide, but in fact, it was revealed that what I did was tolerating and enduring, but not abiding. I did not make my home among the people and the community. Then, God showed me what Jesus did: He made his home among us (cf. John 1:14). He chose to abide with us. He brought God’s kingdom to earth. Then, God gave me assurance that I am called to abide, not to change and that my first commitment should be present to people where they are and love them as they are. That revelation changed everything. That changed me. With tears of joy, I shouted, “Surely the Lord is here in this place and I didn’t know it!” Now my pastoral vision is to “abide” where I am planted. The direction of my ministry goal has changed from the ministry of transformation to the ministry of presence. It is to stay put, to be present, and to love people and the community with all my heart. (So now you are stuck with me!) And now I see my Bethel is Houlton and Hodgdon, and I begin to see God’s kingdom here and now. Praise God!
Where Is Your Bethel?
The area where Jesus was born, lived, did his ministry is called the Holy Land. A pilgrimage to the Holy Land would be a meaningful journey. I would like to go someday. It’s one of my bucket list. But in some sense, today we are traveling and standing on the holy land. The risen Christ is here with us. And if we walk with him and talk with him, our home is the Holy Land; our church is the Holy Land; Houlton and Hodgdon is the Holy Land!
Jesus was born at a particular time. He ministered to particular people in a particular place. But it does affect the entire world. He walked three miles in an hour. He met one person at a time, touched one person at a time. He didn’t heal all the sick. He didn’t solve all the problems. That was not his ultimate calling. But as he did teach, preach, and heal some of them, he always did reveal God’s kingdom and bring the kingdom to earth. That was his calling. So on the cross, he was able to say, “It is finished!”
Jesus was born at a particular time. He ministered to particular people in a particular place. But it does affect the entire world. He walked three miles in an hour. He met one person at a time, touched one person at a time. He didn’t heal all the sick. He didn’t solve all the problems. That was not his ultimate calling. But as he did teach, preach, and heal some of them, he always did reveal God’s kingdom and bring the kingdom to earth. That was his calling. So on the cross, he was able to say, “It is finished!”
In the same way, we live in a particular place and time. It’s April 8, 2018, we live in Houlton/ Hodgdon, ME. We don’t have to wait, or we don’t have to go somewhere to meet the risen Christ. He is now here! And this is our Bethel, the house of God. This is our mission field. On one occasion a woman wanted to join Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India. But Mother Teresa said, “Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right there where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society — completely forgotten, completely left alone.”
Where is your Calcutta? Where is your Bethel? As Mother Teresa said, let us start with the person nearest us. Let us pick up one person. Let us love one person at a time in our family, in our church, in our community. And we will see the risen Christ in them and say, “Surely the Lord is here and I didn’t know it!”
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[1] Keith Krell, “Runaway Bride” (Gen 28:10-22), https://bible.org/seriespage/35-runaway-bribe-genesis-2810-22
[2] John Stott, “The Up-to-the-Minute Relevance of the Resurrection” (John 20:24-29), http://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2010/july/theuptotheminuterelevanceoftheresurrection.html
[3] Bob Hallman, “Nowhere To Look But Up” (Genesis 28:1-22) http://calvarychapel.com/kauai/teachings/genesis_pdf/gen_28_notes.pdf, 9.
Where is your Calcutta? Where is your Bethel? As Mother Teresa said, let us start with the person nearest us. Let us pick up one person. Let us love one person at a time in our family, in our church, in our community. And we will see the risen Christ in them and say, “Surely the Lord is here and I didn’t know it!”
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[1] Keith Krell, “Runaway Bride” (Gen 28:10-22), https://bible.org/seriespage/35-runaway-bribe-genesis-2810-22
[2] John Stott, “The Up-to-the-Minute Relevance of the Resurrection” (John 20:24-29), http://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2010/july/theuptotheminuterelevanceoftheresurrection.html
[3] Bob Hallman, “Nowhere To Look But Up” (Genesis 28:1-22) http://calvarychapel.com/kauai/teachings/genesis_pdf/gen_28_notes.pdf, 9.
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