2 Corinthians 4

2019 Spring Retreat - Samuel Rayas

Morning everyone, I’m guessing some of you all got more sleep than others by the looks of things but regardless I hope you're ready to receive the word of God. Additionally, I hope these past days for you all have been full of spiritual growth, solidifying friendships, and finding a place of rest. I also want to thank Stephen, Annie and Mariee for taking time to prepare that classy remix of a song for me. Thanks for taking the time to sit down and practice guys.

Now, what you’ve all been looking forward to -- the message. Today we’ll be taking a closer look at 2 Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verses 1-18. My Key Verse is verse 14, “Because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. ” Before writing the message I was a bit confused on how to approach it, there really are a variety of ways, but I created three questions that would help break up the passage. By no means do you have to memorize the questions, but keep them in the back of your minds as the message continues. The first of these questions goes, What does it means to be a Christian?, The second, What are some of the challenges we will face? and lastly, What is our living hope? Three relatively simple questions yet Paul’s writing somehow encapsulates all of this. I’m certain that nearly everyone in this room has heard at least one of these questions before, I had, but it was only through this passage that the resounding answers were able to sink in. To conclude, I don’t think it takes a doctorate, any form of degree, having lived 40+ years, or fitting any sort of criteria to understand what Paul is writing to the Corinthians back then and how its significant to us nowadays. 

A Little Bit Of History: Why did Paul Write 2 Corinthians?

To completely understand why this book of the bible exists we need to know some history. How fun, I know, I’ll try to not bore you, no sad faces though :(. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth because he is concerned for their well being. The church had faced problems with sexual immorality, and Paul feared the infiltration of false teachers in the church proclaiming false god’s. Primarily, Paul wrote to encourage, give strength, and dispel any sense of doubt that the Corinthians would’ve had during the time of struggle and strife.

Analysis: Question 1

Understandably, Paul begins Chapter 4 writing to the church about how they should feel towards the ministry and the the work they do, even in times of trouble. Hence the title of chapter 4 including the phrase, ‘Present Weakness’. In verses 1-7 Paul does an excellent job dispeling any sense of insecurity within the Corinthians about their place church and its ministry in general. If we can read the first verse altogether, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart”. The first verse established the idea of have nothing to fear because God was on their side. And to not be discouraged from all the troubles that were in pursuit of them, because with God any challenge was bearable. Paul goes onto the next verses to reinforce the idea that any common doubts had no place within the ministry. Verse 2 can be interpreted as Paul giving the Corinthians a reason to lift up their heads, “We have renounced secret and shameful ways” since the use of “deception” or lies is not practiced then the ministry has nothing to fear. On the contrary they are held in higher regard because God sees them speaking truthfully. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but looking at verse 5, if we can all read it together,“For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” The corinthians even though they were commended for speaking plainly they were not bound to doing it for themselves but rather for God’s glory. Going back to verses 3 and 4 they offered yet another reason to not lose heart. Verse 3 states even if the Corinthians were to persecuted or unable to preach, they shouldn’t fret because those in their way are in fact they are “perishing”. Verse 4 couples nicely with 3 as the Corinthians were to gain more insight into why they would be persecuted. The ‘god’ of this age, the word ‘god’ not being capitalized means that it is not our father in heaven but rather a false god, an idol perhaps. If the minds of unbelievers were blinded then they would not allow or accept the Corinthians to preach. While verse 5 helps to give the Corinthians a directive and purpose. Preaching Jesus Christ as the bridge between them and the father. They are only servants. Lastly comes Verse 7, can we read verse 7 all together. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Paul is telling the Corinthians that they have been given a gift, that being eternal life, and this gift of ‘living even though they have died’ does not boast their own power but rather God’s power over death.

What did we learn:
But how does Paul’s writing connect to us all right now? And What did we learn about what it means to be a Christian? In accordance to verse 2, setting forth the truth plainly, I think we can find joy in this act of setting forth the word the way it is. The act is done in front of people but really it is done in the sight of God as he watches us do so. Verse 3 teaches us to not passion or drive from anyone that stands in our way as they, unlike us might cease to exist after their earthly body has decayed. In response to verses 5 and 7 of serving God, we learn that we are servants, however a testament to God’s divine power. Remembering who we are in relation to God the father is what allows us just like the Corinthians to get a true sense of what it means to be a Christian. We should live out our lives as Christians in accordance to the knowledge of the resurrection, through these bodies we are able to glorify the lord since we’ve been given this treasure.

Real World: Story
To put this into a real perspective, when I was younger, no more than about 8 years old I remember my mom telling me that she would come back home soon because she would be out ‘fishing’, to my surprise she didn’t have any fishing gear. Naturally I asked her “How are you gonna go fishing without a fishing pole?” in my mind it wasn’t fair that she got to go fishing while I had to stay at home, besides it was late at night, how would she see? Laughingly my mom responded by saying ‘we aren’t actually going fishing, we’re trying to recruit students to study the bible’. I’m glad she didn’t say she was trying to tend to the lord's sheep that night. Up until studying this passage was the story of my mom going out to ‘fish’ a cute moment shared between us, but looking back I now see that my mom was going out to fish because of that treasure that was bestowed within her. She was trying to preach the gospel of the resurrection to others. And it is that treasure that we have all been given by God, that physical death is not the end of the road for us. The jars of clay which holds this treasure as described in verse 7 is an adequate analogy because our bodies just like jars of clay are nothing special. In those times you didn’t keep your best wine in the a jar made out of mud or soil. In the same respect why would God put the greatest gift into us? -- If only it was really to display his own glory through us, it’s not by our own power that we are able to be raised to life once again but by God’s “all surpassing”. That’s why living out our lives with respect to being vessels for God’s gracious gift of eternal life is what really constitutes as a Christians, we should live for God.

How to live for God: : Answer
I know this point is hard to come to grasp with, but I think we can all look to our parents, missionaries if you will, who act and live out their lives in accordance to the gospel. I used to ask myself why do any of the elders of the church emphasize fishing? Why do my parents care so much about losing or gaining students? Now I realize that it’s because they’ve been blessed with unconditional love known as resurrection life that they put so much attention to sharing the good news with others. For us on the other hand that may be inviting your friends to HBF, writing testimony, doing sports, going to school are only some of the ways in which we can live in relation to God’s gift of eternal life.

Of course things such as: prayer, reading your bible, being in fellowship, having 1 to 1, studying the word are essential parts of your walk of faith that keep you grounded in the word, but I think there is one step further and its’ having the right attitude to serve. to have the greatest impact is to have a sound heart and right attitude when coming to church or participating within our ministry. Proverbs 4:23 states “ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” If someone were to attempt passing under the guise of being a christian they would fall short because even in the acts of attending church, praying habitually, and having the perfect outward appearance they would never constitute as being a truthful Christian because it wasn’t done with earnest passion for the church or for God.

In the end, we learn that being a Christian is not losing hope because we have the creator of the heavens on our side, not following false gods, serving the lord, and living first and foremost for God’s glory above all else.”

Second Question: What are some of the challenges we will face?
Knowing what it means to be a Christian, now comes the part dedicated to answering the question ‘What we will face, with the lives that we will lead? If we can read verses 8 and 9 altogether? Lets begin, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. The following verses are short and their abrupt nature is why the verses are so impactful. Reading each rendition of the trails that we will face such as ‘Hard pressed but not crushed’ ‘Perplexed, but not in despair’ ‘Persecuted, but not abandoned’ ‘Struck down, but not destroyed’ are almost echos of what it feels like living a Christian life now a days. Yet the main thing I took away from this point in the passage were the endings of each statement that are anteceded with the word ‘but’. We may come across and encounter these various problems, but Paul reminds the Corinthians that God never leaves them at the point of absolute solitude nor an inability to overcome.

As the passage continues, we run into yet another harsh reality presented to us, through verses 11 and 12, as “we who are alive are always being given over to death” and So then, death is at work in us” however, though these bodies of clay are decaying away it is not without purpose. On the other hand, as verse 10 tells us “ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” We, once again as children of God, servants, are the greatest tools to glorify God through our bodies. The idea of something beautiful being shown that has come from nothing feels like what God is doing with us all. Even if we are being given over to death each day its ‘for Jesus’ sake.’ As an even greater reminder for our significance within the church, and why death has no hold on us comes at the end of verse 12 as it tells us that ‘life is at work in jesus’ even if death is waiting for us later on. We may not be able to surpass the power of death or escape its grips but it is all for the glory of God in the end. Us being revived with Jesus in the latter of our lives will prove that just Jesus was resurrected, so will we be resurrected by the same power. If Christ was given the ability to come over death and if we overcome death then it goes on to prove God’s tremendous power.

Personally, I felt this this year in specific was one where I was constantly being challenged academically and I wanted to give up. When verse 8 states “perplexed but not in despair” I wouldn't have believed you a couple weeks ago. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was trying to pass school with my own wits and effort and not looking to glorify God in any way. These past weeks I realized my mistake gravely. When I remember now, the times that I sincerely sat down and prayed I felt as though I could not only accomplish my goals, but felt as though my participation volleyball and the IB program was more than just doing well for my future and about having God’s mercy shown through my successes whether big or small. My mom always told me we amass nearly to nothing without God in our lives, and that it is only because we’ve been shown mercy that we are able to accomplish all our feats. Verse 11 helps coincide with this thought as well because through me I can glorify God because I am made in his perfect image. I can be an example for my classmates demonstrating God’s glory and not my own. Just like in the case of Lazarus, my body can be used to show God’s sovereignty. I learned that in this time of feeling like I was being completely crushed with academic studies, time dedicated to sports, and friends all I needed to remember that this wasn’t necessarily about me, but letting God’s glory come amist my trial. For all of us in this room I think many a time do we all feel overwhelmed, but just as Paul reminded the Corinthians do I remind you now that we are never rendered completely helpless because we have Christ with us. It’s hard understanding why God would allow this, for us to be hard pressed, persecuted, or struck down. However, they are opportunities to reveal ‘Jesus’ life ’that is at work in us.

Third Question: What is our living hope?
In the last parts of the passage in verses 14 and 15 does Paul reassure the Corinthians, and us. Let’s read verse 14 “because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus (God) from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you (Jesus) to himself (God).” This verse is a little confusing so allow me to explain it. Paul reassures us that we will be raised from death alongside Jesus by God, and because Jesus is part of the trinity, really Jesus is being presented with us to himself, through the form of God. I know confusing. However, this is the answer to our third question. Our living hope is Jesus, since we know that we will be resurrected just as Jesus did we can be assured that death will not be the end for us. For this reason I chose to make this my key verse. Additionally, verse 15 tells us that all of this will help in our ministry. This will cause overflowing of good news, reaching more and more people thus making our ministry grow even bigger. Lastly come verses 16,17, and 18. Verse 16 helps to reinforce our identity and trust in the lord. Once again to the jars of clay, we are wasting away but are being rejuvenated and given life through Jesus each day, even if the outside may say differently. 18 stresses the importance of focusing on eternal life, even though it remains unseens it is what is truly eternal and serves as another reminder that we do not live for the luxuries of earth. Finally, backtracking a little do we find ourselves with verse 17. And I think it’s the most suitable place to leave off for Paul in accordance to the Corinthians and for me to leave off for you all. Can we all read verse 17? “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” All of this to comprehend was left to the Corinthians to interpret and I’m sure that Paul foresaw persecution of the church in corinth to ensue but Paul reminds us all that these issues and problems are comparable to little blimps of lights within an entire spectrum. These problems that we face no don’t compare to what you will be blessed with much more up head. Having this mentality is hard if I’m being frank, but it does help knowing that what awaits you really is eternal and everlasting. That what we all look forward to is eternal life not something temporary or momentary.

Conclusion:
I want to conclude this message by telling you all, my peers, some that I’ve known since you were young, others that I’ve barely gotten to know that what awaits us all is eternal life and something far bigger than we can fathom. Jesus is our living hope that there is a quality of life that awaits us in the long run, these sufferings hurt, isn’t that why Jesus wept even if Lazarus was going to be resurrected? but like Paul tells us, the eternal glory outweighs all these troubles in the long run because we will be presented alongside Jesus. Whether or not you’ll fit into being the mold of a perfect “Christian” or whether I’m even right in my classification of what it means to be a Christian, it seems that one thing is certain, and that is we live for God’s glory and not our own. Life is treacherous and difficult, we may not understand why certain things happen, but know that God has a plan. Even if we are jars of clay or ‘dust we are’ and ‘to dust we will return’ we have been given the gift of eternal life. If you desire to read a little more about why sharing the gospel brings joy or why being a servant exist or comes to be then I advise you to read Psalm 116, its great. With all of this in mind let's remember that the potential trials that we will face, just like the Corinthians, are only light and momentary. Let’s approach each conflict knowing that we can glorify God in them and show Jesus life in us, even if the do trouble us. Remember that we don’t live for this world rather we live for the eternal by having a perspective that Jesus is our living hope, a sign that we are able to be with God the father for all eternity.

By Faith, We Have a Living Hope

2019 Spring Retrat - Daniel King

Key Verses: John 11:41b-42

So in this passage we have a continuation of the passage that Moses discussed in his message yesterday. Yesterday, we saw that Jesus made the decision to wait several days before visiting Lazarus, because Lazarus’ sickness was, in Jesus’ words, “for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Today, we see Jesus finally visit a heartbroken Martha and Mary, but then demonstrate his own power by raising Lazarus from the dead. In some ways, this passage seems almost inapplicable to our own lives because us Christians don’t see God raising people from the dead today. However, there is actually a lot that we can unpack from this passage about faith, about God’s power and love for us, and about having a living hope in Jesus.

One of the biggest lessons we can take away from John 11:17-44 is that God often uses our most difficult, darkest moments to bring us closer to him. In this passage, we see that Martha and Mary are both deeply saddened by the death their brother Lazarus. Both had faith in Jesus, believing that if he had come, he could have saved Lazarus from dying. By waiting those four days before coming to raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus demonstrated his amazing love and his power even over death. Jesus showed the sisters that he was in control even in this dark period in their lives, using Lazarus’ death to demonstrate God’s amazing love and power.

So let’s start with the first part of this passage, when Jesus arrives to comfort Martha and Mary. Verse seventeen states that when Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Many other Jews had already come to comfort the sisters, and so Jesus and his disciples were some of the last people to come and pay their respects. When Jesus finally does come and Martha goes out to meet him, she says in verses 21 and 22, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Martha is clearly trying to hold on to her faith in Jesus, but it’s so difficult for her to do so because her brother has just died. She had faith that Jesus could have saved her brother while he was alive but did not believe Jesus could do anything once Lazarus was dead. She failed to see Jesus’ power, even over death. Martha had probably prayed while Lazarus was alive that Jesus would come and save him, but once Lazarus was gone, she lost all hope. Have you ever been in a situation where you lost all hope?

I think many people find themselves in the same situation that Martha does. As Christians, we pray and beg God to give us something we want or solve a problem we might have, and if God does not give us exactly what we want how we want it, we give up immediately. I will be honest with all of you, I have been very fortunate to not have experienced such a hopeless situation like that of Martha and Mary, or even that of others in HBF, but for me, this issue definitely did show itself during the college admissions process. This year, I was rejected by some of the top schools that I applied to, schools where I really hoped and prayed to get in. When I was rejected, it was difficult for me at first to accept that this was part of God’s plan for me. It was hard for me to believe that God had a great plan for me without those schools, because of my lack of faith in him, because I didn’t really believe that God could provide for me.

With Martha, the death of Lazarus so overwhelmed her that she thought everything was over, that there was nothing Jesus could do. Jesus did not give Martha exactly what she wanted, which was to save Lazarus from the dead while he was alive. Let’s take a look at what Martha says when Jesus tells her that Lazarus will rise again from the dead. Martha says in verse 24, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” While Martha seems to acknowledge Jesus’ power in a sense, she doesn’t seem to believe that Jesus has any power here on Earth at that very moment. She sees God as a sort of cosmic being, like Buddha or the force in Star Wars, who will raise up Lazarus at the end of time. She believes in him, but not really. Again, it is a lack of faith that really characterizes Martha’s interactions with Jesus.

It was with Jesus’ reassuring her in verses twenty five and twenty six of his power over death that she finally learned to believe in Jesus’ power and entrust the situation to him.

Let’s take a closer look at verses 25 and 26. Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” This is one of the most important verses in the Bible. Jesus came to the Earth to bring life and salvation, and is asking Martha to believe in him. By saying this, Jesus is not only revealing his divine power, but also saying that death has no power over him. He is revealing not only his spiritual power but his physical power as well. This is really the turning point in the passage, when Jesus truly reveals himself to us. We are not only reassured of Jesus’ power, but also realize that we have a living hope in him, the promise of eternal life. When he asks if Martha believes this, he’s not only posing this question to Martha, but to all of us as Christians. Do you believe that you have a living hope in Jesus? Do you believe that God’s power is limitless both here on Earth and in heaven? Not only did Martha have to consider this, but all of us must consider this as well. It is those who believe in God who will experience his power over death, his promise of eternal life, and his spiritual and physical guidance.

Yet Jesus’s power over death is not only a spiritual power, but a physical one as well, as we see later in this passage. So later, we see Jesus talking to Mary after Martha tells her that he is there. The scene we get with Mary is quite different than what we saw with Martha. Mary does say the exact same thing that Martha did when she first met Jesus - “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Like Martha, Mary does not have faith in Jesus’ divine power, his power over death. However, unlike Martha, Mary comes letting out all of her grief before Jesus, weeping at his feet. She was sad and grieving broken-hearted, and she let Jesus know. And when Jesus saw her, he didn’t tell her to get up and stop crying, he didn’t tell her to stop worrying, he wept with her. (PAUSE) Jesus knew that Lazarus wasn’t going to stay dead, but he comforted Mary in the moment by empathizing with her and showing her that he cared. We can see how Jesus comforted both Martha and Mary when they had different ways of showing and expressing their grief, Martha by reassuring her of great power and Mary by simply weeping with her. In the same way, we all have different ways of dealing with our grief and bringing our problems to God. God feels your pain and will comfort you in the way he knows is best for you because he cares about you.

So from the first part of the passage, we see that the two main themes are that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and is all-powerful, but also that he loves and cares deeply enough for his children to comfort them and empathize with them in their suffering.

This brings us into the second part of the passage. Having comforted the two sisters, Jesus goes down to the tomb. The first thing he does is to order the stone to be taken away. You may or may not know this, but in Jesus’ time, the dead, usually those who were wealthy, were not buried in graves. They were buried in tombs, holes cut into the side of a mountain or cliff with a giant slab or disc of stone several feet wide to close the hole opening. According to some archeologists, these stones probably weighed around two tons. So when Jesus ordered the stone to be taken away, this was no easy feat. It probably required at least several very strong men to carefully roll the stone so that the entrance to the tomb would be opened.

But the bigger issue was not that the stone was physically difficult to move. It required faith on the sisters’ part to obey Jesus and remove the stone, to entrust the situation to Jesus. Martha brings up the point in verse thirty nine that there would be a bad odor in the tomb, because a dead corpse had been rotting in there for four days. But really, what Martha was saying was that there was no point in removing the stone, that there was no reason to because Lazarus was already dead.

Rolling away the stone was a test of faith. Jesus wanted the people to entrust the situation to him, to believe that in this dark and depressing period, Jesus could help them. And that required the people to set aside their doubts and obey Jesus.

The stone itself represents an obstacle to faith. It was the thing holding Martha, Mary, and the rest of the Jews there from fully believing in Jesus. They were bounded by the practical concerns of rolling away the heavy stone. When Jesus said to take away the stone, again, he was communicating this to all Christians. As high school students, each of us probably has not only one, but many heavy stones in our way that prevent us from experience the power of the risen Jesus. Maybe you have questions about whether God can truly help you, maybe you have other struggles and hardships that make you forget about God, maybe you have a sin that prevents you from fully coming to God. Of course God will still love you and continue to call out to you no matter what obstacles you may have to your faith. But God needs you to believe in him, he needs you to read his word and pray and grow in your relationship with him, before he can fully intervene in your life and give you a living hope in heaven.

Once they remove the stone, Jesus is now prepared to do his work. This is what he says in verses 41b and 42. These are actually the key verses of my message, so I’d like us to read this altogether. “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” It is after he says this that he commands Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and he does. Jesus doesn’t do any black magic or perform some sort of ritual to resurrect Lazarus. He raised Lazarus from the dead by simply commanding him to come out, highlighting Jesus’ power and authority over death.

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead that the people would believe in him, that they would accept him as the Messiah. After Lazarus was raised, well there was probably shock and disbelief at first, but afterward there were probably lots of celebrations, joyful reunions, and many people coming to honor and exalt Jesus. But get this: Lazarus was going to die again. He would get sick and pass away a second time, and his sisters would have to rebury him and everyone would be grieving all over again. So some people might ask, what was the point of resurrecting Lazarus if he was just going to die again? Well, the point of Jesus’ miracle was not to magically take away all of the sisters’ problems; it was to demonstrate God’s love and power, so that the people would learn to put their faith in him. A lot of people misunderstand the point of the passage. Some people think that perhaps if we come to God like Martha and Mary did, he will use his divine power to magically solve our problems and give us whatever we need, like he did by raising Lazarus from the dead. If you’ve heard ever heard of the prosperity gospel, this is what they preach. Prosperity theology holds that God’s main concern is your material well-being, and if you believe in God, he will make you rich and successful. It sounds ridiculous, and it is. Yes, God can work to solve our physical and practical issues if we come to him, but that’s not his main goal. He wants us to put our faith in him, that we may have hope for the much greater treasure in heaven. Lazarus’ death and resurrection can be thought of as a precursor to Jesus’ own death and resurrection, the Easter story, the reason we have a living hope for eternal life in heaven.

So Jesus used this desperate, dark situation that Martha and Mary were going through to encourage the sisters to have faith in him and come closer to him. This is really the key point of the second part of the passage. God often does the same thing with us, using our problems and struggles to demonstrate his love and power. Although we might not see anything as extreme as someone being raised from the dead, God will work in us in other ways. So I was rejected from MIT and the University of Chicago, my two top schools. By God’s grace, however, I was accepted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which has a great engineering program. All my life and especially throughout high school, I have always been anxious about what my future is going to be like, where I am going to end up. Those of you who know me probably know that I am very academically motivated, and part of this motivation comes from my sense of anxiety. I thought that getting admitted to a top school would serve as a validation of myself, the one way to ensure that I would be successful. As I reflected on this past year and the whole college admissions process, I realized that my anxiety was my stone, my obstacle to faith that has been preventing me from fully coming to God. Like Martha, I refused to entrust my situation to God and believed that I had to deal with everything by myself. I didn’t really realize until now, but God really has blessed me and been with me even though I didn’t really try to come to him. Especially as I head off to college next year, I hope to be able to grow in my faith and overcome my stone of anxiety. Although I don’t think I’ve fully overcome that stone quite yet, I pray that God will give me the strength and resolve to put my full faith in him so that I can share in the living hope.

So from this passage, there are several things we can take away. In the first part, we see that Jesus is the life and the resurrection, that he has both spiritual and physical power over death, but also that he cares and loves his children deeply, willing to share in our sorrows. In the second part, we see that Jesus used Mary and Martha’s desperate and seemingly hopeless situation to demonstrate his power and bring them to faith. It’s this faith that’s so important to Jesus, this faith that Jesus really is the resurrection and the life and the living hope, the theme of this Easter conference. To all my fellow HBF members, whether you are a fully committed Christian or you’re still a bit iffy about your faith, I encourage you to read the Bible and pray even just a few minutes a day, and learn to open yourself up to God at least a little bit. I hope that each of you, no matter what struggles or difficulties you might be going through, can experience the power of God in your own lives and learn to put your faith in him. Thank you.

Jesus Gives us a Living Hope

Spring Retreat 2019 - Moses Magardecian

John 11:1-16
Key Verse: 11:4

When he had heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No. It is for God’s glory so that God’s son may be glorified through it.”

In this passage we learn about a man named Lazarus who become sick, yet Jesus allowed him to die so that his disciples could believe. He would later raise him from the dead. But this is the second part of the passage, which Daniel will be giving his message on tomorrow. In John’s gospel there are seven miracles that show the true almighty power of Jesus, and the raising of Lazarus was the last of the seven that Jesus performed before he would be crucified and resurrected from the dead.

Part 1:
In a small small village named Bethany, there was a family of three people: Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Later in this story we learn that this was the same Mary who poured perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. If we go back to Luke 10 we can see that a woman named Martha opened her house to Jesus and his disciples. Martha was very busy preparing for Jesus and his disciples, while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and chose what was best. Mary, Martha and Lazarus were living by themselves and Jesus was like a father to them and loved them all. Then one day Lazarus became sick and the sisters became worried about him so they told Jesus that the one he loved was sick. Mary and Martha knew that Jesus would heal Lazarus even though they did not ask him to because Jesus loved them greatly.

Part 2:
When Jesus heard this he said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” We see in this verse that Jesus gave a clear answer to the sisters. He told Mary and Martha that he would not let Lazarus die. When they heard this they were probably relieved. After Jesus heard this you might have thought that he would go right away to heal Lazarus but he didn’t. Instead, he stayed where he was for two more days. But wait. Didn’t Jesus say that Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death? If so then why did Jesus stay where was for 2 more days which would have left Lazarus dead? Was Jesus lying to Mary and Martha? Jesus wasn’t lying to Mary and Martha. Although Jesus allowed Lazarus to die, this was not Lazarus’ ending, because God’s glory could still be revealed even in the most painful circumstances. Well, imagine this. What if one of your parents or loved ones suddenly had a heart attack or maybe a stroke? You would probably call an ambulance to take them to the hospital right? But what if the ambulance came two hours instead or maybe even five hours later, or maybe even 2 days later? How would you feel about that? You would probably be very angry or concerned about why the ambulance would not be coming. But let me tell you this. There was a time where I felt that God did not answer my prayer. It was during SAT testing and I was going to retake my SAT in hopes of getting a better score. I prayed to God that he would help me do good on my testing and improve my score because it would increase my chances of getting into the colleges I would apply to, but I eventually just ended up with the same score. I questioned God and wondered why I could not get a better score. But through this passage I learned that he planned something even better for me and even when we do think that God did not answer our prayers it could also be that he answered them in ways that we did not expect. For God does not always answer our prayers for us right away, or in the way we expect, but he uses our hardships and struggles in our lives to help us believe in him and draw us more closer to him.

Part 3:
After this Jesus tells his disciples: Let us go back to Judea. When Jesus said this his disciples said, “But rabbi, a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you and yet you are going back?” Jesus’ disciples did not have faith. They feared that they would be stoned to death if they returned to Judea. But Jesus was not afraid and walked back into danger. They even sounded as if they did not want to go because they cared more about their own safety. Can we all read verse 9 together? Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours of the daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light. Here Jesus tells us that we will not stumble if we have light in him because anyone who believes in Jesus will not have fear in death. Then Jesus said, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up. Jesus treated death as if it were sleep. Sleep is a temporary thing and it does not last forever. Sleep also refreshes our minds and also our body, but to Jesus death was also temporary because after death something greater will come, which is eternal life. When his disciples heard this they said Lord if he sleeps he will get better. We can see that the disciples had thought Jesus had meant sleep instead of actual death because in verse 13 we can see that it says Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought that he meant natural sleep. His disciples did not understand Jesus’ words so then Jesus had to tell them plainly that Lazarus was dead and said and for your sake I am glad I was not there so that you may believe. But let us go to him. Jesus was glad that he did not go and heal Lazarus, which might be kind of strange, but he did this because he wanted to perform a greater miracle in raising Lazarus from the dead so that his disciples could have the living hope and believe in him. Then Thomas(also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, Let us also go that we may go die with him. Thomas was one of the 12 disciples and he doubted that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead. But with Jesus later raising Lazarus from the dead he would change Thomas and the disciples by helping them believe and giving them resurrection faith.

From this passage we learn about the almighty power of Jesus. We learn that Jesus allowed Lazarus to die so that he could help his disciples to believe and have faith in him when he raised Lazarus from the dead. Even when God may not answer our prayers or give us what we want, I hope that we know that it is because God may have different plans for all of us or that it might be answered in a way that we do not expect it to happen. I hope that through this weekend we can have the living hope that comes from Jesus in our hearts, knowing that God has a plan for us.

Encounter Christ: The Name of Jesus Christ

by Johnny Wang

Key Verse: Acts 3:6
“Then Peter said, Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Throughout this conference we have listened to four messages that follow Peter’s encounters and progression alongside Jesus Christ, from the first moment where Jesus called him as a fisherman of people, to Jesus’ naming of Peter, Peter’s subsequent betrayal of Jesus three times, and then the reinstatement of Peter and his commitment to feed Jesus’ sheep to prove his love. We have studied the calling the of Jesus, the identity we have in him, the sacrifice he has made for all of us, and the charge Jesus invokes in our own lives.

This morning we learned more about Jesus’ reinstatement of Peter through Josh’s message. Jesus declares that he should “follow him!” with an exclamation point even. Following Jesus’ ascension to heaven, we see the Holy Spirit arriving at the day of Pentecost; the day when the disciples of Jesus were baptized with the Holy Spirit and embodied many gifts of the spirit, including tongues, healing, and prophesying. Leading into the passage now, in accordance to the calling Jesus had for him, Peter takes charge and initiative in leading the early church. Just as Patrick said in his message, Peter is the rock upon which the young Christian church is built following the events at Pentecost and throughout the book of Acts.

In this passage we will continue to follow Peter’s development and walk with Jesus through several miracles, transformations, and proclamations. We see a physical miracle in the healing of the lame man, followed by a message of truth, faith, and power spoken to the crowd in which we see the result of Jesus’ work in Peter’s life. At the center of all the things that go on, there is one central theme; the name of Jesus Christ. We often use the name of Jesus, perhaps more than we really realize. We end our prayers with“in the name of Jesus, I pray” or, something that I especially do, exclaim “Jesus Christ!” in surprise. But, how often do we comprehend all that his name truly encompasses? What faith in the name of Jesus truly means?

Acts 3 helps refine our answers to these questions. The passage defines the faith and belief in and through the power of his name; the quality and type of grace, forgiveness, healing, love, and deliverance that come from the Lord. We see that the name of Jesus is truly something we invoke and something that isn’t just said and put out into the stratosphere of the world without care, but something that is truly tangible and active with influence in all that we do. We see that it is not a possession to hide, not a light to hide under a bushel, but rather something that seeks to shine all around as something we live through and in. As such, this passage provides these distinctions about Jesus and his name through the miracle of salvation for a lame beggar and the living testimonies and proclamations of apostle Peter.

The Expectations of His Name:

In the beginning verses, we see Peter and John on their way to the temple at the time of prayer. For our purposes, this is significant as the presence of people at the court would be large at this time following the time of sacrifice. It is on their way to the temple gates called Beautiful that we come across a man who was lame for birth. This idea of being lame from birth is significant if we consider the state of the man’s mentality, particularly in the stigma and judgment that would have been directed toward him his entire life. He was even reliant on those around him to be desperate as he was carried to beg for money. This is key to remember for in verses 3-4, after the man asks Peter and John for money, Peter stops, looks directly at him, and says “Look at us!” It’s this eye contact that is rather striking. For one, he directs the man’s gaze to him just as Jesus did for those who he healed, but this action also incites a sense of expectation in the lame man.

V. 5 “So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.”

The man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something, which was certainly money or something with monetary value. But the personable touch of engagement that Peter had put forth had something different in store.

V. 6 “Then Peter said ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’”

Let’s take a second and look back at the eye contact from before. As we said, Peter’s method of engagement certainly heightened a sense of expectation to receive something from them. Whether it was money or something else, he was certainly made more receptive to receive what was offered through Peter’s words. In other words, it was quite necessary for him to expect something from him to receive anything from Jesus or God at all.

The same thing applies in our own lives. In order to receive anything from God, whether it be a seed of faith or great bundles of mercy, we have to expect something from him. It may not always be what we expected, such as in the case of the lame man, but there is certainly a value in the necessity of expectation. It’s the main idea behind prayer or coming to Jesus in any sort of way. To come with an expectation. Otherwise, we consistently live the same lives over and over without change as we lack in giving any actual real attention to Jesus as we conduct our lives. This idea of turning your eyes to LOOK at Jesus and God with expectation truly results in life changing moments of grace as I can personally attest to.

There are countless moments in the past few years where I’ve truly feel I emulated a similar spirit and mental state as the lame beggar must have been in. I’ve laid in bed awake for many long nights with no hope in my mind that my situation, whether it be due to stress, exhaustion, anxiety, or just pure defeat, would get better. I think there have been moments where I truly felt I had nothing to look forward to or to give in my life. I often looked back at my own actions with regret, shame, and anger, growing bitter with myself and those around me. My way of life appeared to be in conflict with my own happiness and wellbeing in my treatment of others and constant self-loathing. In particular, I felt moments of complacency, where my life grew stagnant in faith and overall depth of life. I began to grow weary in the awareness of my own weakness and areas of lacking. I stopped even desiring to dig myself out of these thoughts and moments, instead continuing to deepen the hole of perceived solitude that I lived, with the only thing I truly searched for were my own faults and weaknesses. Yet, there were always moments where I grew desperate for an improvement in my spirits and for growth as a person. It is these moments where my prayers were truly the most desperate. And it was those desperate prayers for something to hope for, prayers where I literally gave up any of my own will and would submit to any plan that God would bring, trusting that he would have a greater plan for me. And, these desperate prayers truly had the most resonance in my life. I still lost friends or felt lacking at times, but there was an ultimate comfort in laying it all in front of God and looking to him with expectation for something greater. I think that represents why many of those prayers had the most relief in my life. I can see myself looking through the beggar’s eyes of expectation for restoration and see the true power of those prayers loaded with expectation as with Peter’s healing of the beggar.

V. 6-8 “Silver or Gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles were made strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.”

Again, the very minute the lame man gave Peter his attention, a miraculous thing happened. At the very mention of Jesus’ name, physical strength literally comes flowing through him in order to make him strong. Peter himself knew in this fact and helped him up, with confidence that the man was healed in the definite power of Jesus’ name. The man rose up and not only began to walk, but jumped and praised God, shouting as he discovered strength in his legs he had never ever known in all his years of life.

At the same time, we see Peter in his new life with Jesus in this miracle. Look closely at what he says. “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” He acknowledged the deficit he had in things of material value, but gives what he does have to offer in faith and hope. It’s not that anyone expected Peter to give silver or gold, but that he gave all that he did have; that is, the authority to speak the words of faith that the crippled man would be able to walk. Rather than the fear stricken to his heart at the thought of association to Jesus by a mere servant girl, Peter loudly proclaims that the name of Jesus is truly the only thing that is his, the only thing he has ownership of. He truly has taken the word of Jesus to heart and is working to not only follow him, but to care for his sheep here.

It is the care of love and hope that Jesus invested in Peter’s life, the faith he has inspired in him that he takes with him. He declares that what he received from Jesus is what he is able to give to others. In the same way, we can consider what we have received from God and are able to give to others. Freely you have received, freely you give the gifts we are blessed with. Perhaps it’s something as simple as offering a listening ear. Maybe it’s offering a word of encouragement, or praying for those who need it. Maybe it’s as simple of offering friendship and simply being there when you need to be.

Earlier this year, I had this opportunity to give what I had to another. By some chance of fortune, I found myself awake at night, watching Netflix or doing something or other, and found that one of my closest friends throughout high school reached out to me. They had dealt with trauma from the recent tragedy of losing someone close as well as continual emotional and physical abuse from their mother. Although I certainly get that I did not have the right or qualifications to provide advice, I truly felt my heart pouring out for this friend of mine. I gave all that I had to listen in support, to tell them I would continue to be there for them, and prayed for the intercession of Jesus Christ to provide refreshment and relief. I find that as I have gone through high school, the more I have grown to realize how, just as you and I are, that everyone is just so broke, and I say that with as little judgement as possible. However, that night was truly a turning point for me in the way I looked at Christ not only in my own life, but the great benefits he can provide in the life of those around me, whether it’s through me or any other method of his working. Those words of support, although all that I had to realistically offer, were offered truly in the name of a Jesus Christ; spoken in which to find hope in Jesus name over anything else. This is my personal testimony in the power of the name of Jesus Christ in the activity and productivity in my friend’s life, the birth of a new hope in their life.

V. 9-10 “When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”

There is an instant and immediate twofold effect of his healing. Of note, the people around them, for it would seem rather busy and bustling at the time of prayer, saw that there was something miraculous occurring here. As Peter declared the healing in the name of Jesus, there could not be any shadow of a doubt that Jesus was at work in this moment. It is key to look at this invocation of Jesus name. Names on their own are significant. They denote meaning and value to all that we know. In this case, it represents all that Jesus Christ is. The name of Jesus Christ embodies the fullness of his power and presence. The reality of who he is and what he has done, and continues to do. It identifies the actual Messiah. Peter isn’t simply stating the name of Jesus to invoke a miracle, he doesn't offer him silver or gold that he does not have, but instead offers him the actual power and assets of the name of Jesus. The people around them saw and heard all of this as well and Peter explains all of what this means in the rest of the passage.

The Glory of His Name

v.11-12 “While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”

The people in the temple came running from all over at the commotion that the man praising God with such joy was making as he held onto Peter and John. Peter looked at them and saw their astonishment, their amazement as they regarded the man they recognized as the lame beggar at the temple gates called Beautiful. He saw the wonder and reverence that they began to look at Peter and John with. He saw that, despite the miracles Jesus performed himself in front of these very people, they were ready to explain this particular healing with a false hero’s worship of Peter. He recognizes how quickly this moment could pivot, and takes the time to address the people to explain what had happened.

He says “Fellow, Israelites, why does this surprise you?” with an emphasis on the word you. You - we - should know better. Our God is that kind of God, to act in sudden and miraculous ways. That though we may live with expectation, he continues, time after time, to work in such mysterious ways that we have no way to expect or prepare for.

V. 13-15 “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

Peter continues on with this personal conviction, referring to all those in attendance as you as he draws a contrast between the actions of God and the actions of humans. God, the God that you and those before you know, glorified his servant Jesus, but YOU handed him over to be killed. YOU betrayed him even though someone like Pilate who didn’t even know God had decided to let him go. YOU disowned the Messiah, a literal deity. YOU killed the author life, the one who opened up the heavens for us all.

It is almost as if Peter establishes the level of guilt that we all deserve to be laid upon us. For it is truly US that Peter directs these charges at. He lays these convictions of guilt to grip our hearts. It is upon the basis of fact that WE collectively have done this, we have killed the messiah Jesus.

Guilt is not a healthy thing. It is destructive, corrosive, and really damaging force in our lives. It’s a terrible and disruptive feeling that each and every one of us has experienced at one point or another. It dominates any other feeling and inflicts influence on whatever else we may feel. It leads to even more damaging thoughts and feelings and rears its ugly head in a couple different actions, whether it’s to run and hide like Adam and Eve after eating from the tree of knowledge, or to grow in bitterness, anger, and resentment which is perhaps one of the most damaging things of all, as Sam said that his dad, Dr. Ben Toh, always says “It gets better if you’re not bitter.” There’s truth in those words because ultimately guilt leads to escapism and denial, frustrations and destruction physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

So why does Peter invoke these feelings of guilt? Again, just as he did in verses 13-15, he draws the distinction between humans and God. God’s answer, which is truly the only answer, to our guilt.

V. 16 “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him as you can all see.”

Here we see the reaction that Jesus had in response to our guilt. The lame man is a part of these people. The very people who disowned Jesus before Pilate. The very people who yelled “Crucify him! Crucify him!” when Jesus was tried before Pilate and the same ones who mocked him as he hung from that rugged cross. He was one of us who lived under the weight of guilt from our own part in the killing of the savior god. He, just like us, was just as guilty as all of these people, but here he was standing whole and healthy. It was not anything he himself did or through any merit of his own but by the very faith in Jesus’ name. For just as Jesus said “Father forgive them for they do not know what they’re doing,” God responds to our guilt with overwhelming love and forgiveness. When he spoke the name of Jesus, the man believed in the power and authority and the work of that name, and immediately came strength and healing that he was lacking before. He stands before them as a demonstration of God’s answer to our human guilt.

V. 17-18 “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer.”

God’s answer to our guilt in condemning his one and only Son is a forgiveness and complete restoration for he knows we acted in ignorance just as Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” We act blindly, stumbling around, pretending to understand how the pieces of our life hold together but still God pours out boundless grace and straightens it all out at a singular cost; his son. Peter’s desire for them to hold onto this promise is reflected in his next words.

V. 19-20 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed to you-even Jesus.”

When we turn to God, and give him our attention, there is an immediate and complete dealing with our guilt and sin. God, through the name of Jesus, wipes out our sins. Peter, and God himself, did not incite any guilt in us without a way out, rather they acknowledged our guilt because the solution to all of our sin is in front of us; faith in the name of Jesus. Faith in the name of Jesus wipes out our sins. His name is his reality, his identity, and the power to cleanse us and make us whole.

This faith in Jesus, and the subsequent wiping of our guilt, comes with times of refreshment. Times of peace and restoration to upkeep our faith.Ultimately, it will result in the return of Jesus Christ himself.

These times of refreshment, for me in particular, represent something so valuable in the walk of faith. As I said, there were many extended periods of time where I drowned in my own awareness of self, but was utterly decrepit in my awareness of the activity that the Lord had within me. Yet, even as I went through my own damaging ways, I found periods of intense relief and restoration that truly represent my own growth in Jesus. At the root of my desperate prayers were an intense desire to look towards Jesus with an expectation of his intercession. A reliance and trust that the way he would lead me is the ultimate way. No matter the sins I committed against others, against myself, and against Christ, that I would acknowledge all these things and submit everything I had to him. I recognized my own level of lacking, and saw that truly the name of Jesus was the only way to ever find what I lacked. I saw that I could do nothing if it was not done in the name of Jesus. These periods of refreshment not only lifted my spirits, but elevated the levels of my life in so many different aspects that I find myself forever thankful for. Truly, none of my clearing of my own guilt and self persecution was ever possible without the true power and meaning behind the name of Jesus Christ.

I truly think it’s an understanding of what the name of Jesus truly means to me. That I look to him as the one who brought me out of my own weakness. The one who waited for me to be bold enough and courageous enough to say “Lord, I need you. I can’t do this on my own.” He is the one who not only expressed his love for me, but literally died, over and over and over for me all the while saying “here i am. Look at me! Follow me!”. Jesus is the one who has the authority as the one who CONQUERED death and all my sins and fears. The one whose power is validated through his unjust death and ultimate sacrifice for us all. He is the one who reached out his arm for me in my freshmen year, when I felt like I was sinking all the time, when I truly felt that I was all alone in this world. The one who held me close after I completely failed in my own pursuit of happiness through the gratification of other people. He was the one who continued to be patient with me and whose spirit stood with me in my sophomore year when I struggled to remain faithful to the tasks I was charged with in church, at home, and especially at school. Jesus was truly the one who died for me in my junior year as I turned so far in my view of him, and instead sought to run away from him in a denial of my own sins and guilt in my deep thoughts of anger and revenge to the ones who I felt hurt me. And still, he was the one who was resurrected, waiting all along for me as I returned with my tail between my legs, ready to submit everything I am, and everything I have to his name. And he is still right beside me, empowering me, strengthening me mentally and physically when I need it, humbling me at times, but ultimately displaying his great grace, mercy, and joy in my own life. Thus, when I claim his name with a full understanding of his death and resurrection, I can truly see the way he works in and through me.

We see the power of Jesus’ name in Peter’s life as well. A man who had once said “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” stands tall in this passage, whole and completely wiped of his sins, just as the lame man stood with newfound strength. Although he once expressed such cowardice before, his courage and boldness to declare the power of Jesus through the spirit of the living God with none of his former hesitance. His boldness in this regard truly mirrors the boldness of the sacrifice and revival that Jesus himself had. He leads the young Christian church, performing miracles and wonders in the name of Jesus, addressing the Israelites and Gentiles alike in order to declare the power of Jesus’ name. Peter travels the world, proclaiming the amazing word of life that Jesus had planted in his life. His work at this point lays out the groundwork and foundation to the state of faith to do this very day, with the word of God having taken root in the lives of countless souls. At the end of the day, just as he is confidently able to invoke the name of Jesus to heal a lame man, he confidently lives as the fruit of Jesus’ words over and over, remaining constant, consistent, and empowered in his faith.

The progression of Peter’s journey leaves us with many questions for our own personal process and walks of life. Will we turn away from whatever is distracting or prohibiting us from turning to God? What are we currently doing in our relationship with Jesus? Can we turn to Jesus and speak with intentionality to proclaim our faith in him? Will we wipe away our burdens of guilt through the power of Jesus’ name? I hope this conference truly resulted in a conviction to seek our own answers to these questions. I encourage you to take the time and reflect on these things and find your own personal journey to not only meet Jesus, but to progress in a relationship with him just as Peter did, to be completely restored and confidently and deliberately declare the glory of his name. That when we are able to truly take to heart the implications of his death upon the cross for us and live through and for his name in regards to that sacrifice, we can do anything. I urge you to take heart, for when we claim his name, through his death and resurrection, we can truly see that power of Jesus in and through us. It is beyond a doubt in my mind that each and every one of us can encounter Christ as Peter did, grow in a relationship with Jesus, and truly live new lives through the name of Jesus Christ, to do things in his name and declare the victory we find in his name.

V6 “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”