Dealing with Darkness (Luke 8:26-39)

June 20, 2010
Josh Broward

Luke 8:26-39

This is one of the weirdest stories in the Bible, and it’s in the Bible three times. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell the story of when Jesus cast the demons into the herd of pigs. Maybe it was just too weird to pass up. Maybe people back then were interested in the weird and freakish just like people today. Maybe a little bit of tabloid-type newscasting made the Jesus story more interesting. ... Maybe ... and maybe ... just maybe ... there is an important message here - even for us modern people who find this story so uncomfortably weird.
To get at this meaning, we’ll have to unpack some of the weird stuff.
For starters, the flow of the story is out of sync. Luke tells the story with all of these flashbacks and asides. Instead of telling the chronological sequence of events, Luke has rearranged the material so that it centers around Jesus showing up. Everything changes when Jesus shows up.
Then, there are several cultural issues. Jesus and the disciples have now traveled to the east side of the Sea of Galilee. The Jewish Messiah is now landing in Gentile territory. Gentiles are “unclean.” They don’t believe in Israel’s God. They eat pork and worship the Roman gods. This is a bad, bad place for a good Jew to be. It was something like a priest taking his seminary students (complete with black shirts and white collars) into a full-on bikers bar. They were out of place - in hostile territory.
In the passage just before this one, while their boat is crossing the Sea of Galilee, a storm comes up and almost sinks the boat. In ancient Jewish culture, the sea is this symbol of chaos and evil, so for the disciples, it’s as if the forces of evil were trying to suck them down to Hell. Jesus finally stands up in the boat and calms the storm. Even the wind and the waves (these symbols of evil) obey Jesus.
Then, just as the boat reaches solid ground, they are confronted with more forces of evil. There’s a deeply crazy guy who says he is filled with thousands of demons, and before the disciples get the boat docked, he’s already screaming at Jesus and thrashing on the ground. (If I were a disciple, I would probably just get right back in the boat. “OK. This was a nice trip. Let’s go home.”)
In today’s world, we would probably say this guy was crazy. He was naked. He was apparently a danger to his community. He lived in the tombs. He was so out of his mind that he was half-dead already.
Then, the story gets weirder. Jesus seems to enter into negotiations with the demons. Jesus tells the demons to come out, but they start bartering with Jesus: “Please don’t send us into the Abyss.” The Abyss may be the place of the dead, or it may be a special place of punishment for evil spirits. (See Revelation 20:1-3.) Jesus seems to give into the demons. He lets them go into the pigs instead of the Abyss. But then the pigs freak out and run off a cliff into the Sea and drown. That has got to be one of the weirdest scenes in the whole Bible. There are thousands of pigs jumping off a cliff like screaming lemmings. Just imagine the pile of dead, mangled pigs in the water. That can’t be good for tourism! Some people think Jesus allowed this to show the sheer number of demons in this guy (and thus Jesus’ own power). Others think, it was kind of a joke on the demons, “OK, go into the pigs instead of the Abyss ... oops, they’re taking you to the Abyss too! Na, na.”
The story wraps up with the guy completely restored. Before Jesus, he was full of demons and out of control. With Jesus, he is demon-free and in his right mind. Before he was naked, shouting, and wandering in the wilds. Now, he is clothed, calm, and sitting at Jesus’ feet in the position of a disciple. Before he was homeless. Now, Jesus tells him to return to his home with a mission to tell people about how God has restored his life.
Even after Jesus sets the crazy guy free from his demons, Jesus is still not welcome in town. But maybe that shouldn’t surprise us too much. Jesus has just destroyed ruined the local economy and created quite a scene. Most of us would rather have a calm, normal life than one injected with an uncontrollable God.

So where do we go from here? How do we cope with this crazy story? Do we need to start doing exorcisms here - maybe after communion time? We can joke about this because we feel like this story is so far from our reality. As far as we know, most of us have absolutely no personal experience with demons or evil spirits ... as far as we know.
However, many of us have heard stories of demons and exorcisms on “the mission field.” When we went to Indonesia, our translator was Samuel Suarez, a pastor from East Timor. Samuel regularly prays for miraculous healings and confronts demons and evil spirits who are oppressing individuals or houses in East Timor. Samuel and his church members regularly lead new converts to burn the talismans and tools of witchcraft that are so common in East Timor houses.
When I was in Papua New Guinea, I heard a missionary tell a story about a time when he and some other Christians were traveling through an area known to be dominated by witch doctors. One night an “evil presence” confronted them and a fire swept through the forest. Yet, the Christians stayed in their hut and prayed for safety against the evil spirit. The fire burned all the way around the house but did not burn the house at all.
I could go on and on with stories like this, but these stories only raise another question. Why are there so many stories of demons and witchcraft in the developing world, but not many stories like these in the developed world?
Well, some people think that many of the experiences labeled as “demon possession” are actually physical or mental illnesses like epilepsy or schizophrenia. Some of the stories in the Bible do sound surprisingly like these: seizures, voices, antisocial behavior, foaming at the mouth, etc.
Other people say that Satan chooses more subtle tactics in developed nations. Several people have said, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.” The idea here is that evil is far more difficult to contain if it is hidden.
Some believe that there is an innate connection between progress and goodness. God desires health for all people at all times. So, as we learn how to live in healthier ways, there is a corresponding sense that we are learning to live in more experience of God’s life and health. With this line of thinking, God is working through medicine and science to push away the forces of evil and disease.
Some people say that there are less “demonic” experiences in the developing world because fewer people are intentionally pursuing the dark spirits. However, in cultures where people engage in witchcraft and the “dark arts,” there are more openings for evil spirits.
There may be some truth to all of these opinions. However, it is important for us to realize that evil is real. There is a real force of evil in our world, and it takes different shapes and forms. We may not understand all the why’s and how’s of evil, but I think we can understand that evil is here among us and “out there” in our world. Whether we understand it or not, whether we like it or not, there is a battle between darkness and light, and we are in the midst of it. We may or may not call it “demons” or “spiritual warfare,” but we can all recognize it as darkness.
What are the areas of darkness that we face? Where is the darkness in our lives?
addictions (alcohol, relationships, cigarettes ... even gaming)
pornography (That internet is ever-so tempting.)
eating disorders (eating too much, eating too little, eating for all the wrong reasons)
bitterness (which often accompanies culture shock, by the way)
materialism (wanting more and more and more)
greed (disregarding the health of others and our environment so that we can make our money and keep it for ourselves)
old wounds (those old pains and fears that just don’t seem to go away)
depression (which can also come along with culture shock)
negativity (There’s always something wrong with everything, right?)
judmentalism (There’s always something wrong with everyone, right?)
low self-esteem (those nagging voices of not being good enough)
gossip (It’s just so fun to pass on that bad news and to put down those other people.)
despair (It’s never going to get better.)

We may or may not call these our “demons,” and they may not be actual “evil spirits.” But I think we can all agree that these are dark places in our lives. And we can all agree that God wants to bring healing and light to these dark places. The great truth of our story about the crazy guy from across the lake is that Jesus can bring light no matter how dark the darkness.
So how does it work? How does God bring light in our dark places? How can we find healing for our darkest places? We need to let Jesus move us toward light in four basic ways.

First, if we want healing in our darkness, we need to let Jesus move us from isolation to community. Remember the guy filled with demons. When the darkness was destroying him, he lived alone - away from his family and away from his friends.
Battling darkness almost always leads to isolation. We don’t feel like being around people. We don’t want others to see our dark places. Whether we’re sinning or just struggling, we tend to hide. This is the worst possible thing we can do. Isolation gives strength to the darkness. When we are isolated, we are alone and without help. As John Jewel explains: “The longer the isolation continues ... the more dangerous the isolation becomes.”1
If you are struggling with some darkness, the first thing you need to do is to reach out to someone for help. Run to people, trustworthy people - not away from them. Talk to them about your darkness. Pray together with them about what’s going on inside you.
If you have a friend who is pulling away, go after them. If you see someone here at church who comes alone, sits alone, and goes out alone, reach out. Reach into that isolation and build community. Your friendship can be a light in the darkness.

The second move Jesus takes us through is from denial to truth. Evil is like a fungus that grows in the darkness. When we pretend it isn’t there, it just grows in strength. When we try to keep it secret, we only make it stronger. When we bring evil into the light of truth, its power shrivels.
We can make this move to truth in several ways. First, name evil for evil. Jesus asked the demon what its name was. Naming something gives you a measure of power over it. Name the darkness.
It’s not “getting a buzz.” It’s getting drunk.
It’s not “shading the truth.” It’s lying.
It’s not “pampering yourself.” It’s materialism.
It’s not “just something that happened a long time ago.” It’s a deep, personal wound.
It’s not “working hard.” It’s working too much.
It’s not “taking in some eye candy.” It’s lust.
Be honest. Call it what it is, and you will find that its power over you goes down.
We can also move from denial to truth through accountability. Find a spiritual partner in your battle against darkness. You need to be able to say, “Hey, man, I sinned this week. I knew I shouldn’t go to that site, but I went anyway.” You need to have someone ask you, “Did you gossip this week? Were you respectful with your words and actions?” Just talking about it openly is a big step in overcoming the darkness. It’s like Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
If you really want to be like Jesus, then you will name the darkness in those around you. This is hard, but this is what it takes for us to become the people God wants us to be. We are often blind to our own darkness. We need each other to call us out and to show us what we’re missing. Gently but honestly say to your friend: “I’ve noticed that you seem to struggle with this issue. Is there any way I can help you or support you in that?”
Some of us may need help from a professional counselor or psychiatrist to deal with our darkness. Don’t feel bad about that. We are blessed to live in a time with so many resources. Taking a pill or talking to a counselor may not seem like battling darkness, but God can work through all kinds of things. Use every tool available.

The third move as Jesus sets us free is the move from despair to hope. The guy in our story had been living alone in the tombs “for a long time.” The people from the town had given up on this guy living a normal life. They had stopped trying to help him. There is a real sense of despair here.
Many people in our world are stuck in despair. I hear a lot of Koreans talk with despair in their voices about the educational system or their work expectations. The system is broken, and nobody knows how to fix it. Parents tell me that they feel bad for their children. They don’t want them to study so much, but they feel like they don’t have any choice. Workers tell me that they don’t want to work such long hours, but they feel like they don’t have any choice. Suicide rates here in Korea are among the highest in the world. Despair is deep here.
We can radically change our world simply by giving hope. Things can change. Your life can change. Your system can change. You don’t have to keep living in the same ways. You can be different. You can be a pioneer. You can live by a different standard. You can step out of this broken system and live by your own rules (in God’s ways).
Jesus brings hope. No darkness is too dark. No system is too broken. No situation is unchangeable. Be an agent of hope. Have hope. Act on hope. Give hope.

The final move happens at the end of our story. It is the move from shame to testimony. I imagine that the man filled with demons felt a deep sense of personal shame. In his moments of sanity, however rare, he must have felt so ashamed of himself. He was naked and dirty. He lived in a graveyard - eating who knows what. That shame strengthened his isolation, and his isolation strengthened his darkness.
But when Jesus set him free, his painful history was no longer shameful. Instead, it was his story of healing. Jesus sent him out as the first missionary. Jesus didn’t send him to seminary to study systematic theology. Jesus told him to go tell the folks back home “how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).
We are so quiet about how God has worked in our lives. The most convincing thing we could say to our friends is the story of how God has changed us. Better yet, be willing to tell people how God is still changing you. If you don’t know how to get the conversation started, just start by asking about their spiritual story. Most of the time, people will return the favor and ask you about your story. Tell them what your life was like before you met Jesus, what happened when you God began to work in your life, and how your life is different now.

Darkness is real. In some places and times, it is obvious and strong. Other times, darkness hides in the corners and pulls at our ankles when we pass by. Whatever you believe about the darkness or evil or demons, believe that darkness is real.
And more importantly believe that the light will overcome the darkness. Jesus is stronger than whatever dark powers we face. No demons can defeat him. No darkness can destroy him. No evil can keep its hold on our lives. Jesus is the Light of the World, and he will always shine in our darkness.
Let Jesus lead you out of darkness into light, out of isolation into community, out of denial into truth, out of despair into hope, and out of shame into testimony. Jesus is greater than the darkness, and his light is changing our world!

The Simon In Us (Luke 7:36-50)

June 13, 2010
Josh Broward

Luke 7:36-50

All my life I’ve tried to do the right thing. I listened to my parents (for the most part). I paid attention when my teachers were talking. I didn’t nick fruit from the farmers’ market. I didn’t squelch on my chores. It always bothered me when the other guys talked about women like they were there for the taking. Like I said, I always tried to do the right thing.
Most of all, I’ve always had a hunger for God’s teachings. From the very beginning, when my grandfather told the stories of Adam and Abraham, Moses and David, something stirred within my heart. I learned countless psalms by heart so that I could sing them as I walked along the road or worked in the field.
As I grew into a man, I began to spend more and more of my time in serious study of the Bible. I became more and more serious about doing exactly what God teaches us to do. I longed to prove myself to God as faithful follower.
God’s ways are so beautiful and so good. They have captured my heart. Sure, God’s way is demanding, but isn’t that the point? If it was easy, everyone would do it. As it is, God’s blessings are reserved for those who are willing to work for them. At least, that’s what I’ve always believed.
Like I was saying, I’ve always had this hunger for God’s Word. I’ve made it a habit to listen to all of the great teachers. God’s Word is so deep and so profound that I don’t think we will ever get to the bottom of it. We’ve always got to keep learning.
About 10 years ago, word started to spread that there was a new teacher who had all these fresh perspectives on God’s ways in our world. He taught from the same Bible, but the word on the street was that he was able to get at the heart of it more than anyone in recent memory. Some said he was the greatest preacher in our generation. Others said he might even be a real-deal prophet, like in the olden days.
The truth is that he was a rather controversial character. He was ... um ... unconventional. He challenged some of our long standing traditions and called out some national leaders as fakes. But he put on such humble appearance that many wondered if he himself was a fake. Some people said he was just one more socialist in a long string of power-to-the-people types.
But I wasn’t willing to be put off by other people’s criticisms. Reformers are always unwelcome - especially for the people who need to be reformed! I wanted to see him for myself. I wanted to ask a few of my own questions and to see him with my own eyes. If he was a real teacher or even a real prophet, I wanted to learn everything I could from him. At the very least, I figured we’d have some interesting discussions.
So I invited the teacher to come to my house for dinner and conversation. I also invited many of my friends - especially those who were also serious about living God’s way. Some of them weren’t necessarily excited about sitting down with a controversial teacher, but maybe they came for the sake curiosity, that and the off-hand chance that this guy might be for real.
So we were all gathered together for the meal, and it was a real feast, with several appetizers, fruit and cheese trays, a main course, and then tea and dessert. I wanted to make sure that we would have plenty of time for a nice long conversation. (And of course, I wanted everyone to think well of me.) It was a beautiful night, and we were relaxing at the table, leaning on our cushions in the style of our day.
Some people of the neighborhood had gathered in the courtyard of my house to kind of listen in and maybe to get a bit of the food passed their way after it was removed from the main table. I didn’t take any offense to that. To tell you the truth, I was honestly happy that they had come. A large crowd was both an honor and an opportunity to show my generosity.
As the dinner progressed, I began to feel pretty good about myself. This was shaping out nicely. This big-name preacher was here in my house and had created quite the buzz. His take on the Bible was quite astute. He definitely knew it inside and out. So far, he hadn’t said anything to make even my most conservative friends uncomfortable. The dinner was going perfectly.
Then, everything fell to pieces. I heard some strange mumbling among the people nearest the door. Some movement caught my eye. To my horror, I saw the town prostitute enter the room ... into my house ... to my table. Oh, this was terrible. This was a disgrace. Would people think I had some kind of relations with this sinful woman?
What happened next seemed to surprise everyone. This sleazy hooker knelt down behind this famous preacher. Why him? Of all my guests, why him? I wondered if some of my enemies had paid her to do this. Were they standing in the streets laughing into their sleeves at my disgrace? Were they cackling among themselves at how I would try to rescue my house from this shame?
Things went from bad to worse. She started to cry - not just a few tears running down the cheeks. She started to cry buckets. She was raining her sin-infected tears all over the preacher’s feet. God only knows what she was thinking. Her body was shaking and tears were pouring out of her just as if she’d poured a cup of water out on his feet. Then, she seemed to have noticed that she was getting the preacher wet, so she took down her hair and tried to dry off the tears ... with her hair!
Now, I had heard that this controversial preacher was a “friend of sinners,” but nothing prepared me for this. This went beyond all propriety - way beyond all moral bounds. A woman was not even supposed to touch a man in public, and her hair was a private treasure of her husband. A good woman would keep her hair tied tightly at all times outside her own home. Of course, she was anything but a “good woman,” but none of us had ever seen a woman act like this.
As if all of this was not enough, she made it a full-blown social scandal. She took out a jar of extremely expensive perfume, and she proceeded to give him a personal foot massage complete with unlimited kisses on his feet - right there in front of God and everybody. Gasps went throughout the crowd. We were horrified. This was ... this was ... obscene!
Well, I decided right then and there that there was no way in God’s creation that this guy was a prophet. If he was a real prophet of God, he would know who this woman was. He would know that she was a slut! He would know, and he would tell her to get away from him. If he were a prophet, he would not allow himself to be defiled by her. If he were a man of God, he wouldn’t just sit there and let her rub her sin all over him. No way. No way at all. This man was far from a prophet. No matter what he said, no matter how slick his words were, there was no way this man could ever speak for God.

I have spent the rest of my life thinking about what happened next. In all of my many years, those next few moments have changed me more than anything else.
Jesus, the famous preacher, looked at me and said, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” The sinful woman was still there kissing and crying and massaging his feet, making a fool of herself and insulting us all.
I looked at Jesus, and I thought that nothing could make this night any worse, so I might as well hear what he has to say. “Go ahead, Teacher. I’m listening.”
Then, he started telling this story, and my first thought was: “You’ve got a woman from the streets crying behind you and rubbing her lusty perfume all over your feet, and you want to stop to tell me a story?! You are off kilter. Your elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top, preacher man.”
But he keeps on with his story. It was pretty simple, and I’ve fairly well got it memorized, since the scene keeps replaying in my mind all the time. “There were these two men who both owed money to a banker. One of them owed 500 pieces of silver, and the other one owed 50. But neither one could pay up, so the banker cancelled both their debts. Which one would be more grateful?”
And I’m thinking, “Bankers, debts, who cares?! You are being defiled right here before our eyes. Your reputation and mine are sinking to the gutter, and you want to tell a story about some losers who couldn’t pay their debts?” But I pushed those thoughts to the side, and I decided to continue to play his game - whatever his game was. “I suppose the one who was forgiven the larger debt would be more grateful.”
Then, Jesus piled insult upon injury. He turned away from me and looked at the woman at his feet. He looked at her, but he was speaking to me. He said, “Do you see this woman here?”
Duh! Everyone saw that woman there. She was all anyone could think of!
Then, he began to cut into my heart. Jesus’ words were like knives cutting away all my defenses, removing all the shields and barriers that protected my inner self from the outside world. Jesus exposed my naked self.
“I am in your home as your guest, but she is acting as the host. You are playing the role of great hospitality, but yours is hollow. Hers is real. You fed me a big meal, but you left my feet dirty and dusty from the walk over. When I arrived, you didn’t give me the customary kiss of greeting, but she can’t stop kissing my feet. You offered me nothing to help me freshen up after walking in the heat, but she has willingly covered my feet in expensive perfume - filling the whole house with the aroma of her love.
“You sit there and judge her because of her history. Yes, I know all about her past. I know all about her sins, but they are forgiven. We all know how bad her record was, but her slate has been wiped clean. She has been given a fresh start, and that’s why she’s here. She is grateful. Forgiveness fuels her love. Extravagant forgiveness leads to extravagant love. Minimal forgiveness leads to minimal love.”
That was the pivot of my life. My life folds like a book on that moment.
Before that moment, I was proud and sure of myself. I was sure that Jesus didn’t know who that woman was. I was sure that I was better than him (and better than most other people, too). I was sure that Jesus was NOT a prophet and surely didn’t have anything valuable to teach me. I was more sure than ever of my own righteousness - even if these two had brought me into an unfortunate scandal. I was already thinking of ways to reestablish my public integrity.
After that moment, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is a prophet of the most high God. First of all, Jesus had looked into my heart and read my thoughts. He saw me more clearly than I saw myself. I had accused of him of not knowing who the sinful woman was, but the real truth was that I didn’t even know my own self. Jesus knew who she was, and he knew who I was, too.
Secondly, Jesus showed that he understood the depths of God more than any of us had ever imagined. At heart, the one true God is a God of mercy. Just as David sang many years ago, “The sacrifice [God desires] is a broken spirit. [God] will not reject a broken and repentant heart” (Psalm 51:17).
I have thought and thought about this beautiful disaster of a dinner. I have tried to figure out what led this woman here to my house to offer such an outrageous sign of love. She was obviously a woman with a bad history. Everyone in town knew that she made her living through sexual favors, and apparently she was quite good at it. She must have spent a small fortune on that perfume.
Obviously, this was not the first time she had met Jesus. She was deeply grateful to him for something. As the scandal hit the rumor mills, some people said that Jesus had saved her from stoning. Others said that Jesus had set her free from the oppression of demons. Still others said that she was simply a prostitute trapped in her profession until Jesus showed up.
Jesus had this amazing habit of loving every single person he saw. And this amazing love gave people strength and hope. Jesus’ love and unconditional forgiveness gave them hope that they could “change their stars” - to put it in pagan terms. Jesus’ love somehow connected them with God’s love, and that changed their lives.
Knowing God’s ultimate forgiveness seems to set people free to become the people they were originally created to be. Forgiveness on that deep level causes an inner revolution. It changes people. They aren’t stuck. They don’t have to prove anything to other people. They are loved. They know it deep in their bones, and that love makes them free.

I spent weeks and months and years thinking about this sinful woman’s great experience of forgiveness and great outpouring of love. I thought about Jesus’ words: “Extravagant forgiveness leads to extravagant love.”
And always, always, I remembered Jesus next words that burst like a bomb within my heart: “Minimal forgiveness leads to minimal love.” Minimal is the worst possible criticism for one who is called to: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” God calls for our maximal love. God asks for everything.
And I’ve been trying to give God everything. Like I said, I’ve always tried to do the right thing. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more and more serious about doing the right things in the right ways at the right times. I keep the rules. All the time.
Yet, Jesus’ simple story and explanation, revealed the hollow truth of who I am. I’ve been trying to prove myself to God. I’ve been trying to earn God’s love by giving him my sacrificial obedience. I’ve been trying to show God how good I am so that he will accept me ... so that others will accept me ... so that I can accept myself. I have stood in my religious house, wearing my religious clothes, reading my religious texts, judging everyone who is less religious, less disciplined, less holy, less together. I maximized others’ faults and minimized my own.
All my life I have gone through all of the religious experiences of forgiveness. I go to the Temple. I give my offerings and sacrifices. I sing of god’s mercy. I listen as the priests announce God’s forgiveness for his people. But it was all ceremony. It was all outside, not inside. I knew it here (head) but not here (heart). After all these years of religion, I still did not believe deep in my heart that God forgives me.
But through that short moment with Jesus, I saw that God accepts me just as I am. God has this unlimited forgiveness that is available to every person who has ever breathed. There is only one condition: unconditional acceptance. The only condition for receiving God’s unlimited forgiveness is that we accept it freely. We can’t earn it. We can’t buy it. We can’t build up to it. It is radical. It’s extravagant. The truth is it’s scandalous. God’s amazing grace is the same for prostitutes and preachers, crooks and monks. God loves us all. God forgives us all.

Oh, how many times I have wanted to replay that dinner at my house. Of course, I would show Jesus hospitality from the depths of my heart - with a warm embrace and a kiss. I would gladly wash his feet myself. I would give him the best perfume money can buy. But most importantly, when that sinful woman came in, I would welcome her as a guest of honor. She is another who is loved by our extravagant God. I would sit with her next to Jesus and say, “Here is one like me.”

Luke 7:11-17 - Deep Inside and Out

June 6, 2010
Josh Broward


Her only son. Her only son. He was her only son. She had already lost her husband. Now her son. Her only son.
We don’t even know what happened. Maybe he got sick. Maybe there was an accident. Maybe a Roman soldier killed him. We don’t know.
But we know he was her only son, and she was a widow. Her life was over. Many from the village joined her parade of sorrow now, but they would avoid her within the month. She was doubly cursed. God must be punishing her for some secret sins. She could beg for bread. Maybe she could survive by going through fields after the harvesters picking up the left-overs. Maybe - if she still had anything to offer - some men might pay for a night with her.
Her life was over. Her only son! His death was her death - separated only by a matter of time and circumstances. Her only son ... her only son ... “OH MY GOD! MY ONLY SON! HOW COULD YOU LET HIM DIE? MY ONLY SON! My only son. My only son.”

What is your widow’s pain? What is the widowed place in your own heart? What part of you cries out? Where do you have that deep heart-shaking loss?
Maybe it is something from your past. Maybe you were abused or abandoned. Maybe those who were supposed to love you most were too busy for you. Maybe a teacher wounded your soul. Maybe somebody’s cruel words still ring in your ears.
Maybe it’s something from your present. Maybe someone you love is dying. Maybe your marriage is struggling. Maybe your children are hurting. Maybe you hate your job but don’t know how to change it. Maybe you have lost hope.
Maybe it’s something from your future. Maybe you are terrified about a change coming your way. Maybe you keep worrying about money. Maybe your great pain is fear of what to do with your life.
Go into that hurting place. Take a risk with me now. Close your eyes, and shut out everyone else in the room. Walk on your parade of sorrow with the widow going outside the town. Go down deep into that hurt. Can you see it there in your soul?
Cry out to God your widows cry. Cry out of that pain and tell God how much it hurts. Sit in that pain and feel it. Know your own soul and feel those wounds. Imagine yourself in that widow’s place. Walking out of town on a walk of sorrow - your deepest pain on display.
...

Now, Jesus comes to you just as he came to her. Jesus meets your parade of sorrow. Jesus’ heart is overflowing with compassion for you. He feels your pain. He feels your sorrow. Jesus walks over to the coffin, and he touches it. The parade of sorrow stops. There is a long pause in your soul as Jesus touches your deepest pain.
...

Then, Jesus speaks. Jesus speaks to the dead man, “Young man, get up.” Jesus reverses death. Jesus restores life.
In your parade of sorrow, Jesus touches your pain, and what does he say? See Jesus there in your place of deepest pain. Feel his compassion for you. Feel his touch on your pain. Listen for his voice. What does Jesus say in your place of deepest pain?
Let Jesus speak a word of healing for you in your place of deepest pain. He may not reverse the pain, but he does have new life for you. What is Jesus’ word of life in your place of pain? Listen. Just listen for his voice.
...

“Something Beautiful” -- Special Music
Something beautiful,
Something good;
All my confusion
He understood;
All I had to offer Him was
Brokenness and strife,
But He made something beautiful
Of my life.
...

The first call of the Gospel is to let God bring healing in our places of deepest pain and shame. God forgives. God heals. God gives new life.
The widow’s cry is within us all. Death is deep within us all. But through Jesus, life is at work within us all. God is bringing new life and new hope to all of us from deep within us. Our first call is to go deep with God into our own pain so that he can heal us there.

The second call of the gospel is to go deep with God into other’s pain so that he can bring healing there. We move beyond the surface. We don’t bring solutions or 4 Spiritual Laws or theologies. We just go with God into the pain and let God bring healing there.
I want you to listen to what Reggie McNeal has to say about this. In this clip, he was speaking to a group of Nazarene leaders in Kansas City, USA in 2007.

--- Reggie McNeal M7 clip -- watch only 2:22:40 - 2:30:23 ---

Transcript: We sang about the blessing of Abraham. What was the point of the blessing? “I’m going to bless you so you bless the nations.”
Now we get in on the deal. There’s a reason for the church, but I don’t have time to talk about it. But it is this ... it is to bless people.
That’s why I tell people - Quit evangelizing. ... Don’t have an evangelism strategy. Have a blessing strategy. In fact, if you’re going to go external, you better figure this out ... because most of the stuff we want to go external with, please don’t take it out there. You’ll scare people off. If you want to go external, missional, it’s about getting in the streets. It’s about serving people right where they are, right with what they need, with a word of hope in the name of Jesus.
Now, I know that sounds too simple, and I know the Devil obfuscates and complexifies. I think the medieval mystics were right. At the heart of the universe is simplicity. This is why Jesus said ... you know the question by the lawyer, Pharisee trained, “Hey, could you put these 613 laws in order for us?”
And Jesus said, “Hmmm, let’s see ... Love God with everything you’ve got, and love your neighbor as yourself. That’ll take care of it.”
“No, it’s got to be harder than that.”
“No, that’ll take care of it.”
As a matter of fact, I even hear some people talking about the first and second commandment. That’s one commandment. That AND in the middle of it: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart AND your neighbor” ... That AND folds that sucker right back in on itself. It’s two sides to the same deal. You can’t say you love God if you don’t love your neighbor. You can’t love your neighbor unless you’re serving God. It’s that simple. If we don’t tell them the truth, then we aren’t loving them. All right, all right, all right.
If I was at your church Sunday, I’d probably challenge everybody in the church, “Go out and bless three people this week. And make sure one of them doesn’t deserve it.”
I was out in California (the buckle of the Bible Belt, as we all know), and I challenged this congregation. “Hey as the people of God we are free but responsible to bless everybody. That is our covenant. And what do you think would happen to our evangelism if our blessing went up?”
In fact, if we don’t learn how to learn how to serve people, we are not going to earn the privilege to share the gospel with them in this culture where we are now. They aren’t going to listen. They’re tired of the bullhorn. They’re tired of the Holier-Than-Thou. All right ...
So I was in this church in California, and I was challenging them to go out and bless three people. So this guy, the next time I was there, came up to me and said, “Do you remember when you told us to go out and bless three people?”
I said, “Yeah.”
He said, “Well, I did that. Let me tell you what happened. The next day I went to a sporting goods place, and the manager there was having a rough day. I could just tell. I go there some, and he just seemed all grumpy.”
He says, “And I felt the Spirit pinch me: ‘Bless this guy.’ So I went up to him, and I said, ‘You’re having a rough day, aren’t you?’ And he said, ‘I wish I was anywhere but here.’” And this is the manager of the store - actually the owner, not the manager.
This guy did a profoundly courageous thing. Here’s how he decided to bless this guy. He said, “You know what? I’ve had bad days. I’m going to pray for you.”
Low and behold. He didn’t take out the four spiritual laws. He didn’t trot out an evangelism track. He didn’t open up with, “You know you’re going to hell and going to fry like a sausage if you don’t ...” We have terrible pick-up lines. We wonder why nobody wants to go home with us.
He just said, “I’m going to pray for you.”
Now, gang, in case you don’t know, there is nobody in America who turns down prayer. That limo driver on the way here - who brought me from the airport - he believes in prayer, believes in healing. In fact, most of our churches would not be spiritual enough for him, I will tell you. Because we’re doing church, and he’s looking for God.
This guy, in this sporting goods store, looks at this church guy in Southern California, and he says, “Are you serious? You’re going to pray for me?” Now gang, this is a sporting goods store. This is a manly man’s store. This is not a touchy-feely place. I mean they sell stuff in here that kills people. ... So this is not a warm, tender, precious moment, but this guy stops and says, “You really will pray for me?”
And he says, “Yeah, I will.”
This guy goes on ... and by the way, I should tell you this. The guy says, “Well let me tell you something. This store is killing me. I’m working 80 hours a week. It’s killing my marriage. I’m losing money. I just don’t know if I can go on.”
Now let me tell you something. To do what I’m talking about, you have to believe God not just believe in God. There’s a huge difference. See, because, if you believe God, you don’t have to fix it. You don’t have to know how God’s going to work. All you have to say, though, is what my friend said to this guy, “Let me tell you something. I’m just going to pray that God will help you.” You’ve got to believe God to do that.
Now you’ve got God on the line. And us church people, we’re scared to put God out there because He hasn’t done anything to us in a long time, so why would He act out for this person? I mean, He hasn’t needed to show up.
You know sometimes, when I’m with church people who have been church people for a long time, I say, “When was the last time Jesus changed your mind about anything?” Listen, I’ve been married 25 years, and my wife is still changing my mind about stuff. She was helping me get a new perspective on the way here, for a matter of fact. That’s what happens when you’re in a relationship people. They mess with one another. So I’m praying that Jesus will mess with you.
Now, where was I in that story? It was on Friday. The guy goes back, and -- you all quit interrupting, and I’ll get to this. This guy said ... He just upchucked ... This is the thing you see ... You have to be careful because people will tell you stuff, and now you’re in it. He goes back on Friday, and the manager sees him coming and says, “Come here, come here, come here. Have you been praying for me?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not going to believe this. A guy came in here and wants to buy my store. I’m going to sell it and make money. My wife has agreed to go to counseling.” This is in four days - four days.
So here’s all I’m going to do, all I’m going to do: Just go out there and bless three people this week. And make sure now, that only two of them deserve it.

----------------------------

“The LORD ... said to [Abraham], ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ... All the families on earth will be blessed through you’” (Genesis 12:1-3).
God has blessed us. God has met us in the place of our deep pain. God is giving us hope and healing and love. God has blessed us.
“I will bless you ... and you will be a blessing to others.”
God has blessed you. Now bless others.
God has blessed you. Now let God bless someone through you.
This week, go deep with others. Don’t just talk about the weather and the world cup and TV and fashion and work. Go deep. When you see someone struggling, go on and ask them what’s going on. Don’t walk past their pain. Don’t step past their funeral procession and let them pass on by. Don’t be so afraid to disrupt their privacy. Get beyond the surface stuff and down to the stuff that really matters. That’s the first challenge.
Here’s the second challenge. Bless them. Bless them there in that pain. Be bold enough to say a prayer for them. Maybe you will be so crazy as to pray for them right then and there - in the classroom or on the subway. If you’re not bold enough for that, then pray for them and check back a few days later. Just say something simple like, “Hey, I’ve been praying for you, and I’m just wondering how you’re doing.” You don’t have to solve their problems. Just go with God into their problems.
Make sure at least one person you bless this week doesn’t deserve it. We need to notice something about this story from Luke. That widow coming out of the village of Nain didn’t have any faith. She didn’t ask for help. She wasn’t one of Jesus’ disciples. She didn’t deserve any special treatment. She was just there.
Find someone who doesn’t deserve anything and bless that person. Maybe you’ll give her a cup of coffee. Maybe you’ll speak a word of hope and encouragement. Maybe you’ll say something really good about someone who has hurt you. Be like Jesus, and bless someone just because they are there.

Here it is. This is what it’s all about.
Go deep with God into your own pain. Let Jesus bless you there. Let him touch your pain. Let him speak a word of life in your soul and begin the healing process.
And go deep with God into others’ pain. Move beyond the silliness and the surface fakery, and go deep with someone. Get real with somebody. Then, bless them.
And that will change our world.

---- prayer of response ---

This is so important that we’re going to practice this today. In a few minutes, we’re going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This is a living sign of God’s great blessing in our lives. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God pours out his Spirit into us and strengthens us deep within.
After you come and experience this time of blessing, don’t return to your seat. Move around for our “greeting time.” But today, this isn’t just a “Hi. How are you?” greeting time. This is Blessing Time. After you celebrate God’s blessing with the Lord’s Supper, go around and bless each other. Ask someone how you can pray for them. Then, right then and there, say a quick prayer. Just bless them. Ask God to be active in that person’s life this week. Start blessing people here, and you’ll get enough practice to bless people “out there.”

The Gospel and Evangelism (Gospel Series: Week 3)

This is an older sermon that I forgot to post.

KNU International English Church

Josh Broward

February 6, 2010

Once upon a time there was a farmer who forgot how to farm. One day he was walking along the edge of his house when a fierce wind came and blew a tile off his roof. The tile landed right on his head and knocked him out. When he finally woke up, he seemed to be normal. He could walk and talk. He could remember his family and count to one hundred. But he had forgotten how to farm.

Most people didn’t notice at first because it was harvest season, and he still remembered how to harvest. He took his sickle out to the fields and collected all his wheat and rice … just like every other year. He gathered it into bundles and took it to the barn … just like every other year. Throughout fall and winter, life continued as normal … just like every other year.

However, when spring came, people began to notice a change in the farmer. He didn’t plow his fields like he did every other year. Instead, he made much smaller lines by bending over and dragging his sickle through the dirt. He didn’t put out fertilizer like he normally did. Instead, he took one bag of manure to the center of the field and cut it open with his sickle. He didn’t plant his seeds like he normally did. Instead, he threw a hand full of seeds into the air and whacked them with his sickle like he was playing baseball. He didn’t use his hoe to tend the fields. Instead, he chopped at the weeds with his sickle, but this brought down many good plants as well.

Farming this way was much harder work than the previous years. A sickle just isn’t designed to plow or to plant or to tend the field. The farmer was very disappointed at harvest time. His harvest was much smaller than years before. After working so hard, he had so little results.

The next spring, when it was time to plow the ground, the farmer said, “I’m not going to plow this year. It didn’t seem to produce results last year.” When it was time to put out the fertilizer, the farmer said, “I’m not going to bother fertilizing the fields again. It didn’t seem to help last year.” When it was time to plant, the farmer just couldn’t bring himself to do all of that hard work of planting when he had gotten so little results the year before.

When it was time to harvest, the farmer went out to his fields, and he swung his sickle all over that field. After working for weeks to harvest his fields, the farmer had gathered only a few sacks of grain.

The farmer cursed his fields for yielding so little wheat. He cursed his hard rice paddies for giving so little rice. He complained to his friends about how unlucky he was, about how his fields were so hard and unresponsive. He cried out to God that it was not fair to put him in such a barren place.

This farmer remembered how to harvest, but he had forgotten how to farm.

Throughout the New Testament, evangelism is often described through images of farming.

Ÿ Paul said, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Ÿ Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens” (Mark 4:26-27).

Ÿ In another parable, Jesus says that God’s message is like a seed planted in our hearts. The seed grows or fails depending on the “soil” it finds in our hearts. (See Luke 8:4-15.)

Ÿ Another place, Jesus tells his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields” (Matthew 9:37-38).

We are often like the farmer who forgot how to farm. We still remember how to harvest, but we have forgotten how to farm. We take our harvest tools and go out into the fields of the world to “harvest” people for Jesus, but we usually end up with low results and high frustration.

Not many people respond to our efforts to “tell people about Jesus.” Many people are not interested in going to a traditional church service. Many people don’t want to hear what we have to say about the Bible.

We easily get frustrated. We can blame the world: “They have hard hearts.” We can blame our preachers: “They don’t know how to communicate.” We can blame the church: “Christians aren’t holy anymore. They live just like everyone else.” We can blame the methods: “Why don’t we just let them come to us? Why do we have to go to them?”

There may be some truth in all of this, but the fundamental truth is that we have forgotten how to farm. We are so concerned about the harvest that we have forgotten how to be good farmers. Evangelism is about farming not just harvesting.

Maybe part of the problem is that we have forgotten what evangelism really is. The English word “evangelism” comes from the Greek word euangelion or “Good News” or “Gospel.” Evangelism is Gospel-ism. Evangelism is to do the Gospel, to proclaim Good News, to bring Good News, to be the Gospel.

Evangelism is becoming the Gospel. Remember, the Gospel is that God sets us free through Jesus to come home to God, to be healed by God, and to join God’s mission of healing the world. Evangelism is living freedom and inviting others into freedom through Jesus. Evangelism is engaging the healing process for ourselves and inviting others into the healing flow. Evangelism is living out a deep hope that our world can be healed and is in fact being healed through Jesus’ work in and through us.

On Tuesday, I listened to missionary Dave Hane’s lecture at the Nazarene Mission Camp. I like how he defines evangelism: “Evangelism is the overflow of a life saturated with God’s love.” Evangelism is being so full of God’s love that it spills out onto others.

So let’s return to the imagery of farming. Evangelism is like farming. Inviting people to participate in the Good News of Jesus Christ is very much like the process of farming.

The first step of farming is always preparing the ground. This involves a lot of hard work – removing boulders and rocks, cutting away tree stumps. We can’t even plow until these are gone. In many places around the world, the spiritual soil is very hard, but we can’t really blame this on other people. In many ways, we have created the rocks and barriers.

Jesus last words in Matthew’s gospel are the famous Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). In the developed world, the Church is failing with this Great Commission because we are committing the Great Omission.[1} We are omitting or failing to fulfill Jesus’ greatest teaching. Jesus said, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

We will never be able to make disciples of Jesus until we first obey Jesus’ most basic teaching. Love God with everything we are, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

The Church in the developed world has a credibility problem. We say we believe in Jesus. We say we want to follow Jesus. But mostly, we don’t believe, and mostly we don’t follow. And everyone can see that.

Ÿ When 1/3 of the world lives on less than $1 a day and struggles just to survive …

Ÿ When we know people drink diseased water every day, but every day we buy cokes and coffee …

Ÿ When we buy big screen TVs while others can’t afford school books …

Ÿ When we build bigger churches while children sleep in the streets …

Ÿ When we care more about sports or movies than AIDS or malaria …

… Then, people know that we are not really following Jesus. No matter what we say, we aren’t loving our neighbors as ourselves. The ground is hard because we have made it hard. The first step to learning how to farm the “Gospel” is to get serious about serving the poor and changing the world.

Imagine what would happen if Christians:

Ÿ Ended world hunger

Ÿ Solved the clean water crisis

Ÿ Provided universal access to medical care

Ÿ Guaranteed education for every child on earth

Ÿ Gave a home to every orphan in the world.

Richard Stearns, president of World Vision, says that if we would take Jesus seriously when he says to love our neighbors as ourselves, then:

The global social revolution brought forth by the body of Christ would be on the lips of every citizen in the world and in the pages of every newspaper – in a good way. The world would see the whole gospel – the good news of the kingdom of God – not just spoken but demonstrated, by people whose faith is not devoid of deeds but defined by love and backed up with action. His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. This was the whole gospel that Jesus proclaimed … and if we would embrace it, it would literally, change everything. [2]

This would plow the ground for the gospel more than anything else we could possibly do or say.

The second step in farming is fertilizing. After the farmer gets out the rocks and breaks up the hard ground, he needs to fertilize the ground. The farmers spread manure (cow poop) all over the fields. This is what gives farms that … um … “fresh farm air.” It smells, but it helps the seeds grow better.

Before we can plant the seeds of the gospel, we need to get the ground soft and fertile. How do we do that? The answer again is love. We can get the rocks out through love on a global scale. We Christians get together and get serious about changing our world. But then, we apply the fertilizer through local love.

No one is going to become a Christian if they think all Christians are jerks! One of the first steps to becoming a Christian and experiencing the gospel is simply having a Christian friend whom you respect and like. When we throw a birthday party for the lonely person at our office, when we show extra care for one of our students, when we listen to someone who has a problem, when we invite someone out to dinner, we prepare their hearts for the gospel.

The next step is planting. Finally, we get to the planting part. Here, we usually think of preaching or “telling someone about Jesus” or “presenting the gospel.” Sometimes the Gospel is planted in this way, but usually these are most effective at the next stages of “watering” or “harvesting.” Seeds are small. If a farmer wants to grow apples, she doesn’t plant a whole apple tree or even a whole apple. The farmer starts with a very small apple seed.

Planting the seeds of the gospel is similar. Often by this time, if we have prepared the ground through service and love, our friends will start asking us questions. “Why do you live like that? Where can I get a good Bible? Why are there so many churches?” This is great! These kinds of questions mean the plowing and fertilizing is working. But we don’t need to give our friends a whole sermon. We can plant little gospel seeds that will grow in them and entice them to ask more questions. Just answer their question or give them a Bible, and then follow up with them later. Don’t try to cram an apple tree down their throats. Just plant one little seed.

If they aren’t asking questions, maybe you can ask a few gentle questions. “Would you mind telling me your spiritual story? Everybody has a spiritual side, so what’s yours?” Or maybe, “I was wondering. What do you think about Jesus?” That gets the conversation started, and signals to your friend that you are interested in talking about spiritual things. Then … you … wait.

Remember, Jesus’ parable: “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come” (Mark 4:26-29).

It takes time for a seed to grow. It’s a process. We can ruin it if we get out that harvest sickle too soon. We can’t forget the fourth step in farming: tending and waiting. Farmers have to tend the plants, pull the weeds, and water the fields. If we want to make disciples, if we want to be farmers of the Kingdom, then we have to tend to our relationships. We need to actually maintain those friendships. Once again, this is love. We keep watering those seeds of the gospel with love. We make space for questions. We make space for dinner guests and house guests. We keep dropping little seeds, and we love, and we wait.

Finally, if we have been faithful and patient, it will be time to harvest. One of the most beautiful experiences in the world is helping someone become a Christian. It is amazing to be there when someone starts to “get it,” to understand that God really loves her, that she really can have a new life, that our world really can become new. Sometimes, we can help the person say a prayer to put their trust in Jesus for the first time. Other times, people kind of grow into following Christ, and it’s so slow and gradual that they can’t say exactly when it began. But just knowing that we have helped someone experience God’s healing and become part of God’s healing mission – this is so deeply beautiful and satisfying deep within our souls.

So we love and we share and we plant, and slowly, slowly the seed grows and the grain ripens. People grow in the sunshine of God’s love. And then a beautiful thing happens, these people who we’ve been loving and tending and praying for … they become part of the mission. They start plowing new ground and loving new people and planting new seeds. The become part of our loving community that changes our world.

May God make us good farmers because this will - in fact - change our world!

---

[1] Richard Stearns, The Whole in Our Gospel, (Dallas: Thomas Neslon, 2009), 189.

[2] Ibid, 219.

------------------------------
This sermon is part 3 of a 4 week of a series on the Gospel.
Week 1: The Gospel and the Bible
Week 2: The Gospel and Salvation
Week 3: The Gospel and Evangelism
Week 4: The Gospel and the Church