Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
People spend a lot of money trying to figure out who they are and what they should be doing. Jesus was pretty clear about His own identity.
Scripture
Revelation 22:16
Jesus: I, Jesus, have sent My messenger to show you and guide you so that you in turn would share this testimony with the churches. I am the Root and the Descendant of David, the Bright Morning Star.
Devotional
The self-help industry is huge
2014 estimated $10 Billion business
Books
Coaches/mentors
Programs
Across all disciplines
Business
Health
Relationships
Mental acumen
Spiritual growth
We want to know who we are and how to get better because we don’t like the way we are right now
Improvement is good
Obsession over finding something you are not is not so good
There is a place to find help in knowing yourself and the path you should take
Jesus gives us the answer to following the right path
“I have sent my messenger to show you and guide you
Holy Spirit knows what’s best for us and how our lives should progress through the journey of life
He was there at the creation, the beginning of all things
He will be here at the end, when time stops
His task from the Father and Son
Teach
Guide
Convict
Convince
Comforter
Advocate
John tells us in His letter the words Jesus spoke about this messenger that will help us through this life.
God’s presence with us and in us
He is the best helper we can get
Better than self-help because we don’t know the path God wants us to take unless we ask and allow Him to guide us
Doesn’t tell us what next year will be like or even tomorrow
Gives us the next step to take on the journey
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Luke 6:39-40 Jesus: What happens if a blind man leads a blind man? Won’t both of them fall into a pit? You can’t turn out better than your teacher; when you’re fully taught, you will resemble your teacher.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
Have you ever thought about Jesus’ words about teachers and students? It can be pretty scary when you think about our education systems today, don’t you think? I’m not saying we don’t have intelligent teachers, but often they are not allowed to teach well because of the constaints put on them by the federal and state laws enacted by people who know little about education. Ask some of the classroom teachers and they will tell you what’s happening in today’s classrooms. That’s a discussion for another time, though.
The point, though, is that students can not gain information or education or skill beyond what they are taught. Some very few can advance beyond their teachers, but those are rare gems that are not average. It’s like those rare gems on a high school football field or basketball court. Parents push their kids to be the best athlete on the team at the expense of their school grades and everything else in life when in reality the professionals that make those multi-million dollar salaries we hear about are few and far between.
In fact, in 2013, the probability of a high school basketball player making into professional basketball, not as a star, but just making the team was 0.03%, that’s 3 in 10,000 players. It’s a little better in football, 8 in 10,000 and the best chance of making it onto a professional team, baseball where you have 50 chances among those 10,000 high school players. Of course, you must remember all those farm teams are also professional teams, so don’t expect to get spotlighted on television even if you are one of those few in those crazy probability statistics.
So if we think about Jesus’ words are really understand that we won’t be smarter or more skilled than the person that teaches us, who should we find to teach us about life? Who should we find to help us understand what’s really important and how to live successfully in this world and prepare for the judgment we know is coming one day?
We could latch on to one of those fly by night guys that tell us something we like to hear, but when we look closely at their lives, we find the chaos and disappointment and misery within their household and in themselves. We find a lot of their rhetoric is just that. No substance by which we can find real understanding about who we are and what God wants from us in this place.
We can look to those the world says are successful for instruction. But again, we will often find emptiness, self-centeredness, a lack of real peace and joy in their lives. It’s not the abundant life Jesus talks about, one in which we find peace and contentment because we are fulfilling the purpose for which God created us. They will teach us, but they won’t teach us the right stuff to get us to heaven and in touch with the One who can get us there.
We can chase false prophets that make us feel good about ourselves. They tell us our sins are just the natural expression of the natural instincts of all animals. We can’t help but do the things we do because we are just a higher order animal, no better than a dolphin or an ape. They tell us that we just had some gene mutate along the way and so we evolved at a more advanced rate than our other animal counterparts. We can learn from them, and never find the truth that God created us to rule over the rest of His creation and be its caretakers. We can ignore the truth of sin as the real problem we must resolve to find real peace and purpose in our lives. But we can learn from those folks if we choose.
We can learn from other religions and let them tell us about reincarnations, nirvana, and that god is found in all creation. We can learn from scientists that there is no god, but a mathematical explanation for everything that happens. Just do the math and the science and you’ll figure it out. Only no one has figured it out yet with all our science and all our math, because we tend to leave the piece of the formula “God spoke” out of the equation.
But learning from all these other sources will fall short of what you really want to know. Because none of those sources are God. But when you learn at the feet of Jesus, you learn from God Himself. You learn from the Master. What better source to learn all there is to know? Jesus is right, we can not be better than our teacher, we mimick their understanding under their instruction, but what if we learn from the expert among experts? What if we sit at the feet of the One who knows everything and can do the impossible? Isn’t that the right place to learn?
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 11:7-15
John’s disciples left, and Jesus began to speak to a crowd about John. Jesus: What did you go into the desert to see? Did you expect to see a reed blowing around in the wind? No? Were you expecting to see a man dressed in the finest silks? No, of course not—you find silk in the sitting rooms of palaces and mansions, not in the middle of the wilderness. So what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes. Yes, a prophet and more than a prophet. When you saw John, you saw the one whom the prophet Malachi envisioned when he said,
I will send My messenger ahead of You,
and he will prepare the way for You.
This is the truth: no one who has ever been born to a woman is greater than John the Baptist. And yet the most insignificant person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. All of the prophets of old, all of the law—that was all prophecy leading up to the coming of John. Now, that sort of prepares us for this very point, right here and now. When John the Baptist came, the kingdom of heaven began to break in upon us, and those in power are trying to clamp down on it—why do you think John is in jail? If only you could see it—John is the Elijah, the prophet we were promised would come and prepare the way. He who has ears for the truth, let him hear.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
Who do you look for to learn about spiritual things? Jesus pointed to John the Baptist and asked the crowd following Him what they thought of John. What were they looking for? Someone soft that would bend in the political wind of the time? That wasn’t John. He was in prison for speaking out against Herod’s marriage. John saw Herod, who proclaimed to have a Jewish heritage, do something well outside the bounds of the moral code of the Jewish faith. The priests wouldn’t say anything about it for fear of reprisal from the king, but John had no such fear. When he saw wrongs that needed righting, he jumped in with both feet and let them be known whether the perpetrator lived in a hovel or sat on the king’s throne.
That’s the kind of person I want as a spiritual teacher and leader. Someone unafraid of the politically correct. Someone who stands for what is right regardless the consequences of that stand. John was such a person. I’m afraid many that we see in our pulpits today, may bend with the political climates instead of standing firm on God’s word.
Jesus next asked, “What about his comfort level?” Did you think John would live in a big house, drive a big car, wear $1500 suits as he talked to people about repentance? Not John. He just needed a place to lay his head and clothes to wear. Just any clothes. He wasn’t about creature comfort. He was about getting the message out. He was about telling as many people as he could as fast as he could that the Messiah was breaking in on the scene. It was time to change their ways because God touched His feet onto the earth and His kingdom had arrived.
That’s the kind of person I want as a spiritual teacher and leader. Someone more interested in sharing Christ and getting His message out than climbing the church ladder or making a name for himself. More interested in seeing lives changed by the power of God’s word than his eloquence from a fashionable pulpit in a high-styled church. See, God doesn’t care about any of those external trappings. None of those things go with us when we die. He sees past all that to our heart. So I want someone to teach me that will challenge my heart. Someone that digs into the deepest parts of my soul and makes me look inside myself because he shines God’s light on me.
Who do you want to hear? Who do you want to teach you the ways of God? Jesus pointed to John and shared with the crowd he was more than just a prophet. He was the prophet foretold by Malachi who would herald the coming Messiah. That’s the kind of teacher and spiritual leader I want. Someone who will declare the truth in a world that doesn’t want to hear it. Someone who understands the events of time as they relate to the scriptures God gives us. Someone who is not afraid to declare God’s word with boldness and authority. Someone who will serve as a prophet in a time we sorely need prophets.
Are there any around today? I think so. I think there are some really godly men and women who listen to God and break open His word with boldness and power and grace and compassion. But always with the truth of His word. I think there are men and women who preach and teach without frills and fancy footwork to make their congregations feel good, but to convict and convince them of their need for a Savior. That’s the kind of teacher I want to sit under. I want to be reminded I’m a sinner whose only hope is through believing in Jesus, the Son of God, who died on the cross for my sins, who defeated death and hell and the grave. I want to grow in my knowledge and understanding of my Savior under the teaching of a solid disciple of His making.
Who do you want to hear? Someone to tickle your ears, or someone like John?
John 10:1-21 Jesus: 1 I tell you the truth: the man who crawls through the fence of the sheep pen, rather than walking through the gate, is a thief or a vandal. 2 The shepherd walks openly through the entrance. 3 The guard who is posted to protect the sheep opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When all the sheep have been gathered, he walks on ahead of them; and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 The sheep would not be willing to follow a stranger; they run because they do not know the voice of a stranger. 6 Jesus explained a profound truth through this metaphor, but they did not understand His teaching. 7 So He explained further. Jesus: I tell you the truth: I am the gate of the sheep. 8 All who approached the sheep before Me came as thieves and robbers, and the sheep did not listen to their voices. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be liberated, will go in and go out, and will find pastures. 10 The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy; I came to give life with joy and abundance. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep in His care. 12 The hired hand is not like the shepherd caring for His own sheep. When a wolf attacks, snatching and scattering the sheep, he runs for his life, leaving them defenseless. 13 The hired hand runs because he works only for wages and does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep, and My sheep know Me. 15 As the Father knows Me, I know the Father; I will give My life for the sheep. 16 There are many more sheep than you can see here, and I will bring them as well. They will hear My voice, and the flock will be united. One flock. One shepherd. 17 The Father loves Me because I am willing to lay down My life—but I will take it up again. 18 My life cannot be taken away by anybody else; I am giving it of My own free will. My authority allows Me to give My life and to take it again. All this has been commanded by My Father. 19 When He spoke these words, some of the Jews began to argue. Many Jews: 20 He has a demon and is a raving maniac. Why are you people listening to Him? Other Jews: 21 No demon-possessed man ever spoke like this. Do demons give sight to the blind?
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
The shepherd metaphor probably means a lot less to you today than it did to those Jews who heard Me give it 2000 years ago. They saw shepherds every day tending sheep on the Judean hillsides. Many of them owned sheep and understood what it meant to hire out the job of tending sheep to low paid hired hands who ran from danger.
Maybe a better metaphor for you can be found in a number of news articles that find their way into local papers these days. Gunmen enter a school and you hear about the heroics of teachers taking charge of their class of students. Those teachers protect the students in amazing ways, often standing in the way of gunfire and sometimes giving their lives to protect the children under their care from the random shooting of some crazed gunman. But at the sound of the first shot, most who are not given the responsibility of students flee from the scene as fast as they can. That’s the difference between the shepherd and the hired hands in the metaphor.
The teacher is ready to die for his or her students to keep them from harm. The aid or janitor or vendor visiting the school is often out the door and away from the scene because they don’t feel the close relationship with the children and responsibility to care for them. It’s that teacher’s willingness to give her life for her children that starts to touch on the love for others that I have for you when I gave My life for you on the cross. Yet My love is so much greater.
As heroic as the stories sound of those teachers that stand in the line of fire, as amazing as their love sounds, it’s nothing compared to the love I have for you. No one could take My life. I willingly gave it up. No executioner could kill Me. I had to let him nail Me to the tree and tell the angels to turn their backs and hold back their wrath. I am your protector and will keep you safe from the evils of the world. But understand what that means. Does that mean you will be free from trouble? No. You will face persecution just as I did, but I will guard your heart. You need not fall to temptation if you let Me act as that teacher in the room for you. If you’ll let Me be your Shepherd. If you’ll let Me into your heart to guide your life from this point on. I can and will do it for you. Just ask Me in.
