This morning I want to talk about the wealth, the willingness, and the will of God, our heavenly Father. So let me begin by asking, how many of you are on Facebook? Have you ever heard of it? I guess it's a website or something.
For a couple years, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Cilla had been trying to have a baby but had three miscarriages along the way. On his blog, Mark wrote "You feel so hopeful when you learn you're going to have a child. You start imagining who they'll become and dreaming of hopes for their future. You start making plans, and then they're gone. It's a lonely experience. Most people don't discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will distance you or reflect upon you -- as if you're defective or did something to cause this." https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10102276576050141
So not only did the Zuckerberg's get pregnant, but in celebration they pledged to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares -- around $45 billion to their foundation! It gets even better. At midnight, they are handing out $4.5 million to 1,000 users who copy and paste this message [show image], and then share it after tagging five to 10 friends! Moment of truth: How many of you shared this message, after tagging 10 friends? We know who you are!
I'm telling you about this to make a point. Here is Question #1: How many of you believe Zuckerberg has the wealth / ability to make this happen? I don't have any reason to doubt Forbes Magazine, do you? His wealth can easily be verified.
Question #2: How many of you believe Zuckerberg has the willingness to give the average Joe, 4.5 millions dollars? Being wealthy is one thing, but being willing is an entirely different issue right? I'm sure Zuckerberg is a good guy, but is he that good?
Question #3: Assuming he is willing... How can we get into Zuckerberg's will, so we can inherit his wealth?
As many of you know, this whole thing was branded a HOAX. We all knew it, but we still forwarded the message anyway! But let me ask, what do you believe about the Wealth, Willingness, and the Will of God? Is there something to our common faith, or is it just another disappointing hoax? Is the message of the gospel something we really believe, or is something we pass along because someone forwarded it to us? That's is how hoaxes work. We believe/forward them because people we love and trust seem to believe them. Let's break this down...
First, what do you believe about the wealth of God?
If you don't like the word "wealth", substitute the word "greatness." What do you believe about the greatness of God? Does an Almighty, creator God exist? If so, how powerful is this God? What is He able to do? Not just theoretically, but actually.
So maybe you've decided to read through the entire Bible this year. Genesis 1 is a great place to begin. It immediately confronts us with the greatness of God. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Some filmmakers decided to build an actual scale model Solar System. For the planet Earth, they chose a blue marble about a half inch in size. For the Sun (which is 109 times the diameter of Earth) they chose a balloon just under 5 feet in diameter! To represent the distance of the earth to the sun, they had to place the Earth (marble) and the Sun (balloon) almost two football fields apart. Fitting our solar system into their scale model required they find a dried lakebed, seven miles in diameter! In the video the filmmakers are in awe, as they reflect how the earth is this tiny, colorful, blue marble, literally floating in the middle of nothing. lakebed.
[FOR ONLINE READERS... WATCH THE VIDEO! http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151225.html]
Hebrews 11:3 says, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Jeremiah (32:17) said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.".
Hebrews 2:10 says, "Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power...". Psalm 24:1-2 says, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters." Psalm 50:10 God says, "Every animal in the forest belongs to me, and so do the cattle on a thousand hills"
The wealth of God is He created, ordered, sustains all things. He's the source, nothing impossible for him, he is able do all things, everything belongs to him.
Second, what do you believe about the willingness of God?
Most religions, and religious people, accept that God is great. But is He good? Is He kind? Is He gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, steadfast in love? Is he faithful, does he forgive? Does he heal? Does he provide? Is he inclined toward our well-being? The Psalmist (119:68) affirms, "You are good, and what you do is good." But is this a point of conviction for us?
When Moses asked to see the "glory" of God, God replies, "I will make all my goodness pass before you." As God passes before Moses, he proclaims, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin..." (Ex 34:6-7). When God appeared to Abraham, he said, "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all people on earth will be blessed through you." (Gen 12:2-3).
You see its one thing to "theoretically" believe in the greatness of God, and entirely another to believe in his generosity/goodness. It's one thing to believe in God's wealth, it's another to be in his willingness to bless you. So a while back I started reading the Bible through this lens of God's goodness and willingness. This really is the paradigm shift for folks in the Bible, not just Abraham, not just Moses.
I started reading the Gospel of Matthew. John the Baptist announces that Jesus is coming from Father. And what is Jesus' first order of business? Matthew 4:23-24, "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness from among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them..."
Nine times in Matthew's gospel, we see this same refrain. Jesus took up our infirmities, and bore our diseases (Matthew 8:16-17), Jesus had compassion on crowds because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:35-36), the disciples are charged to freely heal, freely give as they freely received (Matthew 10:8). It just goes on and on (Matthew 11:5-6, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 12:18-21, Matthew 14:34-36, Matthew 15:30-32). Plus there are all these one-on-one encounters where Jesus encounters people in crisis.
What I noticed in Matthew's gospel is people have one of three issues.
(1) One issue is that people do not believe God is able. An example is Matthew 9:28, when two blind keep following Jesus, crying out for mercy. Jesus finally pulls them aside and asks, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?". That is the first issue we have to resolve. God's power, ability, wealth, greatness.
2) A second issue people have is believing God is willing. An example is in Matthew 8:3, when a man with leprosy comes and kneels before the Jesus and says, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." IF?? IF YOU ARE WILLING? Jesus totally sets the record straight with the man. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man, "I am willing... be clean."
One phrase I've caught myself saying, and that I hear others saying is, "Lord willing...". This phrase is used to express our wish that something will happen as intended, or hoped for. "God willing the basement won't flood. God willing, you'll get feeling better. God willing your prayers will be answered." "God willing" is a subtle way of expressing doubt, of cushioning ourselves/others from disappointment.
What an extraordinary thing for Abraham, Moses, Jesus' disciples, and now for us to realize that God IS both ABLE and WILLING, God is both GREAT and GOOD. In this series, we're going to unpack some of the stories in Matthew you bolster are faith about what GOD IS WILLING to do. Psalm 119:68, "You are good, and what you do is good."
(3) A third issue people have is being "in" God's Will. Yes God is able. Yes God is willing. But the issue is do we want God's best, do we want his kingdom and righteousness? It's not in Matthew's gospel, but in John 5:6 Jesus meets a man who'd been an disabled, or injured for 38 years. The man's condition had become a kind of identity, or crutch to him. But Jesus asks him an important question, "do you want to get well?" In other words, do you even want what God's wants?
In the Lord's prayer, the first thing we're taught to pray is, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is heaven." (Matthew 6:9-10). But is this our sincere desire? In the garden Jesus prays to the Father, "not my will be done, but yours."
Third, what do you believe about the will of God?
Being in God's will is about positioning ourselves to receive God's very best. Everyone that's blessed in Scripture has some measure of faith. There is a measure of belief, confession, repentance... there is a responsiveness, a new desire... a willingness to embrace God not on our terms, but on His. It's sincerely meaning/wanting what we pray when we say, "Heavenly Father... Your kingdom come, your will be done!"
Think of God's Kingdom not as a physical place, but rather as a domain of authority, a realm where God's "will" is done on earth as it is in heaven. If we think of God's kingdom in this way, then where is God's Kingdom? In Luke 17:21 Jesus tells his disciples that the kingdom isn't something you point at and say, "there it is" but rather the Kingdom of God is "within you" (KJV). The Kingdom of God is in your midst, in your heart. God's very best comes to those who seek his kingdom with all their heart. This is why its so vital we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Do you want for your life what God desires for your life?
GOD IS ABLE. GOD IS WILLING. BUT WHAT DOES YOUR HEART WANT?
In Matthew 6:32-33 Jesus says do not worry. The Father knows what you need. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as will."
In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
INVITE: Gain knowledge of God's will (Colossians 1:9)....
This week read Matthew, discover what God is willing to do...