DeanSweetman.com » Boldness

Carry the Water

Dean — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:45:34 +0000

John 2:1-11: On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

There are three different layers to this miracle. The first layer is provision. The couple at this particular wedding ran out of wine. You don’t want to run out of wine at a Jewish wedding. It’s not good. Jewish weddings last for days, and the people feast on wine and good food. If you run out of wine, you will be looked down upon, as poor and lowly, but when you invite Jesus to your party, or your life, you will always be provided for. He doesn’t go half-way, either. He created the best wine from dirty water. With Jesus, you will always have the best of the best.

The second layer of this miracle is obedience. The servants had no idea what filling pots with dirty water would do. Still, they did what Jesus told them to. When your plans fall apart, do what Jesus says- even though it is hard, and all it feels like you’re doing is carry dirty water. The servants had to carry 180 gallon pots to the river and back. They did this when Jesus told them to. They did not ask why, they just did it. All Jesus asks of us is to carry a burden, not give up, and do something crazy. The Bible does not say when the water turned into wine, but we know that when the servant dipped the cup into the pot, it was water, and somewhere in the middle of his obedient walk to the master of the banquet, it turned into the best wine. If God can get us involved in our miracles then they will stick.

The third layer of this miracle is that we are the pots- God wants to cleanse us and fill us with something priceless. The substance inside of the pots started out as dirty water from the river, and wound up as wine, the best wine. God wants to do that in our lives. he wants to take all that is in our hearts and make it better, clean it up and make it beautiful. You don’t even know when your water turns to wine but it happens. Somewhere in the walk of being obedient, a miracle happens.

The Pool of Silom – or – Mud in Your Eye

Dean — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:53:07 +0000

John 9: 1-38 (NLT): As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”
But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”
“Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
“But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
“Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
“Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”
“You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
“You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
“Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

There are seven miracles recorded in the Book of John set before the Crucifixtion. Each story is written with several layers. This story is no different. It is a story about an encounter with God that leads to a slowly unfolding revelation. The first hint is the word John uses to descibe this man’s blindness. It is not the usual word for “someone who cannot see.” It actually means general blindness.

Now, let’s start at the beginning. Jesus is walking along with His disciples when He sees a blind guy. His disciples see Him as well and begin to question the origin of the man’s blindness. It was the belief of the time that sin caused sickness. Jesus immediately refutes that belief with the truth: he is blind so the power of God can been seen through him. Jesus is about to shake up this young man’s life in the most radical way! He proceeds to spit on the ground, make clay from it, and then rubs it all over the man’s eyes. This guy has not met Jesus; Jesus and the disciples were talking about him without talking to him; and then, suddenly, he gets spit on. Then, Jesus tells him to go to the PUBLIC pool of Silom to wash. This guy can’t see. He’s probably never been to the pool of Silom. But, without any help, he does as he is told.

He find the pool, washes, and, BOOM, he can see! He walks out his miracle! Sometimes, we have an encounter with God that shakes up our world but requires us to go a step further. He requires us to walk out the miracle. Jesus has healed several people in several different ways. He is capable of the instant heal (which we all love and want for Him to do for us), but some times, He requires us to walk it out by faith. This is what this man had to do. He had to walk by faith to achieve his miracle. And he did! But the story does not end there.

He goes home. His friends immediately begin to question him about what happened. He says, “The man called Jesus…” Jesus, a man, healed him. That is his first understanding of who it was whom he encountered while begging. His friends don’t believe him. And soon, the Pharisees come in. They are perturbed by the fact that someone worked on the Sabbath. Jesus made clay! He isn’t supposed to do that on the Sabbath! They are so locked in their religious rules that they can’t see the miracle in front of them. Religion is a killer. It stops us from encountering God. The man’s parents could not even rejoice over the fact that their son was healed out of fear of being kicked out of their religious bubble.

The Pharisees interogate the man. They want to know who did this. The man then answers that it was Jesus, a prophet! The revelation is continuing to unfold. First, Jesus is a man. now, he is a prophet. The Pharisees protest that he is a sinner. The man counters with an understanding that he, himself, does not know what all the rules and regulations (religion) dictates concerning this event, but all he knows is that he was blind and now he can see. He had an encounter with God. Jesus came in and shook up his world. And now, he can see. Then, he goes the bold and decalres himself a disciple of this man/prophet Jesus whom he has not ever seen, but he heard the disicples call him Rabbi and decided that he, too, wants to follow him. Jesus, the man, the prophet, and now the rabbi; the revelation continues to unfold.

The Pharisees kick the man out. He is cut off from the social religious norm. He is left alone to wander. That is when Jesus finds him. In life, God intervenes and shakes up our world. He puts his finger on an area of our lives that we are blind to and wants to shake us out of it. He wants us to see it, to heal from it, to overcome the thing holding us back–fear, broken home, addiction, failing marriage, bankrupcy. He shakes up our world, and then He withdraws to watch and wait as we walk it out. he wants us to trust in Him. So, we walk it out. And then, the world turns against us. Our friends and even family want to pull us back into the box that is the safe social norm where no one upsets the status quo. Your stepping out in faith angers them, and they try to pull you back down. But, you push on; you make a stand for God. And then, Jesus finds you.

Jesus heard what had happened. Jesus knows what is going on in your world. When He finds you, He knows what is going on. Jesus heard what had happened to this man. He asks, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man answers, “Yes, I want to. Tell me where He is!” This man has declared himself a disciple. He wants to follow Jesus. Jesus replies, “How have seen Him. And He is speaking to you.” The man falls to his knees before Jesus, declaring, “Yes, Lord!” Capital “L.” And he worships Jesus publically. From man, to prophet, to rabbi, to Lord, to God. The revelation is complete. This man has had his life transformed by the real the living God.

God wants to do something radical in our worlds. He will come in and intervene; either through church or someone speaking into our worlds; He comes in and shakes us up. He does something radical, frightening, amazing, and completely against the social norm to motivate us out of the place holding us back. He pushes us to walk out the miracle. We take teh steps of faith, trusting in Him to do what it is He promised to do; and as we walk in faith, the revelation unfolds and the miracle happens. No more staying at the same level. Will you let God shake you up so you can experience Him?

Breaking Out and Releasing the God Inside Us

Dean — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:30:43 +0000

II Corinthians 6:11 – Your life and who you are not defined by what you have or what you do in the natural. “Your life is not small, but you are living it in a small way.”

We want to go to new places. We want to go into new things with God that we have never seen before. We are all at different levels, and some of us are moving from being part time Christians to living for God full time. Some people just fit God into their lives, but they don’t understand that their lives are minute compared to the big life God has for them when they commit full time. It’s moving from dial up Christianity to permanently connected. Always in a sense and posture of alertness to God. Developing a full time sensitivity to the Spirit. Being comfortable in the Word, and being able to navigate it and apply it. Praying without ceasing instead of just when we need something.

Doing God part time fences God in and fences our lives in. It puts God in a box and says “This is where God is.” A full bold life is sensing where God is and what He is doing all the time. It is a life that doesn’t limit God’s power in our lives. One of the misconceptions we need to get rid of is the “man of God syndrome”, which is “the man of God is more in touch with God, has his prayers answered more and is more in tune with God.” It is the misconception that pastors have more access or more rights as Christians.This isn’t true.

I am on a journey to release God’s people and see them have the life that God wants to give them – a full life in Him. When you see someone break free and realize what God has for them, it is like fuel to keep you going. When people start their journey with Jesus, they have no idea who God is and no conception of right or wrong. But as we continue on the journey, we get revelations and move into a bigger and bigger life in God. It’s easy to get jaded, and just go through the motions after awhile. But when you see someone discover Jesus and come out of the messes of their lives, it is the most amazing feeling. I never want to lose that feeling that we have when we see people’s lives being changed by the hand of God.

The problem with the man of God syndrome is that we think “that is only for some people.” But one of my biggest dreams is to see the body of Christ released into full time ministry. We are never going to get too busy that we aren’t reaching out and helping people. There is so much potential inside of people – so much of God just sitting there waiting to be unlocked and released. I want to unlock the God in people. It’s not hard – you believe in people. Encouragement is a spiritual gift that we can all operate in. It isn’t a specific gift or talent. Demonstrating the love of Jesus is something we can all do.

Acts 7: The first church – Church happened at the Temple, but it didn’t stop at the Temple. If the modern church has missed anything from the first church it is this: church doesn’t stop at the Temple. In modern culture – predominantly – church is based only around the Temple. In the first church, they would come to worship and then “they would break bread house to house”. There were twelve apostles. Those in the upper room were leaders. At this point the church was over 10,000 people. So they were teaching and ordaining and raising up and releasing as fast as they could to meet the needs of a church that large. When the persecution came, they couldn’t meet in the Temple so it was only house to house – no big meetings. They started getting together in small groups, reading the Word, worshiping God and having church – no man of God needed.

Acts 7 is a message, preached by Stephen. He was one of the serving members of the church. He was one of the seven chosen to distribute food to the poor and the widows. He was out on the streets helping people, but he also seemed to know his Bible. He was taught well and preached very eloquently – how the prophets of old were pointing to Jesus as the Messiah – even though he wasn’t an apostle. The servants of the church can be as knowledgeable as the ordained. In fact, the anointing that was on Stephen was one of the most powerful in the Bible. A servant’s heart opens up the door for God to take you to the next level. Servanthood unlocks our destiny in God. We can consume God, or we can serve God and let him do something through us.

v54: The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen, but Stephen stood steadfastly, and looked to Heaven and saw the glory of God – saw Jesus. But the leaders became enraged and drug him out of the city and stoned him. Why is it that a little servant boy could be sensitive to the presence of God – see Jesus at the right hand of God – but the religious leaders couldn’t (who argued that they were ordained) couldn’t see God when He was in their midst? They stoned Stephen, but he says “Forgive them Lord,” as Jesus did on the cross. Being fenced in, locked up in fear and not reaching our potential is the greatest sin we can walk in our life. Not being prepared to forsake all, forsake our pride, forsake our reputation. We aren’t talking about being crazy or alienating the people we are trying to reach. We are talking about being a servant and letting the light of God shine through us.

The launch of the church in Jerusalem happens because of Stephen’s message – not Peter, not John. It was Stephen’s message that brought the Persecution and the explosion of the church – His servant’s heart took the church to a whole new level. He acted with no fear, not caring about the repercussions or what people were going to think or say. That’s where God is. Being passionate about helping people. Being passionate about injustice in the world. Being passionate about what the love of Jesus and the power of God can do in people’s lives. The big life – not being trapped – is about discovering the potential in all of us and then moving forward boldly, in faith, in fast forward and allowing God to do something through us. It may just start with making a new friend. Step out. Do something crazy.

Big life. Big opportunity. Big God. It’s not about things, it’s about doing something for God.

Boldness and Positioning

Dean — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:57:45 +0000

II Corinthians 6:11 – I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide open spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. Your lives aren’t small, but you are living them in a small way. Open up your life. Live openly and expansively.

A life that isn’t challenged is the life of a person who isn’t living to the level of potential God requires. God is living. Life is dynamic and growing. We are called to be moving, growing – living our Christian life to the full. We always want to be striving and moving towards a place we have never been before. God wants to bring us into new places and into new experiences that we’ve never had. We are the ones that hold ourselves back by focusing on why things can’t happen instead of walking in faith.

It matters how we think. Paul says that we live small lives because we are thinking too small and living too small. We aren’t possessing what God has for us because we get caught up in life. The stuff of live conspires to lock us into thinking small and keep us from seeing what God wants us to see – what he has for us and where he is taking us. God wants us to trust him and follow him – taking steps toward our visions and dreams in faith – instead of getting caught up in small thinking and focusing on what we can see. We want to live our lives focusing on what is possible with God and not what our natural eyes and thoughts tell us is impossible.

The church is like the twelve tribes – different tribes with different styles for different people – different cultures, emphases and tasks. There are different kinds of churches that God is using. God is working through different peoples and different churches. People are finding their place and their tribe within the body of Christ. One body – many tribes. God is never hemmed in. God is doing different things in different places through different tribes. Anytime you get in a place that claims exclusivity with God, you are in the wrong place. The body of Christ is diverse. There is nothing better than finding where you fit. You can plant, connect and let God start flowing through you and your connections. The whole concept of not thinking small and not being fenced in works from this idea.

Acts 4 – The Jerusalem church in the book of Acts is the first church. We can learn so much from it in the book of Acts because it is the model on which we should base our churches. Everything in this church was new, powerful and exciting. They would meet in the public square of the Temple – the center of Jewish life. All of the early converts were Jews, converted to believe that Jesus was the Messiah (which made the Jewish leaders angry and aggressive towards the early church because they had just crucified Christ). Peter and John would perform miracles within the temple and the religious leaders would question on whose authority they were acting. (When you are stuck in religion, you can’t see the glory of God, even when it is right before your face.)

At this point in Acts, the church is having a prayer meeting. (By the way – there isn’t a gift of prayer. It is something that all Christians need to do. Prayer is the most powerful thing on this planet. It fills your spirit with life and growth. It is crucial for us). v29 – “Give your servants great boldness in their preaching. Send your healing power. May miraculous signs and wonders be done in the name of your servant Jesus.” They prayed for great boldness: courage, daring, audacity, bravery, bravado, valor, confidence, self assuredness, brashness. It’s easy to be bold when you are hiding behind someone who is stronger than you – but that’s not boldness.

Boldness is when you step out of encouragement and start doing – speaking and declaring. Having faith despite the outcome, not knowing what the result or the cost of your boldness will be. The boldness of the first church led to a period of persecution and murder. This led to the Roman persecution of the church, but they were unafraid. But their boldness and their sacrifice led to the spreading of the church across the world. This was the moment that God had planned – everything up until the crucifixion of Christ was to lead up to this moment in which God began to move through human beings and bring his Kingdom and his love back to earth through his church.

v32 – All the believers were of one heart and mind. And they felt that what they earned was not their own, and they shared everything. They began to sell their property and share – created charity. Charity comes from Christ dwelling inside of people. Christ wants us to live and trust that no matter what we have Christ is going to provide for us. This revelation led to the explosion of the church – there was a famine and a need, the church met the need and the people poured in. There was no poverty among them. Some people tried to cheat the system. They sold their things, but kept some of the proceeds. They dropped dead. It’s a big deal when God is doing something, and you miss it. If you position yourself with boldness, faith and obedience, you will catch the wave of what God is doing.

If you hesitate or position yourself in the wrong place, you will miss it. If you become afraid, you will fall off and be pummeled. When God is doing something, you want to position yourself right where God is and be bold. It’s a lot bigger from the top of the wave – from God’s point of view. It can be scary when you decide to step out, be bold and do something radical for God. But when you are in position when God is bringing a challenge, he will bring something incredible through you. It can be scary and challenging, which is why you need to find your tribe, stay covered and stay connected. God used the boldness of the first church to explode his church on the earth. What will he do through you?