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In the Name of Jesus, God’s own Son, our Savior, 2002 is an election-year. It’s time for the politicians to prepare their promises, and for us to prepare for disappointment. Our political leaders have trained us to expect less than they promise. After all, they are only men who must try, but often fail because of their weaknesses. But what about your God? Has He ever disappointed you or fallen short of your expectations? It seems so, at times. But “He remains faithful,” as the Scriptures tell us. The problem is our perception. Since man’s fall into sin, we all have a tendency to view things in a material setting. We have this attitude that every thing and every event in life is valuable only if it can be measured by our senses, and measure up to our dreams, desires, and judgments. Blaise Pascal, the famous French mathematician who was also a Christian, said that man’s greatest diseases are pride, which cuts him off from God, and sensuality which binds him to the earth. In other words, while God is saying in the Gospel of Christ, “You can come up to me by receiving my words in faith,” But man says, “Hey, just one minute! I will let you be my God when you accept what I do, do as I ask, and treat me the way I want to be treated.” In the previous chapters of John’s gospel there are many examples of how the pride and sensuality of materialism cloud our perception of the truth and heavenly blessings. In chapter 4, the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well could only think of material water, physical relationships with men and the worship of God at a material mountain. Jesus had to patiently draw her up from this sensuality in order to reveal Himself as the spiritual and living water for her soul. Later in Galilee, a nobleman came to Jesus. His son was close to death. He expected that Jesus would have to come down and be physically present in order to heal his son. Then back in Jerusalem at the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus asked a man who had been sick and crippled for 38 years: “Do you want to be made well?” “Sure,” he said, “Please put me into the pool while the water is being stirred up so that I may be healed.” Because of the material, sensual, barrier, the poor cripple was not expecting enough from Jesus. In this sixth chapter of John’s gospel we find the event that led to
the climax of Jesus’ ministry to the Galileans. The day before the
words of our text, Jesus had fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread
and two small fish. The people then chased Him all over the country-side,
thinking that God had given them a King who would miraculously provide
for all their material needs.
OR WHEN THE APPOINTMENTS OF GOD DISAPPOINT, I. You have set your sights too low; You want to bring the Lord down to your level, when He wants to lift you up to Himself! Many of Jesus’ early followers had set their sights too low. He was revealing Himself as the spiritual Bread of Life to be spiritually “eaten” by faith unto eternal life! But the Jews could only think in material terms. They asked themselves: Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” (6:42) They even argued among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” (6:52) Let’s follow our Lord’s answer. “Does this offend you?” He asks in v. 61. “If your materialism offends you now, what if I ascend back into heaven, where I was before? — What if you can no longer see Me at all — what then? What a disappointment I will be to you then! “But the flesh profits nothing.” — Even if you could manage to keep Me around on the earth just to provide material goods and services, you could not have the abundant and eternal life God wants you to have through Me. Life is not found in flesh and material. It is the Spirit Who gives life, and He does this through the words that I speak to you; they are spirit and they are life! But there are some of you who do not believe, . . . That’s why I have told you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to Him by the Father.” (V. 65) This was the ultimate disappointment! Jesus tells them that real life with God does NOT come materially to sinners, but spiritually through faith in the spoken words of Christ. And to have this saving faith was way beyond any fleshly ability of their own — The heavenly Father must give it. “From that time (on) many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” (V. 66) They followed Him as long as He was fulfilling their sensual and materialistic expectations in life. But as soon as Jesus began to speak about the spiritual nature of discipleship, they were filled with disappointment. God wanted to lift them up to Himself in heaven by the Word of Christ, but the majority of the people had set their sights much lower — here on earth. From then on, every appointment of God from the day-to-day occurrences in their lives to the crucified Savior, all would be disappointing and offensive to them. Have you ever been disappointed with God? Are we a little disappointed when He seems to give more of this world’s things to the unbelieving and the godless than He does to the Christian? Have the many “hard sayings” of God’s Word been a disappointment to us at times, so that we have stumbled over them rather than confessing them faithfully? And what our prayers? Has God seemed to fall short of our expectations when we have prayed in time of need? Perhaps the situation or condition has gotten worse instead of better. You may have prayed fervently for the healing of a loved one, but that healing never happened. The temptation in all such circumstances is to follow the majority of Christ’s former disciples, who no longer walk with Him because some appointment of God has disappointed them. It’s then that the Spirit of our God must take hold of us by His spiritual Word of grace and remind us that we are not allowing our Him to be far above us in wisdom and love in Christ. We are not letting Him be God, or allowing Him to lift us up to Himself in heaven! II. How shall we escape this disappointment with our God? Cling to Him, as the only One Who has the words of eternal life! When Jesus turned to His disciples and asked, “Do YOU also want to go away?” Peter answered: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter made a good confession! But a few weeks later, Peter expressed his desire to stay on the material mountain of the Transfiguration, where he could cling to the physical Jesus in material safety. Then God the Father had to remind Peter in a loud voice to “hear” his “beloved Son.” Peter desired and expected bask in the glory of Jesus, right then, along with James and John, Elijah and Moses. But God wanted to lift Peter, James and John, to the glory of heaven, after they had gone down from the mountain to finish their work for Jesus on earth. “Cling to the word of My Son,” God says, “and all will go well for you forever!” What is it that keeps us from being disappointed with God’s appointments in our lives, especially when He takes a loved one from us, or seems as if He is not hearing or caring about our pleas for help? Nothing but this truth: Our Lord Jesus ALONE has the words of eternal life. Even the heavens and the earth will pass away, but the words of our Savior God will not pass away — So He tells us in Matthew 24:35. Christ’s words recently delivered two of our brothers in Christ to heaven, when nothing else could! Christ’s words shall also deliver us from sin, death, and all misery. Therefore may we be granted the grace to view our God and our relationship with Him ONLY according to those words — those lovely words — our Savior speaks to us in His Gospel. And may we confess with Peter: “O Lord, Your words are spirit, and they are life. Nothing of what I see, or taste, or think, or touch is life. Only keep on feeding me Your words. Let the Holy Spirit continue to shed abroad in my heart the love of God for me as revealed on the cross and told in the gospel. Then I shall not be ashamed or disappointed in my God. Then I shall know that He is always with me, that He holds me by my right hand, guides me with His counsel, and afterward shall take me to eternal glory!” (Ps. 73:23,24) Amen. |