Weekly Reflection 10/28/24

“Don’t miss the forest for the trees.” (With Jesus)

“Don’t miss the forest for the trees” is an idiom that means to not understand the larger picture of a situation or problem because you are only focusing on a few details. Is it possible that as a church we could become so focused on the individual “trees” of religion that we miss the “forest, our ultimate reason for existence? So, what is the forest? What is the ultimate purpose we were created for? To be with Him. That is how God is glorified, when we are with Him and enjoying Him. Everything we are called to do, everything Jesus did, was for this reason, that we could be with Him and enjoy Him.

“Practicing the Way” by John Mark Comer

• Comer says, “This is the first and most important goal of apprenticeship to Jesus: to be with Him, to spend every waking moment aware of His presence and attentive to His voice.”
• Mark 3:13-15 – And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. [14] And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles), so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach [15] and have authority to cast out demons.
• Comer again, “First, you come and be with Jesus; gradually you start to become like Him; eventually, it’s like you can’t help it – you begin to do the kind of things He did in the world.” 

Acts 4:1-22

Acts 4:13b – “And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Now, how does this apply to us? We have not had the opportunity the disciples had to hang out with Jesus physically. Can we be with Jesus? How can we be with Jesus? Here are a few ways we can be with Jesus:

1. The Word: We can be with Jesus by reading the Word of God. Jesus is the Word become flesh
2. Prayer: We can spend time with Him through prayer. Praying should not be a one-way conversation but involves both speaking and listening. It is talking with the Lord.
3. Fellowship: The church is the body of Christ and Jesus is the head of the body.
4. Evangelism/disciple-making: If we want to be with Jesus we need to be doing what He is doing. We need to be going where He is going. We haven’t been called to a religion as much as called to follow Jesus, do the things He is doing, go the places He is going, treating people the way He is treating people.
5. The Holy Spirit: Listen to what Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, [17] even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17) “Another helper” literally means “another of the same kind” or “another one of me.” Question, is this saying that the Father will give us another one of Jesus? To be with us? To help us and intercede for us? Jesus very clearly identifies this “another one of Me” as the Holy Spirit. What this means is that the way Jesus’ followers are to be with Him is by the Holy Spirit. To be with the Holy Spirit is to be with Jesus

Four Results of Spending Time with Jesus.

Being with Jesus Gives Us Boldness.

• Acts 4:13 – Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. How does being with Jesus give us boldness or courage? Matthew 28:18-20 – And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Let’s put two things together, what was said before the Great Commission and what was said after. Jesus has all authority, and Jesus is with us always. That should give us boldness, the One who has all authority has promised to be with us always. Jesus is with us through or by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells all believers, we are continually to be being filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Being with Jesus Enables Us and Gives Us the Authority to do the Extraordinary.

• Acts 4:13 – Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. God used these ordinary men to preach the gospel that day. “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” (Acts‬ 4‬:4)‬ God wants to use ordinary people like you and I to do extraordinary things, specifically share the Gospel and make disciples who will make disciples. All followers of Jesus are qualified, no matter how common and uneducated you may be. Being with Jesus is what made the difference for the disciples, and it will make the difference for us.‬‬‬‬

Being with Jesus Teaches and Inspires Us to Obey God

• Acts 4:17-19 – But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” [18] So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. [19] But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge. Acts 5:29 – But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. When you are consistently spending time with Jesus and getting to know Him you will want to obey Him. When you realize everything He commands is for your good, its to protect you, help you grow, help you to experience more of Him; then you want to obey.

Being with Jesus Gives Us Something to Say

• A common reason for not telling others about Jesus or not making disciples is, “I don’t know what to say.” Well guess what, the remedy for that is spending more time with Jesus. Acts 4:19-20 – But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, [20] for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Peter and John said they could not keep silent, because they had seen and heard too much while they were with Jesus. Being with Jesus gives us something to say.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” Ephesians‬ 2‬:4‬-6‬ ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• A follower of Jesus’ current status is alive with Jesus and a disciple of Jesus’ current position is seated with Jesus in the heavenly places.