Quote from Forum Archives on March 19, 2003, 1:47 pm

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

DARING TO DREAM AGAIN #4/9
MISSING THE POINT
March 16, 2003

Text: John 13:18-30

You have probably had some experience similar this: you have been talking
with someone, perhaps teaching a skill, you get done, and then the other
person does or says something that indicates that they have obviously
missed the point. For example, someone stops me in front of the church
and asks how to get to the high school. So I say, “Go down Broadway to
Elm, the corner where the bank is, and take a right. Follow Elm to 500
south, where Elm dead ends, and take a left. The high school will be on
the left side of the road.” Now this person acknowledges he understands,
thanks me, and takes off. I stand and watch him go down to Elm and
promptly take a left at the bank. Obviously, he missed the point! Well,
at least he didn’t follow the proper directions.

Unfortunately, not everyone who was with Jesus got the point. On our
first Spiritual Adventure Sunday, our Bible teacher was Gideon who taught
us to let God heal our painful past. Last Sunday, David taught us to
discover God’s present involvement in our lives. This Sunday, our teacher
is Judas. Even though he missed the point, Judas is still an example. A
bad example is still an example.

A commonly discussed matter among Christians is “the will of God.” How do
I know it? How do I do it? It is important for us to both know and do the
will of God. We pray that way, don’t we? “May your will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven.” And what did our Savior pray in the garden of
Gethsemane? “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” The apostle Paul wrote
to the church in Ephesus, Ephesians 5:15-17, and told them, “Be very
careful, then, how you live—not as unwise, but as wise, making the most
of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be
foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.” And from Philippians
2:12-13, “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good
purpose.” When we really want to “dream again” in a manner that’s
pleasing to God, and to ultimately accomplish His will and purpose, then
we need to make sure we have established God-given goals for our future.

Jesus called Judas, one of the original Twelve, to follow him. Judas was
a smart man. He became treasurer of the Twelve. Judas was looking for the
coming of Messiah. And it looked for a while that this man, Jesus, was
the one who everyone was waiting for!

But things began to unravel for Judas. Jesus wasn’t doing things quite
the way Judas thought he would. Judas wasn’t able to put aside his own
self-centered desires. As a result, he became bitter. Unfortunately,
satan was then able to use Judas’s bitterness for his own purposes and
the rest is history!

Our Adult Adventure Journal sums up some of the issues Judas faced and
the actions he took. It reads:

“As the months of following Jesus passed, Judas came to realize that his
dreams and Christ’s dreams were different. Money and power were not
bottom-line concerns in the kingdom of God. Unfortunately, this member of
Jesus’ original Twelve set aside godly goals and let the barrier of
self-centered desires prompt him to make a tragic mistake.

Goals, whether stated or unstated, need to be regularly checked to see if
they are consistent with Christ’s desires. This acronym [for ‘GOALS’]
helps simplify that process.

Get God’s input

Own it

Apply it

Live it

Seek God’s input again

Get God’s input. ‘Don’t act thoughtlessly,’ cautions Paul in Ephesians
5:17, ‘but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.’ Are your
dreams consistent with God’s wonderful plans for your life? The writer of
Hebrews quoted Christ as saying, ‘I have come to do your will, O God’
(10:7). Ask God to reveal his desires for your life.

Own it. Fix in your mind God’s answer. Here are some examples: God wants
me to be a holy person. Jesus wants me to read the Bible every day. The
Lord wants me to help someone in need this week. Psalm 37:23–24 reads,
‘The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every
detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the
Lord holds them by the hand.’ Tell God repeatedly that his goals are
important to you. Make them your own by accepting and believing them.
Write them down and put them in a place where you will see them often.
You may want to begin with just one goal.

Apply it. Lay out some initial plans for meeting your God-given goals,
and begin putting them into action. Start living what you eventually want
to become. According to James 1:23, if you hear from God and don’t
respond in kind, ‘it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing
nothing to improve your appearance.’ And in John 13:17 Jesus says, ‘You
know these things—now do them! That is the path of blessing.’ Ask God to
empower you to do what he wants you to do.

Live it. Keep working on realizing your godly goals until they become a
way of life. In time, your dream and who you are should be inseparable.
‘For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the
power to do what pleases him’ (Philippians 2:13). When the time is right,
share your goals with a friend.

Seek God’s input again. There is so much to experience in Christ that you
will never be able to learn everything. But the upward call of God is
worth a lifetime of pursuit. In Philippians 3:12 Paul writes, ‘I don’t
mean to say that I have already... reached perfection! But I keep working
toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for
and wants me to be.’

Now is the time to learn how to set godly goals. Begin by getting God’s
input. Start thinking and praying about this matter until you can say
with conviction, ‘I believe I have God’s input. My godly goal for the
present is: (fill in the blank).’” (Daring to Dream Again: Overcoming
Barriers that Hold You Back, Adult Journal, Wheaton: Mainstay Ministries,
2003, pp. 27-28)

One of the sad truths about our culture is it has become self-centered.
In the days immediately following the attack on the World Trade Center
Towers and the Pentagon, more than one radio or television reporter
commented, “I wonder if things will ever return to normal? But, then
again, I wonder if that’s what we really want? Do we want to go back to
‘normal’? I mean, people in this past week haven’t been busy shopping, or
visiting the bars at night, or spending time doing things that are of
interest to them only. They’ve been at home, with their families. They’ve
been caring about how others are doing. They’re less concerned with
self.” Unfortunately for Judas, he had trouble getting past himself, too.
None of the disciples were very clear about what Jesus true intentions
while they were with him. They continued to express confusion even during
the last supper. But all except Judas were willing to try to learn.
Instead of being open to change, though, Judas made other plans. Jesus
discerned the change in Judas - perhaps he observed side discussions
between Judas and Pharisees over time - and told him, “What you are about
to do, do quickly.” Judas had goals, but they were not all godly goals.
Judas missed the point.

There’s nothing wrong with becoming successful. Just don’t leave God out
of the equation. There’s nothing wrong with being wise or strong or
wealthy. Just remember that knowing God is still what’s most important.
Judas, along with many others, sat and listened as Jesus plainly said in
Luke 14: “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my
disciple” (Luke 14:27) — and deliberately chose to ignore those words.

Godly goals are God-given dreams for your life. My challenge for you this
week is to make time to review what’s on your list of life’s goals. One
of the names for Jesus is Lord. To acknowledge someone as Lord means that
we commit ourselves to his dreams and goals. When the King Arthur of
legend developed the goal to seek the Holy Grail, it became the goal of
all of his knights.

So it was for Jesus’ closest followers. They may have understood the
dangers and not understood the purpose of Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem, but
since it was their Lord’s goal, it was their goal, too. If their Lord’s
goal was to avoid political victory and honor, they would avoid it, too.
If their Lord’s goal was to bring redemption without overthrowing
Israel’s occupier, then they would try the same thing.

Except for Judas, who understood all too well that it looked more like
Jesus was heading straight for a cross, jeopardizing the lives of all who
followed him. This point he got. Jesus wasn’t going to seize power. He
wasn’t going to establish a new Jerusalem under a different regime. Some
points Judas got quite clearly, and this was one of them.

The point he missed, though, was that Jesus was establishing a new
covenant with his chosen people. He was following his Father’s will. He
was setting new goals for his followers, who would follow them as their
goals, too. These are the points that Judas tragically missed.

How torn Judas must have felt. He liked Jesus as a person. He was, in
truth, a close friend. But he feared the direction this friend was going.
Judas could embrace Jesus the Monarch, but not Jesus the Martyr. So Judas
developed new goals and set a new direction. Perhaps he believed that he
was doing Jesus and his friends a favor. Perhaps he thought he saw a way
they could all succeed. But he forgot to include godly goals in his own
life. In spite of all he tried to do, only the darkness of an unredeemed
death awaited him. Missing the point can have terrible consequences.

Over the years, Christians have discovered something: to know the will of
God is the greatest knowledge we’ll ever have, and to do the will of God
is the greatest work we’ll ever do. So for this week of the Spiritual
Adventure, ask yourself: What’s on my list of goals? Are they God-given,
or self-centered? Do I even know the difference? Think about those
questions and establish godly goals for your future. Don’t miss the
point!

(Adapted from Pastor’s Manual, Daring to Dream Again, Wheaton: Mainstay
Ministries, 2003, pp. B113-B116)

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

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