Walking in The New Normal: God's Compassion and Abundance
“Walking in The New Normal: God’s Compassion and Abundance”
E-100 #61 Loaves and Fishes, Luke 9:10ff
by Clancy Nixon
January 31, 2010
Church of the Holy Spirit
Ashburn, Virginia
[PRAYER]
The title of my message today is “Walk in The New Normal: God’s Compassion and Abundance.” For you and me “Normal” used to mean walking in our own strength, stumbling and falling, and picking ourselves up by our bootstraps. Let’s learn to walk in what I’m calling the New Normal: walk in God’s compassion and abundance.
I don't know about you, but I am hungry today. Oh, I had my breakfast. My hunger is for experiencing more of Jesus’ love. What a loving God he is! How he does everything so consistently, never losing patience with slow men or ignorant children; never putting his own needs above those of others. I feel like I’m kind most of the time, and then I just blow it. I don't know about you, but I want to be compassionate like Jesus, all the time. I’m tired of reflecting on my own selfishness.
When you see me here on Sunday, I’m at my best. I’m alert. I’m up. I’m prayed up, studied up, and ready to be up here to give you a word from the Lord. When I’m at home, when I’m at the office, I’m not always up. You can ask Ginger or Kris or Lisa or Jackie or Terry: when I get busy or fatigued, I can be short with people. I can get so focused on a task – this week it was making sure the binder for Vestry Minutes is complete - that I ignored the fact that Ginger was praying with Lisa in the office about something personal. I walked right on into the administrative office, ignored the two praying ladies, made my copies, and punched 3 holes in documents as they prayed, as if they were distracting me, when I was the inconsiderate one. Later, I apologized.
That was my old man on display, the “old normal” if you will. That was the way I normally was before Christ changed me, but I don’t yet live like Jesus all the time. I’m asking God to help me with that selfish behavior, to be able to consistently live one of my stated priorities, which is this: people are more important than tasks. This goes against the grain of my personality type, but I’m not giving myself any slack on this. If a task takes a long time to complete, or it does not get done at all, well, okay, I can live with that. But if I’m ever inconsiderate to people, then I need to walk more consistently in The New Normal, in God’s compassion and abundance, in his power and authority. I want to walk in the authority and power God has given me, and when I forget God’s priorities, I don’t look like Jesus.
Let’s look at how Jesus modeled compassion toward people. Please open your Bibles to Luke chapter 9, starting at verses 1 and 2. In your blue pew Bibles, that’s page 1025. In verse 1, Jesus gave the twelve “power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.” Wow! That’s pretty cool. They have been given authority, which is the right, the commission to bring God’s Kingdom in; and, they have been given the power to do it. All demons must flee. Say that with me: “All demons must flee.” They are also given power and authority to cure diseases, but the text does not say all diseases. I think deliverance is easier than healing. Try it! You don't have to have a large measure of God’s power to make demons flee. You just have to walk in the authority God has given you as an ambassador of His Kingdom, and send them away. If you think a demon is involved, take authority over it, and speak it aloud, like this: “In Jesus’ name, go away!” That is what I taught my sons from the time they were little. Diseases aren’t always cured, but demons must flee at the name of Jesus.
And they go on mission - here it is, in verse 2: Jesus sent the twelve out to “preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Verse 6 reports that they did just that, “preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.” Gospel proclamation and healing the sick are really one mission, not two, and they go together. Don’t separate them. The twelve had worked hard; they had success; and now Herod the Beheader, I mean Herod the Tetrarch, finds out about them, verse 7.
Jesus decides that it’s time to regroup, verse 10, so he takes the twelve and goes to a deserted place, the region of Bethsaida, on the far side of the Jordan. Mark 6:31 tells us that they were so busy they didn’t even have time to eat. This is great counsel: after a time of accomplishment, you need to rest with Jesus. Vance Havner said, “If we don’t come apart and rest, we’ll just come apart.” Beloved, you need to rest. After you abound in good works, it’s time to abide in Christ. After you abound, it’s time to abide. Many of you aren’t getting the sleep you need. Many of your lives are like whirling tornadoes, and you just need more time to reflect. Beloved, make the time. One way to reflect on what God is doing on your life is by keeping a personal journal. Find a quiet place, and write down your prayers and hopes and dreams. Ask God to speak to you, and refer to your journal often. Make rest and reflection part of your New Normal, or the old normal will show up far more than you want.
So Jesus goes to abide with his apprentices in the desert, and lo: crowds of thousands have followed them! How would you feel if you had gone to a private place to be with your closest friends, and you were interrupted by an uninvited, demanding mob? Many of us would resent the invasion of our hard-won privacy. My guess is that the apostles resented it, for they were quick to send them away by dinnertime. I probably would have thought of Cloud and Townsend’s book Boundaries, and said something like, “Sorry, but this is a private meeting, and I need some Sabbath time alone with my fellows. If you can come back tomorrow at 9:00, I can see you then.” By contrast to that old normal, in Verse 11 notice what Jesus did with these party crashers. He welcomed them, he spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed them. That welcome was a welcome of selfless love. In Matthew and Mark’s version of this same story, it also says that Jesus had compassion on them. Mark says at 6:34, he had compassion, he felt it like it was a punch in his guts, his splancthna, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. They were lost sheep, so the Good Shepherd cares for them, weary though he is.
Beloved, Jesus Christ is a God of compassion. He cares more about his people than he cares about rest for himself and his inner circle. When he walked this planet, He still got rest, mind you, just not that day. These 5,000 men and even more women and children were not sanctified saints. They were fickle, immature, and hurting sinners and seekers, and Jesus had compassion on them. Jesus does not give people what they deserve; he gives because of who He is: a God of compassion and abundance. Bishop Ryle says his ear was always ready to listen, his hand to work, and his tongue to preach. Jesus Christ is always ready to hear your plea. Jesus has compassion on you as well. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!” (Hebrews 13:8) Amen? God cares about you. Beloved, He wants to heal you, to forgive you, and to lead you to the abundant life.
There's a story about a business man who went to a bank for a loan. He was turned down, but then the banker made an unusual offer. He said to the man, "I have one real eye and one glass eye. If you can tell me which is which right now, I'll approve your loan." The man took a quick look at the banker and said, "Your left eye is your real eye, and the right is glass." The banker was surprised and said, "That's right! How did you know?" The businessman said, "Because I detected a hint of compassion in the glass eye." …
Unfortunately, that’s how many people see God – stern, capricious, and stingy with his resources. Beloved: Nothing could be further from the truth! God is a loving father; he’s got the compassion of Jesus. When you hurt, he feels it in his guts. Not only that, but God is a god of abundance. He has more than enough for you and for everyone else. He’s not stingy! Let’s look at the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.
The disciples failed to see what God wanted to do, because they were not yet walking in The New Normal - The Spirit-Filled Life. Notice that the twelve had just walked in divine power and authority, and here it was, one day later, their supposed day off, and they went back to the old normal, soulish ways again. They told Jesus what to do – send the crowds away so they can get food some place, because we don't have enough. Learn from them: Beloved, don't tell Jesus what to do – ask him what He wants you to do. Mary said it well at the wedding in Cana, “Listen to Him, and do what he tells you!” That time, Jesus told them to fill the water jars with water, and he turned it into wine. This time, he told the apostles to feed the crowd with what they had. He told them to divide the multitude into small groups of 50. We learn from John 6:8 that a boy brought 5 loaves and 2 fishes, so Jesus blessed it and told the disciples to give it to the people. The food multiplied before their eyes!
This is a story about God’s provision in The New Normal. The Kingdom of God is the New Normal. Paul describes the New Normal at Philippians 4:19, “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Our God is a god of miracles: he heals; he delivers; he feeds his people. All the disciples could see was what could not be done. Jesus sees what can be, what ought to be. Don’t focus on your lack; focus on God’s power to meet all your needs! Start with what you do have, no matter how meager it may be; give it to Jesus; and trust God to meet the needs. He will bless it, and you will see miracles of provision. Warren Wiersbe says, “When your resources are small, and your responsibilities are great, remember this: God has already solved this problem!”
Perhaps some of you have felt sometimes that worshiping in a school gym is like having only 5 loaves and two fish. Your Vestry and I saw the possibility for our first church home. Some of you thought our little church could not do it – raising $200,000 in one month! Still, you gave what little you had to the Lord, trusting him for the outcome. God has indeed multiplied it! Beloved, let’s not forget this miracle of provision. Let it be written on our hearts what God has done. Amen? In our staff devotions this week, I asked what they thought the extra basketfuls might mean in our situation. Ginger said she thought the extra bread was the extra time in our new space that other churches who don’t have a building might use. We should never forget where we came from, and be generous and share it.
Verse 17: “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” This enacted parable is not only a wonder; it’s also a sign. A sign points somewhere else. The sign is of hunger satisfied forever, because we who have eaten Christ’s food will never hunger again. It’s a foretaste of the heavenly banquet that will never end. John tells us that the very next day, Jesus preached a sermon and said, “I am the bread of life,” and he urged them to receive him just as they had received the bread. Jesus is telling us that he is the staple of life; he will satisfy our spiritual hunger for all time.
Beloved, walk in the New Normal. Walk in the power and authority God has given you. Walk in His compassion and abundance. There is only one way to do that: Start with what you do have, no matter how meager it may be; give it to Jesus; and trust God to meet the needs. He will bless it, and you will see miracles of provision.
Let’s pray.
