Esch, Jim 7

Scripture: Judges 6:12-14 (NIV) – “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, He said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’ ‘Pardon me, my Lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, “Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?” But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.’ The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’”

Message: Does the holiday season seem draining of our energy? Can our energy thrive through whatever challenges we face – financial, relationships, or health?

When we follow God's leading, God will lead us to things we are not sure we can do. Those things cannot be done without God's extra strength.

Just like Gideon, the extra strength you have is:

1) you are who God says you are (“mighty warrior”) – not whom anyone else says that you are;

2) God is with you – the Holy Spirit inside you is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

When God put a calling on your life, He already factored in your incompetence. God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

We often lean on things we know, which is dangerous. We should not shrink our vision down to what we can do – but expand it to what God can do.

If God leads you to it, He will see you through it – through His extra strength – not ours.

Often God increases our courage by decreasing our resources – so that we see what He can do – not what we can do in our own strength.

What we don't have often makes other people comfortable to share their weaknesses and flaws. We need to show humility in a world where often the image of a Christian is of a self-righteous, judgmental, know-it-all. Our inability to answer someone's question may be what leads them to Jesus.

Prayer tithe: give 10% of the time that we spend on anything to prayer.

Prayer: God, we ask through Your extra strength, that You make us brave. Do in us – through us –what we cannot do on our own. Lord, whatever we face, we give it to You. Amen.

Jim Esch

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Scripture: Matthew 26:49-54 (NLT) – “So Judas came straight to Jesus. ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ he exclaimed and gave him a kiss. Jesus said, ‘My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.’ Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear. ‘Put away your sword,’ Jesus told him. ‘Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?’”

Message: The protector with the sword is Peter, and don’t think for a minute that he was aiming for the ear; he was striking out to kill. And don’t we strike out often? What is your sword? What is your first reaction when things go wrong in your life, or you encounter divisive people?

Jesus says put your sword away, because just like in the scripture, he does not need your help, even if that is your natural instinct. And this has three words to remember:

Practical: Haven’t we hurt each other enough? And if all we do is draw our sword, what kind of life is that? And we will frequently find someone with a bigger sword.

Power: Remember who He is and trust Him always. It seems we are willing to trust Him for eternity, yet not on Tuesday afternoon.

Plan: The sword is against God’s plan. Why do we fight against what has been ordained? And that includes “heavenly sent” people, those who we are in conflict with, yet who are sent to allow us to grow spiritually and demonstrate Christian love by speaking truth in love. That person is sent so that they can witness Christ’s character through us; enabling both of us to grow towards the one mind.

Prayer: Jesus, there is no one like You, willing to die for me. You pursue me relentlessly because You love me and never give up. You have not left me, though I often leave You. Help me practice loving like You, without a sword in my hand, but with Your hope and joy, so that the world may be healed through Your power and in Your name for a bigger, and freer life. Amen.

Jim Esch

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Scripture: Matthew 2:7-8 (NLT) – “Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, ‘Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!’”

Message: King Herod is an often forgotten part of the Christmas story, as he has a very cold and ruthless heart – yet God invites him to Bethlehem too. What does it take to melt his and our cold hearts?

1) Jesus invites us to surrender to him what we are holding onto – those things that might be holding us back from experiencing Him. What might you care about more than Jesus? If they become more important to us than Jesus, our hearts start to get cold. Jesus offers us so much more – if we will just let go of the stuff we are hanging onto. If we hang on – we get cold hearts. If we surrender – Jesus warms our hearts.

2) Draw close to the pain in the world, by getting to know people who are experiencing the pain. And that has a way of turning the pain from some abstract concept into something that is personal, because you know an individual. If we do not touch and feel the pain in the world, we will have cold hearts. Yet if we let it get personal, it melts our hearts.

3) Draw close to the warmth of God's love. The most transforming power in the universe is the warmth of God's love.

Two suggested actions:

1) Answer what step is God asking me to take toward a warmer heart?

2) Be a heart warmer. Who do you know who has been hurt and as a result has a cold heart? Jesus tells us we are the salt of the earth – one of the things salt does is melt ice.

Prayer: Jesus, we surrender – the hurts, the pain, and the things that got us to a cold heart – the things we are hanging onto. Lord, we give them to You, and ask that You help us experience Your love, deeper and deeper. The warmth of Your love – help us to draw close to that. Melt our hearts – make us like You – and we will be forever grateful. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.

Jim Esch

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Scripture: Matthew 17:1-4 (NLT) – “Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter exclaimed, ‘Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’”

Message: The transfiguration is where the veil between heaven and earth gets parted, and heaven breaks in on earth. Here Peter gives us a step-by-step lesson on how we can miss a miracle.

1) don't listen to Jesus: Peter starts by talking – if you don't know what to say, don't say anything – just be quiet and listen. Who or what have you been listening to lately? If you want to see the amazing things that God is doing in your life, you have got to become quiet and listen to Jesus. And the word "listen" does not just mean hear – it also means to understand and to do.

2) be busy with lots of good things: When we get busy with good things, like building three shelters, we focus on ourselves, and Jesus becomes just one of many things on our list – not our central focus.

3) give God a lot of advice: By wanting to build three shelters, Peter is advising Jesus, essentially saying: “God, I know you have a wonderful plan for my life. However, I think that plan should be......” What is the difference between you and God? God never gets confused and thinks He's you!

4) stay on the mountain and avoid pain: By wanting to build the three shelters, Peter is trying to make the experience permanent. He wants to stay on the mountain top, rather than go back down to the brokenness of this world to heal it.

Prayer: Jesus, help us open our eyes to see how You are at work. Help us set aside all the stuff that keeps us busy and focused away from You, so that we can see the many ways that Your Heaven is breaking into our lives, and point to You as the author of it all. Amen.

Jim Esch

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Scripture: Matthew 21:28-31 (NLT) - “A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go. ‘Which of the two obeyed his father?’ They replied, ‘The first.’ Then Jesus explained his meaning: ‘I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.’”

Message: Jesus tells Pharisees, church people, they are not disciples because they do not obey Jesus, like the second son who said yes but did not obey. The people who seemingly say no to Jesus, when they encounter Jesus, they obey Him like the first son. They know they need forgiveness. Jesus did not do what the religious people wanted Him to do, so they crucified Him.

Jesus calls us to more and He offers more, and calls us to obey. That is uncomfortable – we do not like to obey. Yet Jesus does not call us to a slavish obedience. He offers a joyful obedience that leads to health, wholeness, and vitality.

If we loved our spouses as the Bible says, our marriages would be better. If we gave generously, that would actually free us more from money worries. He made us, so He knows best what is going to help us thrive.

The Creator of the universe is not someone you invite into your life as your personal assistant to help you get everything that you want.

How we do little things is how we do everything. It is the day-to-day acts of obedience, the little acts of obedience, that add up to our character. Just like drops of rain add up to be an ocean.

It is not by trying harder, or through sheer force of will. It is through surrender and trust.

Do you trust Jesus that He loves you more than you can imagine? When we trust, it is more natural to obey. He wants a relationship with you, and Jesus would rather die than lose you, so He did.

Prayer: Lord, help us believe Jesus' love through prayer and scripture, remind ourselves of His love, and ask Jesus "Where do You want me to obey You? Please show me." Amen.

Jim Esch

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Scripture: Matthew 1:19-20 (NIV) – “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’”

Message: What other people think of us has power. Every person has this social fear, which controls us and keeps us from the bigger life that God calls us to. God has a plan for your life – yet so does everybody else – whose is going to lead to more meaning, purpose, and joy?

Joseph’s problem is not Mary; his problem is he has social fear, because of which he almost missed a miracle, if he had not listened to the angel’s message.

To really experience the power of Jesus, we have to have the courage to accept the world's disapproval. Sometimes God calls us to do something controversial. Choose faith over fear and make a lasting difference. The quickest way to forget what God thinks about us is to focus on what others think about us.

How do we break free?

1) Accept the adventure of Jesus. Jesus is not in a relationship with us to help us achieve our goals. He is in a relationship with us to empower us to achieve His goals.

2) Know God uses every hard thing eventually for good.

3) Know that God is doing something bigger that we get to be a part of. 4) Live in relationship with God's love.

God calls us to be in relationship with Him, and that is personal. He calls us to a bigger life than we can ever imagine for ourselves. You are Your Father's daughter / son – whom then shall you fear?

Prayer: Jesus, help us to confront that social fear in all of us. Make us brave and willing to follow You, and do things that You ask us to do, even if others disapprove, so that we can be part of Your rescue mission in this world, and live that bigger life You promise. Amen.

Jim Esch

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Scripture: Philippians 1:6 (NIV) – “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Message: God plays the very long game. God doesn’t just passively watch us, or kind of wait us out, or is indifferent while things just unfold. God is active in our lives, guiding us toward His good purposes, which sometimes takes a while to fulfill.

God is planting seeds now that will become great blessings later on. We play a role. Yet our ultimate future hope is the fact that He who began a good work will finish it. And if you know the end is good, then you can endure the middle better. However hard it is, however long it takes – and it may take years – God is not done, and He will bring good in the end. And if it is not yet good, that means it is not yet the end. And as we wait, He gives us moments of hope and courage and encouragement.

There is an old phrase that says: “it is not the destination that matters, it is the journey”. Actually, it is neither – it is the company you keep along the way.

When God's love flows through us, and masks come off, and conversations get deep, and hearts become vulnerable, and lives are shared, and accountability is invited, and we support each other through hard times, and link arms together to bring God's healing to the world – that is a joy producing community. And by definition, that is a long game community.

Whenever you are wondering “is God with me?” – remember He plays the long game whether we see it or not – no matter how hopeless something seems. He who began a good work is still working in you, on you, through you, and for you. And He will carry it to completion, because God plays the very long game, and never gives up.

Prayer: Lord help us to believe in Your long game. It is an easy thing to say, yet it is a hard thing to live, especially when we face difficult, painful, challenging times. You do not give up. You do not quit. You do not abandon us. You are playing the long game with our good in mind and we give You thanks. Amen.

Jim Esch

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