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HOW DO WE GET UP THERE?

So you're one of these people who still goes to church on Sunday. What do you expect to happen each week when you enter the congregation?

Naturally, everybody comes to give thanks to God….to praise him…to make some offering of one's self as a sign of appreciation for God's mercy. But what are we expecting to receive from God's side? Who of us doesn't have a need?

Some emptiness that needs filling.

Some wound that needs healing.

Some problem that needs an answer.

We ought never come away from the worshiping fellowship empty. Because, when our cry for help lines up with God's redemptive will, miracles happen: big ones, little ones.

Mary expected Jesus to do something for that failing wedding feast---and he did!

Blind Bartimaeus expected Jesus to open his eyes---and he did!

On the other hand, the man who expected Jesus to settle a dispute with his brother over money walked away disappointed. "Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?" i.e. Watch out for covetousness. The man's plea did not line up with God's redemptive will.

The problem for most of us is that, when it comes to the things of God, we have very low expectations. We're afraid to expect. We don't want to open ourselves to disappointment.

We come to church. Sing hymns and choruses, say our prayers, put a bit of ourselves on the offering plate---always careful not to expect too much from the Lord of Life, who stands among us with open arms.

"Thank you, Lord, for draining away my guilt on the cross.

Thank you for the promise of new life in the power of your resurrection.

But I don't want to burden you by asking for too much.

It's just good to be here today, Lord."

And off we go.

And the risen Lord, who sees us as we are, sees how needy we are, how destitute, how troubled and confused in our hearts, stands there with his hands loaded with help for us.

But we never reach out to receive it.

We never expected him to actually touch us supernaturally.

Talking about low expectations…..if there's any place in the so-called "Christian world" that cuts down expectations, it’s the seminary. By the time I emerged from seminary, I had learned not to expect the Lord to do much in our present world. He did his thing 2000 years ago. Now it's up to me to make things happen.

And, of course, I could make a lot of things happen. And I did. But I soon discovered the one thing I could not do---the essential thing---I could not touch people's lives with God's life. I couldn't even connect my own life with God's life. The Lord Jesus must have been shaking his head when he saw me trying to do what only he could do. "How long is it going to take this Dude to wake up?"

Then I began bumping into people who had what I did not have. They had life inside them. Something holy. And something good always seemed to be happening in the lives of the people they touched.

When they prayed, they seemed to have great confidence that they were being heard. No fancy words. No well-thought-out phrases. Just simple faith. You could feel the power in those prayers.

These people were walking on higher ground. They were living in the atmosphere of the gospels. God's life was flowing through them with power.

"Okay, Lord. I'm down here spinning my wheels, going through the motions. And nothing is happening. Those people up there on that higher ground….they have what I need. But how do I get up there? Lord show me the way to where they are!"

Then came the shocking answer which still keeps shocking me after all these years:

"You want to be up where they are? Where my Spirit raises dead spirits, opens blind eyes, sets the captives free? The way to that higher ground is not up, but down. In this world, if you want glory, you keep climbing. But if you want to enter my kingdom, you have to learn to step down."

At that time Jesus declared, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will."

Matthew 11:25-26

"The wise and prudent of this world have this world's power, this world's glory. But they are still trapped in the Valley of Human Impotence. They are prisoners of their own vanity. They are running around in circles, thinking they're 'getting somewhere'----while these 'babes,' these simple child-like disciples of mine are up on the high ground, walking with God in the power of the Spirit. You want to get up there where God is real? Follow their steps down to where I am, and I will lift you up to where they are."

"All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:27-30

So instead of coming to church with our burdens and going home still weighed down…instead of coming in with our worries and going out with our worries undiminished, all we have to do is answer his invitation: to come from where we are down to where he is.

"Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"……and the only way to get to the Lord Jesus is down.

I have to give up my vanity,

Take off my mask,

And come to him the way I am…with all my problems, sins, and confusion.

I have to climb down from my high horse, where I demand recognition and insist on my rights---and become a babe, like those simple disciples.

"Okay, Lord, here I am.

I'm a mess.

I have nothing to offer you but my weakness and sin,

but here I am."

One Sunday afternoon Jean and I went to an art show put on by the students and faculty of a large university. There was one painting that screamed at us when we walked by. It was an angry, red, obscene thing, painted by a gifted faculty member. Done with great skill, but not very nice. Newspaper reviews of the show complained about that painting, and it was removed from the show. The artist behind the painting was accused of being extremely angry and arrogant.

Years later I met the artist. It was hard to believe that this was the man who created such a stir. Sitting in his studio on the lower east side, it was almost like being in the presence of one of the apostles after the resurrection. This man had found the door that led him down to the Lord Jesus. He was now under the yoke with his Master. To this day, this man's life is a lived-out message of finding higher ground by stepping down---daily.

If we truly want to walk the walk, we need to do more than come to fellowship weekly. We need to come to the Lord Jesus daily. To continuously answer his invitation. It turns out to be a wonderful relief, when we're off our "high horse," no longer having to prove anything to any one. No longer having to hide behind a mask. We're out in the light. We are who we are before the Lord, and before our sisters and brothers in the Body of Christ.

And now comes the final step:

Jesus says, "Get under my yoke and learn from me."

And we say, "Great, Lord! I'm under your yoke. I'm walking at your side, so I can learn from you. You're going to teach me to heal the sick and cast out demons and preach the word!"

"No," says the Lord Jesus. "You don't need to learn how to heal the sick or cast out demons or preach the word. All that will come by itself. What you need to learn from me is this: You need to learn how to be meek and lowly of heart, like me…..How to be a babe, like these disciples. Learning to be meek and lowly in heart does not happen overnight. It takes practice.

"Because something inside you keeps wanting to get back on the high horse, claiming its rights, demanding respect.

"Something inside you wants to keep putting on a mask.

"But if you stay close to me, I will teach you. And you will learn from me to be meek and lowly in heart… so I can live in you, and raise you up to the high ground.

"If you are willing to walk with me daily, under my yoke, you will find rest for your soul like you've never known."

This is the promise of the Lord Jesus to every person reading these words. He says:

"If you will come down to me now, and if you will walk with me under my yoke in the days ahead, I will teach you the essential lesson of the kingdom. As you learn from me to be meek and lowly of heart, you will find yourself on higher ground. The life of the world to come will flood your being. You will be walking with God here on earth. And every life you touch will be touched in some way by God's life."

And when Jesus says, "Come to me," he doesn't mean "Think about it and let me know."

He doesn't mean, "Maybe tomorrow."

…….He means Now.