Come Full Circle - Part 1

Bryan Chapell: It's it's in our brokenness that we continue to have joy and confidence and hope that ultimately people are saying, listen, there is something different in your life. There is something you have that I don't have. I could not face the brokenness with the wholeness of heart that you still have. What is it that you have? And it's that light shining through the brokenness more than the light of people whose lives are just perfectly put together that makes a difference.
Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapel. In today's episode, pastor Brian shares a lesson from John chapter 3. Dr. Chapel shares of how Christ is to be king of our entire lives, a lesson John the Baptist learned as he experienced life with Jesus. You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for pastor Brian's book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis. This compelling book asks the question of the church, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? Let's hear now from Dr. Brian Chapel as he shares the lesson, Come Full Circle.
Bryan Chapell: I am looking for someone with the guts not to fight back. Some of you will recognize the line from the movie 42, a movie named for the jersey number of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. That that line, I'm looking for someone with the guts not to fight back, is the line that Hollywood recorded from the meeting that Jackie Robinson had from the general manager of the then Brooklyn Dodgers in which Branch Rickey, the general manager, said to him, listen, I'm I'm looking for someone who's going to be able to tolerate the abuse that's going to come his way when we break this color barrier. And Jackie Robinson in the moment began to defend his manhood, say I can stand up to it. I can fight it. And that's when Branch Rickey said the famous line, I'm looking for someone with the guts not to fight back. That would be harder. Now that's what the movie recorded and what a lot of the secular histories will tell you even now, but that's not the whole story. There is another story beneath and a few of you in the room will know that. In that 3-hour meeting that Branch Rickey had with Jackie Robinson, there was another subject that was mostly on the table. The subject occurred as the two of them, white general manager, black African-American player, both believers, went through a book that was popular at the time known as The Life of Jesus. And what the two of them explored was what would it take in that day and that age to do what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, turn the other cheek. It was two believers who talked for those 3 hours trying to anticipate what it would mean to live out the love of Jesus. Now when Branch Rickey came out of the meeting, for those who did not really understood stand all that was said, his wording was this, Jackie's a Methodist, I'm a Methodist, and God's a Methodist, so we're in this together. But that was just set away that the world would understand what Branch Rickey and what Jackie Robinson understood was that there was a mission now to live out the love of Jesus against great opposition where it would be terribly difficult to do. Perhaps the one who tells that story the best is Lee Fund. Lee Fund was a pitcher who joined the league at the same time that Jackie Robinson did and became his roommate and traveling companion at various times. Lee Fund was a pitcher, didn't last a long time in the major leagues, but he lasted a long time as the basketball coach at Wheaton College. And later in life, what he said was this, Jackie Robinson showed me what it was to show the world the love of Jesus. That's really what Jackie Robinson was more about. Yes, breaking the color barrier, yes, standing up for people, changing a nation for the better. But more than anything, displaying the love of Jesus. Now when I say that, I expect some of you to feel, well that's just kind of a soft and sentimental way of talking about somebody who actually expressed much strength. But what you must recognize, it's what Jackie Robinson believed was his strength, not not just his ability to stand up to a bean ball or the curses or the invect- invective nor the antagonism that came his way. What what he believed gave him the strength was the deep and profound commitment that he was going to be exhibiting the love of Jesus to those who hated him the most. What you may not recognize is John the Baptist is also displaying to us what it means to stand for the love of Jesus when life throws you the curve balls that make it seem as though he's not present with you or helping you at all. After all, if you look at this John the Baptist, the one who had the great privilege of saying, this is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, while that in itself is a noble sentiment, what happened next was not very fun at all. What John the Baptist begins to display for us is the problem of living nobly for Jesus. The problem gets on display in the very first verse that I was reading to you, verse 22 of John 3. After this, the preceding account, Jesus and his disciples went in the Judean countryside and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salem because water was plentiful there. And people were coming and being baptized but with Jesus. Now here's the big picture. You just have to kind of think of the geography. What John is losing is space. He he's losing his own space where he first met Jesus and made that great declaration, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That was on the east of the Jordan where John, remember, was baptizing lots of people who were coming out of Jerusalem. Now John has moved to the west side of the Jordan and he's still conducting his ministry. And now who shows up in the west side of the Jordan? It's Jesus again. Hey, I gave you your space. And what happens? You've come into my space again. It's a simple message that if Jesus is lord of somebody's life, he demands all the space. He doesn't say, listen, I'll just stay in this corner. And we may want that at times. We may say not lord, you can have my family and you can have my spiritual life, but the business world is real world and there I need to function in my way. And Jesus says, no listen, there is no corner of your life in which I do not declare I am lord. I need that corner too. And some of us may say, well listen, in in in my academic career and the work that I'm doing in college, but listen, when it when it comes to my dating life, I I I kind of need to be in the real world and I kind of need to operate that worry and I I I need to think about myself. And Jesus said, no listen, that's mine too. There is no corner of your life that you are able to say, Jesus, you don't get here. I mean I I I don't mean to be silly about it, but it's kind of like if you've taken a great Dane into your life, you know, and and you think to yourself, you know, it's okay if the great Dane sleeps on one corner of the bed and he say, no it's all mine. Jesus saying, it's all mine. And John isn't just losing space, he is losing significance. Do you remember? Verse 26, there's a discussion that has arisen and some of the disciples of John come to him and they say to him, rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan to whom you bore witness, look, he's baptizing and all are going to him. Now when John was east of the Jordan, remember who was coming to him? The priests and the teachers of the law are coming out of Jerusalem to John the Baptist. He's remember in in in the camel hair and eating the locusts and living in the desert and still he's get all these people coming to have patronage to him. And and it's not just the priest and the scribes, it's it's the Pharisees, the the highest of the religious rulers. They're coming to pay homage to this one who is crying in the wilderness. And not only do the Pharisees come, ultimately Jesus comes to John. He's get lots of people paying attention. He is surely significant in his desert location. But that is not the end of the story. I mean to really read verse 26 properly, you have to assume the tone of a 6-year-old whose older brother has just taken his place at the window on the trip to grandma's house. You have to read it this way, verse 26. Rabbi, he was with you across the Jordan to whom you bore witness. Look, he's baptizing and all are going to him. I mean the disciples are saying, John, we hitched our wagon to you. You're the one who's supposed to be significant. You're the one who had the standing. And of course if we are with you, we have standing. But now everybody's going to him. Did we get on the wrong bus? I mean we thought you were going to be the path to greatness and power and reputation and now everybody's going the other way. And of course it's not just loss of significance. Ultimately what John is losing is his very dreams. Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the long expected Messiah. This is the one who is going to free us from our oppression. But what after all happens to John? I slowed down when I read that parenthetical verse 24. I'll read it to you now again. The reason that people were coming and being baptized was John had not yet been put in prison. Hey, if it's the Messiah, he's supposed to give feet to the lame and eyes to the blind and heal those who are sick and free those who are in prison. But then John languishes in prison in all the things that he think will be fulfilled not in his release but in his death.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapel.
Guest (Male): It may seem hard for younger Christians to believe, but people over 50 were raised during an era when 90% of Americans identified as Christian. These older believers were once part of a majority group that understood the mission of the church was to take control of our culture, to halt its evils. At the same time, Christians under 50 have lived their entire lives perceiving themselves as a minority that needs to make credible their faith to a secular pluralistic culture. These distinct experiences and perceptions have a profound impact on the priorities different generations have for church ministry. It's no wonder that younger and older believers don't always see eye to eye. In his new book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis, Dr. Brian Chapel asks the question, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? This practical and hopeful book is backed by thorough research revealing how to open the lines of communication, appreciate the experiences that shaped each generation in your church and unite in one mission to impact your community and the world. You can request your copy of the Multi-Generational Church Crisis when you donate online at unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-41- Grace. That's 844-414-7223. And now more from Brian Chapel on today's Unlimited Grace.
Bryan Chapell: What happened to my dreams? This is not the way I expected it to work out, Jesus. For Jackie Robinson, things were similar. Eric Metaxas, the historian, says Jackie believed that God had chosen him for this noble purpose. When he signed the contract with the Dodgers, he believed he was on the verge of a dream come true. But he had no idea of the stress ahead. If it were a divine plan to break the back of racism, then the nation had to see bigotry for all the true ugliness and despicability it truly was. So Jackie's job was to endure the worst evil on the most public stage so that no one could any longer hide from it or stomach it. But on him, that is Jackie Robinson, the pain and stress of this purpose were so great that his wife would not even tell him they were expecting a child because she believed he was so close to breaking that he could not take one more pressure in his life. Lord, I'm trying to show the world your love. I'm trying to show the world you. This is not what I expected to happen. As God seemingly takes this one who is wanting to live for Christ and takes away space and significance and ultimately dreams. These are messages that we have to face that living for Christ may be no picnic. Nobility doesn't come cheap. Heroism sometimes costs a lot. And so we look at people around us at times who are trying to live with integrity for the Lord in the workplace and recognize that to do so may cost security and income and my family's future. And there are young people who are trying to live for purity and recognizing that if I really live for purity, I I'm going to face loneliness and ridicule and doubt. Is this really what God is calling me to? If I resist even in the church cynicism and criticism and gossip, then I may be the one that people get critical of and gossip about. Living for the Lord can be hugely costly. And we recognize as we begin to face all the things that God calls us to, if truly living for Christ is this noble task to which he calls us. Why would we do it? I mean if it really is going to cost so much, why would we do it? John teaches as he along with all believers who will follow in his path believe certain things profoundly. The first is that in living for the Lord, we become vessels of the glory of God. When John speaks in verse 27, he says it this way, a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. John is looking at those who are questioning, why why are we having not to have the significance that we thought we were going to have? And John says, listen, if you have significance, if you have career, if you have status, if you receive anything, it's only because God has poured it into you. You're just a vessel. Whatever you have in terms of your dignity before the world is is God's provision, but ultimately that is so that you as a vessel might show the glory of God. That can be tough because life itself can be hard and difficult and painful. And to be this vessel for the glory of God amidst the pain may be a path none of us would choose if we were choosing. Kathy and I have a friend, her name is Martha Furman. And with a lot of difficulty in her own life, she chose to be a counselor to children who have experienced the worst that life can throw at them. She has a camp every summer that she hosts called Camp Braveheart in which she ministers to children who have lost their parents. Here's what she writes. One of the most consistently impacting activities we do at Camp Braveheart involves each child breaking a flower pot. When they break the pot, I tell them to think about something that makes them really angry at their situation. Afterward, the children help each other pick up the pieces. Then they take the pieces and they write on them things that bring them some degree of comfort, a Bible verse, a pleasant memory. Then they glue the pot back together. And usually the pot won't go back together in its original state. There're still cracks in it. And often they have to piece the pot back in such a way that it doesn't even look like a pot anymore. But at the end of the week, each child takes a candle and puts it in the middle of their pot. And the light shining through, I tell them, represents the light of Christ that shines through our brokenness. We would not choose it, but in a broken world where people need to know amidst their darkness and brokenness and difficulty, the light of Christ can still shine. It's often our lives, our brokenness, our darkness out of which Christ must shine to truly make a difference. The nobility is not standing for Christ when everything just works out perfectly fine and happy. The nobility, the heroism is people who say, in the darkness I still trust him. In the brokenness, I still believe my life can be the vessel out of which his glory is poured as people see there is hope in the worst of things because I believe in this Jesus who works above all things. It reminds me so much when I read Martha's words about the pots that are broken and out of which the light still shines of 2 Corinthians 4 6 and 7. God made his light shine in darkness so that we might know the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus. Remember the next verse? But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, jars of clay, so that the world may know that the surpassing glory is from him and not from us. It's it's in our brokenness that we continue to have joy and confidence and hope that ultimately people are saying, listen, there is something different in your life. There is something you have that I don't have. I could not face the brokenness with the wholeness of heart that you still have. What is it that you have? And it's that light shining through the brokenness more than the light of people whose lives are just perfectly put together that makes a difference. I think of Martha who I mentioned to you, this Martha Furman, and I recognize the reason she is able to be so effective with young people is her own life has known family difficulties of alcoholism and molestation and fracturing that are that are awful. And yet somehow she has found in the hope that Christ offers a light to give others who are in such hopeless situations as well. It's what John was helping us to understand when he says, remember in verse 28 that that that he is a herald, not just a vessel. You yourselves bear me witness, he says in verse 28, that I said I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. I profoundly believe that my purpose is not to be about me, but to be about the one that I represent. And that is said even more specifically in the next verses, verse 29, the one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. This joy of mine is now complete. We understand it. Listen, if if you are the best man or if you are the bridesmaid, right? Your job is not to bring glory to you. You your job is to bring glory to the groom or to the bride. And the bride in this situation is us. We are the church of Jesus Christ. And and we are the people who need the groom. John's favorite way of talking about who Jesus is, the the groom from heaven who's coming to wed himself to the people of the earth as his bride, the church itself. We who are broken and besmirched and messed up in so many ways. And John is saying, my job has been to stand over here and cheer, to say that's the Christ. He's the one who hope is in. He is the one that's that's your hope too. And to actually have his joy complete in that one uniting with the people who so need him. And if we begin to see that as our purpose, I'm just a vessel to receive what God needs to pour into my life that I might show the bride, other people, what it means to be married to the groom, to have his glory there, to have his care, his love, his affection. That that really becomes my purpose more than anything about me. It's it's what John says so clearly in verse 30, the summary of it all, he must increase, but I must decrease. Translation, it's all about him. Application, it's not about me.
Guest (Male): That's pastor Brian Chapel and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If you'd like to hear more from Dr. Chapel, you can find a collection of valuable resources at unlimitedgrace.com. When you visit, you will find today's message and many others from pastor Brian. Once again, go to unlimitedgrace.com or you can give by calling 844-41- Grace. That's 844-414-7223.
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