Christ The King Ministry International.org

By Rev. Michael Carl

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Confession is good for the soul.” The point of that was to say that when we confess our guilt, a load is lifted off of our back. There’s freedom in removing the oppression that comes from knowing we’ve done something wrong.

The word is a verb, which means that it’s an action. It is not a passive happening that is done to us. We’re directly involved in the process.

Confession of a wrong done brings freedom to the one who does it, which is the reason some churches and even some psychotherapies feature confession or reconciliation as a way to either restore our fellowship with God or to one another.

Yet, there’s another meaning that goes with the word ‘Confession.’

To confess literally means to say or to declare. It is a statement of belief that brings about behavioural and attitudinal changes in the one who makes it. Furthermore, it is a statement of belief that is central to our sense of identity and being.

To confess something is to say that the reality or truth confessed supports our life objectives, strengthens our character and defines our identity.

Thinking about the faith and life sustaining definition of the word helps us to understand the power of the secondary meaning.

To declare sets followers of Christ apart from others. This is why confessions like the Augsburg Confession or the Westminster Confession have had an epic impact on world history.

Making a strong confession of your faith is important because we all know how difficult life’s challenges can be.

Think of it; you’ve been there: We try our best to set goals and chart a course for success and you find out that someone is working against you. We make friends with someone and then have to watch them betray us before our very eyes. This can be the cruelest irony of them all.

We work hard and someone else gets the promotion. We do everything

we’re told to do and we find out that people we thought we could trust are working against us.

In time like these, it’s the strength of our faith confession that sustains us.

So confession is important. It’s not just an identity issue. It’s not just an admission of our mission and purpose. Sometimes the confession is a life-sustaining act.

There is one church in Wakefield that strongly confesses the faith and shares the Good News without apology. We also celebrate the Eucharist with joy! That’s Christ the King Church. Our service is at 10:05 Sunday morning in St. Joseph’s Church youth room in Wakefield.

We have a Bible Study Breakfast Saturday mornings at 9 am at Brothers in downtown Wakefield. Join us for some food—both kinds!

Come and be a part of what God is doing. You’ll be treated like family if you join us for worship and fellowship on Sundays.

If you need information on how to find us, call 781-640-9450.

Awakenfest, 2010 is coming, on the Wakefield, MA Common, Saturday, June 26th from noon to eight p.m.

By Rev. Michael Carl

Introduction

I don’t really remember where I saw it—on a bumper sticker, or on a little sign in an office, but the message was: Don’t just sit there; listen.

The point is that too often in the hustle of things, when we finally get a moment of down time, we sit and tune out, or we turn on the television, shift our brains into neutral and just vegetate.

The sign’s message was useful in that, when we’re someplace, get in tune with the world around you. Listen to the sounds around you and be aware of your surroundings.

This is the example for part of today’s Scripture for the sermon.

The Prelude and The Passage

The Twelve Apostles
¹² Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

This section is headed with, “The Twelve Apostles,” but there’s more here than just Jesus selecting His Disciple/Apostles. We need to start with the first lines of the section.

Jesus took the time to pray and He did it by going out onto a mountain.

What do we have here?

What we have here is not a failure to communicate. In fact, we have a very profound communication.

If you view this line in the context of what follows it, we see that Jesus is showing us that no major decisions and no major actions should be done until those things have been fully prayed through.

Luke tells us first that Jesus went out onto a mountain. So Jesus first goes out to pray somewhere where He wouldn’t be distracted. This is key because, and I know I’ve mentioned this before, but too often our prayers for things are only about a minute or two before we go into the situation.

I’ve done that plenty. But I can also promise you faithfully, that the times when I’ve spent some solid, quality time in prayer where I could get quiet without the distractions, are when I’ve seen the best results. That goes for big decisions, for sermon preparation, for needs to be met the Jesus way, or any number of things.

Luke next tells us that Jesus spent all night in prayer. The Greek word used in the passage is beautiful. It’s dianuktereuon. Why is this such a great word? It’s because it’s used in classical Greek as a word to describe a medical authority who spends all night holding a vigil in a medical situation. And it’s a participle indicating that it’s intended to convey an assumed and or, ongoing, action.

This makes sense because Luke is the physician, but Jesus is also referred to as The Great Physician. But there’s more than just a bit of clever tags.

Jesus is our Saviour and He spends the night intensely wrestling in prayer, watching, waiting, observing and listening. He’s in prayer, seeking the Father’s wisdom. He’s asking, seeking, talking, but He’s also listening.

Folks, when we’re in those situations where we have to make serious decisions or possibly life-impacting choices, we need to be sensitive to the concept of labouring in prayer in such a way that we spend enough time on it, that we present our requests to the Lord, and then we listen for an answer.

The final word the Lord gave for this core group to step out in faith and start a new work for the Lord came after a couple of night messages and on at least two days of prayer that also included listening for God’s answer.

So, let’s remember please; before we have to make a serious decision, go to the Lord for an extended time of prayer. And in this instance, the prayer involves listening as well as asking.

¹³ And when it was day,

In Biblical terms, this is a literal reference to daybreak or the arrival of the light. However, let’s remember that in Biblical terms, light, or daylight, also illustrates having light shed on a subject. The situation has changed and God’s favour is getting ready to be seen.

From this we know that Jesus waited until daylight, but He also didn’t start out on His work until it was time. He waited until the way was clear and until He felt the answer had come.

He didn’t move ahead of schedule. He didn’t rush into it and make rash, spur of the moment emotional decisions.

Jesus waited until it was time.

He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:

What this also tells us is that when it was time, Jesus acted. He didn’t dither, sit on it and delay. When the time came to make the choice, He was willing to act and make the decision.

So let’s remember not to fritter away an opening by hesitation. When you get the answer, act on it.

¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

This is the list of His disciples whom He also appointed to be Apostles.

On our Saturday study, we’ve spent some time on this topic. These people were actually chosen by the Lord Jesus to carry the mantle of one who was truly appointed, commissioned, and sent by the Lord Jesus.

On the simple level, the word does mean, ‘one who is sent.’

However, there’s more to it than that. What do we see of the Apostles who Jesus appointed?

Well, as we went over last week, we saw that they were those who were fully sold out to the Lord’s commission. They left all. They were willing to give their all to the cause of Christ.

They found their commissioning to be a lifelong task—one that would mean a fully different way of life.

On the simple level, this is true of anyone who is called to be a follower of Christ. It is a lifelong call that is meant to be until that day when He calls us home.

If you ever read Charisma magazine, sometimes there are these full, four-colour ads for conferences featuring fairly famous people. Occasionally though there’s a person or two who say they’re Apostle Somebody or the Other.

I’ve chafed at that because I wonder who made them an Apostle? And are they truly carrying that mantle?

But there is a level where the office of Apostle is one that carries with it some distinct characteristics.  First, Jesus called and named these men Apostles. Thus, they have a holy commissioning from the highest authority. Today, this level of commissioning can only come through a level of Biblically established authority.

No one just names him or herself an Apostle. And in fact, a more prominent illustration of this self-appointment is in the movie The Apostle where Robert Duvall’s character baptizes  himself in the bayou and then says he’s an apostle.

That’s not how Biblically appointed authority works.

So you’re not an Apostle unless Christ’s appointed authority recognizes you as such.

Then, there is the sacrifice. All of those folks who carried that mantle gave literally their last full measure of devotion. Look at what Paul says in Galatians 6.17, ‘I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.’

The Greek word for marks here is the word, stigmata, which are the marks of identity with the cross of Christ—the wholes in the wrists and feet.

Paul is not necessarily telling us that he has the literal holes, but he is telling us that he’s definitely crucified the flesh and died to self. He’s taken upon himself the fullness of what it means to love and follow Christ to the final levels.

Even so, Paul says that he joyfully awaits His full and glorious reward for serving Jesus to the end.

This is an Apostle.

Conclusion

Don’t be afraid. The call of the Lord is here. He’s issuing an invitation to live a life that is lived on a level that is definitely above the fray and out of the ordinary.

He’s also still inviting us to a level of fulfillment. How do we know this? It’s

because Jesus has shown us the way to get high-powered answers to life’s great decisions.

Spend time in His presence, asking, seeking, and listening. And when you do, you’ll have the confidence and courage to make the big decisions knowing that you can fully trust Him with the results.

By Rev. Michael Carl

Introduction

Have you ever received one of those phone calls or an ad in the mail hawking a vacation resort, a trip or some fanciful get-away?

The ad material promises bliss, happiness, excitement, contentment and fulfillment if you buy their timeshare, take their cruise or go on the featured expedition to some exotic place.

We balk at those ads and say we’d never be so gullible—again—but think about it. Those companies wouldn’t advertise those adventures in that way if the methods didn’t bring them some success.

Today we’re going to again talk about answering the Lord’s call and signing up for the real adventure of a lifetime on both sides of eternity.

The Passage and Its Explanation

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples

¹ So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, ² and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. ³ Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
⁴ When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” ¹¹ So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

Chronologically, this story would be placed in Mark chapter one, between verses 39 and 40, right after Jesus preaches in Galilee and before He cleanses a leper. It’s Jesus’ third call to these men.

Remember the first was in John 1.43 where Jesus calls Philip and

Nathanael, with Peter and Andrew present, using the Greek word akalouthei, which is that ultimate level of following Him.

Then there’s Mark 1.17 and Matthew 4.19 with Jesus giving them the word deute, which is the ‘Let’s get going, what are you still doing here?’ admonition.

Now, it may not bother many of you, but I’ve wondered why Luke skips the call on the lakeshore and instead focuses on these four disciples responding to Jesus’ fishing miracle.

Truthfully, this incident likely happened where Luke records it and it was chronologically after the lakeshore reminder. So, Jesus saying, ‘”Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.“‘ is the third time He’s given a word of exhortation about following Him.

What He’s doing here is dealing with fishermen. Remember that these are fishermen from the town of Bethsaida, the house of fishermen. Jesus is calling them to a life of service, so in their context, the best way to show the difference between a life without Him and one with Him is to illustrate an abundance in something they understand.

Why? Because, if you’re like most people, we all usually need at least three or four installments of Jesus trying to teach us something before we get it.

Think about how long Jesus is stayed with us in the process of bringing us into the fullness of the faith. Think about how many times He’s had to show us the same thing all over again.

If we could just get past our own thoughts of, “I don’t like that,” or “I don’t want to do that,” can we imagine the powerfully rewarding life we will have if we will just die to self and let the Lord truly be in control.

And there’s that ‘dying to self’ again

But what does it truly mean to come under the Lordship of Christ, die to self and the world, and to be a truly submitted ‘fisher of men’?

I have to confess that this little inspiration here came from our Saturday morning Bible study and the passage we studied, Romans 1.8-9.

Paul says to the Roman believers, ‘⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. ⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit…’

Look at what he writes. ‘For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit.’

What does it mean to serve God with our spirit?

The Greek word for spirit in this passage is ???????? or neumati, which is the Greek word for breath.

Do we know what this means? Paul is saying that he serves the Lord at a level that is so deep, it’s deeper than the very air he breathes. It’s the life-sustaining power. It’s something he does down to the very depths of his being.

So, all of his thoughts, words and deeds are under the Lordship of Christ.

So it means a complete surrender to the Lord, every part of us. All of us is dedicated fully and consecrated and set apart for serving the Lord.

And, why shouldn’t we? He’s the Lord of the universe, so He’s reliable; He’s faithful. He knows us down to the core of our being. So, we are trusting our lives to Someone who knows us better than we know ourselves.

In Worship

In liturgical worship, there’s a place where during the Holy Communion

part of the Eucharist service where during the consecrating prayer, we have the opportunity to cross ourselves on the forehead, on the lips and over the heart. In doing this, we’re saying to the Lord, ‘Lord, may my thoughts, my words and my deeds be pleasing to You.’

This is simply a physical way of expressing what David said in Psalm 19, ‘May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.’

This isn’t a Roman Catholic thing: Luther did it and he was at odds with the Roman church if I recall.

More than that, it’s a consecration thing. It expresses a level of dedication that goes beyond coming in on Sunday, planting our derrieres on a pew and saying, ‘OK I’m here, now make me feel good.’

I hate to say it, but the North American church is eaten up with that attitude, the ‘Gospel of Self-Fulfillment,’ the ‘It’s all about me’ church going habit.

But that’s not real Christianity. That’s social religion. The real Gospel means real service. And that means being able to say with Paul that ‘I serve the Lord with my spirit.’ He’s saying, ‘I serve the Lord with my whole being.’

Conclusion

The Lord is calling us to a lifestyle that means real fulfillment.

How can I say this? It’s because we’re not going to find real fulfillment until we come to Jesus and decide we want to stop hesitating and we want to let go and trust the Lord with everything.

By Rev. Michael Carl

Introduction

Do you remember that old aunt who every time she saw you would always say, ‘My, you’re becoming quite the young man/woman’?

If you could muster it, you’d say, ‘Thank you,’ but kind of bristle inside at how embarrassing it was for you.

Well, today we’re going to cover something pretty much like that.

The Passage and It’s Impact

²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
²³ He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum,^[l] do also here in Your country.’” ²⁴ Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. ²⁵ But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; ²⁶ but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath,^[m]in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
²⁸ So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, ²⁹ and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. ³⁰ Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit
³¹ Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. ³² And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

Last week we chatted about the depth of meaning of the words Jesus read to the congregation from the book of Isaiah.

Jesus tells them, ‘”Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”‘

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He goes on to essentially provoke the people to anger. But why?

To understand that, we have to go back over what has just happened in the story.

Missing It Once

Jesus says, ‘“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”’

Do we even get the importance of this moment in the Biblical narrative?

Jesus has just read to them the ultimate word about the coming Messiah. The Messiah is going to be a comprehensive, all-sufficient Saviour. He’s going to excel in every area of ministry. He’s going to be the ultimate deliverer and the most compassionate lover of souls.

Then, Jesus sits down and tells them that the passage has been fulfilled even as they listened.

Let’s understand: Jesus has just told them that the long-awaited Messiah and Deliverer has come. He’s telling them that the One for whom they and their people have waited for centuries has arrived.

Furthermore, He’s telling them that He is that One. He was it. The One for whom they have fasted, prayed, waited, hoped and wished for had burst onto the scene and as they listened to the prophetic word read to them, the culmination of the plan for the ages was being revealed to them right before their eyes!

What do they do in response?

²² So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

And they said, ‘”Is this not Joseph’s son?”‘

Do you remember the scene from The Passion of the Christ where Jesus is carrying His cross and we get a cut scene from Jesus’ childhood where a six or seven year old Jesus falls and scrapes His knee. Mary comes running.

We have all experienced the scene at family get togethers or at church when the elderly men and women looked at you and said, “You’re getting so grown up.”

I remember after graduating from college and going back to my hometown and on Sundays going to the church where I grew up. And every week, one of those precious little old blue-haired ladies would come up to me, tweak my face and say, “My you’re becoming quite the young man.”

I bristled under the well-intentioned words and forced a smile and a thank you but I found it patronizing to the core.

This is the scenario we have here.

Jesus is in the town where He grew to manhood and doubtless there were a few people who remembered Jesus at six, Jesus at eight, ten, twelve, and the teenage Jesus.

They probably knew of the young, twenty-something Jesus, the Man who according to custom was the carpenter’s Son and Apprentice.

So they said things that were roughly like, “He’s becoming quite the young man isn’t He?” “My He’s getting so big, and so confident and strong.” “My, I remember You when you were just this tall.”

Folks, the people have just heard the truth that a monumental event, as a matter of the fact, the most pivotal event in the history of the entire world has just been announced to the world—again—and all they could say is, “My, isn’t He getting to be quite the young man?”

Missing It Twice

So Jesus presses the point and begins to question their credentials as family members, friends and even as Jews—God’s chosen people.

He’s chiding them basically going off on them saying, “Don’t you get it?”

Then He goes on to cite other instances where the Jews missed out on the possibility of realizing the greatest blessings on earth.

Jesus speaks of Elijah and Elisha, citing the widow at Zarephath and the healing of Naaman the Aramean/Assyrian.

And they are getting ticked. Jesus is showing them that once more, their own idea of who they are and their own expectations of what the Lord should be doing for them were getting in the way of the Lord’s perfect plan. They were letting satisfaction with the ordinary prevent them from receiving the extraordinary.

And they got so upset that they were intent on trying to kill Him, already.

And do you know how this applies to us? How many times have we gotten a word from the Lord and not understood it? Or, how many times have we gotten a word from the Lord and denied it, or ignored it, or tried to explain it away?

Or, how many times have we reacted like those folks, when the Lord tried to put us into a situation where we could grow or learn, we got angry at God or tried to run away from where He put us?

Another Shot

In this process, Jesus moves through the crowd and moves on to another place.

Jesus found a receptive audience at the next place. This time they may be catching on. This time they were amazed at His authority. They were amazed at His power and strength of the anointing that was upon Him to do His work.

The personal point for us is that He’s urging us not to miss what He wants to do in our lives.

As an example and a model for us, let’s not miss out on the wonderful opportunity to see God’s greatest blessing fulfilled before our very eyes. And if we don’t get the blessing the first time, keep on keeping on. The Lord’s power will be seen. And He will use us mightily to do the things this church was called out to accomplish.

Let’s pray.