Problematic Predictions - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him;⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

 

I don't like making public predictions; I have come to terms with the fact that I don't know what the next person will do, and I just have to be ok with that knowledge and live accordingly. I don't like when people try to make me give a public prediction about something because I know I don't know what the next person is capable of doing. I know I am not good at making predictions, and I also know I am not alone.

People are not very good at predicting the future.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States in March 2020, many of us thought we'd be home for a few weeks. The virus would pass through the country, and then we'd all be back to school, work, and church.

 

We thought we'd surely be able to gather for Easter Sunday in April!

Well … it didn't exactly turn out that way.

Most of us did make it back for Easter … in April of the following year.

 

Washington Post columnist John Kelly lists several wrong predictions. In the year 1486, a royal committee was gathered in Spain. The committee said it would be wrong for the king and the queen to provide funding for an Italian explorer named Christopher Columbus. The committee members insisted that sailing west to Asia would take a ridiculously long three years. And why would anyone want to spend so much time at sea? They believed there was nothing between Europe and Asia but a vast and featureless ocean.

 

A congressman from New York named Orange Ferriss couldn't believe that the United States would be willing to pay Russia $7 million for the Alaska Territories. That might have seemed like a lot of money, but it was still a good deal — just two cents per acre. Ferriss complained to his fellow congressmen, "Of what possible commercial importance can this territory be?" Alaska turned out to be worth more than two cents an acre.

 

We see a prediction in scripture when Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. Jesus has been talking about sacrifice in the gospel of Luke up to chapter 9. Jesus has prepared for the journey in chapter 9, verses 21 through 50. Jesus now sends the disciples James and John ahead of him to a village in Samaria. Why Samaria? Samaria is fertile ground; Samaria has some diversity in it. There are potential new converts in Samaria. We get the term good Samaritan from the parable Jesus told today, but the church folk would not have wanted that name back then. Samaria had people there who weren't born and bred believers, and that is where Jesus sent his disciples to reach new believers, not just be complacent with the people already in the kingdom.

 

The people in the first village rejected the disciples, and their response was to call fire down; we cannot respond to everything with violence. If you have to resort to violence to teach people about Jesus, you are doing it wrong.

 

Jesus then goes to another village and meets someone on the road that says they will follow Jesus wherever he goes. Then another person comes and says he wants to follow Jesus, but needs to bury his father first, then another comes and says they want to follow Jesus but let them say goodbye to everyone else first.

 

The first man envisions a place to rest. The second assumes he will be able to bury his father, and the third is anticipating a chance to say goodbye to his family. They seem like reasonable expectations. So why does Jesus consider them to be problematic?

 

All three potential disciples fail to see that a future with Jesus is very different from the past. They cannot imagine a time in which they don't have a bed to sleep in, the opportunity to go to a funeral, or the chance to visit with their family.

 

Is Jesus saying you need to be homeless, forget about funerals, family and friends to be a Christian? No, Jesus is not saying reject your responsibilities, but look at your duties in the light of Christ. I also see a call out about excuses in this passage. The text doesn't specify that his dad is dead but could mean he wanted to wait until his father passed to follow Jesus.

I want to be more active in church, but I just don't have the time now. I want to be in ministry, but I don't want to be in charge, or the only volunteer. I want to help, but I want to wait until we create a committee to plan it, then a committee to plan the plan, then another committee to critique the plan before we do something. I want to attend church more often, but brunch is out there. An adage says that after all is said and done, there is usually more said than done.

 

Discipleship is costly; you will face rejection, you will face uncertainty, and there will be hard work. The kingdom's work is not easy, it's not simple, and it's not always going to go the way you planned, but Jesus was resolute when he turned his face toward Jerusalem, and we should be resolute about doing the work of the kingdom of God. Following Jesus means following some radical demands, talking to some people you may not always talk to, doing some new things, and doing some old things differently. We must be resolute in our journey, just like Jesus was resolute in saving us.

 

When Jesus looks into the future, he sees the kingdom of God coming near. He doesn't see comfortable beds, respectful funeral services, or satisfying family visits. Jesus envisions a future that is very difficult for us to predict because it is a future being created by God.

Looking to the future, we followers of Jesus often fail to see what he desires for us. Like James and John, we assume that Jesus wants to destroy the people disrespecting us. Like the three potential followers on the road, we cannot envision that discipleship will disrupt our regular routines.

 

The truth is that our assumptions and predictions will cause problems for us unless they are in line with the coming of the kingdom. But if we act in ways that are in response to the words of Jesus, we will be adding essential building blocks to the kingdom of God.

Jesus is resolute in saving us; he set his face toward Jerusalem because he has accurately predicted what he has to do and what it will do for us. Jesus taught about sacrifice because he knew he would have to make one.

 

Jesus, the sum total of all of creation wrapped up in human flesh.

Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Jesus, the one enduringly strong and immortally graceful

The king disguised as a kid

Divinity in dermis

eternity in epidermis

The loftiest idea in literature

The highest personality in philosophy

The wheel in the middle of the wheel

Hyperlinks of Faith - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Romans 5:1-5

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

I spend a lot of time reading electronic documents; one thing I love to have when I am reading is hyperlinks. You can click on a word or phrase, and it takes you elsewhere. I like to read documents that have them and send out stuff with links in them. One hour before the virtual worship starts, church members get an email that says the worship service will start in an hour. Monday morning, church members get an email with a link to all the church videos, the 10 am, the 11 am, and a link for just the sermon. When we have Church Council meetings, the church members also get a link for that. I am fond of this technology because it allows someone to access a lot of information without taking up a lot of space. They also allow you to connect items that would typically be far apart. One-click and what they need is at their fingertips. 

At first, they were called "embedded menus."

The invention of these menus occurred before we had even heard of something called the internet or the World Wide Web, and it happened in the early ages of computer technology.

Ben Shneiderman, a computer scientist at the University of Maryland and the inventor of the embedded menu, quickly gave these menus a new name: hyperlinks. It caught on, and without them, researchers, librarians, grad students, parents, and countless others in every occupation would be floundering and perhaps still looking for help in the venerable Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature.

Hyperlinks are so natural that they've become invisible unless we make a special effort like this to appreciate them. Hyperlinks were one application of Shneiderman's theory of direct manipulation, which also led to the tiny touch-screen keyboards on mobile devices, tagging family photos, gestural interaction, and other visual interfaces." All these developments served the purpose of communication and connection. 

Paul wrote his letter to the Roman church for that exact reason. The book of Romans is the apostle Paul's longest letter in the Bible, and Paul wrote this letter before he visited the Roman Church. 

Paul was laying the groundwork before he visited because he might have been worried about how the visit would go. Paul wasn't sure the Roman Church would receive him, and he wasn't sure the Roman country would accept him.

Paul collected offerings from Gentile churches in Macedonia and Asia, and Paul was worried the Roman church would not take a gift from the Gentiles. This idea is funny because the Romans were oppressing the Jewish-born Christians while the Jewish-born Christians had trouble, including the Gentiles. 

This church is also in the city of Rome, Roman leaders did not let their military generals come close to Rome because they feared a potential takeover, yet these people who professed to follow a king of kings lived in their city. The Roman Government was always scared of being overthrown, so much so that their military leaders couldn't come back home with their soldiers because the Government would see that as an attempted takeover. Now you have this group of people living in the city who were not treated warmly. 

Paul used the Roman letter to address these issues and many more. First, Paul lets the believers in Rome know that the Gentile Christians and the Jewish Christians are justified by faith, not by some sort of social status. As believers, we are made right in God by faith and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

So now, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith in God's promises, we can have real peace with God because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of the highest privilege, where we now stand. We confidently and joyfully look forward to becoming all God has in mind for us to be. Paul is showing the people how to connect to something peaceful in the middle of the tests and trials. 

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. Patience develops our strength of character and helps us trust God more each day until our hope and faith are strong and steady. We can then hold our heads high, no matter what happens, and confidently know that all is well. We know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with God's love. We receive that love even while we are suffering. 

Suffering

Suffering comes in many forms. For the early Christians, physical torture at the hands of authorities, impatient crowds, and bloodthirsty mobs challenged and fearful of the "different" among them was not uncommon. Today, people worldwide still face the threat of bodily harm because of the color of their skin, their religious beliefs, or their gender.

But we also know that the people in your congregation might be suffering mental anguish, emotional pain, and chronic bodily pain. They might know the pain of loss — the loss of a spouse or a child, the loss of income, the loss of a home, the loss of health.

People are suffering today, and often we don't know it; this may be because, as the Bible suggests, "Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains" (Proverbs 14:13, NLT).

Yet, embedded in the biblical discussion of suffering is another link that reveals an interesting truth about suffering: There's a positive byproduct to suffering!

Endurance 

The "endurance" Paul speaks of is a far more active experience than the sometimes-translated "patience" would suggest. While "patience" seems to denote passivity, perseverance reveals the activity involved in such an experience. "Enduring" does not suggest quietly "waiting it out." Biblical endurance requires "wading right in." Endurance races test the ability of the competitor to keep on going, despite exhaustion, obstacles, and genuine suffering.

This word is sometimes translated as "perseverance." Some people seem to be good at this. It is listed as a virtue on many lists of values and strengths. Endurance might be a product of your DNA — who you are — but the apostle suggests that when we experience suffering or what other translations call trials and tribulations, it produces endurance. It is one of the unique byproducts of suffering.

A person with endurance has learned how to gut it out daily. I tell you that endurance is not built overnight. Endurance builds over time by just doing one more. Working out one more time, praying one more time, saving one more time, fasting one more time, practicing one more time, speaking one more time, getting up one more time. No one masters anything overnight; it is a collection of all those times you did it one more time. 

Character

The Greek word used for the word character in this passage could be said better as experience, and the term refers to a metal or precious gem that has gone through a trial by fire to test its worth. Character is not just who we are or what we are when no one is looking, it is also who we are while probed, vetted, observed, thoroughly examined, and tested, and all know the results.

Hope

I have heard hope described as faith with the lights turned on. Paul is telling the people to have hope because they have been through the suffering, had their endurance built up, and developed character, so they know that God loves them and has poured out his love into their hearts. This is not a fly-by-night feeling that will fade, they have been through some things and know that God will bring them out, and while they are waiting, they know that God is with them. They are connected to God so that, even though it seems far away, the connection is as fast as one click. 

Holy Ghost Power - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,

    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

    your young men will see visions,

    your old men will dream dreams.

18 Even on my servants, both men and women,

    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

    and they will prophesy.

19 I will show wonders in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below,

    blood and fire and billows of smoke.

20 The sun will be turned to darkness

    and the moon to blood

    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

21 And everyone who calls

    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

I am interested in power, the power that we use to energize devices like cellphones, cars, computers, and many other items. I imagine that my interest in energy is why I wanted to be an engineer growing up and would tinker with electrical things. I respect anyone who works in those fields dealing with powerful elements. 

Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, coal mining started in China. Then, about 800 years later, the first windmill was constructed in Iran. Human beings have always needed power, and for centuries, they have pulled it from both the ground and the air.

Around 1700, the Maori people began to use geothermal power for cooking and heating. In 1868, the first modern solar power plant was built in Algiers. We think of geothermal and solar as new technologies, but they're not. Today's technology works on the same old principles, just with new ways to use it. The Bible tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. 

We join the disciples in the text seven weeks after the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus or 50 days. "Pentecost" is shorthand for the festival celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover, one of the three pilgrim festivals (see Exodos 23:16; 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:10). Followers of Jesus were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate a Jewish holiday called Pentecost or "The Festival of Weeks." It was a harvest festival and a time to give thanks for the gift of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. The people of God were thankful for this law, which gave them inspiration and structure for their lives. The law was, in many ways, their historic power plant.

The Feast of Weeks is a festival, so the town is full of travelers and immigrants. The disciples walked and talked with Jesus were there, and they continued to worship privately. The disciples are still to themselves, not connecting with the outsiders. The church people are still being private, the church people need power, and that power is about to come to them. 

The apostles needed power. And they got it unexpectedly. In that private worship, the Holy Spirit came on them all and gave them power.

The Holy Spirit entered a house full of Jesus' followers, and it created a new kind of power. It filled the apostles with new life, enabling them to communicate with a diverse group of people, speak boldly to a large crowd and fulfill the prophecy of Joel. The Spirit generated a more energetic and vibrant community of faith, connected in new ways with the surrounding community.

The outpouring of the Spirit is anticipated by John the Baptist (Luke 3:16) and Jesus (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8). Peter told the crowd that God's Spirit was going to change their lives for the better: "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy," he said, "and your young men shall see visions" (v. 17).

Embrace the power of the Holy Spirt

The disciples didn't run from the Holy Spirit, nor did they run from what the Holy Spirit could do. The disciples embraced the work of the Holy Spirit to further the church. New things can be scary. Too much too soon can be a lot to deal with when you are repeatedly used to the same thing. The Disciples didn't say this is not what we are used to, so let's quit. The Disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and started acting like it. Peter could have said, I denied Jesus three times, so I am not qualified to do this work, but it was the opposite. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, which allowed him to speak to all the people and respond to those who just thought the disciples were drunk. 

Birth and broaden the church

Acts chapter 2 is considered the birth of the church, the church's birthday if you will, but it is also the broadening of the church. Notice that the text says they all spoke in different languages, and everyone was able to understand. The disciples did not require the outsiders to learn their language; the Holy Spirit made way for the disciples to speak the outsiders' languages. At Annual Conference, our denominational gathering, I heard confirmation from leadership about something that had been in Spirit for a few months. Based on the state of our churches and society at large, they said that every church would have to start operating like they are a brand-new church. No matter how old the church is, no matter how long the members have been there, if you want your church to survive, you will have to treat it like it is a brand-new church starting from scratch. That means doing new things and dealing with new people.

Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and quoted Joel 2:24, an inclusive prophecy from the ninth-century B.C. prophet Joel. Joel's prophecy describes the true nature of the new age that has now dawned with the Holy Spirit's arrival. The Joel text goes beyond the boundaries of nationality and geography to declare that there no longer will be any spiritual distinctions between men and women, old and young, servants and free, or a special spiritually gifted priesthood and the ordinary laity. There is no exclusion in Joel's prophecy, and all can receive the Holy Spirit, not just a select few. 

"It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty, and there is strength."

— Maya Angelou, poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist

God created a Powerhouse on Pentecost, which gave the apostles a clean and sustainable energy source. Unlike coal, oil, or natural gas, the Spirit does not contribute to climate change. Unlike the wind of the air, it is constantly blowing. Unlike geothermal, it does not require drilling. And unlike solar, it is available even on cloudy days. All we have to do is ask for it.

Such spiritual power is needed today if we are going to be part of a church that brings life, joy, and hope to the world. Men and women have been drawn to "the Way" (Acts 9:2) since the church's earliest days. They have tapped into a source of power that comes from beyond themselves: A power that is not found primarily in programs, policies, or institutions but in the Holy Spirit of God. This Pentecost power is an energy source that can keep people burning with love for God and those around them while radiating warmth and light to a cold, dark world.

We can be part of the Christian Way by turning our church into a powerhouse. When we do this, we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, an energy source that gives us both the courage and the ability to connect with people around us in life-giving ways.

Call on the name of Jesus. 

Those who call on the name of Jesus will be saved.