Participants: Bill Santos
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201222
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00:02 >>Bill: There is a tale told of that great English actor Macready.
00:06 An eminent preacher once said to him: "I wish you would explain to me 00:09 something." 00:10 "Well, what is it? 00:13 I don't know that I can explain anything to a preacher." 00:16 "What is the reason for the difference between you and me? 00:20 You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the 00:24 crowds come wherever you go. 00:27 I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not 00:32 getting any crowd at all." 00:36 Macready's answer was this: 01:05 ANNOUNCER: It has stood the test of time. 01:08 God's book: the Bible, 01:12 still relevant in today's complex world. 01:15 It Is Written, 01:19 sharing the messages of hope around the world. 01:33 There's a couple disciples I would like you to meet this week, James and John, 01:35 the sons of Zebedee. 01:37 We know very little about him. 01:40 In fact, note this, he never appears alive in the gospels apart from John 01:43 his brother in any incident. 01:45 They're inseparable in the gospels. 01:47 Now I believe it's important to note that he's always mentioned 01:48 before John. 01:51 And it probably not only indicates that he was older but that he was the 01:56 leader of this rather dynamic duo. 02:00 He is the strength. 02:01 He is the zeal. 02:02 He is the passion. 02:04 Now these brothers, James and John, were also fishermen and their father 02:09 was Zebedee. 02:11 And Zebedee was a fairly well-to-do man because he employed hired servants in 02:15 his business. 02:17 So they had a pretty good fishing business going up there on the north shore 02:20 of the Sea of Galilee. 02:22 James was part of that "inner circle" of disciples because he was 02:26 in the early calling. 02:30 John and Andrew were the first two, and certainly James would be so close to 02:35 John that he worked his way into that intimacy. 02:41 Now as you look at the Bible in terms of incidents, James appears 02:47 more as a silhouette than a photograph. 02:51 So you have to kind of get an image without all of the fullness of what might 02:55 have happened. 02:57 But I think the best way to look at James is to consider what the Lord 03:01 named him and his brother John. 03:04 In Mark 3:17 Jesus gave them a name, He called them Boanerges which means 03:16 sons of thunder. 03:31 If James is the leader, and that is indicated by the fact that he appears 03:36 first, then he was a son of thunder. 03:40 Now he must have been a passionate, zealous, fervent, wild-eyed, 03:44 ambitious, aggressive guy. 03:48 To give you a classic reason why, in Acts Herod decided to vex the church 03:54 and the first guy he went after was James and he chopped off his head. 04:00 And they took Peter and put him in jail. 04:04 Which indicates that Peter was not as big a problem as James. 04:10 I mean, when you capture James and Peter and kill James and let Peter live, 04:16 that says something about the kind of man James must have been. 04:21 Zeal is a great virtue. 04:25 You love someone who is aggressive and whose charged up and who wants 04:31 to get the job done but very often coming along with zeal comes a lack of 04:36 wisdom. 04:39 And sometimes you're shooting off your mouth and your guns are blazing 04:43 before you've really thought the thing through. 04:45 You say - Can God use somebody like that? 04:48 Well yes, He did as a matter of fact. 04:51 Several incidents stand out and I'll show you where James is mentioned 04:56 and the way he acts. 04:58 Luke 9:51 - 53 05:24 The messengers are going now into Samaria to prepare the way, "And they 05:28 entered into a village of Samaria to make ready for him." 05:32 They wanted the Samaritans to hear the message, Christ was coming, the 05:36 Messiah was coming. 05:38 "And they didn't receive him because his face was as though he would go to 05:43 Jerusalem." 05:44 Listen, Samaritans just hated the Jews and Jerusalem. 05:47 They probably chased these messengers out with curses and stones. 05:53 And so the messengers come back and say they're not going to receive You in 05:57 such and such a village. 06:00 And then verse 54 we meet the sons of thunder: 06:19 Lord, let's just burn them up. 06:22 Great missionary heart. 06:25 Just consume them Lord, just like Elijah did. 06:29 Luke 9:55 06:40 Jesus rebuked them strongly, they were hateful, they were 06:44 intolerant. 06:46 James had so much zeal and so little sensitivity. 06:51 Yet I have to admit there's a touch of nobility in it. 06:56 I'm glad that he got mad when the Lord was dishonored. 06:59 I would hate to have seen him pass without a reaction at all. 07:04 He was zealous. 07:05 He was explosive. 07:07 He was fervent. 07:08 He was passionate. 07:10 I mean, he didn't just sit and watch it happen. 07:15 Look at another incident in Matthew 20:20 - 21 Very often zealous people are 07:25 also ambitious people, they're very goal oriented, very task 07:31 oriented. 07:52 Would You put my boys on the two thrones next to You? 07:58 I mean, it should be obvious to You that they're the cream of the 08:02 crop. 08:03 A mother knows these things. 08:05 My children are gifted we can see it, Zebedee and I. 08:09 But they were ambitious. 08:11 James was ambitious. 08:13 This is a terrible thing for them to do, to arouse the spirit of rivalry, to 08:19 clamor for honor from the Lord. 08:22 These who were the persecutors of the Samaritans are now 08:28 ambitious, self-seeking, place hunters, stalking the favor of the Lord as 08:34 if He were some despotic ruler who could dispense his patronage on some kind 08:39 of principle of favoritism. 08:42 They were demeaning Christ and His Kingdom. 08:46 Well, James had zeal, he had great fervor and he knew the Lord's special 08:52 interest in him, he was in the inside group. 08:56 He felt he ought to have an equal reward for all of his capability. 09:01 And the Lord reminded him, you'll get a reward, James, but it won't be 09:04 what you think. 09:08 Before you get your throne you're going to get a cup and your going to drink it 09:13 all the way. 09:15 And the cup is suffering because the way to the throne is always the way 09:19 of the cross. 09:21 And James, as I said, fourteen years later got his request. 09:27 He wanted a crown, Jesus gave him a cup. 09:31 He wanted power, Jesus gave him servanthood. 09:34 He wanted to rule, Jesus gave him a martyr's grave. 09:39 That's the way it is. 09:43 Look at the one incident in the Bible where he appears alone, Acts 12. 10:00 And when Herod wanted to attack the church he went right for the main guy, 10:09 That's who you go for first.. . 10:14 and he put Peter in prison. 10:18 And apparently he didn't even think about Peter until he was told that it 10:22 would please the Jews if he did that. 10:26 It was James he was after.. . 10:27 the son of thunder. 10:28 He was filled with zeal. 10:31 He was filled with ambition. 10:33 He was filled with strong and intolerant feelings. 10:36 He didn't like things outside his own sympathy and Christ had to harness 10:41 all of that and make all of that into something useful and make him a 10:46 pillar in the church. 10:48 What kind of people does God use? 10:51 Well, He uses the great leaders like Peter. 10:54 He uses the quiet, behind-the-scenes, obscure, faithful people 10:59 like Andrew. 11:01 And He also can use the brash, courageous, ambitious, zealous, 11:05 sometimes loveless, insensitive selfish people like James. 11:11 Cause Christ brought his temper under control. 11:14 He bridled his tongue. 11:16 He directed his zeal. 11:19 And He taught him to seek no revenge and to desire no honor for himself. 11:25 And it finally came to the place where James was willing to die for Jesus. 11:30 So, both the brothers drank the cup. 11:34 For John the cup was a long life of rejection and a death in exile. 11:40 For James it was a short flame and martyrdom. 11:48 The Romans had a coin years ago and on the coin was an ox. 11:53 And the ox was facing an altar and a plow. 11:58 And under the ox it said, "Ready for either." 12:02 And that's how it is in service for Christ and that's how it was for the 12:05 sons of thunder. 12:08 There is the moment dramatic sacrifice on the altar, that was James. 12:14 And there is the long furrow of the plow, that was John. 12:20 But both of them drank the cup. 12:22 James had to learn sensitivity. 12:26 He had to learn to quiet his ambition, but he did and God used him. 12:31 You know, a lack of sensitivity can just destroy a ministry. 12:35 There are many people who try to serve Christ who are utterly insensitive to 12:41 their congregations, to their families, to the people around them. 12:44 Zeal with insensitivity is so cruel. 12:48 And James had to be refined. 12:51 I mean, he had to get from the place where he said - Just burn them up, Lord, 12:55 if they don't cooperate, burn them up. 12:57 - to the place where he cared. 13:00 Now if you're going to ask me.. . 13:04 you're going to force me to the corner and ask me to choose, I'll take a man 13:09 of a flaming, burning intolerant passionate enthusiasm with a 13:15 potential for failure rather than a cold, compromising, milk toast 13:22 about which his brother John said - God would spew him out of His mouth... 13:29 Give me a fiery heart, give me a flaming heart because those people will 13:33 set the world on fire, but give me one with sensitivity. 13:37 What kind of men does God use? 13:40 What kind of women does God use? 13:42 What kind of people fit into the plan? 13:45 Dynamic people like Peter, leaders who can get everybody to do it. 13:50 Humble people like Andrew who just do it quietly behind the scenes. 13:55 And James who don't really need other people to do it, they just do it with 13:59 zeal and passion. 14:02 You say - You mean the Lord can use all those kinds of people? 14:05 You don't have to be born with a halo? 14:07 You can just be a person? 14:11 Yes, these are very common people because He can transform all of those 14:18 things. 14:21 John, James' brother, intersects the story throughout the New 14:27 Testament because of the fact that he wrote the gospel of John, First, 14:32 Second and Third John and Revelation. 14:35 Now may I hasten to add, we think about John, we think about some meek, 14:40 mild, pale-skinned, effeminate guy lying around with his head on 14:45 Jesus' shoulder, looking up with a dove-eyed stare, with little skinny arms, 14:49 you know. 14:52 You've missed it, folks, if that's what you think. 14:55 He was in all those incidents about James that we just saw. 15:00 And he was one of the sons of thunder. 15:03 He was intolerant - burn them up, Lord - he was ambitious -I want the seat 15:06 on your right and left - he was zealous, he was explosive. 15:07 But I think not quite as much as James. 15:14 James seems to be the prominent one and John does seem to have a side 15:17 to him. 15:19 I mean, at least John lasted. 15:22 He lived nearly until the year 100. 15:25 He outlived everybody. 15:27 Now it's interesting to note that the only time he appears alone by name, you 15:31 know what he's doing? 15:34 He's mad at somebody. 15:35 Whose he mad at? 15:37 Some guy who was casting out demons. 15:40 Why was he mad? 15:44 He said to Jesus, "There is a man casting out demons and he's not in our 15:47 group." 15:49 He's not in our group. 15:51 "I forbade him to do that." 15:53 Jesus replies in Mark 9: 39 - 40. 16:13 But you know something? 16:15 That became a strength in his character. 16:19 Because he also had a tremendous capacity úfor love. 16:23 You find two things that stand out in John's life, the word love and the word 16:28 witness. 16:29 80 time he uses the word love. 16:33 70+ times the word witness in one form or another. 16:36 He was a truth seeker. 16:39 He wanted to know the truth. 16:40 He was a discoverer. 16:42 He was a visionary. 16:44 He it was who first recognized the Lord at the lakeside of Galilee. 16:50 He it was who first saw that Jesus was risen from the dead. 16:55 He it was to whom God revealed the future in the apocalypse. 17:01 He was the seer, the visionary, the truth seeker. 17:06 The reason he was hanging around Christ's breast was his heart literally 17:12 hungered for the truth as well as the deep affection for Christ. 17:16 He wanted to gather every word that came out of his Lord's lips as well as 17:21 bask in the light of His love. 17:25 So, he became a lover but a lover whose love was controlled by the truth. 17:32 And that control was born out of that tremendous zeal he had in his 17:36 personality, that passion, that strength, that fiery character. 17:40 And in case you don't think he is, you try reading First, Second and 17:46 Third John and see how he denounces those who are antichrist, and those who 17:53 will stand up in church to twist and pervert, he's firm, he's strong. 18:00 You read the gospel of John and see how he sets the people of God against 18:05 the people of Satan, the redeemed against the lost. 18:09 How he talks about the judgment of the righteous and the unrighteous. 18:12 The man knew where the lines were drawn and his love is never 18:16 sentimentalism. 18:20 But he is characterized by love. 18:23 You just don't see much about him in the other gospels unless it's with 18:27 James, as I showed you, or in the list of the group. 18:31 But where he emerges is in his own gospel and he appears in his own gospel 18:36 several times, always the same way. 18:41 How? 18:42 Listen, John 13:23: 18:55 Whom Jesus loved, the disciple that Jesus loved, that's John. 18:58 He never uses His name. 19:02 He calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. 19:09 People who can love greatly can be loved greatly because they 19:13 understand. 19:16 And John literally took in the love of Christ and gave out the love of 19:21 Christ, so he called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. 19:26 That's the only thing he ever called him. 19:30 It is the disciple, whom Jesus loved, that wrote the gospel of John, that's 19:37 what he says. 19:40 He literally was in awe that Jesus loved him. 19:44 It wasn't that he said - "Oh, I'm so wonderful, the Lord loves me so much, I 19:49 just want you to know I'm the disciple He loved. 19:54 " No, it was the very opposite - I, the one who wanted to burn up all the 20:00 Samaritans - I the one who wanted Jesus to give me the place I didn't even 20:04 deserve - I am one whom He loves. 20:08 It's a celebration of grace. 20:10 Jesus never had to ask John if he loved Him, but He did have to ask Peter 20:15 that. 20:17 Jesus never had to ask John to follow Him, but He did have to ask Peter 20:22 that. 20:25 And when it came down to passing out the work, He said to Peter - Feed My 20:28 sheep. 20:30 He said to John -Take care of My mother. 20:34 There was something special about John. 20:37 Tradition tells us that John never left the city of Jerusalem until Mary 20:42 the mother of Jesus died, because he kept his vow to the Lord. 20:47 So, John was a son of thunder but he was a tender-loving man who 20:55 would never compromise his convictions. 20:57 He taught on love. 21:01 And so, the Lord can use that kind of man. 21:04 The man with a great love. 21:08 There are the James who just live their life on passion, zeal, fervor, 21:15 fire, sparks flying everywhere. 21:18 And there are the Johns who can harness the truth in love. 21:21 And they'll last and attract people to Christ. 21:26 And God uses all kinds. 21:31 John lived to be an old man but he was always the son of thunder. 21:37 So what kind of people can God use? 21:43 Dynamic, strong, bold, a leader like Peter, who took charge, who 21:49 initiated, who planned, who strategized, who confronted, who commanded 21:53 people to Christ. 21:55 And very often blew it. 21:58 Another was humble, gentle, inconspicuous, Andrew who didn't see the 22:03 crowds but saw the individuals in the crowds. 22:06 And while he never attracted a mob he kept bringing people to Jesus. 22:12 And then He picked a man who was zealous, passionate, 22:16 uncompromising, insensitive at first, ambitious, who could see a 22:22 goal and go for it with all his might and die in the process, James. 22:26 And then there was sensitive, loving, believing, intimate John, 22:32 every bit a truth seeker. 22:35 Who spoke the truth in love so that he attracted people to himself. 22:41 Jesus made them into fishers of men in spite of what they were. 22:49 Listen, Christ can take a very common person and make them a very uncommon 22:58 Apostle. 23:01 Are you available for that? 23:04 Let us Pray. 23:06 Lord, again we thank You for the fact that this is such a heartening word to 23:12 us. 23:14 That You can use us in spite of ourselves. 23:17 Not as we are, so much, but as You will make us and mold us and shape us. 23:24 May we be willing to start out as learners, disciples, to become 23:30 apostles, trained to be sent for Your glory in Christ's name. 23:36 Amen. 24:22 >>Bev: Hi, everyone! 24:24 Are you using chia seeds as yet in your daily eating? 24:26 Chia seeds are tiny - smaller than a sesame seed - but they pack a huge 24:31 nutritional punch. 24:34 In fact, they are regarded as a super-food! 24:37 They are high in dietary fibreand in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential 24:41 to good health, and are a delicious source of protein. 24:45 When soaked in liquid, the seeds form a gel, much like flax seeds do. 24:50 You can sprinkle the seeds on your food, add them to smoothies, or make a 24:53 pudding, like the Chia Pudding I'm making today. 24:57 This recipe is from the wonderful cookbook "Going Raw" by JuditaWignall. 25:01 It's so incredibly easy, and delicious. 25:06 All you need is: 1/3 cup chia seeds 2 cups nut milk - I'm using almond milk 2 25:11 Tablespoons agave nectar or honey Dash of cinnamon to garnish So let me show 25:15 you. 25:17 Put the chia seeds in the bowl, dash of cinnamon, some of the honey - and 25:29 you can sweeten it to your liking. 25:31 And then, the nut milk. 25:36 You're going to stir that and let it sit for about 10 minutes and then you 25:39 are going to stir it again and then you're going to put it in the fridge for 4 25:43 to 6 hours or overnight. 25:46 Then you're going to garnish with a little bit more of the cinnamon -- 25:48 and voila. 25:52 In the morning, this is what you are going to have, it's going to be 25:54 gelatinized. 25:56 This will keep for about 2 to 3 days in the fridge. 25:58 It's delicious, and it's oh, so good for you. 26:00 Enjoy it in good health! 26:02 I'll see you next time. 26:10 >>Alan: What kind of people can God use? 26:11 Any kind! 26:14 All we have to do is make ourselves available. 26:17 That means there is hope for you and me. 26:21 Pastor Bill has written a book "All the King's men", it includes all of the 26:25 messages in this series, we would like to send it to you, here is the 26:28 information you need to get your free copy. 27:31 >>Bill: I hope you're enjoying this series on the disciples. 27:34 I want to thank you for being with us this half hour. 27:36 Visit our web site itiswrittencanada.ca. 27:40 There you can pre-order a study guide of this series together with the DVD. 27:46 It is terrific for small group bible study, individual bible study. 27:51 You send us a donation of $50 and we will get that to you. 27:55 While you are on the web site find out where the it is written team might be 28:00 appearing, you can also see all of our programs - they have been archived 28:02 there. 28:05 You can follow us on twitter, you can visit our youtube channel 28:08 youtube.com/IIWCanada. 28:11 Well, we will be praying that the good Lord will allow us the privilege of 28:14 being together again next week. 28:17 Until then remember, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by 28:21 every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 28:29 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-02-06