Rev Jim Lyons_ Dedicated to the Task_ 3rd May 26 pm

Our Bible Reading is from John Chapter 9 v 1-5

Transcript

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John chapter nine verse one to verse five. Now as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth, and his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents, that he was born blind. Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, the light of the world. Let's pray. Father, for the short reading, we ask your blessing upon it, and we ask you for your help as we think about a verse in it. We pray, O Lord, that you will come to us, minister to us deep within our lives this evening. We pray for Jesus' sake. Amen. Nick Skelton began writing, they said, at 18 months old. I can't fathom that out of my mind, but apparently he got his first pony when he was 18. He rode in pony classes with little tuition before taking his pony to Ted and Liz Edgar for help when he was 14 years old. He worked for and helped at the Edgars for two years before leaving school with absolutely no qualifications whatsoever to go into full-time work for them. He became extremely successful in show jumping, and in 1978 he jumped just over seven foot seven inches to set a British record at Olympia. The following year, Skelton broke into the senior GB team, of which he had been an integral part for years. Skelton broke his neck in September 2000, which could have ended his show jumping career. But after retiring in 2001, he recovered and began competing again in 2002. Skelton won the British Open title in 2004, at the British Open Show Jumping Championships and many other top prizes. Despite having a hip replacement, and at the age of 58, in his seventh Olympic Games, he won the individual show jumping gold at Rio in 2016. In a flawless performance, they said, the man who made his Olympic debut before many of the other writers were ever born became the first Breton to ever top the podium in this discipline. For me to do this now at my age is amazing, the champion said. It's been a long, long career. I always wanted to do this. The toughest Teak Skelton, a man unlikely to go down in history as one of sports blubbers, was barely able to hold back the tears on the podium as he received his gold medal. He then inquired a little help to get back into the saddle to complete his lap of honor. Quite a man. From 1972 to 2001, a children's TV show ran, which I remember very well. It was steamed around World Records and was called the Record Breaker. At the close of each saw each show, the theme song was performed by Roy Castle called Dedication, with its words If you want to be the best, if you want to beat the rest, then dedication's what you need. That certainly could be written over the career of Nick Skelton, that despite the setbacks, he was dedicated to the task and was awarded by that gold at Rio. As we think about our Lord Jesus Christ, several things could be written above his earthly life. Yet this theme of dedication was the everyday, every moment testimony to him. He is not only our Savior, but according to Isaiah, he is the servant of Jehovah, and in the role of a servant to his father, he was dedicated to his given task. Our text in verse 4 is set, of course, into the larger context of the healing of the blind man whom Jesus encountered as he left the temple confines. It's an amazing, wonderful account of the power of Christ to heal. But of course, as you can see, I want to focus upon verse 4 and concentrate on that text and the thought of being dedicated to the task. As we think of Jesus being dedicated to the task, we know that from his life it took commitment, it took determination, and it took focus. It therefore presents to us the challenge of doing what God sets before us. This involves commitment to God's will, determination to carry it through, despite the setbacks that we encounter. And it takes focus as there are many distractions to divert us from God's best for our lives. So first I want just two main things to tell you. First, to say, what see what Jesus was dedicated to. It is evident the Lord Jesus came to follow a plan that was already laid out for him. And that's why he constantly referred to this fact. He used in chapter 4 of John the picture of food. Food we know, you know to look at me. Food is absolutely vital to life. I just love it. And it shows. Jesus said, My food is the most important thing for me now, to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. We see how this was before him at the commencement of his public ministry. He called those fishermen from their nets in Galilee. And as we looked at his program last Sunday evening in March chapter 1, we noted that he had an extremely busy schedule. There was deliverance ministry in the synagogue, then the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, and then at the end of the day, the sick and the demon-possessed were brought to him, and he exercised his healing power. Mark informs us that his popularity was on the increase by saying that the whole city was gathered at the door, which of course probably didn't mean every literal person in the setting. But just Mark gets across the impact of the amount of crowd that was before him. So after that busy day, he rose a great while before the day to pray to his father. And as he followed his plan and sought to do his works, so he entirely depended upon him. He was praying, but Simon Peter was frantically looking for him because of his popularity among the people. And after that time of prayer, he said, Let us go to the next turn, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth. So we may conclude that as he communed with his father, it was revealed to him where he should go and what he should do. And that's the task that he went to perform. That is the direction that he followed as he came to do the Father's works. This is the way he continued his ministry. So much so that Paul said that he was even obedient right unto the place of death. So he followed that plan to the end and finished the work that the Father sent him to do. As we scan the life of Jesus revealed to us in the gospel accounts, we can note three aspects to the works of God through him, what it involved. We know that these were works of compassion. There was no doubt that the Lord Jesus cared for people, as repeatedly we read of him having compassion upon individuals. One example is in the following section in Mark chapter 1. In relation to the leopard, it says that Jesus was moved with compassion toward him. And it's wonderful that we gather to worship a Savior like that, one who has compassion upon people. And therefore, tonight, if we know not the Savior, he has compassion upon you, he cares for you, and he loves you. Also, when he saw the multitude, he was moved with compassion, because he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. Scripture records he had compassion on two blind men, the demoniac from Gadarin and the widow of Nan. It is true to say that the works of God that Jesus performed were works of compassion and works of mercy. In John chapter 5, the Lord Jesus healed the man who sat by the pool of Bethesda, who had an infirmity for 38 years. That took place on the Sabbath day. So the Jews persecuted and sought to kill him. But Jesus said to them in verse 17, My Father has been working until now, and I have been working. They sought all the more to kill him, because on top of healing on the Sabbath, he called God his Father. And Jesus pointed out in verse 19 that the Father and the Son work together in harmony. And in verse 20, he says, For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he does, he himself does. And he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. And as you follow John chapter 5 through, you see what those greater works involve. They involve raising the dead and judging the world. And you skip over to chapter 11, and you have the thrilling account of raising of Lazarus from the dead. And throughout that account, you can clearly see Christ's compassion and his deep love for them. I must work the works of him who sent me. They were works of compassion and they were works of mercy, but they were also works of power. At his baptism, Scripture says, the Holy Spirit came upon him. And commenting on that, look in the book of Acts, he comments in chapter 10 and verse 38, and he says that God anointed him with power. And then he went about doing good. This power and authority in his life and ministry that far exceeded the scribes and the Pharisees was evident to those who heard him. So they said, No man spoke like this man. They took note of his words because they were with power and great authority. The power was exercised in those areas which we are continually mentioning sickness, demons, and death. Creation was subject to his great power, as he was the one who spoke the worlds into being according to Hebrews chapter 1. So he could speak that word of power to the wind and the waves when he was in the boat with the disciples. And they responded in absolute subjection to him. He said to Peter, You want something for the temple tax? Go to the river, take the fish, and there'll be a corner smile because you've got power over creation. So the works of God through Christ were done in compassion, but they were done in power. But these were works that would come to a climax. The climax of the work of Christ would be the ultimate reason he came into the world, which we know was to go to the cross. This was ever before him, and he sought to bring it before the disciples. Yet time after time after time, they just couldn't grasp it. On the Mount of Transfiguration, there was a significant conversation which took place between three people: Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. They spoke to him about his death at Jerusalem in Luke 9, 30 to 31. And behold, two men talked with him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his decease, Exodus, or departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Here, Moses and Elijah are representatives of the law and prophets, or of the Old Testament scriptures, and they were focusing upon the cross. Because from the beginning, all of history is moving to that point, to that point where Jesus would come as the Messiah, and where he would come and lay down his life upon the cross. And from before creation and throughout the Old Testament, this is always in view. So as we think about the works of God that Jesus came to do, the cross is right there. And Paul says he's moving to this point, and he was obedient onto that point of death. So the Lord Jesus was dedicated to doing the works of God, following the path that God set before him. If you like, this was the risk that the Lord Jesus was called to run. And when you look at those words in John 9, 4, you find that below the surface, the word I means we. So not only did this apply to Jesus, Jesus says, I'm the light of the world. And verse 5, when I am in the world. But it also applied to the disciples as well, that they would be lights in the world. And God had his works for them to do. And as the Lord Jesus would return to heaven, so he would receive from the Father the gift of the Holy Spirit, which he would pour out upon those waiting disciples. Then they, like the Lord Jesus, would go out in his power. And because they have believed in him, they would do his works. In fact, Jesus said and promised them that they would do even greater works in him, not in quality, but in scope. So through the book of Acts, the gospel would go out into the world, and it would have a greater reach, a greater scope. And I think also beside the disciples, the whole thought of doing the works of God applies to all generation, all generations of believers. And the Bible is clear that God has an ordained path for you and for me. And part of that is salvation. Part of that is because of what Jesus did on the cross. And it's all packaged together in Ephesians 2, verse 8 to 10. There it says, Paul says, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. None of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God had prepared beforehand or ordained that we should walk in them. And God has an ordained path for us to walk in. That's why we're saved. We are saved to glorify him. We are saved to walk with him. And it's vital that we're doing God's work. That's true for us as individuals. It's true for us as a church fellowship. And it's true for you tonight as an individual. That he wants you to come to him, and he wants you to come to him, not upon what you can do, but upon exactly everything that he has done for us and what he did for us there upon the cross. That it's only by grace you are saved through trusting in what he has done. And then to walk in the path that he set out for us. As the Lord Jesus and the disciples were dedicated, so we ought to be in this way as well. Jonathan Edwards says the task of every generation is to discover in which direction the sovereign redeemer is moving and then to move in that direction. That work the Lord Jesus engaged in was so significant because it involved our salvation. Nevertheless, we all have a work to do which is significant for the kingdom of God. To us most of the time, it seems small, it seems very insignificant, it even seems unimportant, but not to God. Because every true believer in Christ is part of the body of Christ, part of his church. Maybe playing a small part in a big work, but it's a bit like little links, isn't it? That make up a chain that fit onto a larger machine and make it function effectively. And thinking like that, our little insignificant, seemingly unimportant work, just gives it greater perspective indeed. Bon Fox piloted a B-17 plane in World War II. On one mission, Alow's gas tanks were hit, the plane didn't explode, and he was eventually able to land. The next morning he asked for the German shell to keep as a souvenir of his good fortune. He was told that not one, but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks. None of them had exploded. Technicians opened the shells and they found that they were void of explosive charge. They were clean, harmless, and empty, except one that contained a rolled-up piece of paper. A note was scribbled on it in Jack of Slovakian, and it said, This is all we can do for you now. So one courageous assembly line worker was disarming Bond. He couldn't stop the war, but he could save one plan. The night's coming when no one can work. So the Lord Jesus is doing the works of his Father. Yeah? The disciples would do the works that the Lord Jesus sent them to do. And down through the centuries, the church is to do the works that God has set before us to do. Therefore, that involves not people like me, just that involves every individual who's part of the body of Christ to be dedicated in doing the works of God. The second thing is the compulsion of this dedication. He said, I must, I must work the works of Him who sent me. The Lord Jesus felt a strong compulsion and obligation to do the works of the Father. I think we can conclude that the sense of obligation came from his relationship with the Father. We know the Bible tells us he always sought to do those things that pleased the Father. So his obedience was an outworking of that relationship. Therefore, that sense of obligation to the Father's works in our lives will be driven from our relationship with him. It's easy to develop an attitude, isn't it, of take it or leave it. But the Lord Jesus was compelled. It was something that he must and we must do as well. We, of course, need to be unlike the man that I read about. The story is told that one summer day, a man was driving along a lonely road, and he came across this lady who looked very frustrated and distressed, standing beside her car with a flat wheel. He decided it was a good time to be a good Samaritan. So he offered to change the wheel for her. He found the nuts extremely difficult to loosen, and the sun was very hot. By the end of it all, and the end of the task, he was covered in grime and grease. The lady watched him with great admiration and appreciation. She was so thankful. And after the wheel was replaced and he was about to let down the jack, she says, Could you do it very carefully and quietly? Because I don't want to waken my husband. He's asleep in the back of the car. He was a man who was certainly not living up to his obligation and responsibility because it was a work that he should have been doing. But the desire just wasn't there. There were far too many lazy bones in his body. Jesus felt this compulsion. And along with That there was this sense of urgency built into it. I must do that, but I must do it because the night is coming when no one can work. Whatever we take from these words, Jesus says, we don't have much time, but we do have an obligation. We should feel utterly compelled to do what God has set before us to do. And when we come to the Lord Jesus and trust him as our Savior, He has a plan for our life. A plan for our life. So he says, Don't waste your time. Don't waste your time. Seek Him with all your heart and find exactly what He wants you to do. Our Lord in a short time was going to lay down His life. So for Him, time was off the essence, as Paul says in Ephesians 5, redeem the time, for the days are evil. The night is coming for us all. And whether it's our departure from this world or the second coming of Christ, our time is limited, so we need to make the best use of our time. It's easy to spend our time on things that are good and but not really of eternal significance. They will not count for the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus says we need to be engaged in doing the Father's will. We've only a limited period of time left to do it. The time is short. Robert Moffat said, we'll have eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset to win them. Lord help me to be all out for you. Robert Murray McSheen had a picture drawn of the setting sun on his watch. And underneath the words of this passage, the night cometh. None of us know how long we live. We do not know when the Lord Jesus is coming. So this, of course, is an urgent matter. It's a pressing matter. And as it was vitally important to Jesus, so it ought to be for us. It ought to be as when we go before the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of all that we've done with the gifts, with the abilities He has given us. Many people say, well, I don't have any ability, and I don't have any gift. Everybody has been given a gift from the Lord, at least one. Everybody has given the gift to do some. And if it's the gift of talking, well, that's a great thing, isn't it? But we make sure that we put the talking to good use for the kingdom of God. It's nice to talk about the garden and the shopping and the fashion and everything under the sun. But in those conversations, we can be gospel focused and kingdom-minded, and we can seek somehow to try and divert them into something in a spiritual sense. So that we can hear at the end of the day those well words well done enter into the joy of the Lord. We don't want to be ashamed on that day because we've hidden our light under a bushel or buried our talent. Therefore, let's be dedicated to this task of doing the works which God has ordained for us to do. It might be something simple, something simple that you could personally invite somebody you know to a gospel outreach in the car park at Dunn's. They don't have to get out and sit in the pew, just sit in their car. It's something a little easier to invite them to. But maybe you could take an invitation. Hopefully they'll be here next Sunday. And you could invite somebody along to that. And just seek to get involved in some way, little by little. So let's be dedicated to the task that God has set before us and be faithful in doing it. I must. He's compelled. I must do the works of the Father. He's focused. For the night's coming when no one can work. Absolutely urgent. I don't know what it's like for you, but I do know what it's like for me. I have enough to do, and you've plenty to do in your life. You know, I I could fret my time away. Yeah. I could fret it my time anyway doing good stuff. I could fret my time away reading. You know, when you're preparing a message and you could just I could just read and read and read, and that takes me that direction. I go there and I go there and I go down there. I could spend all my time reading. You know, but I'm not there to read all the time. And then you get down to what I'm supposed to do. And whatever it is for you, you know, we can fetter our time away, can't we? And I'm as good as anybody at it. We need to keep focused upon why God has us here on this earth to follow in the plan that He has ordained for us. I must work the works of Him who sent me while it's day, for the night comes when no one can work. Amen. We sing