One of the things that makes any holiday special is the meal that comes with it. Sometimes it's multiple meals, but they almost always involve lots of people and lots of food. We live in a busy, hurried culture and it's rare that families or groups of friends ever sit down for a meal for an extended period of time. Even now at most Christmas gatherings, people are in and out - they have to come late because they have something else going on or they leave early. And even if we're there, many of us often spend the majority of the time with our attention focused, not on the people there but on a little screen in front of us. Even when we're with people, we aren't actually "with" them.
This is the last week of our "Christmas WITH Us" series. We've been talking about this verse in Matthew that says, "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Christmas can be summed up in this idea that when Jesus was born, it was a clear message from God that He is WITH us. First of all, that He was physically present as a person with us. But even greater than that, He is FOR us - He wants what is best for us and was and is willing to go to great lengths to make that happen. Last week we talked about how He is sticking WITH us through the good, the bad and the ugly of life.
This week, the "WITH" that we're talking about is a THICK with. Not only is God interested in our lives, not only is He in it for the long haul of every up and down, His desire is that your entire life would be completely wrapped up in a deep, close relationship with Him. He's not interested in a shallow, thin, once-in-a-while connection with you. He wants something much greater than that.
So, long, long ago, before the days of smartphones, iPods, or personal video games, long before the days of television and telephones, long before the days of every-day after-school sports practices and games, long before the days of obsession with career-advancement and nighttime meetings, there was this thing called "supper".
"Supper" was a gathering at the end of the day when work ended and people came together to eat a meal. In the Bible this meal is sometimes referred to as the "deipnon". This meal wasn't just about the food - it was about putting aside everything else to be WITH each other. These meals lasted for a longer period of time than our meals do and way more important than what was on the table was who was around the table. Because while you were eating, you were not working or doing other things, you were spending face-to-face time with someone - getting to know each other, sharing your stories and ideas, and developing a relationship.
Last week I talked about how Jesus had twelve disciples who followed Him around and learned from Him. One of those disciples was named John. After Jesus died on the cross, rose again and then left the earth, John continued spreading the message of Jesus and near the end of his life, God gave him this huge crazy vision of the future of the church and the end of the world. John wrote down what he saw and heard from God in this book called Revelation.
The first part of Revelation is a vision of Jesus Himself and in this section, John recorded seven letters or messages from Jesus to seven different churches or groups of churches. Some parts of these messages are encouraging - basically a pat on the back and a push to keep pressing on. Some of the messages have warnings that hard times are coming to them. But some of them are what we call a "rebuke" or a correction on something that wasn't right and a plea from Jesus for them to make a change.
The seventh letter is the harshest of them all and that's the one I want to talk about tonight.
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:14-16
To Jesus, this was the ultimate danger for those who believed in Him - claiming to be His follower, claiming to have a relationship with Him, but allowing this relationship to remain "lukewarm" - shallow and thin - a here and there, "when it's convenient" kind of thing.
Toward the end of the letter, Jesus offers them a remedy to this problem.
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." Revelation 3:20
The remedy is a meal with Jesus. Not a meal like we look at them today - a meal like that "supper" I talked about earlier.
When God came to this earth to be WITH us, He wasn't just coming to be a sidekick we could call on when times get tough or when we need some help. He wasn't just coming so that we could be saved and then "pay Him back" our "dues" by reading the Bible or praying or going to church or youth group every once in a while, when it's "convenient" for us. He wasn't just coming so that we could get some sort of "warm fuzzy feeling" every once in a while to carry us until we need a refill.
He came to be THICK with us. He came so that He could have a deep, intimate, real, constant, completely life-changing relationship with every single person who has believed in Him and received Him. Because THAT is what's best for us.
The problem is that we live in a world where "supper" rarely exists, where technology has made us think we have real relationships but we don't, and where it is completely acceptable to be lukewarm and just do things when they are convenient for you.
So, living in this culture is it even possible to have a THICK relationship with God? I truly believe that it is, but it's not going to come without a fight and it's not going to happen without you being really intentional about it.
A THICK relationship with God comes from DAILY MEALS. Spending time with God once or maybe twice a week by coming here isn't going to get you anywhere. It has to be an every day thing. And not just a passing meal where you shove a pop-tart or a slice of pizza in your mouth and run out the door. You might have to start small - even with five minutes a day, but start somewhere!
This "meal" might look different for you than it does for others, so figure out what works best for you. For me, it's studying the Bible and journaling. That is how I connect with God the best. For some people it's praying or listening to worship songs or doing a devotional book. For most of us it's a combination of those things, or something different every day. I promise you that if you can be diligent about this, even if it feels like an obligation at first, you will get to a point where you won't WANT to miss a day because you won't be able to imagine getting through your day without that face-to-face time with Jesus.
A THICK relationship with God also comes from CONSTANT SNACKING. I have this amazing little book called "Practicing the Presence of God" which is filled with the words of a man who lived in the 1600s named Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence was a kitchen servant at a monastery and he wrote about how he acknowledged the presence of God in every activity of his life, no matter how small - with every step he took, with every dish he washed, he was fully aware of the presence of Jesus being with Him.
No detail of your life is too small for God! He's with you in everything - when you snooze your alarm in the morning, when you're brushing your teeth or deciding what to wear. When you're walking from class to class, when you're responding to that Snapchat, when you're kicking that soccer ball or doing your homework. And IN every single thing you do, you have the opportunity to just acknowledge in your head that He is with you. Every single time you do that, you are thickening up your relationship with God. Even if it feels lame or unnecessary or insignificant!
Psalm 34:8 says,"Taste and see that the Lord is good". The more you get a taste of the goodness of God, even if they are just little tastes throughout the day, the more you're going to want even more of Him, because He is SO good!
It's not easy and growing in your relationship with Him takes time and energy - it doesn't just happen. So, here are three practical tips:
1) TURN IT OFF
When I described that meal earlier, I mentioned that coming together for that meal meant that the day's work was over and everything was put aside for that time to be together. Your greatest enemy to a THICK, deep relationship with God in this culture is technology. We have so much going on and so much "noise" that it's getting really hard to hear Jesus knocking on that door.
There are a lot of benefits to technology, like having the Bible accessible to you anywhere, anytime. But in general, most growing Christians I know are finding the distraction level is out of control and it isn't working. If you want to go deep with God, you're gonna have to set some limits - I don't know what that looks like for you, but maybe it just means getting yourself a real, paper Bible. If you need help with that please ask us, we would love to help you get one!
2) TALK OUT LOUD
If you were here last week we read a verse that talks about how God knows even our deepest thoughts, which means we can communicate with Him just by thinking. But actually talking out loud to Jesus is one of THE best ways to truly understand that He is WITH you. I don't mean as you're walking down the halls at school or when you're sitting in Chick-Fil-A with your friends (that might not be the best idea!). But when you're alone having that face to face time with Him, talk to Him as if He's sitting right there. Put an empty chair in front of you if you need to. It's SO uncomfortable at first, but more than anything I've ever tried, doing this makes your relationship with Him incredibly real.
3) JUST SAY JESUS
When I was in high school and college I worked at a summer camp in Vermont and there was a camp pastor there named Pastor Wayne. One night around the campfire, Pastor Wayne said to us that if we ever were praying and we didn't know what to say, we could just remember this one phrase: "Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." I remember thinking, "That's weird. I'll never need that."
But for some reason I remembered it and I cannot tell you how much that simple phrase has meant to me - I have probably said it thousands of times in those moments when I just want to pray but for some reason I don't have the words to say.
You don't have to make it complicated. As you are going throughout your day, you don't have pray long prayers or say the right things, just say His name! There is unbelievable power in the name of Jesus and all you have to do is say it. Say it out loud, say it in your head, sing it, yell it. Just say it and acknowledge that He's there.
If you haven't made a decision to believe in Jesus and receive Him into your life, maybe you're here because He is knocking on the door of your heart, and He's waiting for you to open the door and let Him in. If you have accepted Christ, maybe He's knocking because you've been shutting Him out - or only letting Him in at certain times- when it's convenient for you. Maybe you need to get honest and realize that you've been lukewarm, that your relationship with God has been shallow and thin and something needs to change.
Psalm 63:1-8
O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.
Make It Real For You
"Taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:8
Read this:
Imagine that you’ve planned a wonderful surprise party for your best friend. The guests have all arrived. You’ve loaded the decorated dining room table with her favorite junk food... Everything is ready for the guest of honor. You can barely wait for the big moment of “Surprise!” because you know your friend will feel so loved and celebrated.
Finally, the time has come. And gone. Your friend is late. Your other friends are whispering in the darkened living room and trying unsuccessfully to hold back waves of laughter. Suddenly, your cell phone rings. Your friend’s image appears on the screen. “Shhh!” you say to the others just before answering the call.
“Hey, where are you?” you ask casually.
Instead of saying she’s on her way, your friend says she’s too tired to come over and has decided to watch the last two episodes of her favorite show online. She’s already in her pajamas and will check out whatever you wanted to show her tomorrow. You try to convince her that tonight is so much better and you really want to share something with her. But with a friendly “See you tomorrow, I promise,” she hangs up.
-Lysa Terkeurst
1) Every day you have a “surprise party”-size meal with Jesus waiting for you, all you have to do is show up. But so often we choose other things. List the top three things that you choose instead of having a “meal” with Jesus:
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2) Do you find it easy or difficult to think about God as you go through your day?
Write down two things you do every day where you could set a goal to just acknowledge Jesus’ presence with you in those moments. Write “JESUS” on a sticky note and put it in a place where you will see it during those times.
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3) Talk out loud to Jesus today. Try it for 5 minutes. If you’re not ready for that, just say “JESUS” out loud right now and start there!
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