Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] You're listening to a live recording from Westside Church in Bend, Oregon. Thanks for joining us.
[00:00:06] Hi, everybody.
[00:00:08] I'm Evan. I'm the other senior pastor. So good to be with you. Today we're going to talk about the good life. Okay. What is the good life that we are all searching for?
[00:00:18] I think if we're sane, we all want a better life. We want a better life for ourselves. We want a better life for our kids. We want a better life for our communities.
[00:00:29] And the question then becomes, like, how do we get to the good life? How do we get to the better life? If you just got here to bend, I'm so glad you're here. Thank you for finding Westside. By the way, Google's working, evidently, and I'm glad you're here. And what you might find is that hopefully a lot of your expectations of what this community is and what Central Oregon offers, I hope it matches your expectations. Sometimes it doesn't, though, right? I remember my brother, my oldest brother, he's five years older than me. And when we were kids, he came back from. I don't know if it was a youth group trip or his sports team or whatever, but he came back and they had gone to Disneyland. And he came back and he told this story about one of their nighttime parade extravaganza shows.
[00:01:16] And he described it so well that my imagination was that this was heaven on earth was this nighttime show at Disneyland. And so for the next three years, often, I mean, I'm embarrassed to say it, often, I would be like, I just gotta get to that show at Disneyland.
[00:01:34] This was, like my life goal, right? And so finally, at some point, years later, we actually went to Disneyland and we went to this show, Fantasmic or whatever it was. And I remember watching it being like, that's fine. You know, like the expectation, the hope, it could never match up to what I was imagining because I had built up in my mind, you know, this would be so good. And it was just okay. It was fine. And this is how life is sometimes. You know, maybe you've been planning, you know, to get here to bed for years, and now you're finally here.
[00:02:06] You might be disappointed.
[00:02:08] Congratulations, welcome.
[00:02:12] But this is what kind of psychologically we do is that we see something and we say, maybe that will give me the good life.
[00:02:21] Maybe that will be the life I've always wanted. Maybe that will be the life I've always hoped for. And what happens often is life is filled with ups and downs and goods and bads and joys and Sorrows. And sometimes our expectations settle into an unmet place. And what happens is that we decide, and maybe you're here today and you've kind of let go of this idea that deep fulfillment, happiness, true peace in your life. Maybe that feels like it's out of reach. And so we settle for lesser things.
[00:02:56] And what I want to talk about today is how Jesus actually addresses this and comes at our tendency to choose lesser things instead of pursuing the best that God has, the abundant life, the good life. And so I want to put up on the screen this out of John 10:10.
[00:03:18] Jesus is telling a parable about sheep and shepherds, and he's comparing himself to this good shepherd who loves his sheep. But he says, there's also these thieves that come in and they try to steal the sheep.
[00:03:30] And he said, but I am the gate. I let the sheep in and I send them out. I'm the good shepherd. I am the thing that the sheep need.
[00:03:40] And then he follows it up with this famous phrase from John 10:10. He says, the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly.
[00:03:52] Abundantly. A few different versions hone in on this idea of abundant life. New living says, a rich and satisfying life. Do you want a rich and satisfying life? We all do.
[00:04:05] The message says, it's abundant life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
[00:04:12] Amplified, says life to the full till it overflows.
[00:04:16] This is the life we want.
[00:04:20] And whether we grew up in Missouri or here in God's country, we're here now.
[00:04:26] And we're all pursuing this abundant life. Okay? So let's pray. And then we're gonna dive into this. Lord, we thank you that on the best days and the worst days, we have a constant companion by your Holy Spirit.
[00:04:43] And today, Lord, we pray that this promise, this announcement from John that you offer life to the full and overflowing would just. It would settle in our hearts. Pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
[00:04:56] Amen.
[00:04:58] Do you remember Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? The original, really the only Willy Wonka movie that's any good. Let's be honest, Gene Wilder, I think it was 1972, something like that.
[00:05:09] And in the opening scenes of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, we see Charlie's house. And it's him and his mom living there, working so hard just to make ends meet in this tiny little house. And in the middle of the house, in the room there is what?
[00:05:27] A bed. And in bed are all of the grandparents.
[00:05:31] It's very strange.
[00:05:35] I don't know. I think Grandpa Joe is like the mom's dad and then you have the in laws.
[00:05:41] They don't explain it, just they're all there.
[00:05:44] And what's fascinating is Grandpa Joe. Now if you haven't seen this movie, I'm sorry, I'm just gonna pretend like you have. Grandpa Joe is the actor. He's 64 years old when he was in this film.
[00:05:57] In the book and in the movie it's explained that they've been sitting in that bed for 20 years.
[00:06:06] And you assume like, well, Grandpa Joe, you know, probably doesn't have use of his legs or something, there's gotta be a reason. But no, at 44 years old, he got into that bed and he's like, this is good. I'm good.
[00:06:18] And we know this because once the golden ticket comes from Willy Wonka and Charlie brings it in and shows it, he greedily looks at the golden ticket and then he gets so excited he hops out of bed with his cane and then he starts dancing and twirling the cane around. He is completely fine from age 44 to 64. He's just been chilling, letting his sweet daughter and his grandson do all the hard work to try to make ends meet.
[00:06:42] Anyway, this message is not about Grandpa Joe.
[00:06:46] I will say this though.
[00:06:48] I think we run the danger of in this life, metaphorically speaking, we settle into things that we know aren't the best, but they kind of are familiar enough and they work enough that we settle in.
[00:07:02] And when I see John 10:10, I see it like this golden ticket that hopefully today will shake us out of our comfortable, closed off living this place where, you know, we don't live the life that we were hoping we live. But it's okay and it's comfortable and it's easy.
[00:07:24] And today we would see that golden ticket of John 10:10 and realize that Jesus is calling us out of our slumber into the grand adventure of faith of trusting him when it would be easier to avoid all the things that we see as threats or fears. Or to put it this way, I want to read this story out of Matthew chapter 14.
[00:07:47] This is a story of Jesus walking on the water.
[00:07:50] It's not on the screen. I'm just going to read it. It says immediately after this, Jesus insisted his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he sent the people home. And after sending them home, he went up to the hills by himself and and night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the Disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen and they were fighting heavy waves. About 3 o' clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. And when the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified, as you would be as well. In their fear they cried out, it's a ghost.
[00:08:21] But Jesus spoke to them at once. Don't be afraid, he said, take courage. I am here.
[00:08:25] And then Peter called to him, lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you. Walking on the water. Yes, come, Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and waves, he was terrified and he began to sing. Save me Lord, he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. You have so little faith. Jesus said, come on, Jesus. Peter got out of that boat and the first thing you say is, you have so little faith.
[00:08:52] I feel for Peter there.
[00:08:54] Peter's sopping wet. He looks like your dog after a bath, right? And Jesus is like, why don't you have more faith? He's like, I've tried, Lord, I'm trying to.
[00:09:02] Why did you doubt me? And when they climbed back in the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. You really are the Son of God. They exclaimed. Listen, Peter is a fisherman.
[00:09:11] He knew that lake. He knew what it was to be in a boat.
[00:09:15] And yet something in Peter. Although it was way more comfortable to be in the boat than out of the boat, there's something about his relationship with Jesus that he says, I want to be where you are, even if it is outside of what is comfortable and safe and in a topsy turvy storm filled world, at least somewhat predictable. You know what's not predictable?
[00:09:39] Is when you put your feet on the water.
[00:09:42] And yet Peter is motivated by something that he has experienced when he looks at Jesus.
[00:09:49] And there's something in all of us, I think, that Jesus is calling out to today where he would say, if you trust me, come to be where I'm at.
[00:09:59] And it's not gonna be as comfortable as you'd like. It's not gonna be, you know what's really comfortable? Never getting in the boat in the first place.
[00:10:06] You know what's really comfortable? Home is comfortable. I'll tell you, I spent so much time on making my home comfortable. I spent a stupid amount of time this week. You know what I was doing? I was trying to program my robot vacuum to automatically start when we all leave the house, but not to start if we're in the house.
[00:10:21] Cause it's noisy and I get so annoyed by the inconvenience of that noise or having to actually say to my smart speaker, vacuum the house as I'm leaving. It's just too inconvenient for me. I need this to happen automatically. So I'm spending hours. I could have been playing with my son. No, I'm programming my robot vacuum for the sake of comfort.
[00:10:43] Listen, there are places and spaces that we will settle into naturally. And if we're not careful, we will wake up one day so far away from the adventure of faith invited us into that we don't even recognize his voice any longer. The invitation today, this golden ticket of John 10:10, is to experience the life that is full to overflowing that Jesus offers and it requires and invites us to step out of our comfort zone.
[00:11:14] I read reread a book by the former pastor here, Pastor Ken Johnson, called Life the Secret to Limitless Living.
[00:11:23] And he wrote about this idea of stepping out of our comfort zone.
[00:11:28] He said some people live in a state of perpetual misery simply because they aren't willing to pay the price of uncertainty and leave their familiar confines. We can get cozy with life as we know it and refuse to venture out into the land of adventure. We can get familiar with our vocation, our house, our country, our county, our city, our self image, our attitude, our worldview, our. Our clique of friends, our church. All that was once dynamic becomes static. We're fettered to the familiar, wedded to our comfortable rut. The fact is, you'll never get into the miracle zone until you leave your comfort zone.
[00:12:01] Wow.
[00:12:03] And we know this. I look across this room, I'm like, you all sit in the same place you always sit. I can tell if some of you guys moved over there, I'd be like, I have a whole new church.
[00:12:18] Something's wrong.
[00:12:20] We're creatures of habit and routine and all that is completely fine. But let's not let that apply to our faith.
[00:12:27] Let's not get so calcified and ossified and petrified and all the Ephes that we no longer can bend to the wind of the Holy Spirit, that we can no longer hear the voice of Jesus saying, yeah, it's me. Come on, walk on this water.
[00:12:44] Step out of what is so comfortable and familiar and experience this life of abundance.
[00:12:52] You know what the opposite of abundance is? It's not poverty.
[00:12:56] It's scarcity.
[00:12:58] The opposite of abundance is scarcity. And I think all of us at some point fight A scarcity mindset.
[00:13:05] There's not enough to go around, and if I don't fight to keep what's mine and, and make sure that I get enough, there's not gonna be enough for me. And so we create all these ways and systems and thought patterns and narratives that allow us to fight for what's ours because we're convinced that there won't be enough to go around.
[00:13:30] And the abundant life that Jesus promised is one of an abundance mindset. First, it's breaking out of this idea that if I don't get what's mine, nobody's gonna look out for me. Because we have a heavenly Father who is looking out for Jesus. Talks about in the Sermon on the Mount again and again. He's like, I know you're worried, I know you're anxious, but by the way, does worrying add a single minute to anyone's life? No. Trust in your Heavenly Father. Who knows what you need before you ask.
[00:13:55] And over and over again, Jesus is trying to break us out of this scarcity mindset that if I don't hold onto what's mine, that somebody else is gonna take it or there won't be enough. And this is not relegated just to people that don't have much. I've met people that are very wealthy that have a scarcity mindset and act out of fear that they're gonna lose their stuff all the time. Primary motivator.
[00:14:17] The way of Jesus is one of an abundance mindset first, where we realize that we are not the providers of security, resources, stability. It is actually our Heavenly Father that we rely on for all that we need for life, and abundant life at that.
[00:14:33] And so it's this invitation, following this way of Jesus. It'll not only make your life better, but it will make you better at life.
[00:14:42] I heard that quote a long time ago. It stuck with me.
[00:14:44] Not because we have some transactional God that if we push the right buttons on the slot machine of faith, that out will spit our good life. No, it's not like that. But when we follow Jesus, we begin to understand that it is his companionship and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit that is our constant guide on good days and bad days.
[00:15:07] And we solidly reject this idea that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people, because we've met people.
[00:15:16] We've met bad people that are doing just fine, thank you very much. And we've met really good people that are struggling.
[00:15:22] And so we have to understand that what Jesus offers in the abundant life is not always optimal circumstances. It's a joy that goes deeper than circumstances. It's a peace that passes understanding.
[00:15:34] It is a way of living, a new way to be human, even where we experience abundance and an abundance mindset, whether we had the best day of our life or it was a bad week.
[00:15:46] And this affects how we live, this affects how we operate, how our relationships look.
[00:15:52] And if there's three things that come up again and again as roadblocks in our way of Jesus following, I would say even as a pastor, these three things are some of the hardest to surrender, to give up to Jesus. And Jesus talks about this so much in his teachings. These three things that are so hard for us. Number one, generosity. Number two, forgiveness.
[00:16:16] And number three, purity. Purity of heart.
[00:16:20] These three things come up again and again. And this is not new to us here in our modern lives.
[00:16:27] Oftentimes we like to hold onto these things. Don't touch my money, Lord. Don't touch my grudges and don't touch my sexuality. Okay, those are mine. Everything else is yours. And Jesus would be like, what else? What else are you talking about? Because these are the stuff that are so difficult to surrender. And yet when we do, we realize that we receive the abundance of Christ in response.
[00:16:52] And these are the narratives that we buy into that when it comes to our generosity, that generosity will cause poverty again, scarcity, mindset. If I give, if I release, if I allow my resources to flow through my hands, then I'm not gonna have enough for me.
[00:17:12] And actually, Jesus pushes against that. And he says that your father knows what you need. And when you enter into his economy of giving, generosity, living a generous life, generous with your resources, your finances, your time, your affection, actually, you enter into the same way that Jesus has expressed his generosity towards us. And if you're waiting for that day when you have extra to be generous with, that's called aspirational generosity. And it's not real.
[00:17:45] Generosity is today. Generosity is now. And this is why we try to teach our kids.
[00:17:54] We give from what we have. We don't give from what we someday might have and wait, but instead it's right now. Today is a sign of how generosity is working in your heart and life. And we're not the kind of church, we're not taking another offering now. You know, I saw a pastor this hit the news. Actually, I saw a pastor, he had the ushers lock the doors until he got certain dollar amount in the offering. Oh, Lord, help us.
[00:18:21] We're not that church. Come on now. We're not that church.
[00:18:25] But I will tell you, generosity has to be part of our practice. Why? Well, because it matters to us.
[00:18:31] And all the things that matter to us are the things that when we surrender, we open ourselves up to the abundant life that Jesus offers.
[00:18:41] Forgiveness.
[00:18:45] There's this narrative that if I forgive, it will make me weak or look weak.
[00:18:51] But can I tell you that forgiveness is the primary mechanism that the power of Christ is released in the world?
[00:19:00] It's primary.
[00:19:01] Henri Nouwen once wrote. He said that forgiveness is the primary pillar of community. Without forgiveness, we don't mirror even on the cross. Remember, he looks down on the cross and he says, father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing.
[00:19:16] At the very heart of how Jesus expressed salvation in the world was the act of forgiveness. And so to follow him is to do the same.
[00:19:27] And then finally, this purity of heart as Jesus talks about in the Beatitudes, this surrendering of my desires and my sexuality to God. And there's this narrative that says, if I surrender my sexuality to God or let him into that conference, then I will never be satisfied.
[00:19:45] And Jesus would say, listen, by actually inviting the presence of God into who you are and into your desires, you will go from an endless well of discontent into a place of peace.
[00:20:01] And so this is the invitation of Jesus. And if you're looking for practices to today put into your life that will help you as you pursue the good life, the abundant life of Christ, I would say consider these three things.
[00:20:16] Your generosity, your forgiveness, and your purity.
[00:20:20] And if today you're like man, my track record has not been good on any of those things.
[00:20:26] This is why we rely on the grace of Jesus today.
[00:20:30] His mercies are new every morning. Today we lean into his way, his abundance. Amen.
[00:20:42] 2 Corinthians 6. In the message, Paul is talking to people who are doing so good, and they're really people of faith. And it's a new church and they're trying, but it's messy.
[00:20:57] And he says this pastoral line that I want to.
[00:21:01] He says, dear, dear Corinthians. He says, I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide open, spacious life.
[00:21:07] We didn't fence you it.
[00:21:09] The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives.
[00:21:20] I love this. This resonates with me so much. If Paul was standing here today, I hope he would tell Us what I just read to the Corinthians. I hope he would share with us that there is a smallness that will come for us. But when we walk in the way of Jesus, he opens up our hearts and our minds and our mindsets to an abundant living that looks like spacious, wide open places again. Pastor Ken talked about this in his book. He said, don't live a single story life.
[00:21:50] You can live a skyscraper life.
[00:21:53] You can have a life with a view. You can see what I see about you. Open your eyes and see. Believe me, this idea of a squatty little small life is like Grandpa Joe in that bed. Sometimes we need to be shaken out of what is normal and realize there's a whole world that awaits in our life of faith.
[00:22:12] The invitation of Jesus is to step out of the comfort and the confines of our small thinking and our safe boats and into the wild and wide open of following and trusting in him with everything that we've got.
[00:22:27] So if your world is feeling small and your risks are feeling all managed and your stuff is feeling very protected and your life of adventure has been traded for a life of predictability, hear the call of Jesus today to step out into the wide, wide open of the waters.
[00:22:46] Mark chapter 8. Jesus says, for whoever wants to save his life will lose it.
[00:22:50] But whoever loses his life for me and for the Gospel will save it. This is the upside down kingdom. This is the upside down nature of whatever you've heard out there. Jesus comes and he flips it on its head and says, actually, the way up is down. The way to save your life is to lose it. Take up your cross and follow me. And this is wildly illogical.
[00:23:13] The following in these ancient ways of this Jewish rabbi would somehow produce in us lasting peace, happiness.
[00:23:22] It might sound too good to be true, but here's what is true about all of us. We have an ache in our soul for peace.
[00:23:30] We have an ache in our soul for that life that is just seemingly outside our reach.
[00:23:37] So often one writer, Ronald Woolhiser, said that that's actually a holy longing meant to lead us to God.
[00:23:47] That the desires that are stirred in our hearts, that longing for something more, that hope for a better life, that desire for an abundance that we haven't quite grasped onto, that maybe, just maybe today, that is the void that is our reminder to lift up our eyes and look to Christ.
[00:24:07] C.S. lewis, in one of my favorite quotes of all time, in the Weight of Glory, he said, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.
[00:24:16] We are half hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition. When infinite joy is offered us.
[00:24:24] Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
[00:24:36] So here's where we're going to kind of wrap up.
[00:24:40] Don't settle, settle for a life of faith that is small. Don't settle for a belief in Jesus that is squatty and single story.
[00:24:54] Don't look for a way to stay on the shore. Don't look for a way even to hunker down in the boat. Don't settle for less than what God through Christ has offered, which is the abundant life that is overflowing.
[00:25:07] And there are things that will constantly stand as obstacles to the abundant life in Christ. And this is what today is about, is about in prayer. In just a moment we're gonna pray. God, would you tear down those barrios and those walls? I think I said barrios, but I meant barriers.
[00:25:24] Tear down those things that are keeping us from the wide open spacious life that you offer.
[00:25:31] Just receive this from Jesus today as I pray. Lord, I pray, would you break off of us the scarcity, mindsets, that fear and that anxiety that there's not enough to go around, that we today would receive from you the abundance promised by Jesus, that you have everything we need, you have the grace we need, the forgiveness we need, the resources we need the provision that your promises are good.
[00:26:02] And Father, for those today saying I want to make a commitment to follow after Jesus and receive his forgiveness for my sins.
[00:26:09] Lord, I pray right now, in this moment, would they have a sense of your closeness and your grace that makes them new?
[00:26:15] We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.
