John 6 InterVarsity Small Group this week

I am starting to get ready for small group this week. So I want to spend some time in the scripture for myself. God speak to me and remind me you have something new and something real and a challenge for me in your Word!

We have been going through John in small groups and Large Groups and even Fall Conference in CU InterVarsity.

This week we will study the feeding of the 5000 in John 6

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages^[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

I am pretty certain I would have responded like Philip and seen the physical reality. Even when we plan events in InterVarsity my mind often jumps to reasons why that idea won't work or analyzing the details of an idea before giving it time to even blossom. 

Even thought I follow God and know he is the creator of the universe and not limited by anything I often live in a very limited reality. I limit what I think I can do or a group of Christians can do. 

Its amazing to me that Peter even offers and suggests this idea: saying here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish. I imagine if I was there I would criticize Peter and judge his idea. Then Jesus probably would have had to rebuke me for my lack of faith. 

I find it so interesting the details John includes that we don't find in the other accounts. Am I sometimes looking for the same thing that Jesus would be king now of this world? How should I think about Jesus as king of the universe while also allowing the world to not know him for now and to pursue sin. 

God give me faith to believe you can perform miracles today through me and through Christian community. Give me understanding of how to follow you in the face of a world who ignores you. 

Amen

Am I Faking it? Luke 18 InterVarsity Proxe

The question we are going to ask ourselves and the campus with our proxe outreach campaign at CU InterVarsity in the coming weeks is 

Are you faking it? 

Where do you fake it? Where do you pretend to be someone or something you are not? 

Why do we fake it? 

Here is a image and card with some of the proxe: 

Lets see what Jesus says to some people who seem to faking it:

^{Luke 18}

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray,one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Jesus tells a parable that calls these people out on the ways they are faking it and being self righteous. They put on a big show with their words and attitudes but in reality they were probably full of fear and insecurity on the inside. They were probably desperately seeking love and approval from people and God. Yet  it seems they like the pharisee are putting on a show and they actually don't feel close to God. Because God himself as Jesus appreciates humility and people being genuine and vulnerable more than those in this story who were self righteous and trying to put on a show. 

How about me? How am i faking it? 

One way that I feel I have been faking it is in the past couple weeks dealing with the flood and being sick I have tried to be strong and say I am trusting God in this and that I believe he is good and that I am fully satisfied in God. 

But on the inside I have only felt that way sometimes. I have had ups and downs. Many days I have been pushing God out of my time: I keep myself stressed and busy with ministry, relationships, and commitments. Letting my time with God where I feel his presence and encouragement become the last priority. Then I have been mad at God for feeling further away and that has let me believe he doesn't have good for me or my ministry in this time. 

But God it is hard to turn it around and be real. 

After all...

I am a staff worker for InterVarsity. 

I am a minister and missionary for the gospel. 

I have been a Christian for a long time. 

I need to be strong for those I lead. 

I need to be the man in my relationship. 

I ... fill in the blank. 

There are so many reasons why we are scared to be vulnerable with God, with ourselves and with others. 

But Jesus in this parable gives an invitation to see how faking it gets in the way of experiencing the love from God we actually are looking for. 

Will we/ will I humbly confess to you God my sin and fear and pride and ask you to help pick me up? 

God I need help, I want to seek you and yet my fear and distractions have kept me. Break down those barriers and help me to run to you and rest in your grace. 

Help me to be real!

Amen

Faithfulness

God is faithful

But I am not.

So what happens? When I am distant from God and haven't been seeking him recently is that the end of the story? Do I just have to suck it up and seek God more? Who can I look to God?

Our Lord jesus Christ: who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:8, 9 ESV)

God you are faithful and at work and working in me even when I am not faithful. I thank you for that. Help me to come back and to seek you and desire to follow you and be with you anew and with all my heart Lord.

Amen

1 Tim 5 to me as Staff of InterVarsity pt-1

God help me to read 1 Timothy 5 and believe you have something for me. That you desire to grow and teach me through this. As a young leader or pastor like Timothy help me to relate to Timothy and the aspects of leadership Paul is instructing him on.

1 Tim 5
Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

Thank you God, already I feel this relates to me. God there are men in this fellowship that I ask for your help to be gentle with and yet rebuke when necessary. Give me patience and respect for them. Help me to exhort vs be angry or frustrated with them. Remind them and help me to remind these men that they are an important part of the community!

God we only have a few upperclassmen women in our community so help us to honor them and ask for their wisdom. Please raise up mature women of God to step up as the mothers of this fellowship. God guide me as staff in interactions with women in and outside our fellowship that I might honor the upperclassmen women and treat all women with absolute purity. This is a challenge as you also call me to shepherd and lead women. Please protect their hearts and create beautiful brother sister relationships so that I can lead them well with truth and without complications in that. 

1 Tim 5
Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame.

Paul gives these instructions for Timothy to give to his people the church in Ephesus. God I ask for your instructions to give to the CU IV fellowship. In that help people to know the truth and the right way that no one may be open to blame. But also in speaking through us as leaders free us from whether people follow these instructions. We can teach and encourage but we are not responsible for their choices. God give us strength and compassion to lead but root our identity in you that we would not be rocked by the choices and sins of others. Let our identity and treasure be in you God not in the numerical or measured success of our ministry. 

Part 1 - I hope to come back to the rest that God has for me in 1 Timothy 5
Amen

How do I rejoice despite my circumstances?

God as Paul says in Philippians 4 and as he lived out in his actions and persistent hope in you

Help me to understand Paul's words and his hope and strength: 

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:10-13 ESV)

God I struggle with how to rejoice now while I am sick.

I have less energy to do your work and seek you God, so how do I rejoice and be content?

God when ministry is bumpy or even struggling how do I rejoice? 

When people reject you how do I rejoice?

Lord Teach me to say with Paul 

I have learned to be content in all situations because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens  me!

Amen

How God uses Community to shape us in the gospel

Functional vs formative community

Functional means we are looking to see how well do my relationships fulfill my needs?

Formative view means that we believe the relationships in my life are part of God's means to change me and reform me in His image.

This isn't a trap. There are healthy boundaries and their need to be healthy expectation and communication to heal things. Example healthy dating relationships.

We often live with functional mindset on relationship. When we don't get what we want or things aren't going well then we just leave the relationship or distance the relationship.

This is the balance of boundaries idea.

Example conflict is a huge way to show these two views.

Our tendency is functional to reject hard relationships with conflict.

The bible says every conflict is an opportunity for gospel growth. 

Spiritual formation a lot of it is up to God not us.

God has a plan.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, (Acts 17:26, 27 ESV)

Unhealthy to look what we can i get out of a church?

Church shopping.

Don't take forever.

Don't expect perfection.

Invest and stick with community and relationships even when it's hard and messy.

What about family?

Question to ask:

What is Gods purpose for them and for me in this relationship?

How can I be open to what God wants to do to me?

How can I be open to God using me?

Be sensitive and accepting of change and different roles.

We can't be super close and intimate with everyone. 

Some people we get 30 seconds.

Seem we get one day per year

Some a few minutes weekly.

Some more.

That is ok.

Exercise:

An example of conflict

Look for heart sin in myself.

It's not about them in this exercise not their sin. Not about what they did. It's about how I respond. 

Now think what is Jesus work related to this

What is the Holy Spirits ongoing work in me?

Assumption this is for relationships God has placed you in especially deeper more regular relationship.

 

What if the difficulties was for the good of other people or yourself? Instead of for us to judge.

We are called to be together as Christians

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: (1 Corinthians 1:2 ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7 ESV)

Calling and sending

'What is the difference between being called and being sent?

What do both evoke in me and how do I feel differently about them?

Often we use language based on our reality.

We have theology and reality and sometimes they don't line up or we don't feel like they line up.

Yet we don't wrestle with that.

We live in that dissonance and it can cause guilt and chaos and anger.

In this season will we let our reality affect our theology?

Will we at least wrestle with the ways they feel and may be different.

Think about mission trips.

How do we describe them after they happen?

Luke 10:1-16

Sending of the 72

Long gap

Nothing recorded

Missing the hard and the good.

The nitty gritty details

What if we are sent to the campus.

Work with the emotional sense of being sent. Feels hard alone 

Finally the return is recorded

Luke 10:17-

Dig into the messy in between

How does this relate to fall conference?

We sometimes treat it like Disneyland.

We sometimes think we have to put on a fake smile to cover the hurt.

But really doesn't Jesus deal with the mess and the pain.

And then out of that can come with real joy.

God helps us to experience your calling and send us as you sent your Son Jesus!

Let us come to him and identify with Jesus in being with you and going to the nations.

Amen