LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

The emphasis the we put on words in a sentence can change the meaning of the entire sentence. For example, read the following two questions with the emphasis on the capitalized word.

• What do you WANT?
• What do YOU want?

The first question is a legitimate attempt to gather information. The second is a rude statement of derision.

When John the Baptizer introduced two of his disciples to the Lamb of God, they began to follow Him. When Jesus became aware of their presence, He turned to them and asked, “What do you WANT?” His actual words were, “What are you seeking?”

John 1:35-38  “The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?”

The more I study about the life of Jesus, the more interested I am in the questions He asked than I am the answer He gave to questions asked of Him. Jesus intentionally asked questions. Some cut to the core of man’s heart. Some questions were designed to open doors for future teaching. Most if not all of His questions met each person at the level of their understanding.

Jesus asked these two future disciples what they were seeking? That seems out of context to me. These two men had just been told that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Wouldn’t the appropriate question be, “Who are you seeking?” Shouldn’t Jesus have used this opportunity to make sure these guys are true seekers of the Messiah, and willing to be committed to His cause?

Nope!

Jesus knew that in our human nature the what is much more important to us than the who, so that’s where he started. And He did it with out any hint of derision. He didn’t say, “What do YOU want?” His response to their answer proves it. They said they wanted to know where He was staying. He showed them. He invited them to stay with Him. He accepted them.

How about you? Is the what still more important than the who? Jesus understands, and will accept you. He will invite you in. You can stay with Him. But if you choose to follow Him, He will move you from the what to the who. Who Jesus is will become far more important to you than what Jesus can do.

Two years later, Jesus would ask these same disciples and the ten others who people said He was. After they answered with the world’s perspective, He asked them, “Who do YOU say that I am?” Their response was that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The Who exceeded the what.

That is the goal of following Jesus – to move from the what to the Who. The world wants the what. The world seeks only benefits. But Jesus asks us “Who do YOU say I am?” Jesus wants us to move from personal benefits to permanent relationship.

So what are you seeking? Personal benefits or permanent relationship?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, May 4, 2020

Every year one of the highlights of the golf season is to be able to help the Good news Jail & Prison Ministry raise funds for their annual budget. We do so by seeking sponsors for a four-person team of golfers that will represent Calvary in a golf tournament. In addition to seeking financial sponsors for this great ministry, we need to select a team that can carry on the tradition of championships Calvary has won over the years, even though it’s been a few years since we won as other teams have upped their game.

There are specific things I look for in team members. They even have nicknames. We need a Bomber, who can hit their drives a long way with accuracy. We need Mr. Clutch, who can hit any shot or sink any putt under pressure. We need Mr. Consistency, who can always put us in position so the Bomber can truly bomb. And we need Mr. Encouragement, who can always help us maintain a positive outlook when we don’t perform up to our expectations.

It helps when putting a team together to define the team objectives and have a specific function in mind for each team member that facilitates the accomplishment of the goal. I hope your favorite football team understood that and was able to do it in the recent draft.

This week in our study of the Gospel of John, we see Jesus beginning the formation of His team that will be assembled to accomplish His objectives (John 1:35-42). The first thing I find interesting about John’s account of the first three disciples is that each one of them came to Him with a desire to be chosen. Of course, Jesus is God, so He had a pre-determined plan of who those men would be. Yet each man, led by the Holy Spirit’s influence in his own heart, sought out Jesus.

Two were directed to Jesus by John the Baptizer. One came at the invitation of his brother. All three came based on the knowledge of who Jesus was. John the Baptizer identified Jesus to the first two as the Lamb of God, so they followed. The third man, Simon, at his first meeting with Jesus, was confronted with the infinite knowledge of God. Jesus knew His name and his father’s name. Then Jesus, in a bold statement of team goals and specific personal function for him, gave Simon the name Cephas, or Peter.

When Jesus put together His team, He knew exactly who the team needed to accomplish the ultimate goal of redemption and the continued mission of the Gospel to the world. That’s why Jesus also chose you. Jesus has invited you to play a specific role on His team. He has identified your position on the team, recognized your natural skills and abilities, and then supernaturally equipped you with His gifts through the power of the Holy Spirit. You are ready to become a champion for the cause of Christ.

Get off the bench. You are a starter. The team needs you. You play a significant role in Christ’s mission. Put on your uniform – the Armor of God – and join the championship drive.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, May 1, 2020

For weeks I had sat in church and listened to the pastor talk about heaven. Each week, following the sermon, there was an invitation given for people to raise their hand if they wanted to know how to be saved from their sin. Each week, from my front row seat, I raised my hand, and each week the pastor never saw me.

Then one day, while playing my favorite sport, I made a terrible mistake. I broke a rule. I sinned, and the result of that sin was serious injury to another person. I knew I needed forgiveness, but I had no hope of ever being forgiven.

When I confessed my sin to my mother, she directed my attention to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. I went from being overwhelmed with the guilt and shame of what I had done, to being forgiven forever by Jesus because He sacrificed Himself to pay for all my sin.

This was the scene in Israel when John the Baptizer had come preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sin, and the coming Kingdom of God. Crowds of people came to hear his message, each one longing to be forgiven so they could see the Kingdom of God. Each one longing for a Messiah.

Finally, in God’s perfect timing, the day arrived for the Son of God to be revealed. John the Baptizer directed their attention to the One who was sent from God.

John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Every single one of us has lived a similar story. We have broken God’s rules. We have sinned. We may have even caused serious injury to others. We have certainly hurt them with our words. We have little hope of ever being forgiven and set free from the guilt and shame of it all.

But there is hope. You can be forgiven. God has provided a lamb as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for your sin. The lamb is Jesus, and He will save you. Here’s how the Apostle Peter describes this hope.

1 Peter 1:18-21 …you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, will take away your sin and give you hope. Confess your sin to Christ. Believe that Jesus died and rose again and has the power to grant you eternal life. Receive the forgiveness Jesus offers. Put your faith and hope in the Lamb of God.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, April 30, 2020

As the Apostle John introduces us to Christ, he uses the testimony of the forerunner of Christ, John the Baptizer, to reveal a significant and vital truth for us to grasp. It is a truth that will be carried throughout the Gospel.

Religious tradition means nothing without spiritual transformation.

Look at the testimony of John the Baptizer as he responds to the religious establishment’s questions.

John 1:26,33  John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know…I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

Religion is all about outward appearances. Jesus is all about spiritual transformation.

If you are trusting in what your religion can do to give you the appearance of righteousness, but have never had your heart and mind transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, then you have misplaced your faith on what cannot save you.

Later in the Gospel, overthrows religious traditions in the temple. Jesus will make bold statements about those who trust in religious laws, declaring they are sons of their father the Devil. In one of the other Gospels Jesus declares that those who put on the appearance of righteousness are like whitewashed tombs – clean on the outside but inside full of dead men’s bones.

My friend, in what are you trusting for your righteousness before God? Obedience to the law doesn’t grant righteousness, for none of us has ever in the past, nor can we ever from this point forward, keep the law completely. That fact makes us unrighteous. Conformity to religious ritual does not bring the righteousness of God. Those who declared and promoted such thinking were specifically judged by Jesus as dead in their sin.

Dear Friend, there is only one Hope for us. Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin. He rose from the dead to provide eternal life for us. Put your faith in Jesus to make you righteous before God. At the moment of repentance from your old beliefs, and placing your trust in Jesus to save you, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and be made a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). The Holy Spirit transforms you from the inside out. Every other option starts from the outside, and Jesus said that all such outside options are thieves and robbers seeking to destroy you.

Today, let go of your confidence in religion and its traditions. Grab hold of Jesus. Your life will be transformed.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Humility is a challenge. In fact, apart from the Holy Spirit, it is impossible. That’s why Scripture declares that from before his birth, while in his mother’s womb, John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit. I am challenged by the humility of John the Baptizer.

• Humility was modeled by his parents, who were not envious of Mary carrying the Messiah in her womb, but were satisfied and thrilled with the purpose God had chosen for their son.
  • Personal Application – Be humble by not comparing your child’s abilities and desires to anyone else. Be satisfied with God’s design of them and His purpose for them.
• John lived his entire life committed to God’s purpose, and was never distracted by the lure of worldly pleasure, treasure, or fame.
  • Personal Application – Be humble by staying focused on God’s purpose for your life, and trusting that He will provide everything you need to accomplish His mission. The world has nothing that can supplement what God will give you.
• Even when fame came, John continually pointed to Jesus.
  • Personal Application – be humble and never draw attention to yourself or your accomplishments. ALWAYS point to Jesus

John’s life constantly pointed to Jesus. Even when asked by authorities who he was, he pointed to Jesus. Even in the face pf persecution and certain death by beheading, he pointed to Jesus. John was simply and humbly a voice pointing people to Jesus.

John 1:23  He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

Will you be such a voice?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

It was my first mission trip to the Philippines. It was before Facebook or any kind of video calling existed. When I landed in Davao, I had no idea how to recognize the people from the Bible College. I knew them by name, but I wasn’t about to shout names out in an airport.

As I exited the terminal and saw the crowd of people, it was immediately obvious who my contacts were. There in front of me was a group of 15 people, some holding the ends of a six-foot banner and others carrying small signs and leis. The banner read, in bi bold letters, WELCOME PASTOR JOHN VAN GORKOM.

Of course, they knew me right away because I was the only American in the airport. They surrounded me, placed the floral leis around my neck, and began a celebration of my arrival.

John the Baptist was in the same predicament when Jesus arrived on the scene. He was obeying God’s call to the mission of preaching repentance so people were prepared for the arrival of the Messiah. He was convinced that Messiah was coming, but he had no idea who the Messiah was.

John 1:31-34  “I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.  I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.  And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Twice John the Baptizer admits that he was not able to identify the Messiah. I see a problem. I think it’s a common problem for many of us. We choose not to move ahead with things until we have all the answers. We stay where we are, doing what we are doing, but avoid stepping out in faith until everything has been revealed.

John says two important things about how we proceed when we are not fully in the know.

1. I am going to fulfill my purpose even if I can’t see how it turns out. God told John to baptize people with water, and by doing so the Messiah would be revealed. He didn’t understand it, but he obeyed.
2. God said to John that someone he baptizes would have the Spirit of God descend on Him and remain on Him, and that would identify Him as the Messiah.

Imagine what it must have been like for John the Baptizer. Every day he is preaching repentance, and people are coming forward to identify with his message by being baptized. With every baptism, as the person rises from the water, John looks to see if the Holy Spirit is descending.

I wonder how many days ended with disappointment for him? I wonder how many mornings he questioned his motivation to keep going? Or did the certainty of God’s words to him fill him with anticipation that this could be the day? Was he so driven by the purpose God had given him that he would not be discouraged or distracted from doing God’s will until his work was done?

Good questions for each of us to ponder today.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, April 27, 2020

If you were able to join us in person or online, you heard that Jesus is the Way-Maker. He has provided the one and only way to eternal life and eternal relationship with God as His children.

In our study of the Gospel of John for this week, we discover that there was a way-maker for the Way-Maker. His name was John the Baptist, or his better name, John the Baptizer.

John was preaching in the wilderness along the Jordan River, near Bethany. His message was one of repentance and forgiveness. The religious leaders of the day, convinced that the law was the way to God, came to question him about who he was.

John 1:19-23 ^“And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

After stating that he was not the Christ, John said that he was also not Elijah or the promised Prophet. When they pressed him to declare who he was, John replied, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

John the Baptizer quoted Isaiah 40:3-5.

^“A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

John said, in essence, “I am the way-maker for the Way-Maker. I am preparing the hearts of people to see the arrival of the Lord.”

As we start this week of study of John 1:19-34 in preparation for next Sunday, let me ask one penetrating question for you to consider today.

In the wilderness of the world, where people wander without direction or hope, how does your life prepare the way for them to meet Jesus?

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to the truth that God has placed us in this current wilderness so that we can be way-makers for people to meet the Way-Maker.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, April 24, 2020

This is our final devotional before we meet for drive-in church on Sunday. Each day this week we have dug out some nuggets of truth from the first 18 verses of the Gospel of John in preparation for the Sunday sermon. There’s one more nugget to be examined, and it’s in verse 15.

John 1:15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)

The Apostle John has just revealed to us that the Word became one with humanity. God dwelt among us as one of us. Jesus is God’s glory veiled in human flesh (verse 14).

Then John adds credibility to his revelation of the nature of Jesus. He uses John the Baptist as his primary witness. John the Baptist’s testimony of his firsthand experience with Jesus is this: “I told you who Jesus is. Even though I came before Him, He is greater than I am, because He actually existed before me.”

What an incredible declaration of belief in the deity of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist, conceived in Elizabeth’s womb six months before Jesus, obviously preexisted Jesus from a human perspective. But John sees the eternal perspective, and declares that Jesus preexisted himself. There is only one possible explanation: Jesus is the eternal God.

Many of us would skip right over this verse. After all, it is in parenthesis. What value can it have? Yet here in this one sentence, we see John the Baptist boldly and loudly making a public declaration that Jesus is God.

Matthew adds even more details of what John the Baptist said.

Matthew 3:11-12 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Only God is mightier than people. Only God is worthy of worship. Only God is worthy of our service. Only God can grant the presence of the Holy Spirit. Only God can declare eternal judgment on people. Yet every one of these descriptions of God is made about Jesus. At the risk of his own life, John the Baptist declared Jesus to be God in human flesh.

Why is this so important? Because it is the only way to be born again and delivered from sin and death. If God himself did not pay for the judgment of sin, then there could be no forgiveness. May we never minimize the significance of the Apostle John’s opening words, nor the witness of those who knew Jesus. Jesus is God, and He is the only solution to mankind’s sin.

We have two choices of how to respond.

1. Reject Jesus – “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:11)
2. Receive Jesus – “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

Won’t you be one of those who believes and is saved?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Until Jesus came, it is likely that the predominate view of God was that He was a harsh law-giver who demanded perfection and declared judgment on those who didn’t measure up. I think that is Satan’s biggest weapon against us today, even against those of us who believe in the Gospel of grace. There is a consistent temptation to believe that we must somehow measure up to God’s standards or we will be punished.

When God gave the law to Moses, His intention, according to Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia, was to show us that we can never measure up to the divine standard of holiness. When we finally admit that, and see ourselves as undeserving of anything from God, then Jesus brings life to us through grace. When Jesus appeared, He showed us the nature of God and the path to God, and both are the same – grace and truth.

John 1:14-18 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

In Jesus, the consequences of falling short of the demands of the law are fully covered by grace. In Jesus, we have received grace upon grace, which means that nothing we do or desire to do to earn the favor of God is ever considered by God to be of any value. We do not come to Christ for salvation by grace, but then keep ourselves saved by obedience. We are kept safe in Christ by grace alone.

Today is the day to quit trying so hard to please God. In Jesus, you are fully accepted by God, and qualified to be His son or daughter, with full rights to share in the inheritance of glory with Jesus.

In Jesus, we have seen God the way we must see Him to have a relationship with Him. He is the God of grace, in He revealed himself to us in His One and Only Son, Jesus, who is the fullness of God’s grace and truth. Repent of your wrong view of God as a harsh law-giver and judge. Receive the grace of God through belief in Jesus Christ, and you will be saved for all eternity. Quit trying so hard to measure up. Don’t trust in what you can do for God, but trust in what Jesus did for you to bring you to God based on His merit, not yours.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

I don’t remember the specific first time I heard it, but I remember hearing it frequently back in my youth. Perhaps it was a teacher in school, or maybe one of my memorable Sunday School teachers. I do remember that the first time I heard it said to me it made perfect sense, and the explanation that followed helped me understand what was confusing me at the time.

“Let me shed some light on that.”

The idiom “shed some light” originated in Europe sometime before the invention of electricity. Before this modern invention, people would use light from candles to see around their homes in the dark. This became known as “shedding light.” The light from the candle provided a way for them to see clearly in the dark.

John 1:6-8 “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.”

Every day we are bombarded with messages from social media, news media, politicians, economists, doctors, and many more. Each messenger claims to have light to shed on an important subject. But if it were real light, wouldn’t what is revealed by the light be consistent? Does the light they shed really clear up the darkness and confusion?

Are we ready to admit that the “light” most of us want to shed on the subjects of life are primarily influenced by personal experience and personal preference, rather than truth? The things we want to say are meant to influence others to agree with our position.

Not so with John the Baptist, described as a witness in the Scripture passage above. Notice two absolutely crucial truths:

1. John the Baptist was NOT the light.
2. John the Baptist was a witness to the light, and shifted the focus from himself to the ONE who was the Light.

Today, in this world of darkness, with many witnesses to what they think is light, we are called to shed light on the Light. Not many, if any, are qualified to shed true light on the darkness around us, and even if we believe we are qualified, the light we attempt to shed tainted by the pride we carry.

We, as disciples of Jesus Christ, are called to point all the attention to the True Light – Jesus. Every piece of information we share about what is happening in the world should carry the Light of Jesus in it.

We are not the Light. But we are able to bear witness about the Light. It’s the only way the Light will be seen in the darkness around us. Point people to Jesus. Let His life bring light to their darkness.

Pastor John