Great Expectations?

“Why doesn’t God do something?”

This might be the one question a pastor is asked the most when things are not as we planned; tragedies happen, bullies force a plan that seems horribly wrong, or things just seem out of control. Why would God allow His Kingdom to involve such things? These are truly great questions, and probably no direct, perfect answer is going to suffice or take away from this question. Is God just silent on such matters? Why not step in and stop it? Why not do something?

In Matthew 13, Jesus begins many different parables about how God’s Kingdom will unfold. These parables are not direct answers to the difficult questions, but various stories show what God's Kingdom will look like; it was not what the leaders thought it would be or expected. This new Kingdom rule is not as straightforward as we might think.

How do you react when your expectations don’t match up with how things turn out? In our passage this week, we will see that Jesus once again expresses how evil will not be eliminated from our world as this Kingdom breaks in, but will sit side-by-side for a bit longer. It will also show us how patient God is in His desire to see all come to know His love. There have been so many times in my life that I felt, “If God would just listen to me, this would work out so well,” only to find each time, what I already knew, that His ways are not my ways, and are always better. This Sunday we will look at another parable and see how loving and patient our God is, and how much He believes in His people who are to be the light to a darkened world.

Pastor Chad Ramage

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. It was on this day that the disciples experienced an indoor windstorm, God’s divine fire, and the ability to speak multiple languages, all at the same time. It was a day of connection and transformation. Through Peter’s inspired sermon of connection, the message of the Gospel was proclaimed to people from around the world who had come to Jerusalem and at least 3,000 accepted the message and were baptized. This was the beginning of God’s evangelistic plan for the world. It was a day of transformation, as God birthed the Church, His tool for reaching the world. It was the moment that heaven and earth overlapped. It was the day that the Temple of God moved from a physical location in Jerusalem, into the physical body of all who would respond to the Gospel and become followers of Christ. Individually, we are the Temple, and corporately, we are the Temple.

To celebrate this incredible event, our District Superintendent has called the Central California District, to gather together by zones to PRAISE the Lord, to PRAY, lifting our needs up to Him, and WORSHIP the Lord. You are invited to join me with our Sequoia Zone gathering at the Visalia Church of the Nazarene at 5:00PM. Let’s come together anticipating another outpouring of God’s Spirit.

Pastor Mark Pitcher