[0:00] Our Scripture lesson this morning comes from the Gospel according to John. John is the Gospel that reveals just how wonderful and marvelous Jesus Christ is. It's chapter 1, verses 29 through 51. If you're looking in your order of worship, you won't find it there today. You need to pull out your Bible or get one from the pew rack.
[0:21] John chapter 1, verses 29 through 51. If you're able and willing, would you please stand for the Gospel reading? Hear the Word of God.
[0:34] The next day he, that is John the Baptist, saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he on behalf of whom I said, After me comes a man who has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me, and I did not recognize him. But in order that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.
[1:01] And John bore witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and he remained upon him. And I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and bore witness that this is the Son of God.
[1:26] Again, the next day John was standing with two of his disciples. And he looked upon Jesus as he walked and said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and beheld them following and said to them, What do you seek? And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? He said to them, Come, and you will see.
[1:53] They came, therefore, and saw where he was staying. And they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his own brother Simon, and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which translated means Christ, or anointed one. And he brought him to Jesus, and Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon, son of John. You shall be called Kephas, which is translated Peter. The next day he purposed to go forth into Galilee, and he found Philip, and Jesus said to him, Follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile. Nathanael said to him, How do you know me?
[2:57] Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered, Rabbi, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel.
[3:08] Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these. And he said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. Spirit of the living God, we believe that somehow you inspired John to write down these words long ago. And now we pray in your mercy and grace that you take these words off the page and make them come alive for us as never before. For we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.
[3:48] You may be seated. I want to say it again. I can think of no more challenging period in history to be the church of Jesus Christ than the one in which we are now living. The whole world generally, and American society specifically, is in the throes of monumental transition at every level.
[4:15] The chaplain of the United States Senate, Richard Halverson, is certainly right when he says, There is something cataclysmic in the air. Something cataclysmic, and you can feel it everywhere. And it is at once exhilarating and frightening, right? Exhilarating because we may be on the brink of the greatest spiritual awakening the world has ever witnessed, and frightening because we may be on the brink of massive chaos. Whatever it all means, it is clearly not the time for light Christianity. L-I-T-E Christianity. Light Christianity. There is a cartoon depicting a traditional-looking church building with a marquee on the front lawn, and on the marquee it reads, The Light Church. 24% fewer commitments. Home of the 7.5% tithe. 15-minute sermon, 45-minute worship service. We have only eight commands. Your choice. We have just three spiritual laws, and we have an 800-year millennium. And then it says, Everything you wanted in a church and less.
[5:26] Light Christianity won't cut it in this cataclysmic time. As Dallas Willard, professor of philosophy at USC, is saying, The greatest danger to the Christian church today is that of pitching its message too low. When the pastor nominating committee of GPC approached me nearly two years ago now about the possibility of coming to serve here, I did not want to move. My initial response was, No. I did not want to leave Sacramento to return to Southern California. In the minds of many Northern Californians, Southern California embodies everything that is wrong with the world today. People would say to me, Who in their right mind would want to move his family down there? What opened me up to the possibility of coming in this call was, first of all, the contact with Ralph Winter and Al Van Devetter, and then other members of the pastor nominating committee who are really classy people. The other thing that opened me up to the possibility was the GPC vision statement. I thought to myself, If only 10% of that congregation buys into that vision statement, look out world. It was clear to me that the GPC leadership knew that the day for the light church was over. It was time to really get on with Jesus' agenda. And it is. It is time to be more intentional. That's the key. More intentional. It is time to be much more intentional about being and making disciples. All authority, says Jesus. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go make disciples of all nations. Not just converts, people with their ticket to heaven in hand. Not just church members who enjoy the comfort of a religious ghetto, but disciples, people attached to Jesus, people entering into ever deeper intimacy with Jesus and His Father, people who are more and more submissive to His Lordship. Make disciples who can make disciples who can make disciples. I really like the way British scholar Thomas Smale puts it. I've quoted this before, and I'm sure I'll quote it again. He writes,
[7:42] There is no doubt at all that for all of us, much of the time, it is our need that sets us running in a Godward direction. And God's grace consists precisely in the fact that He is ready to receive and deal with us on the basis of our need and to supply it. But the purpose of Jesus is never just to meet people's needs, but always, when they come with their needs, to make them disciples. To attach people to Himself so that they no longer simply want to use Him to get what they want for themselves, but want to follow Him more than they want anything for themselves. The purpose of Jesus is always to make disciples.
[8:29] Now, as I said last week, there is no need to be afraid of this word disciple. For the fact of the matter is, every human being, whether he or she knows it or not, is a disciple of someone or of some ideology. Some of us can remember the song that Bob Dylan used to sing in the late 70s, the song, You're Going to Serve Somebody. You may be the ambassador to England or France. You may like to gamble. You may like to dance. You may be the heavyweight champion of the world. You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls, but you're going to serve somebody. Yes, indeed, you're going to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're going to serve somebody.
[9:10] Birds fly in the air, fish swim in the sea, and human beings always follow some sort of master. The question is never, will I follow someone? It's never, will I follow someone? It's always, who will I follow? The question is never, will I worship someone? It's always, who will I worship?
[9:30] The question is never, will I adopt someone's value system? The question is always, whose value will I adopt? The question is never, will I yield the control of my life? The question is always, to whom or what will I yield the control of my life? The question is never, will I be a disciple?
[9:48] The question is always, whose disciple will I be? Follow me, says Jesus. Switch allegiance and follow me. Now, as we become more intentional about being and making disciples, a host of really good questions begins to emerge. And it seems to me that the first question that needs to be addressed is this, what are we getting ourselves into? What are we getting ourselves into? If we get serious about discipleship, what is going to happen to us? In holding that question before us today, I have three groups of people in mind. The first group are those of you who have not yet made the decision to be a disciple, and you need a little more encouragement to take that big step.
[10:39] The second is those of you who have made this decision long ago, but for a myriad of reasons, you forgot what you got into. And the third is those of you who are wanting to make disciples, but who want some help when you receive the question from would-be disciples, so what's going to happen to me? Now, it would seem that the best place to go for an answer to our question is alongside the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus first issued His call to discipleship.
[11:11] Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the first three gospel writers, tell us that four fishermen, Andrew and Simon, James and John, were mending their nets one day by the sea.
[11:22] While they were going about their business as usual, Jesus of Nazareth walks up to them and says, actually, He commands, follow Me and I will make you become fishers of people. We are told that immediately, Mark likes to underscore that word, immediately, immediately, the four men left their nets and followed Jesus down the road. They immediately left their sources of identity and security and took off with the carpenter. And so it would appear that the best place to begin is with that powerful encounter alongside the Sea of Galilee. But it is not. It's not the best place to begin because that's not the place where the four fishermen began. If you only read the first three gospels, you would get the impression that the four fishermen respond to the call of a stranger.
[12:09] This man walks up out of nowhere, says, follow Me, and they leave everything behind and follow him. For many years, that scene troubled me. It troubled me because they respond so quickly and so fully to a stranger. What was it that they saw about this stranger that gave them the courage to follow him?
[12:29] Was it the inherent authority in his voice? Was it the love in his eyes? It troubled me because I could not see myself getting up and walking away from my sources of identity and security to follow someone about whom I knew nothing. Well, the fact is, the fishermen were not responding to the call of a stranger. They did not know everything about him, but they had already encountered him before that day by the Sea of Galilee. And this is important, they had already been given some substantial clues of what was going to happen to them if they, in fact, got serious about discipleship.
[13:09] You see, the writer of the fourth gospel tells us that before the fishermen hear this call, follow Me, they hear the invitation, come and see. Come and see proceeds, follow Me.
[13:23] What happened was this. John the Baptist had been proclaiming the imminent arrival of the Messiah and His kingdom. One day, while he was walking with two of his disciples, he spotted Jesus. And pointing to Jesus, which was the characteristic posture of the Baptist, pointing to Jesus, he said, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, this is the one I've been telling you about.
[13:45] So the two disciples began then to walk down the road after Jesus. Jesus turns around and says, what do you seek? They say, Rabbi, which is the only thing they knew to call Him at that point, Rabbi, where are you staying? Now, do you think that is what they really wanted to ask?
[14:03] Did they want to know the address of where Jesus was staying? No, it's not. One commentator calls it an exploratory question asked by those who are uncertain of what to make of Jesus but wishing to find out more about Him. They feel awkward. They really want to ask something else. And in typical Middle Eastern and Asian fashion, they don't ask the question they really want to ask. They ask a less direct question. Where are you staying? Well, then what is the real question? If these fishermen had been raised in America where we're straight and blunt, how would they have put the question?
[14:40] John the Baptist had been telling them that the Lord's anointed was coming and they needed to be ready to follow Him when He came. I think the question is, Jesus, if we make the switch, if we stop following John the Baptist and start following you, if we cease being His disciple and become your disciple, what are we getting ourselves into with you? Jesus says, come and see.
[15:05] Come and see. Come and see where I am staying, but more importantly, come and see some of the consequences of what it means to be attached to me. During that initial time together then, Jesus promised that fundamentally two things would occur. He promised them and He promises us revelation and transformation. Revelation and transformation. Now, before elaborating on these, I'd like to make three brief observations about this story that we've read. The first is we should note that this initial encounter with Jesus Christ takes place in a home and not in the synagogue.
[15:54] Very crucial. It takes place in a home and not in the synagogue. Where are you staying? Come and see. And they spend the day wherever Jesus is in this home. Jesus invites the seekers into a home.
[16:04] I think this is teaching us that the journey of discipleship begins and ends and all the way between beginning and any. It takes place in the normal places and in the normal routines of life.
[16:18] As you read the rest of the gospel story, you see that Jesus' teaching ministry, Jesus' disciple-making ministry takes place in homes, not synagogues. The primary place is the home where He does the teaching. Regularly, someone opens their home and invites Jesus to come and teach, and then invites all the village to come. I'd like to pose the question to you. Is your home a place for disciple-making? Is it a place where disciple-making can take place? Are you willing to invite people into your home and then invite Jesus to come and teach? Second observation.
[16:55] Although John the Baptist's disciples ask a less direct question, it turns out they asked exactly the right question. Where are you staying? Literally, where are you abiding? Now, if you've read the fourth gospel a lot, you know that this word abide is very crucial. Where are you abiding?
[17:17] The would-be disciples are asking more than they know. They are actually going to the heart of the matter. Where are you abiding? And Jesus answers that question in the rest of the gospel of John.
[17:27] And the answer is, I'm abiding in the heart of the Father. I'm abiding in the bosom of the Father, is the way it's actually put. Everything I say, everything I do, I say and I do because I abide in the Father. I live in the Father. I stay in the Father. I live from the Father. If Jesus were to give an address of where He lives, it's in the Father's heart. The third observation is crucial to grasp at the beginning, middle, and end of discipleship. And it is this. Jesus knows whom He is calling to discipleship. He knows every person in this story. He knows them before He encounters them. Of Nathanael, Jesus says, behold, an Israelite in whom there is no guile. And to Andrew's brother, Jesus says, you are Simon. You shall be called Kephas or Peter. John tells us that Jesus looked at the fishermen. Verse 42, He looked at him. And this word that is used here implies a concentrated, intent, penetrating gaze. Jesus looked at Simon. He looked through the exterior person, and said, you are Simon. Now names in the first century meant a whole lot more than they mean in our century. A person's name somehow gave you essential information about the person's character. If you knew the person's name, you knew the person's character, a sort of mini personality profile. You are Simon. Do you know what the name Simon means? It's related to the Hebrew word for shifting sand. You are shifting sand. Oh, I wonder how He endured that look and that saying. This man knows me. He looks beyond my macho exterior to see that I am impulsive and that I'm easily swayed and that I fear the rejection of others. You are Simon. Jesus knows this inner man's character. When the Lord of life calls you and me to discipleship, He knows whom He is calling.
[19:38] Now, on the one hand, that's scary. But on the other hand, it's wonderfully liberating. It means that He is not going to be surprised down the road by my thoughts or my actions or my emotions. It means that He is not going to discover something about me down the road which will make Him want to cancel the call to discipleship. I will never hear from the mouth of Jesus, oh, wow, Daryl, like if I'd known that about you, I wouldn't have bothered with you. He knew that about me. He knows who I am. He knows who He calls. When I fail Him down the road, which I will, He will not be surprised. He knows He's not calling a spiritual giant. You're Simon, and I'm calling you. Well, now let us examine the two answers to the question, what am I getting myself into? Jesus promises those first would-be disciples revelation and transformation. They always go together. Revelation causing transformation, transformation opening up to more revelation, and more transformation, more revelation, more transformation. Revelation. Nathaniel was surprised that Jesus knew him so well. Jesus says, is it because I said I saw you under the fig tree that you believe? Then Jesus makes this promise, you shall see greater things than these. Nathaniel, you haven't seen anything yet.
[21:08] What shall we see? Shifting from the singular you to the plural, Jesus addresses the whole group, and then by extension, you and me saying, verse 51, note verse 51, truly, truly, amen, amen. That's Jesus' way of saying, you can build your life on this. This is solid ground. Truly, truly, truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. You will see the heavens opened. It's important to note that in John's writing, the word heaven does not refer to a place far, far, far away. Rather, the word heaven refers to another dimension of reality, to another dimension of reality which, although ordinarily invisible, constantly intersects the dimensions of reality that we know with our five senses.
[22:07] Jesus here is reminding us at the beginning that reality is so much bigger than our enlightenment worldview allows us to know. There is more to reality than meets the eye or the ear.
[22:20] Does that not explain the emergence and proliferation of the New Age religions? People are hungry for more, and people implicitly know there is more, and Jesus is promising to open up that more, to open up the other dimension to us. He is promising to broaden our worldview so that it encompasses all of reality so that it encompasses the heavens, which is why the old saying, those with heaven on their mind are of no earthly good, is not true. Those with heaven on their mind are of no earthly good is not true. Those with heaven on their mind are of the most earthly good because they have the whole picture. Their worldview is not truncated in ignoring the transcendent.
[23:08] You shall see the heavens opened. And the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. The reference to angels in the first century would trigger the idea of movement between heaven and earth, of movement between dimensions. Angels supposedly maintain contact between God and humanity, between these different dimensions between these different dimensions of reality.
[23:32] The reference to the Son of Man in the first century would trigger the picture of a heavenly, preexistent being who was supposed to come and establish an even greater, closer contact between heaven and earth. I think, therefore, that we can paraphrase Jesus' promise this way.
[23:51] I am that Son of Man. I am that contact point between heaven and earth, between God and humanity, and I am the bridge between those dimensions. And if you attach yourself to me, you're going to see and experience the life that flows on that bridge.
[24:10] Revelation. He promises to help us see all of life in light of Him, our personal histories in light of Him, and world history in light of Him. You will see the other dimension open up, and you will see that I, the Son of Man, am at the very center of it.
[24:28] Now, Jesus fulfilled this promise to John in a very dramatic way. About sixty years later, John was on the prison island of Patmos. One Lord's Day, while in the Spirit, as He says, the heavens were opened to Him, and what He saw, He has recorded for us in the book we call The Revelation.
[24:52] Now, the key to understanding The Revelation, the key to understanding that book, is realizing that John does not record what happens next. He records what He was shown next.
[25:08] He's not given a sequence of events. He's given a series of visions, and those visions are all leading in one way. Listen to how the theme builds in Revelation. Revelation 4.1, I looked, and look, there before me was a door into heaven. Revelation 4.2, and as I looked, there was a throne in heaven, and there was someone on it. Revelation 5.6, and I looked at the throne, and standing in the very center of the throne, there was a lamb as if slain. Revelation 7.9, and after these things I looked, and there was a great multitude around the throne and around the lamb. Revelation 11.17, and the temple of God, which is in heaven, was opened. Revelation 15.5, and after these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened. And then Revelation 19.11, and I saw heaven opened, and look. Again, for John, the word heaven does not refer to some place that is far, far away.
[26:19] Rather, it refers to another dimension of reality, which is close at hand. It's as close as our breathing. The risen Jesus was not giving John some picture of the future. That comes in Revelation 21 and 22. What the risen Jesus was giving John was a picture of what is true right now. On the island of Patmos, Jesus pulled back the curtain. He got behind the scenes to see what is going on right now.
[26:46] Look, there is a throne, and it is not vacant. The lamb is on the throne. The risen, crucified one is on the throne. The God with nail print hands is on the throne. And Jesus promises to give that same opening of the heavens to anyone who attaches themselves to Him. He will cause us to see things differently. That is, He will cause us to see things as they really are.
[27:13] How often are we charged with, or do we charge someone else with the statement, come on, be realistic? I hear that often as a dreamer as I am. Come on, be realistic. And what's often meant by that is, come on, just deal with life in naturalistic terms. Deal with life in terms of what you can see with your eye and hear with your ear and touch with your hands. But I ask, is that being realistic? It's not realistic at all. We are not being fully realistic until we take into a account all of reality. We are not being fully realistic about our businesses. We are not being fully realistic about our marriages. We are not being fully realistic about our children until we take in the parts of reality that we cannot see and hear and touch. We are not being fully realistic until we take into account the heavens and the Son of Man. And Jesus promises to give us, His disciples, a fully realistic view of life. I could use an amen about now.
[28:22] You see, if we could just grasp what is revealed to us in this simple story, our lives would be very different between Sundays. This story teaches us that right in the middle of all the mess is the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world. Right in the midst of the stress is the Son of God who comes from the heart of the Father and comes to draw us into the heart of the Father. Right in the midst of the strain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, who loves to drench us with divine life. Right in the midst of the confusion is the one who was promised by Moses the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, the one who can guide us in the way of life. Right in the midst of the tension is the King of Israel, the ruler promised to David, who comes with the rule of Shalom. And right in the midst of all the upheaval is the Son of Man who comes at the appropriate time to inaugurate the everlasting kingdom of God. The promise to disciples is that we will see Him in the midst of everything.
[29:28] What heals the pain of the past is being able to see Him in it. And what eases the fear of the future is being able to see Him in it. And what lifts the burden of the present is being able to see Him in it.
[29:42] You're going to see the whole picture. Revelation, that's the first thing we're getting ourselves into. The second is transformation. It's going to change us. Radically so, at the root. Jesus says to the fisherman, verse 42, you are Simon, you shall be called Kephas or Peter. Remember what I said about names? One's name tells us something about one's essential character. Therefore, to change your name is to change your character. In the Bible, whenever God changed a person's name, it meant that God was changing the person in some radical way. Jesus says to Simon, to the man whose name means shifting sand, you shall be called Kephas, Peter. Do you know what his new name means? It means rocky.
[30:33] Rock. Steady, solid, durable, reliable, able to stand in the storm, able to remain faithful under pressure. Jesus promises to transform Simon from shifting sand to solid rock. Now, please take careful note of the way Jesus puts this in this text. He does not say what I wished he had said. He does not say, you are Simon, now you are rock. He didn't say that. He does not promise instant transformation. Furthermore, he does not say what many of us seem to think he said. He does not say, you are Simon. When you work at it hard and long enough, I'm going to be able to call you Kephas, the rock. Jesus does not challenge shifting sand to pull up his bootstraps and then transform himself. When you read the rest of the story about him, you see that his attempt to transform himself was not very successful. Remember his bold declaration, the rest of them will desert you, but I won't.
[31:43] The attempt to be his new name on his own failed miserably. What Jesus said was this, you are Simon. When I get through with you, they'll be able to call you Rocky. Do you see the difference?
[32:00] It makes all the difference in the world. Jesus did not issue a challenge. He made a promise, and the fulfillment of the promise rests not on Simon's ability but on Jesus' ability.
[32:13] Yes, Simon has a role to play. He needs to cooperate, but the final outcome of this transformation does not rest on Simon's shoulder. It rests on Jesus' shoulder. I will make you shifting sand into Peter the rock. It is what Jesus promises any would-be disciple. If you come and stay with me, I will transform you, and you will become like me. As in Simon's case, so in ours. It takes time, and it involves many different kinds of experiences, many of them very painful. But as in Simon's case, so in ours, it does happen. We do get changed. And what's our role in this? I think first and foremost, our role is to give up the illusion that we can transform ourselves. That's not easy to do because the illusion is so deeply built into us. C.S. Lewis understood this better than most people in his time, and he tries to work it out both in his theological essays and in his children's stories.
[33:17] In his little book entitled The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which is the third book in his Chronicles of Narnia, he tells the story of a boy who's named Clarence Eustace Scrub. Any of you know Clarence Eustace Scrub? Clarence Eustace Scrub is a very irritable, demanding, annoying boy.
[33:36] And at one point in the story, Clarence Eustace Scrub becomes a dragon. You'll have to read the book to discover how he becomes a dragon. I will tell you this, that Lewis just masterfully describes the dynamics of sin there, how we become like that to which we yield ourselves. Anyway, Clarence Eustace Scrub did not like very much being a dragon. What I'd like to do now is just read his testimony, if you will, to a little boy named Edmund. He's telling Edmund about how he ceased being a dragon.
[34:07] All right? Well, anyway, I looked up and I saw the very last thing I expected. I saw a huge lion coming slowly toward me. Now, the lion figure in the Chronicles of Narnia is the Christ figure. His name is Oslon. And in another story, a little girl named Susan hears from Mrs. Beaver about Oslon the lion, and she says, oh, I'm going to be afraid of a lion. And Mrs. Beaver says, oh, that you will, dearie. And Susan says, well, is he safe? And Mrs. Beaver responds, safe? Who said anything?
[34:37] About being safe. No, he's not safe. But he's good, I tell you. The last thing I expected was a huge lion coming towards me. And one clear thing was that there was no moon last night, but there was moonlight wherever the lion was. So it came nearer and nearer. I was terribly afraid of it.
[34:56] You may think that being a dragon, I could have knocked any lion out easily enough, but it wasn't that kind of fear. I wasn't afraid of it eating me. I was just afraid of it, if you can understand.
[35:08] Well, it came closer to me and looked straight into my eyes, and I shut my eyes tight, but it wasn't any good because it told me to follow it. You mean it spoke, said Edmund? I don't know. Now that you mention it, I don't think it did, but it told me all the same. And I knew I'd have to do what it told me, so I got up and followed it. And it led me a long way into the mountains. And there was always this moonlight over and around the lion wherever we went. So at last we came to the top of a mountain I'd never seen before. And on top of this mountain, there was a garden, trees and fruit and everything.
[35:38] And in the middle of the garden, there was a well. I knew it was a well because you could see the water bubbling up from the bottom of it. But it was a lot bigger than most wells, like a very big round bath with marble steps going down into it. The water was as clear as anything, and I thought if I could just get in there and bathe, it would ease the pain in my leg. But the lion told me I must first undress. Mind you, I don't know if he said any words out loud or not. I was just going to say to the lion that I couldn't undress because I didn't have any clothes on, when I suddenly thought that dragons are snaky sort of things, and snakes can cast their skins. Oh, of course, thought I, that's what the lion means. So I started scratching myself, and my scales began coming off all over the place. And then I scratched a little deeper, and instead of just scales coming off here and there, my whole skin started peeling off beautifully, like it does after an illness, or as if I were a banana.
[36:27] In a minute or two, I just stepped out of it. I could see it lying there beside me, looking rather nasty. It was a most lovely feeling, so I started to go down into the well for my bath. But just as I was going to put my foot into the water, I looked down and saw that it was all hard and rough and wrinkly and scaly, just as I had seen before. Oh, that's all right, said I. It only means I had another smaller suit underneath the first one, and I'd have to get rid of it too. So I scratched and tore again, and this underskin peeled off beautifully, and out I stepped and left it lying beside the other one and went down to the well for my bath. Well, exactly the same thing happened again. Anybody feel like that? And I thought to myself, oh dear, how many ever skins have I got to take off? Anyone feel like that? For I was longing to bathe my legs, so I scratched away for the third time and got off the third skin, just like the other two, and stepped out of it. But just as soon as I looked at myself in the water, I knew that it had not been any good. Then the lion said, but I don't know if it spoke.
[37:28] You will have to let me undress you. I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you that, but I was pretty desperate now, so I just lay flat down on my back and let him do it.
[37:39] The very first tear he made was so deep I thought it had gone right into my heart. And then he began pulling the skin off, and it hurt worse than anything I'd felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know, if you've ever picked the scab of a sore place, it hurts like billy-hoo, but it is such fun to see it coming away.
[37:58] I know exactly what you mean, said Edmund. Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off, just as I thought I'd done it myself the other three times, only they hadn't hurt. And there it was lying on the grass, only ever so much thicker, darker, more knobbly looking than the other had been. And there I was as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been.
[38:19] Then he caught hold of me. I didn't like that for much because my tender underneath and I had no skin on, and he threw me into the water. It smarted like anything, but only for a moment. After that, it became perfectly delicious. And as soon as I started swimming and splashing, I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why I turned into a boy again. You'd think me simply phony. If I told you how I felt about my own arms, I know they don't have the muscle and they don't look as pretty as Caspians, but I was glad to see them. After a bit, the lion took me and dressed me.
[38:51] Dressed you? With his paws? Well, I don't exactly remember that bit. But he did somehow or other, in new clothes, the same I've got on right now, as a matter of fact. And then suddenly I was back here, which is what makes me think it must have been a dream. No, it wasn't a dream, said Edmund.
[39:09] Why not? Well, there are the clothes, for one thing, and you have been, well, undragoned for another. What do you think it was then, asked Eustace? I think you've seen Oslon, said Edmund.
[39:26] Now, he goes on in the story, and Lewis writes, it would be nice and fairly nearly true to say from that time forth Eustace was a different boy. To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome, but most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun. You are shifting sand. You shall be called solid rock.
[39:54] You are shifting sand, he said. Nothing you can do will change that. But when I get through with you, you will be solid, durable, solid rock.
[40:11] Jesus is standing before someone in this room today, and he is saying to you, your name is much afraid. It shall be called one who trusts the shepherd.
[40:30] Jesus is saying to someone in this room today, your name is ridden with guilt. It shall be called clean slate and dances with grace.
[40:43] Jesus is saying to someone in this room today, your name is worries a lot. Your new name shall be my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' love and righteousness.
[40:58] Jesus is saying to someone in this room, your name is sad heart. It shall be called massaged by my joy. Someone is saying to… Jesus is saying to someone today, your name is confusion.
[41:14] Your new name shall be my wisdom leads her. He is saying to someone, your name is grumpy. It shall be called grateful a lot.
[41:27] To someone, your name is deeply wounded. It shall be called held close to my bosom.
[41:39] To someone, your name is sarcasm. It shall be called he speaks words of healing. To someone, your name is feels alone.
[41:53] It shall become friend of God. To someone, your name is moody. It shall be called brightness steadies my soul.
[42:06] To someone, your name is perfectionist. It shall be called mercy, mercy, mercy. To someone in this room, he is saying your name is addicted.
[42:20] It shall be called free at last, free at last. To someone in this room, your name is denial. It shall be called child of the light.
[42:34] And Jesus is saying to someone in this room, your name is broken wing. It shall be called soars like an eagle. So, what am I getting myself into?
[42:52] What happens to me if I get serious about being his disciple? Revelation, he's going to give me a broader, richer view of life.
[43:03] And transformation, he changes me. The hand that made me is going to remake me in his image. Now, I ask you, who in their right mind would not want to be a disciple of Jesus?
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