The Worst and Best Easter Message Ever

The Worst and Best Easter Message Ever

Easter is the greatest holiday ever.  The message of Easter is our Redeemer’s message all year long!  We believe that we are broken, self-oriented, and sinful and are alienated from God.  If we think we are good folk that merely need to have a good moral teacher, Jesus, to make our “goodness” shine, we will miss the main message of the Bible and the whole point to this life.  All of us do some good things, but we’ve been self-serving and indifferent and/or opposed to God.  Don’t think so?  Look at how the political right and left both fail in their trust of people its just located in different groups.  The left places it in government and the right places it in the corporate world and/or the taxpayer.  It’s interesting to hear commentators note that our economic problem is due to over and under regulation simultaneously!  Or how about the many studies that show that people just don’t pay up on honor system reimbursements for cokes, coffee, etc. regardless of the earning level of the employees.  Or the many selfish arguments that have been won at our spouse’s or friends’ expense.   These statements may not make you want to take your Easter bonnet off and do a little Easter jig, but until we let that fact sink in, we won’t appreciate Jesus at all.

This is where some great news comes in.  God has not left humanity isolated from Him (and each other).  He came in the flesh in the person of Jesus.  He obeyed all of the Law and always related to the Father in the right way.  He was crucified and was resurrected on the third day.  This resurrection is the reason for Easter and why Christian churches have historically met on Sunday mornings instead of Saturday the traditional Jewish Sabbath,.  We should be reminded at least weekly of the resurrection!  It’s a big deal because in Jesus’ life and death and resurrection, our sin and indifference to God is placed on Him and His obedience and right relationship with the Father is given to us.  Sin, death, and shame are disarmed!  This is amazing news for people that see their need.  Put that Easter bonnet back on because we’ve got work to do.

The Imitation

Paul writes  “¹⁷ Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.” (Philippians 3:17)  Paul isn’t bragging here.  He’s already pointed towards other examples like Timothy.  He is fixing his eyes on Jesus and running the race hard to know Him and running to win the prize of spending eternity with Him.  He’s inviting others join his imperfect, but focused goal to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection and to join Him in his suffering and death.  The word “pattern” cues us that we are talking about way more than a philosophy that we share. No, we are talking about a way of life.  It’s a lifestyle. It’s what we value.  It’s what we daydream about. It is impossible to avoid. We will “worship” something and our lifestyle will adjust and prioritize around something or another.

A person is going to have issues and the word pattern doesn’t come anywhere near to implying perfection, but it implies a consistent and ongoing desire to follow Jesus in the midst of recurring sin and addictions and insecurities and hurt, etc.  The person thta Paul is talking about will make a priority out of following Jesus.  They wake up early, they carve out time of their week to gather with other Christians, a substantial sum of their money is going to build God’s kingdom, they intentionally get to know people that don’t know Jesus so He will be known by seeing him in them and then enjoyed by them.  It’s their walk.  Everything is pointed towards Him. 

The Opposite

^“18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.” (Philippians 3:18-19) Wow.  This is scary.  The scariest thing about this is that almost all commentators agree that Paul is probably not talking about aggressive pagans that hate Christianity and have never been on board with it.  Surely, they are enemies of the cross, but these people would be unlikely to sway a Christian in the Philippian church to want to stop living a Jesus-centered life. No, these people have some sort of connection to churches even if we aren’t sure about the particulars.  They almost certainly have said they follow Jesus, but their conduct denies all of that. Their physical appetites of food and sex and all sorts of experiences are what they really love.  We all will walk in line with our deepest values and spend our money to make it happen, daydream about it, sacrifice in other less important areas, and be very happy when those values begin to find expression and very upset when they don’t. 

Negative example- When gratifying our senses becomes the push of our life, we spend lots of times thinking about money because that’s the currency of our perceived fulfillment.  We arrange our life very creatively to enjoy some of our favorite substitutions for God...this text names one: appetite.  But it can be sexual expression, obsession with luxury items, and lots of other things or several things in combination.  Most of us probably struggle with just about all of them.  But this is not our pattern because our deepest desire is Jesus, but we have some of these competing desires and we can sometimes forget that its God that’s the King and not us and we can forget what fulfills and what doesn’t.  Often our biggest issues are with good things that we make into ultimate things.  Can you relate?

Let’s feel the force of this.  One of the most prominent themes of our day is that if you have a desire, it MUST be expressed.  To ask someone to repress an urge is considered one of the most, well, repressive things that can be done. The reality is that our indulgence is an effort to make us feel better about ourselves and to briefly escape whatever stressful or boring realities that surround us.  Instead of minds set on knowing Jesus, these enemies of the cross of Christ are consumed with earthly things. 

We need to be like Paul and be to the point of tears and plead with the many people in our community who think of themselves as “Jesus friendly” but their every affection and desire is aimed on the gratification of self.  When this becomes even more full blown, this person can glory in what should be their shame as opposed to glorying in Jesus. They can celebrate their sinful, wicked rebellion.  This pattern shows one’s deepest desire and it ain’t Jesus!  When we are a friend of Jesus then we will declare war on everything that sets itself against Him.  But one is really an enemy of Jesus because they have declared war on the supremacy of Jesus and have valued themselves and their many urges that they possess over Him. If they are hoping for a 3^rd option in the middle somewhere, it doesn’t exist.

 But…

²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. ²¹ He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. (Philippians 3:20-21) This is heavy and alarming stuff, but we need to be encouraged that the ones who love Jesus and who do want to press towards Him (imperfectly), are here right now, but our ultimate citizenship is in heaven.  And our broken, conflicted, sinful body will eventually be changed.  The power of God will finish what He started with us and will give us a new body that will never fatigue, never get sick, never be apathetic, never have urges that will operate in opposition to happy submission to Jesus, never assert itself over against the rule of Jesus. 

So this passage is an odd combination.  On the one hand, it serves as a sober warning for people that think of themselves as Christians but have never been changed and still operate in a way where their urges rule the day. This is scary for a very religious community.   It’s scary for many that have deceived themselves into thinking they are good to go because they like Jesus ok and they are nice or successful or whatever.  It’s also scary because others can get the impression that this apathetic, indulgent mixture of the title of “Christian” and living how we feel like living is the real deal.  And who wants that?  This is why Paul warns the Philippian church so they don’t think this counterfeit version is real. What a terrible Easter message!

On the other hand, how encouraging is this?  Everything that is broken in us will be made right!  All of the injustices in this world will be finally corrected.  We’ll enjoy Jesus perfectly then.  When we feel like a foreigner in this world that says consume, if you have a desire its good, and live and experience as much as you can because this is all there is…good.  Your citizenship is ultimately in heaven with your reigning King Jesus.  What a great Easter message! 

 

Beavers, Fallen Trees, Limbs, Twigs, and Dammed - Up Lives

 

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him……) (John 7:37-39).

 

A man owned a large section of land with a beautiful river running through it. The soil along the river is rich and fertile because of the flow of the water. One day he began to notice that the river did not flow as it had before and that the plant life was beginning to dry up and die out. As he walked back upstream, he noticed some beavers had dammed up the river and restricted the flow of the life-giv­ing waters. It was apparent the beavers had been working for some time, gathering fallen trees, limbs, and twigs to use in constructing their dam.

 

As we look situation, it will become obvious to us that in this world we have beavers, fallen trees, limbs, twigs, and dammed-up lives. The flow of living water has been stopped. The riverbeds of our lives no longer have the swift running stream of God's Spirit. This story graphically illustrates the steps in our lives which eventually progress until we experi­ence dryness in our spiritual life.

Step One: Beavers

We have beavers in our world today that can dam up our lives. What are these beavers? The adversary and his demons. Satan and his army of fallen angels not only want to dam up your life so that it becomes unproductive, but they desire to damn you eternally. His beavers work tireless­ly, gathering the fallen trees, limbs and twigs. The Scripture admonishes us: "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8).

Here are three observations about Satan from this passage:

1. He is aggressive. He is not just a lion; he is a roaring lion which indicates he is on the prowl. Satan is always roaring because he stays hungry and is never satisfied. He has destroyed millions of lives but still wants more.

2. He is active. We all need to realize that Satan is an eager beaver. He is walking about "looking for someone to devour." Satan is always analyzing the areas where a Christian might be vulnerable. He not only looks for the big trees to use but he utilizes the smallest twigs.  Satan is evil, a liar and a murderer; but lazy he is not.

3. He annihilates. He is a devourer who is playing for keeps. He is pictured in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:5, 12) as the one who devours the good seed of the Word of God that falls upon our hearts. Satan, as a lion, consumes his prey. We need to realize he is in the business of destroying lives. However, God runs a construction business; He is building lives. The devil is in the destruction business; he is wrecking lives.

 

Step Two: Fallen Trees, limbs and twigs

Even as beavers use fallen trees, limbs and even twigs to dam up a river, satanic beavers use the debris and litter in our lives to obstruct the flow of living water. Four types of this type material in our lives are most useful to these evil beavers:

 

1. Areas of weakness. Satan knows about you and me. He knows those areas in our lives which are most vulnerable. It may be in the area of sex, money, power, alcohol, drugs, etc.; but rest assured, Satan will find that area and exploit it.

 

2. Aimless intentions. Beavers have an advantage over us in that they work intentionally and purposefully. Conversely, most of us live with no real direction in life; we wander through our days aimlessly. A lot of people's lives consist of going to work, paying bills and living it up on the weekends - only to do it allover again the next week. Is life not more than this? Did God place us here only with that purpose in mind? Granted, we all need to work and pay our bills - that is Biblical. We also need some times of recreation and relaxation. But do we ever stop to ask: "For what purpose did God create me?"

Like the beavers, we need to live intentionally and purpose­fully. We should set our goals to be good parents, live in sub­jection to the law, be honest, love our neighbors as ourselves, love the Lord with all our hearts, go to church, influence people's lives for good and allow Christ to live and love through us.

3. Alignment with the world. There seem to be more and more of this “dam” material. Corruption has not been intro­duced to today's modern society by revolution but by dilu­tion. Our morals and values have slowly been diluted by worldliness. Christians have become so aligned with the world that we have lost the ability to determine good and evil. Right and wrong are no longer what they used to be.

 

4. Acceptance of evil. We have been so infiltrated with world­liness that we have actually accepted evil. Christians today hear things, read things and watch things that a few years ago would have produced an outcry! But today we bring it into our living rooms, give it to our kids and even boast of it to our friends. We have become a nation that tolerates sin. The prophet Isaiah warned of this: "What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. (Isaiah 5:20).

 

Our unguarded lives are so often dammed up by a bunch of beavers on the demonic destruction crew. Foreman Satan knows he cannot damn the Christian's soul, but he can restrict the Christian's flow. His workers toil until the riverbed that once overflowed the banks is now dry and parched. Over a period of time, they steal our energy for God. No longer is a fresh word of testimony found on our lips; no longer are we stirred with a passion for the Word of God; no longer are we interested in lost people who are dying without Jesus; no longer are we consumed with the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Statistics reveal that most churches have less than fifty percent of their member­ship present on any given Sunday, a mere twenty percent tithe and only one out of fifty win anyone to faith in Christ in a year's time. What's gone wrong? Beavers, fallen trees, limbs, twigs, and dammed-up lives!

 

We need to learn this principle: The more accessible we are to sin, the more acceptable we are to sin. Our society is a living testimony to this principle. This is why the Scriptures admonish us to “.. humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7). We are in gross error when we think we can flirt with sin; by so doing we expose ourselves to the devil.

Step Three: Dammed-Up Lives

In step two the river's flow begins to be restricted. At this third stage, it is almost non-existent. The river is now a trick­le of water!

 

When asked how he removed the dam to allow the river to flow once again, the landowner replied: "Dynamite!" "I took four sticks of dynamite, wedged them into different sec­tions of the dam, stepped back into the woods and blasted the dam away."

 

What kind of dynamite or power do we as Christians have?

 

The answer is the power of Jesus!

This same power is available for each born-again, blood­bought Christian. Not only can Jesus destroy the work of Satan by His mighty power, but also He can restore the work of God by the same power.

 

How do we go about getting this power? There are four simple, clear steps to relieve dammed up lives:

1. The Confession of Sin. First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." To confess our sins means to agree with God about our sin. He says that we have all sinned. Romans 3:10 reads, "There is none righteous, no, not one." First John 1:10 pro­vides strong support for this verse by saying, "If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts." So for us to agree with God simply means we adhere to His truth about us. To agree with God means we must change our way of think­ing and adopt His way of thinking. Adrian Rogers once said, "The devil had rather get you to think wrong than to do wrong." You see, if you do wrong, you can confess it and God will forgive you. But if you think wrong about what you did wrong, you don't think anything is wrong! At this point you have become more accessible to sin and, therefore, more acceptable of sin.

2. The Cleansing of Sin. God desires to remove our sin "as far as the east is from the west..." (Psalm 103:12). David cried out to God, "Create in me a clean heart, O God..." (Psalm 53:10). This is the very thing that God wants to do in our lives. Only as we receive the cleansing of God can we live fruitful, productive lives. Any sin we cover, God uncovers.  We cannot continue to have flowing rivers of living water with fallen trees, limbs and twigs in our lives.

 

4. The Control over Sin. Jesus said in John 7:37, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." What will happen then? "... ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’" (John 7:38). If you want to be filled with the Spirit so that you possess this outpouring of living water, then thirst for Jesus and drink of Him continually!  Without Jesus one cannot possess the river of flowing water because he is all dammed up.

The landowner in the story was asked "What took place when the dynamite exploded?" His answer: "The waters began flowing once again and they carried all the fallen trees and debris downstream." So it is with our lives. When we partake of Jesus and the power of God explodes within our hearts, everything moves with the flow.

 

How is your river flowing? Got any fallen trees? Any limbs that need cleaned up? Maybe some twigs that should he raked up and disposed of?  Remember, fallen trees, limbs and twigs attract beavers, and beavers dam up lives. And dammed-up lives have no testimony.

 

This is Amazing Grace…

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=WYK6DGNX

 

Who breaks the power of sin and darkness
Whose love is mighty and so much stronger
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder
And leaves us breathless in awe and wonder
The King of Glory, the King above all kings


This is amazing grace
This is unfailing love
That You would take my place
That You would bear my cross
You lay down Your life
That I would be set free
Oh, Jesus, I sing for
All that You've done for me

Who brings our chaos back into order
Who makes the orphan a son and daughter
The King of Glory, the King of Glory

Who rules the nations with truth and justice
Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Worthy is the King who conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Worthy is the King who conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Worthy is the King who conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Phil Wickham

When does God love us the most? When does God love us the least? Please think about those questions.

In Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus tells a story (parable) to His followers. It is a parable that I didn’t like very much when I read it the first time. I believe we discussed this in class before. I think many of you didn’t really agree with it either. Maybe I didn’t like it because it didn’t make too much sense. It’s the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. I believe most of you are familiar with this parable. Let’s do a quick review. Who is the landowner? The landowner is God. What is this parable trying to teach us? The landowner’s dealing with the workers in his vineyard represents God’s dealing with the human family.

There is a contemporary Jewish version of this story. You might like it better. It goes like this. The workers hired late in the afternoon work very, very hard. They work much harder. And they also have to work under a very hot sun. The employer is impressed with their hard work. So he decides to award them a full day’s wages. How do you like this contemporary Jewish version of the story? We like it better, don’t we? It seems fair. However, Jesus’ version is different. The last group had been idly standing around in the marketplace. This is something only lazy workers would do during the harvest season. The workers do nothing special to distinguish themselves. Eventually, the other workers are shocked by the pay they receive. What employer in his right mind would pay the same amount for one hour’s work as for twelve! This makes no economic sense!

We don’t like this parable. Why don’t we like it? I’ll tell you why. As Christians, when we read this parable we identify with the employees who put in a full day’s work. We like to think of ourselves as responsible workers. We don’t like 11th hour workers. We don’t really like people like the thief on the cross. He came in at the last minute. He walked in at about 11:59, with about 5 seconds left. He labors for 5 seconds. He basically just says, “Lord, I believe.” And Scripture tells us that he was given a ticket into heaven.  Jesus said this to him: “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

We don’t like such people who make confessions on their deathbed. Deep down in our hearts, we envy them. We think they were so lucky. Got saved at the last minute and didn’t have do anything special.  We hate people who are luckier than we are. It is no wonder we don’t like this parable. The employer is right when He asked the other workers, “Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?” (Matthew 20:15) It ain’t fair, we’re jealous and that’s why we don’t like it.

What is Jesus trying to teach us through this parable which makes very little economic sense? Maybe what Jesus is trying to teach us is something that makes very little sense to us. Do you know what that is? It is grace. Jesus is trying to teach us about grace. Why does grace make very little sense to us? Why is it difficult for us to understand grace? Could it be because we rarely see it? On your way to church this morning, did you see grace?

We live in a very graceless world. Open the newspapers, or go to the internet, or turn on the t.v. and we enter a world marked by wars, violence, economic oppression, religious strife, lawsuits, and family breakdown. Would you like to talk about family breakdown? The good news is this: There will be less family breakdown in the future. The reason is because there will be less families in the future. There are more people divorcing than ever before. And more young people are planning to live as singles than ever before. Why is this? Could our homes be graceless? Well, it could be. But do you know what is really sad? Our churches may even be graceless.

Well known Christian author Phillip Yancey wrote a story he heard about in his book The Jesus I Never Knew. It goes like this: A homeless, sick prostitute who was unable to buy food for her 2 year old daughter came to me. Through sobs and tears, she told me that she had been renting out her two year old daughter, to men interested in kinky sex. She made more renting out her daughter for an hour than she could earn on her own in a night. She had to do it, she said, to support her own drug habit. I could hardly bear hearing her sordid story. For one thing, it made me legally liable—I’m required to report cases of child abuse. I had no idea what to say to this woman.

At last I asked if she had ever thought of going to a church for help. I will never forget the look of pure, naïve shock that crossed her face. “Church!” she cried. “Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They’d just make me feel worse.”  Wow!!!  How sad, but ……. Is maybe this true? After all, isn’t church for clean people? Isn’t it for people who look good? And smell good? And be like …… us? But if grace can’t be found in church, where can it be found?

It is no surprise that we don’t understand grace. We don’t see it. We don’t regularly experience it. On top of this, we have an image of God that is anti-grace. Our misconceptions are often fueled by our chronic habit of comparing God’s love to what we have experienced in life from others. We think, “God must be like Dad or Uncle Joe or the nice lady at the corner store.” Many of us have grown up with a very mathematical God. This God who is relentlessly weighing our good deeds and bad deeds on a set of scales. Somehow we have missed the God of the Gospels. A God of mercy and generosity. A God of grace. By the way, what exactly is grace? What does is mean to give grace? Well known Christian pastor Chuck Swindoll puts it this way: “To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it.” What is grace? Grace is an attribute or quality of God. Who is it given to? It is given to undeserving human beings. By definition, we receive grace because we are undeserving.

Have you tried hard to be really good? Have you believed that God will love you more if you are really good? It might have worked with our parents. Be a really good child, and we will receive more attention. Bring home better grades, and we will get bigger birthday presents. Maybe we’ll eat better food at home. Surely it will motivate our parents to work harder.

We may have been able to win our parents love, but we cannot win God’s love. We cannot earn God’s love. We cannot earn grace. Because grace, by definition, cannot be earned.

Look carefully at the parable. God does not dispense wages. Wages are what you earn. God dispenses gifts. Isn’t that good news? Ephesians 2:8 says, “⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” It’s a good thing we don’t get paid according to merit. Because we would all be lost if we received what we deserved. Do you know why that is? Do you know what God’s requirement is for eternal life? God requires a perfect life. None of us comes close to satisfying God’s requirements for a perfect life. If we were all paid on the basis of fairness, we would all end up in hell. Aren’t we glad God dispenses gifts and not wages.

Isn’t God good? Aren’t we thankful for grace? In 2 Corinthians 8:9 Paul writes, “⁹ You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” It’s not so easy for us to comprehend grace, is it? It is mind boggling. In a book on the life of Jesus called the Desire of Ages, it says, “He had been the commander of heaven, and angels had delighted to fulfill His word; now He was a willing servant…” Why did Jesus do this? It’s the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” To the human mind, grace is not easy to understand.

There is a cure for people who doubt God’s love and question God’s grace. Turn to the Bible and examine the kind of people God loves. The Bible tells of a murderer and an adulterer who gained a reputation as the greatest king of the Old Testament. King David. A man after God’s own heart. It tells of a church being led by a disciple who cursed and swore that he had never known Jesus. Peter. And it tells of a missionary getting recruited from the ranks of the Christian-torturers. Apostle Paul.

If God can love that kind of person, maybe, just maybe, he can love the likes of me. Look at the way Phillip Yancey describes grace in his book What’s So Amazing About Grace. (Great book, by the way.) He writes, “Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more—no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less—no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much an infinite God can possibly love.”

No one loves us as much as God loves us. No one cares for us the way God cares for us.  No one understands us the way God understands us. I know that our parents love/loved us very much. Parents would die for us. They would give everything they have for us. No one loves you as much as our parents. And yet it is so little in comparison to God’s love for us.

And this is Amazing Grace!  Have we all accepted it?

Why Did God Create Us?

Why Did God Create Us?  To -----

Click link to listen to song as you read the words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I2csO7_pOI

Do Something

I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how’d we ever get so far down
How’s it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”
Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, “God, why don’t You do something?”
He said, “I did, I created you”

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

I’m so tired of talking
About how we are God’s hands and feet
But it’s easier to say than to be
Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves
It’s alright, “somebody else will do something”
Well, I don’t know about you
But I’m sick and tired of life with no desire
I don’t want a flame, I want a fire
I wanna be the one who stands up and says,
“I’m gonna do something”

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

We are the salt of the earth
We are a city on a hill (shine shine, shine shine)
But we’re never gonna change the world
By standing still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

 

⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. ¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

⁴ I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. (John 17:4-5)

We are called for a holy and noble purpose! We were put on earth to make a contribution. We were not created just to consume resources, to eat, breathe, and take up space. God designed us to make a difference with our life.

While many best-selling books offer advice on how to "get the most out of life", that's not the reason God made us. We were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants us to give something back. This is God's purpose for our life, and it is called our "ministry" or service.

The Bible says, “He (God) has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.(Eph. 2:10b) " (Col. 3: 23-4; Matt. 25: 34). These good deeds are our service. Whenever we serve others in any way, we are actually serving God “⁷ Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Eph. 6:7). Look what God told Jeremiah "Before I made you in your mother's womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work" (Jer. 1:5). We were “all” placed on this planet for a special assignment.

We were saved to serve God, the Bible says. "It is He who saved us and chose us for His holy work, not because we deserved it but because that was His plan" (2 Tim. 1:9). God redeemed us so you could do His "holy work." We are not saved by service or works, but we are saved for service. James, brother of Jesus writes this: “¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?  ¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.  (James 2:14-17)

In God's Kingdom we have a place, a purpose, a role, and a function to fulfill. This gives our life great significance and value.

We should not serve God out of guilt or fear or even duty, but out of joy, and deep gratitude for what He has done for us. We owe Him our lives. Through salvation our past has been forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured. In light of these incredible benefits, Paul concluded, "Because of God's great mercy ... offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service" (Rom. 12:1).

The apostle John taught us, "Our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life" (1 John 3:14). If we have no love for others, no desire to serve others, and we are only concerned about our needs, we should question whether Christ is really in our life. A saved heart is one that wants to serve.

Another term for serving God that's misunderstood by most people is the word "ministry." When most people hear "ministry" they think of pastors, priests, and professional clergy, but God says every member of His family is a minister. In the Bible, the words servant and minister are synonyms, as are service and ministry. If you are a Christian you are a minister, and when you are serving, you are ministering.

Have you ever wondered why God does not just immediately take us to heaven the moment we accept His grace? Why does He leave us in a fallen world? He leaves us here to fulfill His purposes. Once we are saved, God intends to use us for His goals. God has a ministry for us in His church and a mission for us in the world.

Our call to salvation included our call to service. They are the same. Regardless of our job or career, we are called to full-time Christian service. A "non-serving Christian" is a contradiction in terms.

The Bible says "He saved us and called us to be His own people, not because of what we have done, but because of His own purpose (2 Tim 1:9). Peter added, " You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you" (1 Peter 2:9). The Bible says, "Now you belong to Him ... in order that we might be useful in the service of God" (Rom. 7:4). How much of the time are you being useful in the service of God? In some churches in China they welcome new believers by saying, "Jesus now has a new pair of eyes to see with, new ears to listen with, new hands to help with, and a new heart to love others with."

One reason why we need to be connected to a church family is to fulfill our calling to serve other Believers in practical ways. The Bible says "All of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it" (1 Cor. 12:27). Remember, there are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible and some are behind the picture, but all are valuable. Small or hidden ministries often make the biggest difference. Every ministry matters because we are all dependent on each other to function.

We are commanded to serve God-if we are saved. Jesus says " ²⁸ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others………." (Matt. 20:28). For Christians, service is not optional, something to be tacked onto our schedules if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life. Jesus came "to serve" and "to give" - and those two verbs should define our life on earth.

Serving is the opposite of our natural inclination. Most of the time we are more interested in "serve us" than service. We say, "I'm looking for a church that meets my needs and blesses me," not "I'm looking for a place to serve and be a blessing." The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, "Who is going to meet my needs?" and starts asking, "Whose needs can I meet"

God wants to use us to make a difference in His world. He wants to work through us. What matters is not the duration of our life, but what we do with it. Not how long we lived, but how we lived. If we are not involved in any service or ministry, what excuse have we been using? God doesn’t need us but he created us for a purpose and He will use us if we stop making excuses.

So we need to “Do Something”.

I Am Not A Fan Of Jesus. What??

I Am Not A Fan Of Jesus. What??

Did I really say this?

But think about it, are you just a fan, or a real follower of Jesus?

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

Are we a fan of Jesus, or a follower?

It is not enthusiastic admirers Jesus wants, but committed followers. I have heard this question several times lately: “If I were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict me?”

Sometimes when preparing these lessons, that I truly know that God has led me to do, I think, “is this lesson going to really hit someone hard or maybe even offend them”?  I really want people to come to our class or continue to read the lesson on the our “blog” or in an email or facebook. You see, I really want people to continue to “Forward” our email lesson to others!  So maybe, just maybe, I should not use the lesson I believe God wants me to do if it may offend someone. Maybe I should just make some “slight” changes to take away the “bite” of the lesson. But wouldn’t that really be selling Jesus cheap and watering down the gospel in hopes that more will read the lessons, that more will come to hear the lessons? I am afraid that today that many preachers and teachers tend to “water down” their sermons or lessons to increase attendance.  They want to make it “easy” to be just a “fan” of Jesus.

 

And that's why this Sunday we're talking about whether or not we are prepared to just be an excitable fan of the Lord Jesus Christ, awed by His miracles, caught up in His stories and parables, or have we really made a decision to be committed to the only Lord of Glory, to belong to Him in such a way that it doesn't matter whatever happens, whatever comes, whatever anyone says?

Have you ever looked seriously at Luke 9:23? Seriously?

 

“Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

 

Notice the word “daily” not just ever now and then!

Take a moment and go word-for-word through Luke 9:23 -- Jesus' invitation to follow Him -- and honestly ask yourself, "Am I a fan or a follower of Jesus?"

You see, the dictionary defines a fan as an "enthusiastic admirer." But our Jesus, the living Son of God, the Prince of Peace down through eternity, was never interested in enthusiastic admirers. It is completely committed followers, and no one else, for whom He will stand before the Father. It's not raised hands during the worship service, bowed heads during the benediction at the end of the service, or even prayer before a meal that He is looking for. It goes to much more than a "Honk If You Love Jesus" bumper sticker, or a Christian fish symbol on the back of our car. He wants more of us than for us to declare ourselves as His fans. Look what Jesus said to a group of his followers in another scripture: "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)  If He said it more than once then it must be important to “follow” Him!

Some amazing things happen when we “turn from our selfish ways”!

 

During these very difficult, emotional, roller coaster times in which we live, troubled on every side by the threat of physical death by terrorists, and financial ruin by professional politicians, our religious “freedoms” gradually be taken away, we also see a “movement” within churches that allows other religions and false gods to challenge our commitment to Him, to tickle our ears with logical sounding heresy, to encourage those committed to personal comfort, emotional highs, and to be ignorant of the inspired Word of God. Listening to just what is heard on Sunday morning instead of studying the Bible ourselves. How can we do what He says, if we don't know what He says?

We need to be reminded that there is no believing without following, no salvation without surrender, no forgiveness without repentance, and no life without death. Preachers far too often quickly skip over the "bad news" of the Gospel in fear they will scare people away. But instead of pushing people away, the truth of the Gospel is what draws people together, the Gospel is what sets them free, breaking the chains of their sins they have been dragging around with them.

Once we are free, we need the support of fellow Christians more than ever. Once the burden of sin has been lifted from us, we need to follow Jesus in baptism, and know why, with its symbolism of dying to self and being alive in Jesus Christ. For there is a date circled on God's calendar, even though we walk around unaware of it, a day in our life circled on God's calendar since before you, and I, and they were born. It's a day when we will all be held accountable before God, just one more step in His intricate and compassionate plan for us.

We are part of God's plan down through eternity.

If we are in a difficult situation, if we have come face to face with someone else's need, the chance is good that God either wants us to learn something, or to do something. He will impart to our heart which message it is.

Will we be just another fan of God’s miraculous presence. Just cheerleading the real followers from the safety of the stands.  But never really following His Son? Maybe just following Him from a distance. Uncomfortable to let Jesus shine through us. Never moving a hand to make a difference? Or will we step forward to take our place in His plan for us, accepting responsibility for who we are, accepting His gift of eternal life, that gift He has meant for us all along?

We just need to say yes to Him. He's crazy about us. After all He“…. so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

When Christianity Becomes Uncomfortable

When Christianity Becomes Uncomfortable

In the book of Luke, Jesus challenges us look at the cost of discipleship.

The Cost of Being a Disciple

²⁵ A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, ²⁶ “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

²⁸ “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? ²⁹ Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. ³⁰ They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

³¹ “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? ³² And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. ³³ So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own. (Luke 14:25-33)

The King James translation sounds a little “harsher”: “²⁶ If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

As an American Christian, most of us have never had to fully weigh the impact of Jesus' words here. We've lived in a bubble of acceptance, especially those, like most of us, who've mostly been “raised” in church. Sure, there is the occasional derogatory remark by an unbelieving family member or neighbor. Yet even among those who don't profess faith, Christianity has been something considered worth commending. For much of the church's history, this was not the norm. Christianity has been uncomfortable. It has involved cross-bearing. 

Jesus wanted his followers to know this. We notice he said these very hard things when the crowds followed him. It's as if he's saying to them, "If you are following me for the benefits, for the goodies, for the anticipated health and wellness, well, you've got the wrong Messiah." It's not that Jesus was sadistic. But the spiritual battle between light and darkness involves hardship, suffering, and a willingness to be considered on the "wrong side of history."

Maybe this is where we often get Jesus wrong. It is also possible that this is where we often get Christianity wrong. The New Testament shows nothing about, really, of the Jesus-as-“mascot” example. To claim to follow Jesus, but reject the radical new way of life He calls to us to, is to reject Jesus altogether. Look what Paul writes about following Jesus “¹⁷ This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)  To begin a new life is pretty radical, don’t you think?  But the way of Jesus is better. But many don't see that. Many of us don't see that.

For American Christians, there is very real possibility that the coming years will force us to make difficult choices. We will have to choose between cultural acceptance (maybe political correctness) and the way of Jesus. In other words, Christianity, truly bearing the name of Christ, will involve a cross. It will be rough and uncomfortable. Sometimes this discomfort is in the form of cultural rejection. Sometimes it's the discomfort of forgiving someone we want desperately to despise. Sometimes it's the self-sacrifice to give ourselves for those we are called to love and nurture: our spouses, our children, our neighbors. Sometimes it's the discipline to speak the truth in a type of love that others don't exhibit. Sometimes it involves making reasoned arguments in favor of truth that are unfairly dismissed as bigotry.

Are we ready for this? Let’s now look at the words of Peter to the first-century church.  In the Old Testament the Bible says “So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:19) Jesus referred to this scripture when He reminded the Church that they were to remember their status as “foreigners in the land.” (1 Peter 1:17b) But, we should remember the part about showing love to foreigners”.  To me this means that we will and should be out among the non-Believers but not to become as them or “as the world”. Christians follow another King and live out the values of another Kingdom. There would be, for them and is for the American Christian, cultural pressure to abandon Jesus or to synch up Jesus with whatever is popular. Just as if Jesus is the clay and we are the potters. Just opposite of the story of in Jeremiah 18:1-10: “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand….”   (Jeremiah 18:6) Peter urged the first century church to stand strong, to have courage, but also to do this with a kind of joyful anticipation of the world to come.

Peter goes on to say:^“13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴ But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. ¹⁵ Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. ¹⁶ But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. ¹⁷ Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!” (1 Peter 3:14-17)

Since Peter had “warmed” himself by the fires of cultural acceptance (“⁶⁷ and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁶⁸ But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,”… (Mark 14:67-68) and having also been a fiery zealot, Peter argued for a third way. Followers of Jesus must be should not “worry or be afraid”, but give a calm, rational, joyful defense of Christian faith, shaped by gentleness and respect if “someone asks about your Christian hope”. Being misunderstood, slandered, and disparaged by the culture and even fellow evangelicals is no fun. But our response should not only be courageously truthful, it should be “of another world” in terms of kindness. We not only communicate the values of another world. We speak with tools from another world. So we shouldn't add to our suffering with worldly responses.

As we anticipate life in a post-Christian world, and we seem to be getting there rapidly, we need to not only reacquaint ourselves with Christian, but by faith live out the Gospel of Jesus fully before a world that is watching our every move!.