THE RISK TAKING CHURCH
An older man was getting on a train and couldn’t find his ticket. The conductor knew him and told him not to worry that he was sure he would find it and that he could go ahead and get on the train. The conductor’s kindness did not put him at ease. He said, “My dear man, my problem is not ‘Where is my ticket?’ but rather ‘Where am I going?’
Unfortunately we are too often just like that. We move forward through life unsure of how to respond to the changing situations in world around us. The problem often is that we have no clear direction or picture of where we are going. We lack a defined destination. We lack vision.
… without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:6-10
Sherlock Holmes and Watson were camping one night. In the middle of the night Sherlock Holmes awoke and looked up at the stars. He asked, "Watson, what do you see". Watson looked up and said "stars". Yes, but what do these stars tell you. Watson said "Cosmologically they tell me that we are part of a large universe – that we are one of billions and billions of planets. Theologically they tell me that we have a great God who made all of it. Meteorologically they tell me that the sky is clear and we will have good weather tomorrow. Temporally they tell me that it is the middle of the night and we should be sleeping! Sherlock, what do they tell you." "Well," he replied, "they tell me that someone has stolen our tent".
Let’s look at "what do we see?" As you think back over the past year and look at your own life and the direction of this church what do you see? Where are we as a church going? In terms of vision there are 3 different types of churches (and people):
1. The Under-taking Church – looking back
The undertaking church is one that is always looking backwards. All that people ever talk about are the “good old days”. They miss what is happening today because they are always looking back to yesterday. Decisions in this kind of church are based on what has worked in the past – if it was good enough for them it is good enough for us. (Think KJV versus newer translations. Pre-1960 hymns versus contemporary music as in Fannie Crosby versus Chris Tomlin).
Someone once wrote - Poor eyes limit your sight; poor vision limits your deeds.
While you can learn from the past, you can’t live there. You have to live and adapt to where you are or you will perish. Too many churches today are spending their time and resources lamenting the past when they should be adapting to the future. What has worked in the past may not work in the present because the audience has changed.
The gospel must be preached afresh and told in new ways to every generation, since every generation has its own unique questions. The gospel must constantly be forwarded to a new address, because the recipient is repeatedly changing his place of residence.
While it is possible for a church to be always looking back it is also true for a person. How do we look at our walk with Christ? Are we only remembering the GLORY DAYS of our ministry or do we feel the best years of our life are yet to come?
It is impossible to serve God yesterday. You cannot live off yesterday’s bread. It does not matter how God has used you in the past – what is important is how will He use you in the future? A person or church that tries to walk looking backward is bound to fall.
2. The Care-taking Church – looking present
The care-taking church is always concerned with pressing issues. It is so busy and there are so many needs that it’s focus is on immediate issues. It seems to always be in maintenance mode, just trying to keep it’s head above the water. Decisions in this kind of church are based on immediate assets. The number one questions is always “do we have the money now to support this”?
In Matthew 15:32-33 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way." His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"
A care-taking church is realistic and comfortable. As long as the services are good and the needs are met and the people are happy then all is well. If it isn’t broken then don’t fix it. The problem is that they walk by sight and not faith.
Likewise it is easy to slip into the care-taking mode in our Christian walk. Certainly many of us have experienced this at work. When the work for the day is so great that you cannot see tomorrow coming then you are in trouble. We need to have a greater vision as individuals of God’s plan and purpose in our lives. Do our prayers reflect God’s greater glory? Are our thoughts on today or can we see the big picture. One very successful pastor said of his church, “We make changes before we HAVE to make changes. If the congregation or the staff getting ‘to comfortable’ or complacent we make changes.”
3. The Risk-taking church – looking to the future
The risk taking church is always looking forward. They believe that the best is yet to come. They invest all they have today so that they can be all that God wants them to be tomorrow. Risk taking churches seek to be cutting edge. They want to see how God is moving and to use all available technology, music, programs, etc. to make Christ known.
One of the reasons that we don’t take risks is fear of failure. However failure is just a part of life and is often a prerequisite to success. If you aren’t failing some then you may not be trying! If we as a church want to move forward with vision then we must accept the fact that there will be times in the future that we may fail along the way.
Jonas Salk attempted 200 unsuccessful vaccines for polio before he came up with one that worked. Somebody asked him one time, "How did it feel to fail 200 times trying to invent a vaccine for polio?" This was his response: "I never failed 200 times at anything in my life. My family taught me never to use that word. I simply discovered 200 ways how not to make a vaccine for polio."
By faith Noah went and build and ark. Think about this. He invested everything he had in something that seemed completely impossible. Can you imagine building a boat in your back yard in a day when there were no cranes that could move it! Though he could not see or understand it, he based his life on God’s word and was willing to wait 120 years for the promise to be fulfilled. Noah’s vision was based on what he had been told by God.
By faith Abraham left his home and went to the promised land. Though he was living in a tent he saw the future city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. He believed God and based his life on that vision.
What destroys perspective is our tendency to measure ministry on too small a scale. We lose the wide-angle view because we’re focused on the close-up. Using a microscopic lens, even a harmless spider looks like a hairy, horrible monster. Most of us would never clean cobwebs from the house if we focused on the close-up view of spiders.
Jesus was a risk taker. He entrusted the salvation of the world to group of weak and frightened and often confused men. But through God’s power and vision they changed the world. Instead of looking at past or trusting in the present they saw God’s future church and boldly went forward to make it happen.
Where is our vision? How big is our faith? In which direction are we looking? Are we willing to lay everything on the line for God? Are we motivated by what has happened in our life, by what we presently have or are we open for God to use us in ways that we have never been used before? Is our vision for our life and family limited to immediate needs? We don’t need to miss out on what God is doing – we need to join Him.
As you look to the future of our church, what do you see?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
“Facing Your Giants”
“Facing Your Giants”
1 Samuel 17:40-51
The giants we face today may be unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, depression, bills, grades, alcohol, pornography, a career, a mistake or it could even be the future.
What answers does God have to our real life giant struggles? Actually, the name of the lesson is half of the battle. We must face the giant. No hiding, no running away, no cowering in fear.
Let’s look at the Bible story of a boy and his battle with the giant.
I. The Odds Are Against You.
The young, beardless boy kneels by the brook. He gets mud on his knees. The flowing water cools his hand. He is searching for rocks. Stones. Smooth stones. The kind that will fit in a shepherd’s pouch, the ones that will just the right size for his shepherd’s sling. Just the ones he needed to bring down a lion, a bear, or, in this case, a giant.
Goliath towers above them all: over nine feet tall in his bare feet (What kind of football or basketball contract could he have gotten), wearing 125 pounds of armor, and snarling like the main contender at a World Wide Wrestling Federation championship night. He wears a size 20 collar, a 101/2 hat, and a 56-inch belt. Can’t even imagine what his sandal size! His boasts echo through the canyon. “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other” (1 Sam. 17:10 NIV). In other words give me your best shot.
What odds did David have against his giant? (Goliath’s armor probably weighed as much as David.) Better odds perhaps than you give yourself against yours. Your Goliath doesn’t carry sword or shield; he waves blades of unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, or depression. Your giant doesn’t parade up and down the hills of Elah; he prances through your office, your bedroom, your classroom. He brings bills you can’t pay, grades you can’t make, people you can’t please, alcohol or drugs you can’t resist, pornography you can’t refuse, a career you can’t escape, a past you can’t shake, and a future you can’t face.
How long has he stalked you? Goliath’s family was an ancient foe of the Israelites. Joshua drove them out of the Promised Land three hundred years earlier. Saul’s soldiers saw Goliath and mumbled, “Not again. My dad fought his dad. My granddad fought his granddad.”
You’ve groaned similar words. “I’m becoming a workaholic, just like my father.” “Divorce rips through our family tree like a tornado.” “My mom couldn’t keep a friend either. Is this ever going to stop?” When Saul and his men heard the Philistines’ challenge, they were terrified (1Sam. 17:11).
With all the giants we must face, where is our focus?
II. Do You See God?
You know Goliath. You recognize his walk and wince at his talk. You’ve seen your Godzilla. The question is, is he all you see? You know his voice – but is it all you hear? David saw and heard more. David’s first discussion, although it was about Goliath, was on the Lord. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he defy the armies of the living God?” (1Sam. 17:26) David shows up discussing God. The soldiers mentioned nothing about him, the brothers never spoke his name, but David takes one step onto the stage and raises the subject of the living God. He does the same with King Saul: no chitchat about the battle or questions about the odds. Just a God-birthed announcement: “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine” (1 Sam 17:37).
No one else discusses God. David discusses no one else but God. A subplot appears in the story. More than “David versus Goliath,” this is “God-focus versus giant-focus.” David sees what others don’t and refuses to see what other do. All eyes, except David’s, fall on the brutal, hate-breathing hulk. All compasses, except David’s, are set on the polestar of the Philistine. All journals, but David’s, describe day after day in the land of the Neanderthal. The people know his taunts, demands, size, and strut. They have majored in Goliath.
David majors in God. He sees the giant, mind you; he just sees God more so. Look carefully at David’s battle cry: “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1Sam. 17:45)
David sees the armies of God. And because he does, “David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him (Goliath).” (1Sam. 17:48).
III. The Battle Is The Lord’s
David’s brothers cover their eyes, both in fear and embarrassment. Saul sighs as the young Hebrew races to certain death. Goliath throws back his head in laughter, just enough to shift his helmet and expose a square inch of forehead flesh. David spots the target and seizes the moment. The sound of the swirling sling is the only sound in the valley. Swish. Swish. Swish. The stone is released from the sling and hits the giant at the only venerable spot. (Do you suppose the hadn of God may have actually guided this “missile”.); Goliath’s eyes cross and legs buckle. He crumples to the ground and dies. David runs over and yanks Goliath’s sword form its sheath and cuts off his head.
You might say that David knew how to get a head of his giant. When was the last time you did the same? How long since you ran toward your challenge? We tend to retreat, duck behind a desk of work or crawl into a bottle of distraction or hide out behind some chemical. For a moment, a day, or a year, we feel safe, insulated, anesthetized, but then the work runs out, the liquor wears off, or the high is gone, then we hear Goliath again.
Try a different tack. Rush your giant with a God-saturated soul. Amplify God and minimize Goliath. Download some of heaven’s unsquashable resolve. Giant of Divorce you are not entering my home! Giant of depression? It may take a lifetime, but you won’t conquer me. Giant of alcohol, bigotry, child abuse, insecurity…you’re going down. How long since you loaded your sling and took a swing at your giant?
One might read David’s story and wonder what God saw in him. The fellow fell as often as he stood, stumbled as often as he conquered. He stared down Goliath, yet sneaked a peek at Bathsheba; defied God mockers in the valley, yet joined them in the wilderness. An Eagle Scout one day. buddies with the Mafia the next. He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family. Raging David. Weeping David. Bloodthirsty. God-hungry. Eight wives. One God.
Acts 13:22 reminds us that God said that “David was a man after God’s own heart.” A man after God’s own heart? That God saw him as such gives hope to us all. David’s life has little to offer the unstained saint. Straight-A souls find David’s story disappointing. The rest of us find it reassuring. We ride the same roller coaster. We alternate between swan dives and belly flops, soufflés and burnt toast. In David’s good moments, no one was better. In his bad moments, could one be worse? The heart God loved was a checkered one. We need David’s story. Giants lurk in our neighborhoods. Rejection. Failure. Revenge. Remorse. Giants. We must face them. Yet we need not face them alone.
Focus first, and most, on God. The times David did, giants fell. The days he didn’t, David did.
IV. Focus on God Not GIANTS
David didn’t ask a bunch of questions about Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. Just “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (v.26). No inquiries about Goliath’s skill, age, social standing, or IQ. David asks nothing about the weight or the sword of the size of the spear.
No one thought he could defeat the giant – certainly not his brothers. "Why have you come down here?, they asked. King Saul told him that Goliath “has been a fighting man from his youth." You don’t have a chance. He’s a “pro” and “you are only a boy”. But David gives much thought to God. As we read David’s words again, there are nine references to the Lord. God-thoughts outnumber Goliath-thoughts nine to one. How does this ratio compare with yours? Do you ponder God’s grace nine times as much as you ponder your guilt? Is your list of blessings nine times as long as your list of complaints? Is your mental file of hope nine times as thick as your mental file of dread? Are you nine times as likely to describe the strength of God as you are the demands of your day?
Conclusion: The whole matter may be summed up with the following:
Focus on giants – you stumble.
Focus on God – your giants tumble.
Lift your eyes, giant slayer. The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you.
The majority of this lesson is based on Max Lucado’s Book – Facing Your Giants
1 Samuel 17:40-51
The giants we face today may be unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, depression, bills, grades, alcohol, pornography, a career, a mistake or it could even be the future.
What answers does God have to our real life giant struggles? Actually, the name of the lesson is half of the battle. We must face the giant. No hiding, no running away, no cowering in fear.
Let’s look at the Bible story of a boy and his battle with the giant.
I. The Odds Are Against You.
The young, beardless boy kneels by the brook. He gets mud on his knees. The flowing water cools his hand. He is searching for rocks. Stones. Smooth stones. The kind that will fit in a shepherd’s pouch, the ones that will just the right size for his shepherd’s sling. Just the ones he needed to bring down a lion, a bear, or, in this case, a giant.
Goliath towers above them all: over nine feet tall in his bare feet (What kind of football or basketball contract could he have gotten), wearing 125 pounds of armor, and snarling like the main contender at a World Wide Wrestling Federation championship night. He wears a size 20 collar, a 101/2 hat, and a 56-inch belt. Can’t even imagine what his sandal size! His boasts echo through the canyon. “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other” (1 Sam. 17:10 NIV). In other words give me your best shot.
What odds did David have against his giant? (Goliath’s armor probably weighed as much as David.) Better odds perhaps than you give yourself against yours. Your Goliath doesn’t carry sword or shield; he waves blades of unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, or depression. Your giant doesn’t parade up and down the hills of Elah; he prances through your office, your bedroom, your classroom. He brings bills you can’t pay, grades you can’t make, people you can’t please, alcohol or drugs you can’t resist, pornography you can’t refuse, a career you can’t escape, a past you can’t shake, and a future you can’t face.
How long has he stalked you? Goliath’s family was an ancient foe of the Israelites. Joshua drove them out of the Promised Land three hundred years earlier. Saul’s soldiers saw Goliath and mumbled, “Not again. My dad fought his dad. My granddad fought his granddad.”
You’ve groaned similar words. “I’m becoming a workaholic, just like my father.” “Divorce rips through our family tree like a tornado.” “My mom couldn’t keep a friend either. Is this ever going to stop?” When Saul and his men heard the Philistines’ challenge, they were terrified (1Sam. 17:11).
With all the giants we must face, where is our focus?
II. Do You See God?
You know Goliath. You recognize his walk and wince at his talk. You’ve seen your Godzilla. The question is, is he all you see? You know his voice – but is it all you hear? David saw and heard more. David’s first discussion, although it was about Goliath, was on the Lord. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he defy the armies of the living God?” (1Sam. 17:26) David shows up discussing God. The soldiers mentioned nothing about him, the brothers never spoke his name, but David takes one step onto the stage and raises the subject of the living God. He does the same with King Saul: no chitchat about the battle or questions about the odds. Just a God-birthed announcement: “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine” (1 Sam 17:37).
No one else discusses God. David discusses no one else but God. A subplot appears in the story. More than “David versus Goliath,” this is “God-focus versus giant-focus.” David sees what others don’t and refuses to see what other do. All eyes, except David’s, fall on the brutal, hate-breathing hulk. All compasses, except David’s, are set on the polestar of the Philistine. All journals, but David’s, describe day after day in the land of the Neanderthal. The people know his taunts, demands, size, and strut. They have majored in Goliath.
David majors in God. He sees the giant, mind you; he just sees God more so. Look carefully at David’s battle cry: “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1Sam. 17:45)
David sees the armies of God. And because he does, “David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him (Goliath).” (1Sam. 17:48).
III. The Battle Is The Lord’s
David’s brothers cover their eyes, both in fear and embarrassment. Saul sighs as the young Hebrew races to certain death. Goliath throws back his head in laughter, just enough to shift his helmet and expose a square inch of forehead flesh. David spots the target and seizes the moment. The sound of the swirling sling is the only sound in the valley. Swish. Swish. Swish. The stone is released from the sling and hits the giant at the only venerable spot. (Do you suppose the hadn of God may have actually guided this “missile”.); Goliath’s eyes cross and legs buckle. He crumples to the ground and dies. David runs over and yanks Goliath’s sword form its sheath and cuts off his head.
You might say that David knew how to get a head of his giant. When was the last time you did the same? How long since you ran toward your challenge? We tend to retreat, duck behind a desk of work or crawl into a bottle of distraction or hide out behind some chemical. For a moment, a day, or a year, we feel safe, insulated, anesthetized, but then the work runs out, the liquor wears off, or the high is gone, then we hear Goliath again.
Try a different tack. Rush your giant with a God-saturated soul. Amplify God and minimize Goliath. Download some of heaven’s unsquashable resolve. Giant of Divorce you are not entering my home! Giant of depression? It may take a lifetime, but you won’t conquer me. Giant of alcohol, bigotry, child abuse, insecurity…you’re going down. How long since you loaded your sling and took a swing at your giant?
One might read David’s story and wonder what God saw in him. The fellow fell as often as he stood, stumbled as often as he conquered. He stared down Goliath, yet sneaked a peek at Bathsheba; defied God mockers in the valley, yet joined them in the wilderness. An Eagle Scout one day. buddies with the Mafia the next. He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family. Raging David. Weeping David. Bloodthirsty. God-hungry. Eight wives. One God.
Acts 13:22 reminds us that God said that “David was a man after God’s own heart.” A man after God’s own heart? That God saw him as such gives hope to us all. David’s life has little to offer the unstained saint. Straight-A souls find David’s story disappointing. The rest of us find it reassuring. We ride the same roller coaster. We alternate between swan dives and belly flops, soufflés and burnt toast. In David’s good moments, no one was better. In his bad moments, could one be worse? The heart God loved was a checkered one. We need David’s story. Giants lurk in our neighborhoods. Rejection. Failure. Revenge. Remorse. Giants. We must face them. Yet we need not face them alone.
Focus first, and most, on God. The times David did, giants fell. The days he didn’t, David did.
IV. Focus on God Not GIANTS
David didn’t ask a bunch of questions about Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. Just “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (v.26). No inquiries about Goliath’s skill, age, social standing, or IQ. David asks nothing about the weight or the sword of the size of the spear.
No one thought he could defeat the giant – certainly not his brothers. "Why have you come down here?, they asked. King Saul told him that Goliath “has been a fighting man from his youth." You don’t have a chance. He’s a “pro” and “you are only a boy”. But David gives much thought to God. As we read David’s words again, there are nine references to the Lord. God-thoughts outnumber Goliath-thoughts nine to one. How does this ratio compare with yours? Do you ponder God’s grace nine times as much as you ponder your guilt? Is your list of blessings nine times as long as your list of complaints? Is your mental file of hope nine times as thick as your mental file of dread? Are you nine times as likely to describe the strength of God as you are the demands of your day?
Conclusion: The whole matter may be summed up with the following:
Focus on giants – you stumble.
Focus on God – your giants tumble.
Lift your eyes, giant slayer. The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you.
The majority of this lesson is based on Max Lucado’s Book – Facing Your Giants
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Am “I” a Lukewarm Christian?
Until I read the chapter titled “Profile of Lukewarm” from the book, Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, I would never thought of myself as “lukewarm”. There several adjectives I could probably use to describe my Christianity but lukewarm would not have been one. I am normally not lukewarm about anything – either I am all out or I don’t care. No in between for me! But reading this made me take a long hard look at myself. So maybe this lesson is just for me but y’all get to hear it and maybe reflect on yourself.
Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? Or do the words halfhearted, lukewarm, and partially committed fit better?
The Bible says to test ourselves, so in the lesson today let’s examine what halfhearted, distracted, partially committed, lukewarm people can look like. As we look at these examples, let’s take a searching, honest look at our lives. Not who we want to be one of these days, but who we are now and how we are living today.
LUKEWARM PEOPLE attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe "good Christians" do, so they go. "The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men'" (Isa. 29:13).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE give money to charity and to the church ... as long as it doesn't have an impact on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? Jesus observed a woman giving her two “pennies” at the temple, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. Jesus said "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets" (Luke 6:26). And "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead" (Rev. 3:1).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin and aren't truly sorry for it; they're merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Paul writes "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Rom. 6:1-2).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for "extreme" Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call "radical" what Jesus expected of all His followers. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22). "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins" (James 4: 17).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion. "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven" (Matt. 10:32-33).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE gauge their morality or "goodness" by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren't as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street. "The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get'" (Luke 18:11-12
LUKEWARM PEOPLE say they love Jesus, and that He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn't allowed to control their lives.
LUKEWARM PEOPLE love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn't really possible for the average person; it's only for pastors and missionaries and radicals. Jesus said: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matt. 22:37-38
LUKEWARM PEOPLE love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love or others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, whose kids are better (or worse) athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,…… If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" (Matt. 5:43-47
LUKEWARM PEOPLE will serve God and others, but there are limits to how for they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give. See story of rich ruler in Luke 18:21-25.
LUKEWARM PEOPLE think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today's to-do list, this week's schedule, and next month's vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come. Paul writes: “Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven." (Phil. 3:18-20). And, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Col. 3:2).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be "good enough" without it requiring too much of them.
They ask, "How far can I go before it’s considered a sin?" instead of "How can I keep myself pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?"
They ask, "How much do I have to give?" instead of "How much can I give?"
They ask, "How much time should I spend praying and reading my Bible?" instead of "I wish I didn't have to go to work, so I could sit here and read longer!"
LUKEWARM PEOPLE feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, and live in America. Just as the prophets in the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they God’s “chosen people”, so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian and live in America. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven , but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren't very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn't be more wrong.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. …. First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. ……. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness" (Matt. 23:25-28).
This profile of the lukewarm is not an all-inclusive definition of what it means to be a Christian, nor is it intended to be used as ammunition to judge your fellow believers' salvation. Instead, as 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, it is a call to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves”. We are all messed-up human beings, and no one is totally immune to the behaviors described in the previous examples. However, there is a difference between a life that is characterized by these sorts of mentalities and habits and a life that is in the process of being radically transformed.
Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? Or do the words halfhearted, lukewarm, and partially committed fit better?
The Bible says to test ourselves, so in the lesson today let’s examine what halfhearted, distracted, partially committed, lukewarm people can look like. As we look at these examples, let’s take a searching, honest look at our lives. Not who we want to be one of these days, but who we are now and how we are living today.
LUKEWARM PEOPLE attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe "good Christians" do, so they go. "The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men'" (Isa. 29:13).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE give money to charity and to the church ... as long as it doesn't have an impact on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? Jesus observed a woman giving her two “pennies” at the temple, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. Jesus said "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets" (Luke 6:26). And "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead" (Rev. 3:1).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin and aren't truly sorry for it; they're merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Paul writes "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Rom. 6:1-2).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for "extreme" Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call "radical" what Jesus expected of all His followers. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22). "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins" (James 4: 17).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion. "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven" (Matt. 10:32-33).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE gauge their morality or "goodness" by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren't as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street. "The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get'" (Luke 18:11-12
LUKEWARM PEOPLE say they love Jesus, and that He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn't allowed to control their lives.
LUKEWARM PEOPLE love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn't really possible for the average person; it's only for pastors and missionaries and radicals. Jesus said: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matt. 22:37-38
LUKEWARM PEOPLE love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love or others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, whose kids are better (or worse) athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,…… If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" (Matt. 5:43-47
LUKEWARM PEOPLE will serve God and others, but there are limits to how for they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give. See story of rich ruler in Luke 18:21-25.
LUKEWARM PEOPLE think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today's to-do list, this week's schedule, and next month's vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come. Paul writes: “Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven." (Phil. 3:18-20). And, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Col. 3:2).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be "good enough" without it requiring too much of them.
They ask, "How far can I go before it’s considered a sin?" instead of "How can I keep myself pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?"
They ask, "How much do I have to give?" instead of "How much can I give?"
They ask, "How much time should I spend praying and reading my Bible?" instead of "I wish I didn't have to go to work, so I could sit here and read longer!"
LUKEWARM PEOPLE feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, and live in America. Just as the prophets in the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they God’s “chosen people”, so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian and live in America. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven , but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).
LUKEWARM PEOPLE probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren't very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn't be more wrong.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. …. First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. ……. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness" (Matt. 23:25-28).
This profile of the lukewarm is not an all-inclusive definition of what it means to be a Christian, nor is it intended to be used as ammunition to judge your fellow believers' salvation. Instead, as 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, it is a call to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves”. We are all messed-up human beings, and no one is totally immune to the behaviors described in the previous examples. However, there is a difference between a life that is characterized by these sorts of mentalities and habits and a life that is in the process of being radically transformed.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Counterfeit Forgiveness
"There's no way I can forgive this person for what they did to me (or my child or my friend)! They knew exactly what they were doing."
So often Christians can't or won't forgive. Often the reason is that they have accepted a counterfeit forgiveness. To grasp what true forgiveness is, we must examine these common counterfeits.
Counterfeit 1: Excusing
A speeding car driven by a drunk swerves on a wet street and kills a twelve-year-old boy. If his devout parents believe they must excuse the driver because he was drunk, they will not forgive.
Excusing says, "I see you couldn't help it or didn't mean it; you weren't really to blame." That would be a lie.
Forgiveness is the opposite of excusing. It reaches beyond excusing. Forgiveness acknowledges that drunken driving is inexcusable but pardons the offender anyway.
Excusing has its place, however. Many times there are extenuating circumstances. When we discover the circumstances that motivated a person, our understanding enables us to make allowances for them.
But make no mistake, excusing is not forgiveness. One writer notes, that such excusing "is not Christian charity; it is only fair-mindedness. To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in us."
Counterfeit 2: Minimizing the Hurt
We often deal with petty injuries by telling ourselves it doesn't matter. A child breaks her aunt's teacup and is graciously told, "That's all right, dear, I didn't like that pattern anyway."
Maturity dictates we put our injuries into proper perspective; we must be slow to take offense. The danger comes, however, when we confuse minimizing the hurt with true forgiveness.
If our primary reaction when we're harmed by another is to tell ourselves feebly, it really didn't hurt that much, there are times it just won't wash. Rob may be able to overlook a bully punching him at the bus stop, but what does he do when gang members scar his face for life?
Unless we see the difference between acting as if the injury is minor and pardoning one who has hurt us deeply, we will eventually find ourselves unwilling to "forgive."
Counterfeit 3. Blind Trust
"I've found drugs in Jim's room so often that I can't trust him, no matter how sincerely he assures me he'll stop. Does this mean I haven't forgiven him?"
Forgiving isn't the same as trusting. There is a vast difference between forgiveness and trust; one is given, the other is earned.
To someone faced with a person who perpetually breaks their promise, you can forgive them. However, this doesn't mean you must necessarily believe their next promise. It does mean that you must make every effort to kill every trace of resentment in your own heart--every wish to humiliate or hurt them or to “pay them back”.
Counterfeit 4: Forgive and Forget
A vague anxiety gnaws at a woman who was once assaulted. Her mind replays the crime over and over. If she cannot forget, has she forgiven?
Do you suppose that when the books are opened on the great day of judgment described in Revelation 20:12 (And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.), will all our sins that we have asked Him forgiveness for, be recorded there? Or has God suffered eternal amnesia? Is it impossible for Him to remember?
No. God chooses not to remember our sins. The New Testament twice cites Jeremiah 31:34 (in Hebrews 8:12 and 10:17), as if to emphasize the point: "And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
"Not remembering" is by no means equal to "forgetting absolutely." It means not making an effort to recall something to mind.
God has not wiped out His memory banks concerning our sins; rather, He has chosen not to call them to mind against us again. Our sins are probably recorded in God's books, but over each one is written in bold red letters "Forgiven."
This distinction between forgiveness and still having painful memories is crucial. When we've forgiven, we choose not to call a person's sins to mind against them. Yet until God's healing is fully worked in our minds, the memory of the hurt and pain may overwhelm us again and again.
Each time, we must write "Forgiven" over the person who hurt us. Even though we must sometimes recall painful memories for them to be healed, we must refuse to allow the enemy the luxury of salting them with bitterness. In response to our prayerful determination, God our Father supplies the strength to resist the temptation to dwell on the person's sin.
Forgiveness doesn't require forgetting; only choosing not to call to mind repeatedly while God heals the memories.
The Genuine Article
"To err is human, to forgive is divine," Alexander Pope reminds us. Genuine forgiveness--pardoning an inexcusable, devastating injury--is a miracle. If we are to understand what forgiveness is, we must see it as God sees it.
God did not excuse our sins. If it would have been enough to cite our inherent weakness or some extenuating circumstances, the Father would never have sent His Son to suffer the torture of crucifixion. God does not pretend. Our pitiful pretense at independence from our Creator, our negligence, and our sins are inexcusable. The only rebuttal to sin is the bold, unilateral deed of the Offended One: "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God." (1 Peter 3:18).
Neither did God meet our defiance by denying His hurt. The pain when we're deceived by a casual acquaintance is nothing compared with the pain of being betrayed by one we hold dear. Our Father refused to lessen His hurt by disowning His love for us. His love will not let us go.
At the bedrock of our faith lies this assurance: "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, NIV). Forgiveness is the working of God's love.
A trivial injury or one that's excusable needs no forgiveness. Forgiveness is pardoning one who has truly wronged us, "just as God through Christ has forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).
We can't separate God's forgiveness of us from our willingness to forgive those who have injured us. We pray, “forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us." (Matthew 6:12)
A Decision by Faith
What is forgiveness, then? A choice--a faith decision--not to hold a sin against a person any longer. It is not based on merit, but on grace. Its example is the cross. We dare not confuse it with emotion.
Although “better” feeling will eventually follow if we stick to our choice to forgive despite temptations to bitterness, the feeling is not the forgiveness. It may be agony even to think about forgiving a past injury, but God will gradually enable us if we let Him. And the very decision to forgive releases God's power to restore our damaged emotions.
Jesus leaves no room in His Word for His followers to have an unforgiving spirit, even if the offender never shows any remorse for what they did. He directs His disciples: "But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:44-45).
The apostle Paul makes it clear that revenge is not for us, “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. (Romans 12:9)
Christians must forgive. No one said forgiving is easy. But we cannot be satisfied with quick counterfeits. Like our Father, we must face sins squarely and pardon them boldly, enabled by His grace.
For prayer requests, comments or to be included in our email ministry, email us at: whosoever@cottagehillbaptist.org. Also, Check out our “blog” at: http://thewhosoevers.blogspot.com/
So often Christians can't or won't forgive. Often the reason is that they have accepted a counterfeit forgiveness. To grasp what true forgiveness is, we must examine these common counterfeits.
Counterfeit 1: Excusing
A speeding car driven by a drunk swerves on a wet street and kills a twelve-year-old boy. If his devout parents believe they must excuse the driver because he was drunk, they will not forgive.
Excusing says, "I see you couldn't help it or didn't mean it; you weren't really to blame." That would be a lie.
Forgiveness is the opposite of excusing. It reaches beyond excusing. Forgiveness acknowledges that drunken driving is inexcusable but pardons the offender anyway.
Excusing has its place, however. Many times there are extenuating circumstances. When we discover the circumstances that motivated a person, our understanding enables us to make allowances for them.
But make no mistake, excusing is not forgiveness. One writer notes, that such excusing "is not Christian charity; it is only fair-mindedness. To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in us."
Counterfeit 2: Minimizing the Hurt
We often deal with petty injuries by telling ourselves it doesn't matter. A child breaks her aunt's teacup and is graciously told, "That's all right, dear, I didn't like that pattern anyway."
Maturity dictates we put our injuries into proper perspective; we must be slow to take offense. The danger comes, however, when we confuse minimizing the hurt with true forgiveness.
If our primary reaction when we're harmed by another is to tell ourselves feebly, it really didn't hurt that much, there are times it just won't wash. Rob may be able to overlook a bully punching him at the bus stop, but what does he do when gang members scar his face for life?
Unless we see the difference between acting as if the injury is minor and pardoning one who has hurt us deeply, we will eventually find ourselves unwilling to "forgive."
Counterfeit 3. Blind Trust
"I've found drugs in Jim's room so often that I can't trust him, no matter how sincerely he assures me he'll stop. Does this mean I haven't forgiven him?"
Forgiving isn't the same as trusting. There is a vast difference between forgiveness and trust; one is given, the other is earned.
To someone faced with a person who perpetually breaks their promise, you can forgive them. However, this doesn't mean you must necessarily believe their next promise. It does mean that you must make every effort to kill every trace of resentment in your own heart--every wish to humiliate or hurt them or to “pay them back”.
Counterfeit 4: Forgive and Forget
A vague anxiety gnaws at a woman who was once assaulted. Her mind replays the crime over and over. If she cannot forget, has she forgiven?
Do you suppose that when the books are opened on the great day of judgment described in Revelation 20:12 (And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.), will all our sins that we have asked Him forgiveness for, be recorded there? Or has God suffered eternal amnesia? Is it impossible for Him to remember?
No. God chooses not to remember our sins. The New Testament twice cites Jeremiah 31:34 (in Hebrews 8:12 and 10:17), as if to emphasize the point: "And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
"Not remembering" is by no means equal to "forgetting absolutely." It means not making an effort to recall something to mind.
God has not wiped out His memory banks concerning our sins; rather, He has chosen not to call them to mind against us again. Our sins are probably recorded in God's books, but over each one is written in bold red letters "Forgiven."
This distinction between forgiveness and still having painful memories is crucial. When we've forgiven, we choose not to call a person's sins to mind against them. Yet until God's healing is fully worked in our minds, the memory of the hurt and pain may overwhelm us again and again.
Each time, we must write "Forgiven" over the person who hurt us. Even though we must sometimes recall painful memories for them to be healed, we must refuse to allow the enemy the luxury of salting them with bitterness. In response to our prayerful determination, God our Father supplies the strength to resist the temptation to dwell on the person's sin.
Forgiveness doesn't require forgetting; only choosing not to call to mind repeatedly while God heals the memories.
The Genuine Article
"To err is human, to forgive is divine," Alexander Pope reminds us. Genuine forgiveness--pardoning an inexcusable, devastating injury--is a miracle. If we are to understand what forgiveness is, we must see it as God sees it.
God did not excuse our sins. If it would have been enough to cite our inherent weakness or some extenuating circumstances, the Father would never have sent His Son to suffer the torture of crucifixion. God does not pretend. Our pitiful pretense at independence from our Creator, our negligence, and our sins are inexcusable. The only rebuttal to sin is the bold, unilateral deed of the Offended One: "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God." (1 Peter 3:18).
Neither did God meet our defiance by denying His hurt. The pain when we're deceived by a casual acquaintance is nothing compared with the pain of being betrayed by one we hold dear. Our Father refused to lessen His hurt by disowning His love for us. His love will not let us go.
At the bedrock of our faith lies this assurance: "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, NIV). Forgiveness is the working of God's love.
A trivial injury or one that's excusable needs no forgiveness. Forgiveness is pardoning one who has truly wronged us, "just as God through Christ has forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).
We can't separate God's forgiveness of us from our willingness to forgive those who have injured us. We pray, “forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us." (Matthew 6:12)
A Decision by Faith
What is forgiveness, then? A choice--a faith decision--not to hold a sin against a person any longer. It is not based on merit, but on grace. Its example is the cross. We dare not confuse it with emotion.
Although “better” feeling will eventually follow if we stick to our choice to forgive despite temptations to bitterness, the feeling is not the forgiveness. It may be agony even to think about forgiving a past injury, but God will gradually enable us if we let Him. And the very decision to forgive releases God's power to restore our damaged emotions.
Jesus leaves no room in His Word for His followers to have an unforgiving spirit, even if the offender never shows any remorse for what they did. He directs His disciples: "But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:44-45).
The apostle Paul makes it clear that revenge is not for us, “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. (Romans 12:9)
Christians must forgive. No one said forgiving is easy. But we cannot be satisfied with quick counterfeits. Like our Father, we must face sins squarely and pardon them boldly, enabled by His grace.
For prayer requests, comments or to be included in our email ministry, email us at: whosoever@cottagehillbaptist.org. Also, Check out our “blog” at: http://thewhosoevers.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Remembering 9/12
Remembering 9/12 (No this is not one of my typos)
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Psalm 46:1-2
Have we returned to the 9/10 mentality? Do you think maybe God wants us to go back to 9/12.
Yesterday was 9/11, and today is 9/12. This weekend we remembered 9/11 for the 9th time, as we should. But have we returned to the 9/10 mentality? Have you ever thought that maybe God wants us to remember 9/12, and how we woke up different on that day. Maybe He wants us to go back to 9/12?
Some events in human history impact us so greatly that we will forever have engraved in our minds where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news. I’ll never forget that I was a high school senior sitting in study hall when President Kennedy was assassinated. I was watching the Today show when the 1st tower was hit. Where were you?
Every time we watch that footage we relive it. How many can feel it the same right now as we did that day? We said, "Never forget," and most of us never have. But it seems that America at large has forgotten. We need to go back to 9/12...but instead, we’re back to 9/10 in our thinking. How can we avoid another 9/11 that may be looming?
Today let’s ask and attempt to answer some questions that no doubt have puzzled so many since that horrific day 9 years ago: How could this happen on our own soil? Where were we on 9/11 and where was God on 9/11, and where were we on 9/12 and where are we today?
“Where was God on 9-11?”…
1. The same place He was when Adam rebelled in Eden – He was waiting to cover his sin. (Gen 3) Where was God when man first raised his ugly head of defiance and rebellion? Couldn’t He have stopped it before it began? Oh, it is not a matter of whether or not He could have. But He designed us with a freedom of choice. When Adam and Eve finally “fessed-up”, He was there with a covering for their nakedness and shame; exacting the ultimate punishment on an innocent victim, His son, to cover man’s sin. But, He was there!
“Where was God on 9-11?” …
2. The same place He was when Noah built an ark – protecting him from disaster. Sadly, man’s rebellion did not end with Adam and Eve. Their sons, and their son’s sons for every generation followed in their rebellious path. Until such time that the wickedness of man filled the whole earth. Yet in the midst of such ungodliness, “…Noah found favor with the LORD.” (Gen 6:8). Here was a man, not a perfect, but a righteous man, who faithfully proclaimed the righteousness of God. (2 Pet 2) And when God, grieved by man’s wicked rebellion, became determined to wipe man from the face of the earth, He decided to spare Noah and his family, and from them re-populate the earth. So in mankind’s greatest natural disaster, God was on His throne protecting His own.
“Where was God on 9-11?” …
3. The same place He was when Job lost everything he had (except his nagging wife) – proving Himself to be God despite unfortunate circumstances. (Job 1-2) Just as Noah’s generation experienced earth’s greatest natural disaster, Job would surely rank among the top in man’s history as experiencing the greatest personal disaster. Again we see a man, a good man, a godly man standing for what is right and hating what is wrong. Did being “blameless and upright” immune Job from problems, or even disaster? Of course not! He became the special target of Satan’s fury. As a result, Job lost everything of value; even his precious children. Where was God? Had He turned His back on Job? Would Job return the favor by turning his back on God? No! No! and NO! God had not deserted Job. And Job would not curse God, even though he was urged to do so by a less than faithful wife.
Where was God when Job was losing all? Where was He when Job’s children were killed? Where was He when Job’s flesh was wracked with pain? Job maintained his integrity and recognized that it was God’s prerogative to give and take, and it was his duty to “Bless the name of the Lord.” And in the end God was there giving him double of all he had lost!
“Where was God on 9-11?” …
4. The same place He was when Joseph was rotting in jail – accomplishing His perfect will. (Gen 37-50) If ever anyone was misunderstood and ill treated, it was Joseph. If ever anyone suffered wrongly, it was Joseph. Yet with all his hardships, problems and abuse, Joseph was able to honestly say, “You meant it for harm, but God meant it for good.” This was certainly true in the case of his brothers selling him into slavery, Mrs. Potiphar falsely accusing him of attempted rape, and the lapse of memory of his Butler friend. Yet each step of the way, God was able to take Joseph’s trying circumstance and mold him ever more closely into the man he would one day become. He was there all the time, but even Joseph must have wondered at times where God was during this time.
“Where was God on 9-11?” … We could go on and on and tell of the experiences people such as Moses, Samson, Jonah, Daniel. Peter, John, Paul, James …..
But maybe the greatest insight into the heart of God when a tragedy strikes such as the 9-11 Disaster is to respond in this way to the question…
“Where was God on 9-11?”
12. The same place He was when Jesus hung on the Cross – enduring the pain for the benefit of others. (Matt 27)
Not just the thorns on His brow. Not just the lashes on His back. Not just the bruises from the reeds and fists of his captors. Not just the plucking of the beard from His face. Not just the spit being hurled at Him. Not just the nails in His hands and feet. Not just the spear piercing His side. All this, yes; plus the weight of the sins of the world pressing down on His shoulders.
Where was God when His one and only Son hung dying on the cross? Didn’t He know? Couldn’t He have prevented it; or stopped it? Was He helpless? Was He not aware? Didn’t He care?
Of course He knew! Of course He could have prevented it! Of course He could have stopped it! Of course He wasn’t helpless! Of course He was aware! And, Of course He cared! God knew it was happening, could have stopped it, … but He didn’t.
He had a larger picture in view. There was a greater good to be accomplished by the suffering and death of Jesus. Through the suffering of One, many would be made whole. Through the sacrifice of One, many would have their sins forgiven. Through the death of One, many would be made alive.
He wasn’t just sitting idle and helpless as His Son suffered. He was using the schemes of wicked hearts to bring about the redemption of mankind. He reminds us that … “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:8-9)
Please note: Though God was there near His Son while He hanged on the cross, there was a moment when He had to turn His back on Him, because of our sins laid there. Our God is holy, and can’t tolerate sin, but must judge it. Did He turn His back on America on 9/11? If so, was it because of our national sins? Will He turn His back again?
There is a story of Al Braca who when he realized that they weren’t going to make it, shared the gospel with 50 of his co-workers and led them in prayer and many no doubt were saved before they died. Some of those same individuals had in the past mocked him for his faith. On 9/12 many of us changed our tune and became witnesses
On 9/12 we were all Americans, and we had received a wake up call. Have we gone back to sleep? What will it take to rouse us again?
A record number of people were in church on the following Sunday and for a couple more weeks before attendance began to fall back off again.
We must remember 9/11, and remember who we became on 9/12. Let’s don’t go back to 9/10!
As believer’s we need to remember that our feeling of security goes beyond the measures of home land defense, beyond metal detectors, security checks, military power, political alliances or the strength of our economy. Our faith must rest solidly on a relationship with the one and only true and living God. Security is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God and the confidence and courage He gives in the midst of trouble. God is not just some far off source from whom we can seek advice but this psalm tells us that he is “our refuge and strength.”
For prayer requests, comments or to be included in our email ministry, email us at: whosoever@cottagehillbaptist.org. Also, Check out our “blog” at: http://thewhosoevers.blogspot.com/
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Psalm 46:1-2
Have we returned to the 9/10 mentality? Do you think maybe God wants us to go back to 9/12.
Yesterday was 9/11, and today is 9/12. This weekend we remembered 9/11 for the 9th time, as we should. But have we returned to the 9/10 mentality? Have you ever thought that maybe God wants us to remember 9/12, and how we woke up different on that day. Maybe He wants us to go back to 9/12?
Some events in human history impact us so greatly that we will forever have engraved in our minds where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news. I’ll never forget that I was a high school senior sitting in study hall when President Kennedy was assassinated. I was watching the Today show when the 1st tower was hit. Where were you?
Every time we watch that footage we relive it. How many can feel it the same right now as we did that day? We said, "Never forget," and most of us never have. But it seems that America at large has forgotten. We need to go back to 9/12...but instead, we’re back to 9/10 in our thinking. How can we avoid another 9/11 that may be looming?
Today let’s ask and attempt to answer some questions that no doubt have puzzled so many since that horrific day 9 years ago: How could this happen on our own soil? Where were we on 9/11 and where was God on 9/11, and where were we on 9/12 and where are we today?
“Where was God on 9-11?”…
1. The same place He was when Adam rebelled in Eden – He was waiting to cover his sin. (Gen 3) Where was God when man first raised his ugly head of defiance and rebellion? Couldn’t He have stopped it before it began? Oh, it is not a matter of whether or not He could have. But He designed us with a freedom of choice. When Adam and Eve finally “fessed-up”, He was there with a covering for their nakedness and shame; exacting the ultimate punishment on an innocent victim, His son, to cover man’s sin. But, He was there!
“Where was God on 9-11?” …
2. The same place He was when Noah built an ark – protecting him from disaster. Sadly, man’s rebellion did not end with Adam and Eve. Their sons, and their son’s sons for every generation followed in their rebellious path. Until such time that the wickedness of man filled the whole earth. Yet in the midst of such ungodliness, “…Noah found favor with the LORD.” (Gen 6:8). Here was a man, not a perfect, but a righteous man, who faithfully proclaimed the righteousness of God. (2 Pet 2) And when God, grieved by man’s wicked rebellion, became determined to wipe man from the face of the earth, He decided to spare Noah and his family, and from them re-populate the earth. So in mankind’s greatest natural disaster, God was on His throne protecting His own.
“Where was God on 9-11?” …
3. The same place He was when Job lost everything he had (except his nagging wife) – proving Himself to be God despite unfortunate circumstances. (Job 1-2) Just as Noah’s generation experienced earth’s greatest natural disaster, Job would surely rank among the top in man’s history as experiencing the greatest personal disaster. Again we see a man, a good man, a godly man standing for what is right and hating what is wrong. Did being “blameless and upright” immune Job from problems, or even disaster? Of course not! He became the special target of Satan’s fury. As a result, Job lost everything of value; even his precious children. Where was God? Had He turned His back on Job? Would Job return the favor by turning his back on God? No! No! and NO! God had not deserted Job. And Job would not curse God, even though he was urged to do so by a less than faithful wife.
Where was God when Job was losing all? Where was He when Job’s children were killed? Where was He when Job’s flesh was wracked with pain? Job maintained his integrity and recognized that it was God’s prerogative to give and take, and it was his duty to “Bless the name of the Lord.” And in the end God was there giving him double of all he had lost!
“Where was God on 9-11?” …
4. The same place He was when Joseph was rotting in jail – accomplishing His perfect will. (Gen 37-50) If ever anyone was misunderstood and ill treated, it was Joseph. If ever anyone suffered wrongly, it was Joseph. Yet with all his hardships, problems and abuse, Joseph was able to honestly say, “You meant it for harm, but God meant it for good.” This was certainly true in the case of his brothers selling him into slavery, Mrs. Potiphar falsely accusing him of attempted rape, and the lapse of memory of his Butler friend. Yet each step of the way, God was able to take Joseph’s trying circumstance and mold him ever more closely into the man he would one day become. He was there all the time, but even Joseph must have wondered at times where God was during this time.
“Where was God on 9-11?” … We could go on and on and tell of the experiences people such as Moses, Samson, Jonah, Daniel. Peter, John, Paul, James …..
But maybe the greatest insight into the heart of God when a tragedy strikes such as the 9-11 Disaster is to respond in this way to the question…
“Where was God on 9-11?”
12. The same place He was when Jesus hung on the Cross – enduring the pain for the benefit of others. (Matt 27)
Not just the thorns on His brow. Not just the lashes on His back. Not just the bruises from the reeds and fists of his captors. Not just the plucking of the beard from His face. Not just the spit being hurled at Him. Not just the nails in His hands and feet. Not just the spear piercing His side. All this, yes; plus the weight of the sins of the world pressing down on His shoulders.
Where was God when His one and only Son hung dying on the cross? Didn’t He know? Couldn’t He have prevented it; or stopped it? Was He helpless? Was He not aware? Didn’t He care?
Of course He knew! Of course He could have prevented it! Of course He could have stopped it! Of course He wasn’t helpless! Of course He was aware! And, Of course He cared! God knew it was happening, could have stopped it, … but He didn’t.
He had a larger picture in view. There was a greater good to be accomplished by the suffering and death of Jesus. Through the suffering of One, many would be made whole. Through the sacrifice of One, many would have their sins forgiven. Through the death of One, many would be made alive.
He wasn’t just sitting idle and helpless as His Son suffered. He was using the schemes of wicked hearts to bring about the redemption of mankind. He reminds us that … “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:8-9)
Please note: Though God was there near His Son while He hanged on the cross, there was a moment when He had to turn His back on Him, because of our sins laid there. Our God is holy, and can’t tolerate sin, but must judge it. Did He turn His back on America on 9/11? If so, was it because of our national sins? Will He turn His back again?
There is a story of Al Braca who when he realized that they weren’t going to make it, shared the gospel with 50 of his co-workers and led them in prayer and many no doubt were saved before they died. Some of those same individuals had in the past mocked him for his faith. On 9/12 many of us changed our tune and became witnesses
On 9/12 we were all Americans, and we had received a wake up call. Have we gone back to sleep? What will it take to rouse us again?
A record number of people were in church on the following Sunday and for a couple more weeks before attendance began to fall back off again.
We must remember 9/11, and remember who we became on 9/12. Let’s don’t go back to 9/10!
As believer’s we need to remember that our feeling of security goes beyond the measures of home land defense, beyond metal detectors, security checks, military power, political alliances or the strength of our economy. Our faith must rest solidly on a relationship with the one and only true and living God. Security is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God and the confidence and courage He gives in the midst of trouble. God is not just some far off source from whom we can seek advice but this psalm tells us that he is “our refuge and strength.”
For prayer requests, comments or to be included in our email ministry, email us at: whosoever@cottagehillbaptist.org. Also, Check out our “blog” at: http://thewhosoevers.blogspot.com/
Monday, September 6, 2010
A GOOD BATTERY, BUT A BAD CONNECTION
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18
Everybody has seen the Energizer battery commercial on television. The little bunny appears beating a drum, and the announcer says "still going”! On he goes, across the desert, over mountains, on lonely highways. Nothing seems to stop the little bunny. We need to know that the point of the commercial is not the bunny, but the battery.
It’s important to have good batteries because weak batteries cause problems. Cars with weak batteries have problems starting. Once the motor starts the car usually runs, but it takes a good battery to get it started. Particularly in cold weather, a weak battery just won’t do it.
Tape recorders with weak batteries will drag. Flashlights with weak batteries will go dim, pocket radios with weak batteries will fade, and our cell phones with weak batteries will eventually disconnect themselves from the network. Why?….because the battery is the power source.
But even a good battery is only half the solution. There was a woman who was having trouble getting her car started. Every time she would turn on the ignition she would get a clicking sound. So naturally she thought that her battery was dead. Without checking with anyone, she sent her son down to Wal-Mart, to purchase a new battery. When he put the battery in and she tried to start the car again, but she got those same clicking sounds.
Finally, she called a mechanic who took one look at her cable ends and analyzed her problem. He said “Ma'am, you have a good battery but your cables are bad.” That day she learned a good lesson about her car; you must always make sure that you have a good connection to the battery. As Christians, must make sure that we have a good connection to our power source; and that source is Jesus.
But this “power source” is of little or no value at all if let our connection get rusty and corroded. You see, that corrosion causes a bad connection. There are too many believers who go through life hearing the "clicking" sound that suggest that there is power under the hood that can't get through. Many of us have the ability to achieve greatness through the exercise of our gifts, but every time we turn the switch all we get is a clicking sound.
We, as Christians, need to keep a clear and uninterrupted connection with God. Yes, others might think that we are foolish for doing so, but we who are saved know that our power comes from the Cross, the Power of God.
In our text, Paul writes to the church at Corinth about the wisdom of preaching the truth of the cross of Christ. Paul explains that those who are saved recognize the cross as a symbol of the power of God. But to those outside of the faith, the church seems to be involved in foolishness.
What is this foolishness of which Paul speaks? Maybe it’s the command to love your enemies or to pray for those who use you. Maybe it’s your belief that what you hope for will become evident through your faith. Maybe it’s your belief that you are blessed when people dislike you, persecute you, or say bad things about you.
Singing, praying, testimonies and other forms of worship are inspiring, but it is the Word of God that connects us to our power source. It is the Word of God that directs us to the Cross.
People that are not saved can’t understand this power and surely cannot “connect” to it.
But as Believers we know that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We know that, at the foot of the cross, we find our ability, our strength, and our power.
Our knowledge of the historical account of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is our power source; it is our spiritual energizer that just keeps us going, going, and going. There are many who are hooked up to the wrong source; they’re trying to use a six-volt transistor to empower a twelve-volt understanding. This means that many of God’s created people are depending on their own skills and education to get them through life. Educational skills are necessary, but when trouble comes, that battery is too small for the job. When you need real power, you’d better be hooked up to the power that holds the world in the palm of His hand, and lights up the night with the moon and the stars.
Now, in order to get the needed energy from your power source, you must have the right connection. You can have a good battery but if the connection is wrong, there is no power. And since we are talking about connecting to a power source, we must also determine the type of connection required.
There are two types of current, A/C and D/C. Some folks in our churches are A/C in nature. They suffer from being hooked up to an alternating current. They attend church on alternating Sundays. They pray on alternating occasions. They tithe on alternating occasions. In other words they come to church when they feel like it, pray when it is convenient, and give when they want to.
Then there are those who are hooked up to the D/C, or direct current. God is looking for some D/C folks…dedicated Christians; people on whom He can depend. People who just don't do things when it’s convenient for them, but “press toward the mark” daily. God is looking for those who will keep on going no matter how hard it gets.
Now, if you have a good battery, and the connecting cables are good, there’s still one more thing you need to know. The connection must be tight! The battery must be free of external interference. There can be no space separating the cable from the battery post.
Paul said it best when he declared, “nothing shall separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” And when it comes to the life of a Christian there must be no space that separates us from the Master. The life of a Christian must be lived in such a way that there is nothing between our soul and our Savior.
And what can corrode our connection with God? Well, pride will corrode our cables and interfere with our connection. Hatred and unforgiveness will keep us from having a good connection with God. Jealousy will keep us from having a good connection with God. Conflict will keep us from having a good connection with God. And there are many more. We need to get rid of the things that are keeping us from having a good connection with our power source.
And finally, make sure both cables are connected. Along with the hot wire, there must be a ground cable. Somebody, today, is trying to get a prayer through and you’re not properly grounded. You’re trying to sing His praises but your ground wire is loose. How do I become grounded?
You are grounded when you accept Christ as your PERSONAL SAVIOR, confess with your MOUTH the Lord, Jesus Christ, and believe in YOUR HEART that He was raised from the dead. Abide in the Word of God. Ground yourself to the Cross of Christ….then plunge into the “foolishness” of loving those who hate you. Plunge into the foolishness of believing without seeing. Plunge into the foolishness of praying for those who use you, and finding a blessing in persecution.
Ground yourself to the belief that in Christ we live. When you need power you need to go to the one that created the trees and the flowers. When you need power you need to go to the one that is able to heal the sick and raise the dead.
Yes, when you need power you need to go to the Rock of (your) Salvation and His name is Jesus. We don’t need to go to Wal-Mart to find a good power source if we know God's original power source.
Before there was a 36-Month Goodyear Power Source….Before there was a NAPA 40 Month Power Horse…..Before there was a Sears 60-Month Guaranteed Power Source…..Before Sears and Roebuck ever thought of the name, Jesus was the original Die-Hard.
Yes, Jesus is better than Ever-ready; and He's got power to spare.
They crucified Him on the cross, they buried Him in a borrowed tomb, and they tried to drain Him of his power. But early one Sunday Morning, My Die Hard, My Ever Ready, My Energizer, My Duracell, rose with all power in his hand… “Wonder working power”, “soul saving power”, “healing power” in His hand. Are you connected to His power?
Everybody has seen the Energizer battery commercial on television. The little bunny appears beating a drum, and the announcer says "still going”! On he goes, across the desert, over mountains, on lonely highways. Nothing seems to stop the little bunny. We need to know that the point of the commercial is not the bunny, but the battery.
It’s important to have good batteries because weak batteries cause problems. Cars with weak batteries have problems starting. Once the motor starts the car usually runs, but it takes a good battery to get it started. Particularly in cold weather, a weak battery just won’t do it.
Tape recorders with weak batteries will drag. Flashlights with weak batteries will go dim, pocket radios with weak batteries will fade, and our cell phones with weak batteries will eventually disconnect themselves from the network. Why?….because the battery is the power source.
But even a good battery is only half the solution. There was a woman who was having trouble getting her car started. Every time she would turn on the ignition she would get a clicking sound. So naturally she thought that her battery was dead. Without checking with anyone, she sent her son down to Wal-Mart, to purchase a new battery. When he put the battery in and she tried to start the car again, but she got those same clicking sounds.
Finally, she called a mechanic who took one look at her cable ends and analyzed her problem. He said “Ma'am, you have a good battery but your cables are bad.” That day she learned a good lesson about her car; you must always make sure that you have a good connection to the battery. As Christians, must make sure that we have a good connection to our power source; and that source is Jesus.
But this “power source” is of little or no value at all if let our connection get rusty and corroded. You see, that corrosion causes a bad connection. There are too many believers who go through life hearing the "clicking" sound that suggest that there is power under the hood that can't get through. Many of us have the ability to achieve greatness through the exercise of our gifts, but every time we turn the switch all we get is a clicking sound.
We, as Christians, need to keep a clear and uninterrupted connection with God. Yes, others might think that we are foolish for doing so, but we who are saved know that our power comes from the Cross, the Power of God.
In our text, Paul writes to the church at Corinth about the wisdom of preaching the truth of the cross of Christ. Paul explains that those who are saved recognize the cross as a symbol of the power of God. But to those outside of the faith, the church seems to be involved in foolishness.
What is this foolishness of which Paul speaks? Maybe it’s the command to love your enemies or to pray for those who use you. Maybe it’s your belief that what you hope for will become evident through your faith. Maybe it’s your belief that you are blessed when people dislike you, persecute you, or say bad things about you.
Singing, praying, testimonies and other forms of worship are inspiring, but it is the Word of God that connects us to our power source. It is the Word of God that directs us to the Cross.
People that are not saved can’t understand this power and surely cannot “connect” to it.
But as Believers we know that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We know that, at the foot of the cross, we find our ability, our strength, and our power.
Our knowledge of the historical account of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is our power source; it is our spiritual energizer that just keeps us going, going, and going. There are many who are hooked up to the wrong source; they’re trying to use a six-volt transistor to empower a twelve-volt understanding. This means that many of God’s created people are depending on their own skills and education to get them through life. Educational skills are necessary, but when trouble comes, that battery is too small for the job. When you need real power, you’d better be hooked up to the power that holds the world in the palm of His hand, and lights up the night with the moon and the stars.
Now, in order to get the needed energy from your power source, you must have the right connection. You can have a good battery but if the connection is wrong, there is no power. And since we are talking about connecting to a power source, we must also determine the type of connection required.
There are two types of current, A/C and D/C. Some folks in our churches are A/C in nature. They suffer from being hooked up to an alternating current. They attend church on alternating Sundays. They pray on alternating occasions. They tithe on alternating occasions. In other words they come to church when they feel like it, pray when it is convenient, and give when they want to.
Then there are those who are hooked up to the D/C, or direct current. God is looking for some D/C folks…dedicated Christians; people on whom He can depend. People who just don't do things when it’s convenient for them, but “press toward the mark” daily. God is looking for those who will keep on going no matter how hard it gets.
Now, if you have a good battery, and the connecting cables are good, there’s still one more thing you need to know. The connection must be tight! The battery must be free of external interference. There can be no space separating the cable from the battery post.
Paul said it best when he declared, “nothing shall separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” And when it comes to the life of a Christian there must be no space that separates us from the Master. The life of a Christian must be lived in such a way that there is nothing between our soul and our Savior.
And what can corrode our connection with God? Well, pride will corrode our cables and interfere with our connection. Hatred and unforgiveness will keep us from having a good connection with God. Jealousy will keep us from having a good connection with God. Conflict will keep us from having a good connection with God. And there are many more. We need to get rid of the things that are keeping us from having a good connection with our power source.
And finally, make sure both cables are connected. Along with the hot wire, there must be a ground cable. Somebody, today, is trying to get a prayer through and you’re not properly grounded. You’re trying to sing His praises but your ground wire is loose. How do I become grounded?
You are grounded when you accept Christ as your PERSONAL SAVIOR, confess with your MOUTH the Lord, Jesus Christ, and believe in YOUR HEART that He was raised from the dead. Abide in the Word of God. Ground yourself to the Cross of Christ….then plunge into the “foolishness” of loving those who hate you. Plunge into the foolishness of believing without seeing. Plunge into the foolishness of praying for those who use you, and finding a blessing in persecution.
Ground yourself to the belief that in Christ we live. When you need power you need to go to the one that created the trees and the flowers. When you need power you need to go to the one that is able to heal the sick and raise the dead.
Yes, when you need power you need to go to the Rock of (your) Salvation and His name is Jesus. We don’t need to go to Wal-Mart to find a good power source if we know God's original power source.
Before there was a 36-Month Goodyear Power Source….Before there was a NAPA 40 Month Power Horse…..Before there was a Sears 60-Month Guaranteed Power Source…..Before Sears and Roebuck ever thought of the name, Jesus was the original Die-Hard.
Yes, Jesus is better than Ever-ready; and He's got power to spare.
They crucified Him on the cross, they buried Him in a borrowed tomb, and they tried to drain Him of his power. But early one Sunday Morning, My Die Hard, My Ever Ready, My Energizer, My Duracell, rose with all power in his hand… “Wonder working power”, “soul saving power”, “healing power” in His hand. Are you connected to His power?
Let Go, Let God, and Let’s Go
In Mark 1:16-20, several fishermen received an invitation that changed their lives forever. That invitation came in the form of a call, from a rabbi, a teacher named Jesus, who was just starting out his ministry proclaiming the good news that the kingdom of God was near. One day, Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. He found four men fishing in the lake and said to them: “Come, follow me.”
What a strange thing for a rabbi to do. For you see, rabbis did not go around making house calls and visiting places of business to invite potential “students” to come follow them. No, it was the eager ones who would approach a rabbi asking for the privilege of studying with him, and the rabbi would say either yes or no. It’s like back when I was in high school, trying to decide where to go to college. The universities and the professors didn’t come to me. No, I had to fill out forms, send my ACT scores and high school transcripts, hoping the college I chose would take me. But sought out Simon and Andrew, and James and John. There is no indication whatsoever that these fishermen had anything special about them that would have caught Jesus’ attention. Those four were just minding their own business when Jesus took the initiative to seek them out and to issue this invitation: “Come, follow me.”
What a strange thing for a rabbi to do. But at first glance, even more strange, even more amazing, was the fact that when Simon and Andrew heard Jesus’ invitation, verse eighteen says, “at once they left their nets and followed him.” There seemed to be no hesitation on their part. They simply let go of their nets, which were their means of livelihood – their “tools” to make a living, and followed Jesus. What Simon and Andrew did immediatel is very intriguing. No one in his right mind would just let go of everything to follow an itinerant teacher, just because he said, “Come, follow me.” Right?
Now we know that Jesus was no ordinary teacher. But, even so, it is hard to imagine how Simon and Andrew could immediately let go of their nets, their only means of of making money, in order to follow Jesus. But that’s not all. In the next verses, Jesus issued the same invitation to James and John, and they not only let go of their nets, but they also left their father Zebedee, left their boat and their hired men to follow Jesus. James and John let go of family ties, let go of possessions and let go of a life of being served in order to answer Jesus’ call. It’s hard for us to imagine letting go of so many things in order to follow Jesus. We are a people who have been told again and again to “grab all we can” and “you can have it all.” We often don’t know what it’s like to let go and give up some things in order to pursue the best path God has for our lives. Maybe that’s why we overextend ourselves in our work, we overextend our credit limits to accumulate more than we need, and we overextend our schedules and our commitments. Sometimes, it is possible to allow our lifestyles, our possessions, and yes, even our families to become our idols. As Christians, our work, our accumulations, our schedules and our families are not bad things in and of themselves, but when we cannot let them go and when they begin to occupy a higher place than following Jesus, then we may be missing out on a life of discipleship that Christ calls us to live.
I don’t know about you, but in my life, I find that when I’m afraid to let go, many times it is because I fear what will happen when I’m no longer in control of my life. Those who know me know that I like to be in control. I like to be in charge. But when Jesus calls to invite us to follow him, He’s basically asking us to hand over the control of our life to Him. The question is, “Am we willing to let go of control and let God be the Lord of our life?” Really this means to let Him be in charge of our lives.
To respond to this invitation to “follow me” meant they had to let go of their current lifestyle and pattern a new lifestyle after that of Jesus. This is still true today. Jesus’ invitation is secondly a call to a continuous journey with Him rather than a single act toward Him: “Follow me.”
Being a follower of Jesus does not mean just saying the “sinner’s prayer” once, just “walking down the aisle” and getting baptized once, and then never reading the Bible, never praying and hardly ever darkening the doors of the church again. In this passage, Mark describes Jesus’ first approach to evangelism, and it is very interesting that in His invitation, Jesus did not say, “Come, and invite me into your hearts so that you might be saved.” Jesus also did not say, “Come, and I will give you eternal life.” No, Jesus’ invitation was, “Come, follow me, I will turn you into people who win friends and influence people!” Jesus’ invitation to his first disciples was a call not to their own individual salvation, but a promise to empower them to serve and bless others! It was an invitation to live a life of significance that would make a positive impact on the world!
Jesus offers us individual salvation and eternal life - but not just for our own sake.
Who among us does not want to live a life of significance? Who among us does not want to live a life of influence that points others to God? Who among us does not want to live a life that will make a lasting, positive impact that carries on long after we’re gone? The truth of the matter is, God has bigger plans for us than we could ever dream about. But in order for God’s plans to come into fruition, we must be willing to let go of the nets in our lives and let God have control over our lives.
The world’s a better place because throughout history, there have been people who were able to let go and let God.
What if,
Noah said “I don’t do arks and animals.”
Moses said, “I don’t do Pharaohs or mass exoduses.”
David said, “I don’t do giants.”
Mary said, “I don’t do virgin births.”
Paul said “I don’t do letters.”
AND what if Jesus had said, “I don’t do crosses.”
This list reads like a Hall of Fame of the heroes of faith. Some of you might think: “There’s no way that I can attain that level.” But Jesus is not calling you to be the next Moses or David or Mary. Jesus only calls us to be the very best we can be. And the Good News is that Jesus never calls us to a place where He hasn’t been before. Jesus knows what it was like to let go of the status, prestige, and power that was rightly His. In Philippians, Paul tells the readers of his letter that: “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross”. Philippians 2:5-8 NLT
Jesus also knew what it was like to let God be in control of His life. At the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night when he was betrayed, Jesus prayed “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Mark 14:36). And when Jesus was hanging on the cross, bearing the sins of the world, Luke records Jesus calling out with a loud voice, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” (Luke 23:46). Jesus never calls us to a place where He hasn’t been before.
Okay, so far we’ve seen we need to let go and let God. Many of have seen bumper stickers or church signs with this on them. But that’s not all. For if we were to do just those two things, we might be tempted to sit back passively, letting go of everything and letting God do everything. There is one final thing. In response to Jesus’ invitation, Simon and Andrew, James and John, not only let go and let God, but at the end of this passage, Mark tells us that they basically said, “Let’s go!” and they followed Jesus on a journey of faith.
Can we as a class, as a church - let go, let God and say, “Let’s go!” on a journey of faith with God in the coming months?
A lot of churches today have a “rowing ministry.” This is where the congregation places its ministry “boat” in the water and plots its own course. Taking a firm grip their oars, the congregation then rows in their preffered direction without ever looking to change courses – no matter the direction of the wind, the turbulence of the water, or who gets in or out of the boat. This congregation is living by its own agenda, not God’s. God calls churches and individuals to put down their oars, to let go of them, and hoist up the sails and put them in the path of the wind, the wind of God’s Spirit. Then and only then will the church find God, discover her calling and be able to move toward God’s vision and preferred future.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we let go of our oars and let the wind of God’s Spirit take us where God wants us to go?
What a strange thing for a rabbi to do. For you see, rabbis did not go around making house calls and visiting places of business to invite potential “students” to come follow them. No, it was the eager ones who would approach a rabbi asking for the privilege of studying with him, and the rabbi would say either yes or no. It’s like back when I was in high school, trying to decide where to go to college. The universities and the professors didn’t come to me. No, I had to fill out forms, send my ACT scores and high school transcripts, hoping the college I chose would take me. But sought out Simon and Andrew, and James and John. There is no indication whatsoever that these fishermen had anything special about them that would have caught Jesus’ attention. Those four were just minding their own business when Jesus took the initiative to seek them out and to issue this invitation: “Come, follow me.”
What a strange thing for a rabbi to do. But at first glance, even more strange, even more amazing, was the fact that when Simon and Andrew heard Jesus’ invitation, verse eighteen says, “at once they left their nets and followed him.” There seemed to be no hesitation on their part. They simply let go of their nets, which were their means of livelihood – their “tools” to make a living, and followed Jesus. What Simon and Andrew did immediatel is very intriguing. No one in his right mind would just let go of everything to follow an itinerant teacher, just because he said, “Come, follow me.” Right?
Now we know that Jesus was no ordinary teacher. But, even so, it is hard to imagine how Simon and Andrew could immediately let go of their nets, their only means of of making money, in order to follow Jesus. But that’s not all. In the next verses, Jesus issued the same invitation to James and John, and they not only let go of their nets, but they also left their father Zebedee, left their boat and their hired men to follow Jesus. James and John let go of family ties, let go of possessions and let go of a life of being served in order to answer Jesus’ call. It’s hard for us to imagine letting go of so many things in order to follow Jesus. We are a people who have been told again and again to “grab all we can” and “you can have it all.” We often don’t know what it’s like to let go and give up some things in order to pursue the best path God has for our lives. Maybe that’s why we overextend ourselves in our work, we overextend our credit limits to accumulate more than we need, and we overextend our schedules and our commitments. Sometimes, it is possible to allow our lifestyles, our possessions, and yes, even our families to become our idols. As Christians, our work, our accumulations, our schedules and our families are not bad things in and of themselves, but when we cannot let them go and when they begin to occupy a higher place than following Jesus, then we may be missing out on a life of discipleship that Christ calls us to live.
I don’t know about you, but in my life, I find that when I’m afraid to let go, many times it is because I fear what will happen when I’m no longer in control of my life. Those who know me know that I like to be in control. I like to be in charge. But when Jesus calls to invite us to follow him, He’s basically asking us to hand over the control of our life to Him. The question is, “Am we willing to let go of control and let God be the Lord of our life?” Really this means to let Him be in charge of our lives.
To respond to this invitation to “follow me” meant they had to let go of their current lifestyle and pattern a new lifestyle after that of Jesus. This is still true today. Jesus’ invitation is secondly a call to a continuous journey with Him rather than a single act toward Him: “Follow me.”
Being a follower of Jesus does not mean just saying the “sinner’s prayer” once, just “walking down the aisle” and getting baptized once, and then never reading the Bible, never praying and hardly ever darkening the doors of the church again. In this passage, Mark describes Jesus’ first approach to evangelism, and it is very interesting that in His invitation, Jesus did not say, “Come, and invite me into your hearts so that you might be saved.” Jesus also did not say, “Come, and I will give you eternal life.” No, Jesus’ invitation was, “Come, follow me, I will turn you into people who win friends and influence people!” Jesus’ invitation to his first disciples was a call not to their own individual salvation, but a promise to empower them to serve and bless others! It was an invitation to live a life of significance that would make a positive impact on the world!
Jesus offers us individual salvation and eternal life - but not just for our own sake.
Who among us does not want to live a life of significance? Who among us does not want to live a life of influence that points others to God? Who among us does not want to live a life that will make a lasting, positive impact that carries on long after we’re gone? The truth of the matter is, God has bigger plans for us than we could ever dream about. But in order for God’s plans to come into fruition, we must be willing to let go of the nets in our lives and let God have control over our lives.
The world’s a better place because throughout history, there have been people who were able to let go and let God.
What if,
Noah said “I don’t do arks and animals.”
Moses said, “I don’t do Pharaohs or mass exoduses.”
David said, “I don’t do giants.”
Mary said, “I don’t do virgin births.”
Paul said “I don’t do letters.”
AND what if Jesus had said, “I don’t do crosses.”
This list reads like a Hall of Fame of the heroes of faith. Some of you might think: “There’s no way that I can attain that level.” But Jesus is not calling you to be the next Moses or David or Mary. Jesus only calls us to be the very best we can be. And the Good News is that Jesus never calls us to a place where He hasn’t been before. Jesus knows what it was like to let go of the status, prestige, and power that was rightly His. In Philippians, Paul tells the readers of his letter that: “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross”. Philippians 2:5-8 NLT
Jesus also knew what it was like to let God be in control of His life. At the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night when he was betrayed, Jesus prayed “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Mark 14:36). And when Jesus was hanging on the cross, bearing the sins of the world, Luke records Jesus calling out with a loud voice, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” (Luke 23:46). Jesus never calls us to a place where He hasn’t been before.
Okay, so far we’ve seen we need to let go and let God. Many of have seen bumper stickers or church signs with this on them. But that’s not all. For if we were to do just those two things, we might be tempted to sit back passively, letting go of everything and letting God do everything. There is one final thing. In response to Jesus’ invitation, Simon and Andrew, James and John, not only let go and let God, but at the end of this passage, Mark tells us that they basically said, “Let’s go!” and they followed Jesus on a journey of faith.
Can we as a class, as a church - let go, let God and say, “Let’s go!” on a journey of faith with God in the coming months?
A lot of churches today have a “rowing ministry.” This is where the congregation places its ministry “boat” in the water and plots its own course. Taking a firm grip their oars, the congregation then rows in their preffered direction without ever looking to change courses – no matter the direction of the wind, the turbulence of the water, or who gets in or out of the boat. This congregation is living by its own agenda, not God’s. God calls churches and individuals to put down their oars, to let go of them, and hoist up the sails and put them in the path of the wind, the wind of God’s Spirit. Then and only then will the church find God, discover her calling and be able to move toward God’s vision and preferred future.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we let go of our oars and let the wind of God’s Spirit take us where God wants us to go?
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