Recently I was sledding with my niece, nephew, my wife and another family from our church. We were sledding down a short but steep hill. At one point in the hill, you couldn’t help but scream or hold your breath because you were no longer able to maintain control. You had no other choice than to ride it out. Sometimes you crashed and other times you slid gracefully till you came to a stop. My last time down the hill I decided to ride down with my wife, I was in back and my feet hung out the front of the plastic sled. Ideally, I was supposed to keep my legs up but the steepness of the hill caused first my left foot to catch into the snow and pulled the hamstring in my left leg. My right foot caught and twisted my knee, which I heard snap. Needless to say, that hurt!
I couldn’t walk anymore in my own strength. My right knee could no longer support me and whenever it gave out I was in extreme pain. The hamstring muscle in my left leg made moving it almost impossible. I needed help. I could no longer rely upon my own will and determination to make it back up the hill and eventually to our car.
Now it wasn’t that I didn’t have to exert some effort, in fact it took quite a bit of effort on my part but I now had to rely on the support of those around me. Thank God they came to my aid, with their help and support I was able to lean upon them and make it up the hill and to our car. At home I had a knee brace and crutches waiting. We don’t have insurance so I could not go to a doctor.
My wife’s grandmother recently had a heart attack that caused her to go into a hospital and she is now in a rehabilitation facility. When asked how long she expected to be in the facility, she said, “about a week.” She is a strong-willed woman who doesn’t like to rely on others to take care of her. She is 89 and her husband has a similar character trait.
This past week, I listened to the family’s banter about her unwillingness to look to others for help, but I understand. It is difficult to believe that others are really willing to help. Many of our cries for help seem to fall on deaf ears. It seems like people only help because they have to help and so it is easier to just continue to carry the burden alone. It seems that we always respect those that “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps,” maybe that is because it doesn’t cost us any time, energy or expense when someone does.
Which is right? To only tell your burdens to God and pray that He alone will move heaven and earth to provide help, or is it better to let your needs be made known and appear weak? People say that fending for yourself is a pride thing, but then we immortalize great men of silent faith like George Mueller who never told anyone a need but only prayed to God to meet the need. Hudson Taylor, a contemporary to Mueller, believed that his needs and needs of China should be made known. Who was right? Even then it was a controversy.
Personally, I dislike asking for help. Personally, I am a bit wounded by the concept that the modern day church really cares. I have seen very little caring for the needs of others in the modern church. I have grown to believe that people, even in the church, only want to be blessed – not to be a blessing. While I could teach a Bible study as to why this is wrong, I have to admit that I have often let the focus on my own needs distract me from being a blessing to others. This is wrong and it is my determined goal for the upcoming year to change this about myself. I sincerely believe that God didn’t call us merely to be blessed but to be a blessing.
I have come to believe that I will always be in need, so maybe my life can be an example for others. God help us as the church to be who He has called us to be. "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Gal 6:10). Are you needing help? Let me know and I will do all I can till your need is met.
Phil 2:4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Who Speaks For God?
Did you ever wonder how some people speak like God tells them what to do in almost every situation; while you struggle to understand His voice and His will? As a pastor, I have heard far too many times, “God is telling me that I need to _____” (fill in the blank with some ridiculous statement that you KNOW is just what THEY want and not really what God wants).
I call this “pulling the God-card.” When people pull the “God-card” it is meant to trump anything that anyone (especially the pastor) might say to them to give advice in opposition. After all, who can speak against God? I have heard of individuals who so believed that everything they did was a result of a direct pipeline from heaven that they could no longer be spoken to about their attitude, the needs of the congregation, the wisdom and leading of the Sr. Pastor, or if what they did was actually in truth of God.
What is the real problem behind letting every whim of your heart have God’s divine stamp of approval? Is it not essentially the same when prophets speak out in the church? Don’t they merely follow the promptings of their heart and add, “Thus says the Lord?” Indeed the greatest problem from those who say that God tells them to _____; comes from those who speak for God in the church. Out of order, they use their “gift” to trump what the pastor says, what the person who has irked them has done, or to get others to do their bidding-whatever it may be.
What is at the heart of the problem? I would say it is that these people have grown too familiar with God. We teach and sing so much, “I am a friend of God,” and that we have bold access to the throne of grace, that we are no longer afraid to touch the ark of God to give Him a “helping hand.”
This is polar opposite of Isaiah’s reaction when he entered God’s presence. “Yo, yo. G-man waaaaasssup?” didn’t dare be uttered in the presence of the Holy King (who by the way was Jesus according to John 12:41). No, the more common reaction of those who were God’s prophets was that of fear (e.g., Moses, Daniel, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, John, etc.).
There should be a fear of attaching God’s name falsely to our own plans. In the Old Testament, false prophets were to be killed and God spoke very harshly when His people allowed them to speak without rebuke. Here are some examples: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way (Jer 5:31). Then the Lord said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds (Jer 14:14). This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord (Jer 23:16).
Jesus, our friend, tells us that men will be judged for every careless word spoken (Mt 12:36), and that there will be some who prophesied in His name, to whom He will say, “Depart from me, I never knew you (Mt 7:22-23).” My advice as a pastor and one who has heard God speak; don’t be so quick to say, “God told me…,” without fear of what our Holy God would actually say to you in response.
I call this “pulling the God-card.” When people pull the “God-card” it is meant to trump anything that anyone (especially the pastor) might say to them to give advice in opposition. After all, who can speak against God? I have heard of individuals who so believed that everything they did was a result of a direct pipeline from heaven that they could no longer be spoken to about their attitude, the needs of the congregation, the wisdom and leading of the Sr. Pastor, or if what they did was actually in truth of God.
What is the real problem behind letting every whim of your heart have God’s divine stamp of approval? Is it not essentially the same when prophets speak out in the church? Don’t they merely follow the promptings of their heart and add, “Thus says the Lord?” Indeed the greatest problem from those who say that God tells them to _____; comes from those who speak for God in the church. Out of order, they use their “gift” to trump what the pastor says, what the person who has irked them has done, or to get others to do their bidding-whatever it may be.
What is at the heart of the problem? I would say it is that these people have grown too familiar with God. We teach and sing so much, “I am a friend of God,” and that we have bold access to the throne of grace, that we are no longer afraid to touch the ark of God to give Him a “helping hand.”
This is polar opposite of Isaiah’s reaction when he entered God’s presence. “Yo, yo. G-man waaaaasssup?” didn’t dare be uttered in the presence of the Holy King (who by the way was Jesus according to John 12:41). No, the more common reaction of those who were God’s prophets was that of fear (e.g., Moses, Daniel, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, John, etc.).
There should be a fear of attaching God’s name falsely to our own plans. In the Old Testament, false prophets were to be killed and God spoke very harshly when His people allowed them to speak without rebuke. Here are some examples: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way (Jer 5:31). Then the Lord said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds (Jer 14:14). This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord (Jer 23:16).
Jesus, our friend, tells us that men will be judged for every careless word spoken (Mt 12:36), and that there will be some who prophesied in His name, to whom He will say, “Depart from me, I never knew you (Mt 7:22-23).” My advice as a pastor and one who has heard God speak; don’t be so quick to say, “God told me…,” without fear of what our Holy God would actually say to you in response.
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Greatest Gift
As we near the Christmas season, our attention begins to focus on gift giving. When we search for gifts we are most generally trying to find a gift that will be appreciated and one that touches the heart of the recipient. We make lists, but we are not trying to just check them off a list.
So I believe it is with God. God didn’t just try to win our affections by a wonderful gift; He gave us the greatest gift He could give us. This gift will be truly appreciated by those who receive it. Notwithstanding listing His Son as the greatest gift – I want to reveal the more personal aspect of this gift.
If you ask people why Jesus came, I think they will respond in the manner that others have spoken to me as to the reason. They generally say, “Jesus came to forgive us by being the sacrifice for our sins.” The promise of the forgiveness of our sins is truly an awesome gift I too admit and I don’t want to negate how truly important it is that God “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us,” (Ps 103:12). The letter to the Hebrews mentions how important it is to have our conscience cleansed from the guilt of our sin (Heb 10:22).
But consider this: If we went to the closest prison and we told them, “You are all forgiven. You may now all go free.” What do you think will be the eventual outcome of the majority of those prisoners? In other words, will the majority go on to live good and godly lives or will they become repeat offenders and eventually find themselves back in prison? Statistically the latter is true. Why? The reason is because they had no real change of heart and thinking. That is why an understanding of the fullness of God’s gift to us (His grace) is really necessary.
Jesus had a real problem with the religious leaders of His day because, in His words, they were “white-washed graves full of dead men’s bones.” Continuing He declared, “On the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness,” (Matt 23:28). Can you see that forgiveness of sins doesn’t answer the real problem – their hearts were full of sin?
The Bible teaches, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:17). The greatest gift promised to us is that God says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezek 36:26-27). It is the very promise of the New Covenant (Heb 8:8-10):
“The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant …It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant…This is the covenant I will make…I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.”
When we live by the Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Gal 5:16). That is God’s promise to us. He works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose (Phil 2:13). When we yield ourselves to His Spirit by our continual faith (“daily reckoning upon” – as stated in the 16 fundamentals) we are set free from the dominion of sin and actually preempt the need for forgiveness and deliverance from the consequences of sin.
Which is greater? To say “Your sins are forgiven.” Or to say, “Rise up and walk” free from sins desires in your heart? We are told that we can now walk in “newness of life” sin has no more dominion over us. How do we receive this newness? The Bible says, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith," (Rom 1:17). And again, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,” (Col 2:6).
p.s. At Hope Springs Church we will begin a series on how to overcome sin and temptation following our current series on resolving conflicts biblically. If you would like more information, you may contact me at (262) 716-1376.
So I believe it is with God. God didn’t just try to win our affections by a wonderful gift; He gave us the greatest gift He could give us. This gift will be truly appreciated by those who receive it. Notwithstanding listing His Son as the greatest gift – I want to reveal the more personal aspect of this gift.
If you ask people why Jesus came, I think they will respond in the manner that others have spoken to me as to the reason. They generally say, “Jesus came to forgive us by being the sacrifice for our sins.” The promise of the forgiveness of our sins is truly an awesome gift I too admit and I don’t want to negate how truly important it is that God “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us,” (Ps 103:12). The letter to the Hebrews mentions how important it is to have our conscience cleansed from the guilt of our sin (Heb 10:22).
But consider this: If we went to the closest prison and we told them, “You are all forgiven. You may now all go free.” What do you think will be the eventual outcome of the majority of those prisoners? In other words, will the majority go on to live good and godly lives or will they become repeat offenders and eventually find themselves back in prison? Statistically the latter is true. Why? The reason is because they had no real change of heart and thinking. That is why an understanding of the fullness of God’s gift to us (His grace) is really necessary.
Jesus had a real problem with the religious leaders of His day because, in His words, they were “white-washed graves full of dead men’s bones.” Continuing He declared, “On the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness,” (Matt 23:28). Can you see that forgiveness of sins doesn’t answer the real problem – their hearts were full of sin?
The Bible teaches, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:17). The greatest gift promised to us is that God says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezek 36:26-27). It is the very promise of the New Covenant (Heb 8:8-10):
“The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant …It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant…This is the covenant I will make…I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.”
When we live by the Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Gal 5:16). That is God’s promise to us. He works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose (Phil 2:13). When we yield ourselves to His Spirit by our continual faith (“daily reckoning upon” – as stated in the 16 fundamentals) we are set free from the dominion of sin and actually preempt the need for forgiveness and deliverance from the consequences of sin.
Which is greater? To say “Your sins are forgiven.” Or to say, “Rise up and walk” free from sins desires in your heart? We are told that we can now walk in “newness of life” sin has no more dominion over us. How do we receive this newness? The Bible says, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith," (Rom 1:17). And again, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,” (Col 2:6).
p.s. At Hope Springs Church we will begin a series on how to overcome sin and temptation following our current series on resolving conflicts biblically. If you would like more information, you may contact me at (262) 716-1376.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Missing Heaven’s Nudge
Currently I am reading the latest book by Bruce Wilkinson titled, “You Were Born For This.” It has inspired many thoughts and examples in my own life in regard to partnering with God for miracles. I would like to share some of those thoughts, but first I want to outline the premise of Bruce’s book, (which I recommend highly).
The first premise follows the popular concept mentioned in Henry Blackaby’s book, “Experiencing God,” namely that God is always at work according to Jesus in John chapter 5. Bruce describes heaven’s agenda as constantly looking to work on the behalf of those whose heart is faithful toward Him (2 Chron 16:9). The belief is that God sees, God cares, and that God wants to answer in miraculous ways in the lives of those whom He loves. How many of have needs? How many of us question if God really cares? How many of us are trying to convince God to act on our behalf?
The second concept is that there are 3 ways in which God performs the miraculous: 1. God acts solely to perform the miracle (e.g., the creation). 2. God sends an angel or angels to provide the miracle (e.g., God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer). 3. God uses humans (us) to deliver the miracle to others (e.g., we lay hands on the sick and they recover – we are His body so I believe God's first desire is to "co-labor" with us. See 1 Cor 3:9 and 2 Cor 6:1).
There is another concept he teaches that I want to mention. That is that our good deeds or acts of service are necessary but NOT miraculous. Acts of service are more appropriately called ministry (to serve is at the heart of the meaning for the word “ministry). Our ministry added to God’s supernatural power results in miracles.
Understanding these things, recently I went through the passage in Numbers where God tells Moses to send heads from each of the tribes of Israel into the Promised Land to spy, or scout out the land. What Moses tells them to look for reminded me of our modern demographic reports when we look at an area we hope to possess for the Lord by planting a church. “Look the land over, see what it is like. Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh? Describe the towns where they live: Are they open camps or fortified with walls? And the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there forests? And try to bring back a sample of the produce that grows there — this is the season for the first ripe grapes."(Num 13:18-20 Message).
My paraphrased result of this assessment to the majority was, “We cannot do it. If we try we will fail miserably. It will result in much loss to our assembly (denomination), our families, and our witness.” Notice how the whole congregation missed God using them to perform the miraculous because they only looked naturally. This affirms in my mind the scripture that says, the world by human wisdom cannot know God (1 Cor 1:21). I think it would be fair to also say our wisdom prevents us from experiencing God at times. How many miracles do we miss because in our own logic we are afraid to step out and respond to God’s heart revealed in scripture, or heaven’s nudge upon our hearts?
The Bible teaches there is an exceeding great power that is available to work in us who believe it (Eph 1:19). What happens when we do not believe that God wants us to act? What happens to the prayers of those who have stepped out in faith when God wants to use someone and their ministry gifts to be used to answer that prayer but they doubt?
I think the interaction is similar to that found in the story of Ananias found in Acts chapter 9. God says, “Ananias I want you to go and pray for a man that is praying named Saul so that he can receive his sight.” Ananias responds, “I have heard about this man – he is a bad man who hurts your people and he has come here to do the same.” God again tells him, “Go!”
What if Ananias refused to go? What if God prompted others and they refused to go? What happens to Saul? What happens to his eternal soul? What happens to everyone he was meant to reach by his preaching? You may say, “I would never refuse God. I wouldn’t have even argued with God.” But…let me ask you … is that really so?
How many believe in reaching the world with the gospel? What have you done to accomplish that?
How many believe in church planting? Yet how many of you pastors actually initiate a church plant or support church plants within our fellowship?
How many people believe they have been gifted by God to serve? Yet, how have you used those gifts and resources that God has given you? (I have met many prophets, teachers, and leaders who are merely judges of what another person is doing for God).
How did Phillip feel the nudge of heaven to leave an existing work to minister to a culturally different man leaving his city in a chariot? What if he missed heaven’s nudge?
One morning as I was praying, I felt a nudge, “Go to George Webb’s (restaurant).” I don’t like George Webb’s for a number of reasons: the food, the cigarette smoke, the atmosphere, etc. So when I felt this nudge I pondered if it might be God. So I went to grab my things and continue my devotions at the restaurant. I felt another nudge, “Grab some tracts also, you are going to need them.”
I sat at a table and ordered a cup of coffee and began to read my Bible placed on the table in front of me. I kept my head in the book so to speak, in spite of seeing a man smoking a cigarette at the counter looking at me. He approached my table and declared, “That’s a Bible!” In a somewhat sarcastic tone I responded, “Good job. You’re right!” But then I felt heaven’s nudge again so I changed my tone and asked the man, “Have you any experience reading the Bible?” That opened up a long conversation which resulted in me leading the man in prayer to the Lord for forgiveness and salvation. This man agreed to be discipled and is still in the church today.
Recently I felt the nudge to plant a church in the Oconomowoc area so my wife and I began to reach out into the area. One minister offered to create signs for the church, as a result the signs sat unused during the week at our home just southwest of Oconomowoc. One day I felt the nudge to just stand them out in the yard for the traffic to see. As a result, a man stopped at the house and inquired about the church. He told us how his past experience with churches had made him bitter. But as he drove by going to work day by day, he felt prompted to stop and ask about the church. He was obviously hurting from the lack of concern showed to him by a previous church. We took the time to answer his questions in spite of him seeming antagonistic. We invited him to a study/worship time in our home and a meal afterward and now he is helping to get the word out about our church plant. He believes we are a miracle for his family.
There are many other stories that I have experienced since that time; many involve the church plant where I pastor now. But my question is not just, “what if I had missed heaven’s nudge?” rather, “how many other nudges have I missed?”
The first premise follows the popular concept mentioned in Henry Blackaby’s book, “Experiencing God,” namely that God is always at work according to Jesus in John chapter 5. Bruce describes heaven’s agenda as constantly looking to work on the behalf of those whose heart is faithful toward Him (2 Chron 16:9). The belief is that God sees, God cares, and that God wants to answer in miraculous ways in the lives of those whom He loves. How many of have needs? How many of us question if God really cares? How many of us are trying to convince God to act on our behalf?
The second concept is that there are 3 ways in which God performs the miraculous: 1. God acts solely to perform the miracle (e.g., the creation). 2. God sends an angel or angels to provide the miracle (e.g., God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer). 3. God uses humans (us) to deliver the miracle to others (e.g., we lay hands on the sick and they recover – we are His body so I believe God's first desire is to "co-labor" with us. See 1 Cor 3:9 and 2 Cor 6:1).
There is another concept he teaches that I want to mention. That is that our good deeds or acts of service are necessary but NOT miraculous. Acts of service are more appropriately called ministry (to serve is at the heart of the meaning for the word “ministry). Our ministry added to God’s supernatural power results in miracles.
Understanding these things, recently I went through the passage in Numbers where God tells Moses to send heads from each of the tribes of Israel into the Promised Land to spy, or scout out the land. What Moses tells them to look for reminded me of our modern demographic reports when we look at an area we hope to possess for the Lord by planting a church. “Look the land over, see what it is like. Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh? Describe the towns where they live: Are they open camps or fortified with walls? And the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there forests? And try to bring back a sample of the produce that grows there — this is the season for the first ripe grapes."(Num 13:18-20 Message).
My paraphrased result of this assessment to the majority was, “We cannot do it. If we try we will fail miserably. It will result in much loss to our assembly (denomination), our families, and our witness.” Notice how the whole congregation missed God using them to perform the miraculous because they only looked naturally. This affirms in my mind the scripture that says, the world by human wisdom cannot know God (1 Cor 1:21). I think it would be fair to also say our wisdom prevents us from experiencing God at times. How many miracles do we miss because in our own logic we are afraid to step out and respond to God’s heart revealed in scripture, or heaven’s nudge upon our hearts?
The Bible teaches there is an exceeding great power that is available to work in us who believe it (Eph 1:19). What happens when we do not believe that God wants us to act? What happens to the prayers of those who have stepped out in faith when God wants to use someone and their ministry gifts to be used to answer that prayer but they doubt?
I think the interaction is similar to that found in the story of Ananias found in Acts chapter 9. God says, “Ananias I want you to go and pray for a man that is praying named Saul so that he can receive his sight.” Ananias responds, “I have heard about this man – he is a bad man who hurts your people and he has come here to do the same.” God again tells him, “Go!”
What if Ananias refused to go? What if God prompted others and they refused to go? What happens to Saul? What happens to his eternal soul? What happens to everyone he was meant to reach by his preaching? You may say, “I would never refuse God. I wouldn’t have even argued with God.” But…let me ask you … is that really so?
How many believe in reaching the world with the gospel? What have you done to accomplish that?
How many believe in church planting? Yet how many of you pastors actually initiate a church plant or support church plants within our fellowship?
How many people believe they have been gifted by God to serve? Yet, how have you used those gifts and resources that God has given you? (I have met many prophets, teachers, and leaders who are merely judges of what another person is doing for God).
How did Phillip feel the nudge of heaven to leave an existing work to minister to a culturally different man leaving his city in a chariot? What if he missed heaven’s nudge?
One morning as I was praying, I felt a nudge, “Go to George Webb’s (restaurant).” I don’t like George Webb’s for a number of reasons: the food, the cigarette smoke, the atmosphere, etc. So when I felt this nudge I pondered if it might be God. So I went to grab my things and continue my devotions at the restaurant. I felt another nudge, “Grab some tracts also, you are going to need them.”
I sat at a table and ordered a cup of coffee and began to read my Bible placed on the table in front of me. I kept my head in the book so to speak, in spite of seeing a man smoking a cigarette at the counter looking at me. He approached my table and declared, “That’s a Bible!” In a somewhat sarcastic tone I responded, “Good job. You’re right!” But then I felt heaven’s nudge again so I changed my tone and asked the man, “Have you any experience reading the Bible?” That opened up a long conversation which resulted in me leading the man in prayer to the Lord for forgiveness and salvation. This man agreed to be discipled and is still in the church today.
Recently I felt the nudge to plant a church in the Oconomowoc area so my wife and I began to reach out into the area. One minister offered to create signs for the church, as a result the signs sat unused during the week at our home just southwest of Oconomowoc. One day I felt the nudge to just stand them out in the yard for the traffic to see. As a result, a man stopped at the house and inquired about the church. He told us how his past experience with churches had made him bitter. But as he drove by going to work day by day, he felt prompted to stop and ask about the church. He was obviously hurting from the lack of concern showed to him by a previous church. We took the time to answer his questions in spite of him seeming antagonistic. We invited him to a study/worship time in our home and a meal afterward and now he is helping to get the word out about our church plant. He believes we are a miracle for his family.
There are many other stories that I have experienced since that time; many involve the church plant where I pastor now. But my question is not just, “what if I had missed heaven’s nudge?” rather, “how many other nudges have I missed?”
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Origin of Faith and Love
At Hope Springs Christian Church, in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, our message is one of Hope. It doesn’t matter where you came from or where you are at, if you don’t have hope for the future you will lose your confidence in the now. Hope affects your confidence because what you hope for affects what you believe now. The Bible says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see,” (Heb 11:1). You can see how our present confidence is affected by what we hope for.
The word “confidence” comes from two root words -“con” - meaning ‘with’ and “fide” - meaning ‘faith.’ The instability of our current world can cause us to loose confidence in our government, the financial system, our health care system, and large corporations if we have place our faith with them. We can easily loose hope that things will change. That is why faith in the God of Hope is so important. He never changes, His word is an immovable rock, and His promises are a sworn truth so that we can lay hold of the hope that is set before us as and anchor for our souls (Heb. 6:18-19). We only have faith or live life with confidence if we have hope. The Bible says that ‘faith and love’ spring from the hope that is given to us in the word of God (Rom 10:17 and Col 1:5).
Because what we believe affects the way in which we act, we see love comes from faith in God’s word. In fact, our faith is dead if it is not expressing itself by love (Gal 5:6). The Bible goes on to teach that our works of faith are prompted by our love (1 Thes 1:3).
This is the message of hope: “Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast,” (Eph 2:4-5; 8-9).
The future is bright because God has already caused us to triumph in Christ Jesus, if we will receive it. I challenge you to begin looking at how the Bible teaches what Christ has already done. It is said, "All other religions can be summed up in a single word - 'do.' While Christianity can alone be summed up in the single word - 'done.'"
The word “confidence” comes from two root words -“con” - meaning ‘with’ and “fide” - meaning ‘faith.’ The instability of our current world can cause us to loose confidence in our government, the financial system, our health care system, and large corporations if we have place our faith with them. We can easily loose hope that things will change. That is why faith in the God of Hope is so important. He never changes, His word is an immovable rock, and His promises are a sworn truth so that we can lay hold of the hope that is set before us as and anchor for our souls (Heb. 6:18-19). We only have faith or live life with confidence if we have hope. The Bible says that ‘faith and love’ spring from the hope that is given to us in the word of God (Rom 10:17 and Col 1:5).
Because what we believe affects the way in which we act, we see love comes from faith in God’s word. In fact, our faith is dead if it is not expressing itself by love (Gal 5:6). The Bible goes on to teach that our works of faith are prompted by our love (1 Thes 1:3).
This is the message of hope: “Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast,” (Eph 2:4-5; 8-9).
The future is bright because God has already caused us to triumph in Christ Jesus, if we will receive it. I challenge you to begin looking at how the Bible teaches what Christ has already done. It is said, "All other religions can be summed up in a single word - 'do.' While Christianity can alone be summed up in the single word - 'done.'"
Thursday, September 17, 2009
My Darling
A large seminar was held for ministers in training. Among the guests were many well-known motivational speakers. One such boldly approached the pulpit and, gathering the entire crowd's attention, said, "The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn't my wife!" The crowd was shocked! He followed up by saying, "And that woman was my mother!" The crowd burst into laughter and he gave his speech, which went over well. About a week later one of the ministers who had attended the seminar decided to use that joke in his sermon. As he shyly approached the pulpit one sunny Sunday, he tried to rehearse the joke in his head. It seemed a bit foggy to him this morning. Getting to the microphone he said loudly, "The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of another woman that was not my wife!" His congregation sat shocked. After standing there for almost 10 seconds trying to recall the second half of the joke, the pastor finally blurted out,"...and I can't remember who she was!"
A couple of nice songs in the past sang about how their love was still the one they turned to, still the one they loved, and the one they longed to be with. Love is not really romantic if it can be replaced by a fling with someone else. In fact, that infidelity betrays the very concept of love and devotion. It was in my parent’s era that husbands and wives would call each other, “darling.” Darling is an interesting word that is actually used in the Bible to refer to God. The meaning of the word darling is “only one.” You can see why the translators used the word to refer to God. He is the “only one” in so many ways: He is the only one who truly loves us; the only one who saves, the only one that is due our devotion, the only one from whom came all things, etc. You can only have one “only one,” only one darling.
When I first came to faith in Christ, I searched churches for pastors and people that truly knew God and were really Christ-like in their character. To my disappointment, after I got to know them better, I realized that they all came up short in some area of their life. I would pray, “God if there is someone I should follow show them to me and I will follow them.” No matter how sincere I believed them to be there was always some weakness in them. It didn’t matter if it was big or small they all failed and they all were at times oblivious to what seemed to be a huge contradiction. They would act rudely, like invite me to lunch and talk on the phone the whole time. They would miss appointments. They would contradict themselves while preaching. I even heard one pastor preach on the importance of forgiving others who met a man after church that he told, “I will never forgive you, that sermon was not meant for you.”
So what does all of this have to do with finding someone to follow, or what your expectations of a pastor should be? I think the point is that only one should have our full devotion and expectation of never failing – that is Jesus. Every true man of God points away from himself to Christ. Like John the baptizer, a man after God’s own heart proclaims, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” A minister that focuses on his ability to preach and minister will not only fall and hurt himself, but he will fall on others and hurt them.
It is not the oratory skills of a minister that makes a great man of God, rather his or her ability to point others away from themselves to Christ. When the apostles prayed for individuals in the Bible who subsequently were miraculously healed, they didn’t go and begin booking speaking engagements in all the cities for healing revivals. They were quick to say things like, “Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. (Acts 3:12; 16). I am afraid that many preachers are only trying to make a name for themselves and not make much of the name of Jesus.
Paul said, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power,” (1 Cor 2:4-5). Yes, it is important to be “apt to teach,” as it mentions in another place in the Bible, but if that is all one is relying on to see lives changed for Christ they are really doing a disservice to the gospel. When we get people to follow us we are in error. We need people to follow Christ. If people are determined to follow Jesus, they will be more apt to accept the failures of a pastor who says, “I am not the one you need to be devoted to, be devoted to the ‘Darling of Heaven;’ The only Holy One, Jesus Christ.”
A couple of nice songs in the past sang about how their love was still the one they turned to, still the one they loved, and the one they longed to be with. Love is not really romantic if it can be replaced by a fling with someone else. In fact, that infidelity betrays the very concept of love and devotion. It was in my parent’s era that husbands and wives would call each other, “darling.” Darling is an interesting word that is actually used in the Bible to refer to God. The meaning of the word darling is “only one.” You can see why the translators used the word to refer to God. He is the “only one” in so many ways: He is the only one who truly loves us; the only one who saves, the only one that is due our devotion, the only one from whom came all things, etc. You can only have one “only one,” only one darling.
When I first came to faith in Christ, I searched churches for pastors and people that truly knew God and were really Christ-like in their character. To my disappointment, after I got to know them better, I realized that they all came up short in some area of their life. I would pray, “God if there is someone I should follow show them to me and I will follow them.” No matter how sincere I believed them to be there was always some weakness in them. It didn’t matter if it was big or small they all failed and they all were at times oblivious to what seemed to be a huge contradiction. They would act rudely, like invite me to lunch and talk on the phone the whole time. They would miss appointments. They would contradict themselves while preaching. I even heard one pastor preach on the importance of forgiving others who met a man after church that he told, “I will never forgive you, that sermon was not meant for you.”
So what does all of this have to do with finding someone to follow, or what your expectations of a pastor should be? I think the point is that only one should have our full devotion and expectation of never failing – that is Jesus. Every true man of God points away from himself to Christ. Like John the baptizer, a man after God’s own heart proclaims, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” A minister that focuses on his ability to preach and minister will not only fall and hurt himself, but he will fall on others and hurt them.
It is not the oratory skills of a minister that makes a great man of God, rather his or her ability to point others away from themselves to Christ. When the apostles prayed for individuals in the Bible who subsequently were miraculously healed, they didn’t go and begin booking speaking engagements in all the cities for healing revivals. They were quick to say things like, “Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. (Acts 3:12; 16). I am afraid that many preachers are only trying to make a name for themselves and not make much of the name of Jesus.
Paul said, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power,” (1 Cor 2:4-5). Yes, it is important to be “apt to teach,” as it mentions in another place in the Bible, but if that is all one is relying on to see lives changed for Christ they are really doing a disservice to the gospel. When we get people to follow us we are in error. We need people to follow Christ. If people are determined to follow Jesus, they will be more apt to accept the failures of a pastor who says, “I am not the one you need to be devoted to, be devoted to the ‘Darling of Heaven;’ The only Holy One, Jesus Christ.”
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
How Can We See God?
“How many people believe in prayer? How many actually pray? Huh, more than I thought. How many believe that God actually hears your prayers? …About the same number. And how many people believe that God answers your prayers? Okay you all got this great belief and obviously God isn’t too busy to answer you individually. Let’s get him up here. Alright, you ready? Everybody start praying. One, two, three – God come on down; let’s show it to us. (pause as nothing appears on the stage) Surprise, surprise… Why do you believe this? Why didn’t He come down here? That would be my first question to Cliffe (Pastor Cliffe Knechtle). Why didn’t He come up, right? He did it for St. Thomas…why doesn’t He do it for us now?” Michael Newdow, the well known atheist, mocked in what was touted as The Great Debate – Atheism versus Christianity in 2002.
The physical presence of God is described as being so awesome in its brilliance that the Bible calls it “unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Tim 6:16). And that God is described as so holy that (His) “eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Hab 1:13). There is most certainly a veil that separates us from God (see Heb. 10:20) at this time – our flesh.
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Cor 13:12). “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
…“Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer” (2 Cor 5:16). Because Jesus is in the heaven making intercession for us, we are now in the day of the Lord’s favor – the day of Grace, or the Day of Atonement when God’s people put their faith and trust in the actions of the High Priest, who alone is able to work. This is the day that the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. To see God will mean certain judgment of ALL sin as the Scripture has said, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Peter 3:9-10a).
So how can we see God? Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17). Since the Father is always working, if we learn to understand the character and desire of God, we should be able to recognize His work.
Which leads me to why I think that people don’t see or recognize God’s work; they misunderstand His agenda. This is why people rejected Jesus in the days of His flesh; they misunderstood and at times disagreed with Jesus’ agenda. Certain of the disciples only expected the agenda of Christ to be that of one who would restore the kingdom to Israel. Therefore they couldn’t see Him on the road to Emmaus. Some people only saw Christ only as the son of David so they rejected His claims to be the divine “Son of God” – eternally pre-existing before Abraham, Lord of the Sabbath, able to forgive sin, etc. Others saw Him as one who went about doing good and healing the sick and heard no demand for repentance or live change (Mt 11:21). Pilate proclaimed, “Behold the man,” as Jesus stood before the crowd in a crown of thorns and a purple robe. The crowd rejected what appeared to be a man too weak to be the King.
How many miss seeing God’s works for the very same reason – they don’t recognize His agenda. They see Jesus only as one who cares for our needs and do not see Him as the one who teaches us to care for the needs of others. They only see Jesus as a revolutionary, one who overthrew the then established religion and do not see Him as the peace giver who teaches us the blessing in being a peacemaker. They see Him only as loving full of grace and don’t want to see His wrath. Some people only see Jesus in a manner that is similar to them selves and do not see the man from Galilee who had no form or beauty that we should desire Him, who was despised and rejected of men.
How many see Jesus as the western emasculate image and refuse to see Him as one who was a Middle Eastern Jew, much less as the apostle John saw Him with eyes of fire and hair white as snow with a face brighter than the noon day’s sun? Our preconceptions often lead us into misconceptions that blind us from what God is doing.
Michael Newdow further asked, “What level of evidence do we need to believe in God?” Do we need to see God visibly to know He exists? What would one do with that knowledge? How would it affect our behavior? I would suggest that the greatest evidence for God is found in the Bible by way of learning what God is doing and what God is not doing. Proverbs 2:5 tells us that finding the knowledge of God is linked to our desire to cry out for understanding and the wisdom that comes from God alone. If we assume God do be doing something but we find it to be contrary to His word, we will miss God.
Some how our faith has to move beyond our faith to conviction as Josh McDowell teaches. That we must move from believing about God to believing God as Beth Moore teaches. Notice how Jesus teaches that someone will understand God and have Him reveal Himself to them:
“If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17).
Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:22-23).
Jesus taught that if we will first choose to do God’s will, we will be taught of God. Second, He taught that obedience to His teaching results in a revelation of God in their lives – He will love them and live within that person. Christ in us is the hope of glory. Glory is the manifest presence of God. Too many people miss God because they follow their ever changing feelings and circumstances instead of God's unchanging Word. We are not taught to follow our hearts as the world teaches (our heart's are deceitful and wicked - we don't even know them); we are taught to follow Jesus (who is called the Word of God) because He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
The physical presence of God is described as being so awesome in its brilliance that the Bible calls it “unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Tim 6:16). And that God is described as so holy that (His) “eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Hab 1:13). There is most certainly a veil that separates us from God (see Heb. 10:20) at this time – our flesh.
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Cor 13:12). “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
…“Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer” (2 Cor 5:16). Because Jesus is in the heaven making intercession for us, we are now in the day of the Lord’s favor – the day of Grace, or the Day of Atonement when God’s people put their faith and trust in the actions of the High Priest, who alone is able to work. This is the day that the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. To see God will mean certain judgment of ALL sin as the Scripture has said, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Peter 3:9-10a).
So how can we see God? Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17). Since the Father is always working, if we learn to understand the character and desire of God, we should be able to recognize His work.
Which leads me to why I think that people don’t see or recognize God’s work; they misunderstand His agenda. This is why people rejected Jesus in the days of His flesh; they misunderstood and at times disagreed with Jesus’ agenda. Certain of the disciples only expected the agenda of Christ to be that of one who would restore the kingdom to Israel. Therefore they couldn’t see Him on the road to Emmaus. Some people only saw Christ only as the son of David so they rejected His claims to be the divine “Son of God” – eternally pre-existing before Abraham, Lord of the Sabbath, able to forgive sin, etc. Others saw Him as one who went about doing good and healing the sick and heard no demand for repentance or live change (Mt 11:21). Pilate proclaimed, “Behold the man,” as Jesus stood before the crowd in a crown of thorns and a purple robe. The crowd rejected what appeared to be a man too weak to be the King.
How many miss seeing God’s works for the very same reason – they don’t recognize His agenda. They see Jesus only as one who cares for our needs and do not see Him as the one who teaches us to care for the needs of others. They only see Jesus as a revolutionary, one who overthrew the then established religion and do not see Him as the peace giver who teaches us the blessing in being a peacemaker. They see Him only as loving full of grace and don’t want to see His wrath. Some people only see Jesus in a manner that is similar to them selves and do not see the man from Galilee who had no form or beauty that we should desire Him, who was despised and rejected of men.
How many see Jesus as the western emasculate image and refuse to see Him as one who was a Middle Eastern Jew, much less as the apostle John saw Him with eyes of fire and hair white as snow with a face brighter than the noon day’s sun? Our preconceptions often lead us into misconceptions that blind us from what God is doing.
Michael Newdow further asked, “What level of evidence do we need to believe in God?” Do we need to see God visibly to know He exists? What would one do with that knowledge? How would it affect our behavior? I would suggest that the greatest evidence for God is found in the Bible by way of learning what God is doing and what God is not doing. Proverbs 2:5 tells us that finding the knowledge of God is linked to our desire to cry out for understanding and the wisdom that comes from God alone. If we assume God do be doing something but we find it to be contrary to His word, we will miss God.
Some how our faith has to move beyond our faith to conviction as Josh McDowell teaches. That we must move from believing about God to believing God as Beth Moore teaches. Notice how Jesus teaches that someone will understand God and have Him reveal Himself to them:
“If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17).
Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:22-23).
Jesus taught that if we will first choose to do God’s will, we will be taught of God. Second, He taught that obedience to His teaching results in a revelation of God in their lives – He will love them and live within that person. Christ in us is the hope of glory. Glory is the manifest presence of God. Too many people miss God because they follow their ever changing feelings and circumstances instead of God's unchanging Word. We are not taught to follow our hearts as the world teaches (our heart's are deceitful and wicked - we don't even know them); we are taught to follow Jesus (who is called the Word of God) because He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
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