Two years ago I was asked to part of the community Good Friday service in Santa Maria. The service is held at noon and many of you couldn’t make it so we posted the transcript of what I was going to say online as a blog. This year, same deal. Many of you cannot make it so I am posting what I am going to say three days before the service. I was given John 19:28 to speak on…here it is (under five minutes):
Almost 80 years the global travel industry was about to be quickly transformed by the invention Zeppelins. Huge flying blimps that resembled gigantic eggs made of Duralumin, steel, hydrogen, and various other materials. The most famous of these Zeppelins was the Hindenburg. After making a flight from Germany to Rio De Janeiro and up to New York in 1937, the passenger Zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed, killing dozens of people. As the cameras rolled and the Hindenburg burned, the American Radio Reporter Herbert Morrison said this famous line, “Oh the humanity.”
The term, “oh the humanity” over the years was a cry over the anguish of human suffering.
The theological term we use today for understanding Jesus being both God and man in one person is the “hypostatic Union.” This causes many to look at Jesus’ life and see him a bit like Superman. How did Jesus never sin? How did He please the Father? How did He go to, and endure, the cross…well, we say, “He was God, of course could do it.” But the scriptures are clear that Jesus did not lean into His divinity to not sin or endure the cross. We are told He lived the life we should have lived because He lived how we were to live, in His humanity, through the power of God’s Spirit.
When we look at Jesus and the cross, the suffering of Jesus for us and our sin, we tend to miss or gloss over the fact that Jesus suffered in his humanity…how do we know this? Because on the cross Jesus says these two simple words in John 19:28 “I thirst.”
Let me tell you about the cross…The cross today is one the most recognized symbols in the world, but it is far cry from the piece of jewelry we make it out to be; it was symbol of brutal agonizing death. The early church never used crosses because it was too grizzly, and they believed too humiliating, a remembrance for Jesus
Crucifixion was always reserved as the worst punishment. Crucifixion was so horrendous we made a new word to describe it, “excruciating,” meaning “from the cross.” Persians invented it, Roman’s perfected it. It was done publically (down in front of Wal-mart or at the Santa Barbara bowl). Death could take days and people would come to mock, throw stones at, and spit upon those being crucified. To prolong the agony Romans put a seat under the buttocks of those being crucified so they would take longer to die. Some men, wanting the agony to end, would slide off the seat. Eventually, the soldiers started nailing a mans penis to the cross so he couldn’t slide off the seat to make his death any faster and the torture would last longer.
Crucifixion was done at EYE LEVEL (not all high like the pictures) eye level so you could watch a man die. Even though all of this is true Christians (including me) call this GOOD NEWS. How is this good news? The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died(by itself not good news…but the theological understanding of that event is. Paul uses the word “for” to move you from the fact to its implication for us….) for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. That’s why it is good news, the cross is the only hope we have ever had. This is what is called propitiation and atonement, which is what Jesus made for us on the cross on Friday.
A lot of pastors today have brought the doctrine of substitutionary atonement under attack; people want to shy away from the cross because it is offensive. The truth is, YES IT IS offensive! People trip over it because they think they are good enough. You and I need to grasp the severity of the doctrine of Atonement and what it meant for God to declare us clean in His eyes.
Heb. 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.So Jesus Dies in our place as our perfect Lamb. Friday is the language of love, restoration, and reconciliation. Why would God do this? I love how John Calvin says this: “The Father wanted His kids back.” Atonement is what weaves scripture together.
Jesus dies to defeat our enemies of Satan, sin, and death, not His enemies because no one can stand against God…but Jesus came in the flesh, real flesh, to save and redeem us. Too many of us have the view when we look at Jesus on the cross of “Oh the divinity, look at the suffering of God,” but it was truly the most incomprehensible, tragic, horrific, blood curdling “oh the humanity” moment of all human history. All sin, in one moment, laid upon Jesus. He bore the brunt of it all. Not just other’s sins, YOUR sins and MY sins.
Sometimes I have a fear of calling Good Friday “good,” it was only good for us. All God got out of the deal is self-serving, self-focused, self-centered people. We must remember, this is Friday not Sunday, this is a day to lay ourselves bare before the cross of Christ and remember that He died for us in His humanity, to save humanity.
We recently finished looking at the 7 churches listed in the book of Revelation as a way to examine our lives, and church, in light of what Jesus said to those early churches. Jesus had strong words of comfort (as He first reminded them who He is), then He offered them words of rebuke (reminded them of mission), and ended with words of encouragement to either return to, or continue in, His mission. I think, if we took all the words to heart, we could walk away with a deeper understanding our life purpose in the Kingdom of God.
The last week we finished with the church of Laodicea. The church in Laodicea was rebuked very harshly with these words from Revelation 3:15-16 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. To the north of Laodicea is Hierapolis, a city that was built upon a thermal hot spring. It was famous for its medicinal qualities because of all the minerals in the water. The water that flowed from this city’s springs are boiling hot! To the south of Laodicea is the city of Colossae (which the book of Colossians was written too), and next to this city is a stream that flows from a mountain spring; the waters are exceptionally cold and refreshing. Laodicea sits in between these two cities, one hot, one cold, but both with good water.
Laodicea’s water source was terrible, it wasn't hot or cold, it was lukewarm, reddish in color, and induced vomiting. Like the city’s water, the church was lukewarm and Jesus was on the verge of spitting them out of His mouth. A lot of people have taken this verse out of context and said incorrectly, "be hot for Jesus or be cold to Jesus, just don't be in the middle." The verse doesn't say Jesus either wants you for Him or against Him, it says He wants you to be on mission in the world for His name. Be Hot and have a passion for Him AND be cold like a refreshing glass of water on a hot day, BE GOOD THINGS…just don't be Lukewarm.
A few of our Gospel Communities have had discussions centering on this idea of being “cold for Jesus,” but are wondering how to do it. I think the best way to think about it is to be, as Matthew 5:13-16 in the Sermon on the Mount says, Salt and Light. When Peter preaches the second sermon ever recorded in the New Testament, he makes a statement about what happens in midst of hope and salvation, he says that “Acts 3:20 times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…”
How are we cold and refreshing? Think of it this way, when a tragedy happens in someone’s life they are full of doubt, anger, fear…they have lots of emotion; you could probably say their emotions are running hot. In those moments God’s people need to “keep their cool” and not become all hot with emotion as well, but instead speak words of hope healing and grace. We are to bring a coolness to situation.
This coolness applies to much more than tragedy. We are also called to be peacemakers in the world (Matt 5:9), peacemakers usually diffuse hot and tense situations with grace. How often are you with a friend who is “steaming” because someone said or did something to them that they didn’t like? Our job as followers of Jesus is not to “stoke the flames,” but to try and reorient people to understand that there are a million things that happen in other people’s lives every day and we do not know what lead to the inappropriate exchange (from being flipped off to being demeaned).
We are to do our best to re-center the world around us on the person of Jesus that He may bring hope and healing. Too often we do just the opposite by not being cold and refreshing in Jesus’ name.
Be hot with passion for Jesus, be cold and refreshing for Jesus, live the life purpose of anyone and everyone that calls Him “Lord:” MISSION. Glorifying God and being a disciple of His in the world by having your life centered on the amazing heat given off my God’s passion for His people in Gospel, but also the refreshing coolness of the stability and hope that comes from the Gospel as well.
Here is a big question for you, especially coming out of the Prodigal God series, "what is a practicing Christian?" There are so many ways and qualifiers to that question. Is it based on performance? Is it based on how many Bible trivia questions you can get right (I mean the shortest verse in the bible question really depends on what translation you are reading)? Is it faith and how that faith is lived out? What is this elusive creature we would like to view in its native habitat known only as the "practicing Christian?"
The way Barna research describes them, they are people who go to church services at least once a month and say that their faith is "very important to their lives." How about that? Seems like they just described every single person involved in a cult across not just the United States, but also the globe. Do you see how hard it is to define this?
According to Barna Research, Intervarsity, and the American Bible Society those who call themselves "Christians," and meet the above criteria, have a few things in common about the bible. First, is that they believe the bible is their top source of moral truth, outranking church and parents both. Sadly that outranking is only 36%, compared to church at 16% and parents at 14%. What that tells you is that there are 64% of "practicing Christians" who believe there is greater moral authority somewhere "else."
Second, is that they are more likely to believe the Bible is the word of God, a staggering 96% believe this. This 96% also believe that the Scriptures contain everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life. Sadly, again, only 46% of the "practicing Christians" believe the bible should be taken in a literal manner. It seems dropping from 96% to 46% based on those two questions is a little bit of a head scratcher.
If we take a step back and ask ourselves a different question, it might help. That question is, "what is salvation?" The bible defines salvation and as deliverance by God FROM God and his wrath. Romans 5:9-10 tells us Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Our God is loving and forgiving while at the very time He is Holy and righteous. Our sin against Him causes His wrath to burn because of his righteous holiness, but His grace and glory cause Him to seek and save His lost children.
We don't understand how God can be both of these at the same time without being schizophrenic, because we don't know how to be more than one thing at a time. When we are mad…we are mad, when we are happy…we are happy, we find it near impossible to have wrath and love burn at the same time. Because we view God as being "just like us" we diminish who He is in His grace and Holiness. This is why, to be a "practicing Christian," that lifestyle must begin from a place of humbleness.
Humility allows us to stand amazed at the goodness and grace of God for rescuing us, humility puts us in a place of trust with Jesus when our views and His conflict, and humility lets us worship Jesus through even the toughest of circumstances because we know that in areas that we don't understand, He is still sovereign.
Don't get me wrong, we are not saved by humility, we are saved by grace through faith…And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8-9). We are saved by GOD, beginning to end, but if we want to live as practicing Christians in our natural habitat, that habitat is humility. It will allow us to honor Jesus in ways where we trust His words when we read them, gather with other believers to worship Him corporately, and surrender our wills to his on a moment to moment basis.
The old has passed away, the new has come…Team Gee has bought a house! Let me tell you, home ownership definitely has its perks over condo ownership. For instance, no more long treks out to the carport in the rain…uphill….both ways. No more questionable noises from our neighbors upstairs. No more inane laws from our power-hungry HOA. It’s been pretty exciting for us to discover new blessings in the midst of this transition. The downside, however? Boxes. ALL the boxes.
Jon and I try to live simply, and yet, I am amazed at the crap (am I allowed to say that on this blog?) we have accumulated over just a couple years of marriage. I mean, we found out we had Season 1 of Everybody Loves Raymond in our office—still in the original packaging. Neither one of us has ever seen the show. Neither one of us WANTS to see the show. How does this happen?!
This whole move has been such a great reminder of the need to stand back, take a deep breath or two, and assess the clutter—and not just in a physical sense. It’s been interesting to tangibly go through this process during the current sermon series at church, as we embrace conviction, repentance, and the resulting joy offered to us by Jesus. As co-heirs of the Kingdom (Romans 8:16-17), our lives have been completely uprooted and dramatically transformed. Such a change (similar to a new home) offers us the perspective to see what just doesn’t belong anymore. Sometimes, if we want to continue growing in our relationship with Jesus and our understanding of the Gospel, we need to let go of the crap, and understand that it pales in comparison to what is offered in Christ. Through repentance, we lay it at Jesus’ feet, and trust that He is enough for us.
This move has also underscored the importance of community in life. With all the disarray at home, it can be tempting to shield friends and family from the chaos, to wait for the day when we’re “completely” settled in, and then share our home with others. I think it’s easy to have this attitude toward life sometimes, “I’ll let others in once I’m cleaned up.” Scripture, however, tells us that we’re never finished, but as believers, enjoying God’s work in us through the process of sanctification: “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”—Philippians 1:6
If we wait until we are “complete” to enter into community, we miss out on the beauty of Gospel-centered community—community that sees the brokenness and “incompleteness” of our lives, yet acknowledges the unending hope found in Jesus. And sometimes, God happens to use those people we let in to speak into our lives, to tell us what shouldn’t have a place anymore. Through this process of Gospel living, done in community, discipleship happens—we become more like Jesus. When we remember who we are in light of the Gospel, we can enjoy growing together each day.
As I mentioned on Sunday, this is a short blog that ties into Sunday’s message about living on mission verses our cultural definition of tolerance.
We have constantly reiterated that “Mission” is the life purpose of a person who believes in Jesus. Our mission is first to glorify God and then to disciple one another. We disciple each other by leading each other to submit every aspect of their life to Jesus as we:
Serve on Mission – Followers of Jesus serve those around them like Jesus came and served. We long to be serving on mission, not just with others, but also in our community. Serving on mission together brings people into Gospel relationships and Gospel community with one another.
Develop Gospel Relationships - Gospel relationships are centered on our understanding of the Gospel itself. As we grow and understand the deep truths of God our Father, Jesus coming to rescue us, and the Holy Spirit's power in and through us, our relationships will begin to demonstrate Gospel fluency. Discipleship naturally takes place in relationships when those involved obey the call of Jesus to live the life of the Gospel.
Invite into Gospel Community - Gospel community grows up around a people serving on mission with Gospel-centered relationships. Everyone is at a different stage on the path, but we are all growing together, in both worship of Jesus and intimacy with each other, as the Gospel calls us forward (sanctification).
All three of the above goals in discipleship stand in contrast to our modern view of “tolerance.” Tolerance today means letting anyone do anything, and far from keeping our mouths shut about it, we are called, by our culture, to also approve it.
When living the truth of the Gospel in relationships there are many times we must stand up for, and up to, people who are destroying their lives. Standing up to people is not only loving; it is also true tolerance because we are standing up for people’s true humanity even when they refuse to stand up for their own. Jesus hates how sin destroys people, He hates how sin gets it’s hooks in us and convinces us that it is the only true freedom, and I believe that He grieves how today’s definition of tolerance is broken lives full of broken relationships tacitly approved by the masses.
There is a great article I mentioned on Sunday, that we are linking to below by Timothy Keller titled, “Preaching Hell in a Tolerant Age.” Many people hate the idea of Hell, but we have already relegated much of our cultural landscape to reflect its values judgments while being blind to fact that we have done it.
The only way that we will begin to live redeemed lives and have a redeemed culture is living on mission. Going out into the culture, not hiding in a bomb shelter, not mirroring culture, not merely coexisting, but bringing the true Hope and Good News only found in Jesus to a sick and desperate world. I hope the current series is helping in that regard, I also pray that in the end you too will live on mission in true tolerant gospel centered relationships.
Have you ever pulled into a parking lot looking for a space and couldn’t find one? Have you ever driven by a car that was taking up too much space so you couldn’t fit on either side of them? That brings me to this photo I took in the Costco parking lot at the end of 2014.
Who in the world parks likes this? Seriously, taking up two spots? There isn’t even enough room to park one of those tiny SMART cars next to this truck.
Here’s the thing, that’s actually my truck, I took up two spots of prime parking lot real-estate…but the question is “why?” Well, I thought it would be a great way to illustrate how quick we are to judge.
People at Costco, and most other stores for that matter, refuse to put their carts away. I once had someone put their used cart right under my passenger side fender; I didn’t see it and smashed it into a car next to me as I backed out (yes I left my name and fixed their car). Other people try to be somewhat conscientious and put their cart into the center divider (which doesn’t help). I have also seen people simply put their cart right behind someone else’s car hoping that “someone else” will be forced to put it away for them. By and large though, most carts are left right in the middle of an empty parking spot…and such was my predicament.
I parked the way I did because it was between a whole mess of shopping carts left by people too busy to put them away. After I parked, I took all the carts and put them in the cart corral (which was no more that 30 feet away mind you) and then took this picture to make a point. The point is, we are prone to judge too quickly, if you pulled in and saw a truck taking up 2 spots you might be tempted to judge and think someone (namely me) is a total moron.
Proverbs 18:17 says “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” Proverb 18:13 “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” What we are being told is that we should not be too quick to make judgments about situations, or others, when we only know one side of the story.
People do this on places like Twitter and Facebook all the time. Someone will make a comment about how someone was mean to them and everyone will jump on the bandwagon of hate against the perpetrator of said offence without ever knowing more than half of the story. In reality, we should be slow to anger and slow to judge, as most people do not live their life with evil malice in the front of their thoughts twenty four hours a day.
There are times when others hurt us, but we do not know the circumstances behind their reactions. There are times when we hurt others and have no idea that we have hurt them. In all situations we should be a people who always error on the side of grace and not judgment or malice. Who knows, maybe someone was trying to park between two shopping carts you left in a stall (metaphorically speaking).
Let’s offer more grace and less judgment this year.
And just so you know, the answer is “no.” After I put the carts away I didn’t move my car, I did all the hard work of cleaning up the cart situation, I figured that gave me a few minutes of lackadaisical parking.
I know, 2014 was a little while ago now, but one of the things I find most interesting about getting some distance from the previous year is how wrong we are about certain beliefs we feel we are so right about. I think understanding our limited vision can help us, hopefully, put less stock in what we think we know and actually trust Jesus more than our own feelings.
Here is an example of a statistic from 2014: Global poverty is on the decline, but almost no one believes it. Over the last 30 years the percent of the worlds people living in extreme poverty has decreased from 52% to 21% (according to the world bank as reported by Barna Research group). 84% of Americans say they are unaware of that fact, the reality is that 67% of Americans believe it has increased in that time period.
Another sad fact about global poverty is that, statistically, concern about global poverty has declined from 21% to 16%. I believe part of the problem is that we believe nothing can be done about it and that all of our efforts come to nothing. We see more ads on TV today for hunger and poverty than ever before, it leaves us feeling hopeless.
Can I honestly say that I do believe it is all hopeless…without Jesus. Without Jesus why would anyone care about anyone else? If survival of the fittest is how the world works, shouldn't we assume that we are just more fit than anyone else? Without Jesus, compassion, hope, service, and offering grace to one another simply makes no sense. This is why I believe 68% of adults in the United States do not believe it is possible to end global poverty in the next 25 years. While I think it will be difficult, I do believe we can make a pretty good run at ending global poverty.
Even with the good news of the decrease in poverty, it still means there are 21% of people in the world in extreme poverty. With all the work that has been done getting clean water to so many places there are still 1.4 billion that need access to clean water. This is why Element supports multiple efforts locally, and around the world, to end suffering.
Now, imagine with me all suffering in the world was ended, would everyone be OK? The answer to that is no. The Gospel we preach has two facets to it, we meet physical needs, but also (and I would say more importantly) we meet spiritual needs. Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? This truth is something that many forget when trying to simply alleviate suffering. Man has a sin and death issue that is deeper than mere physical necessity. The truth is that we are far from relationship with God without Jesus, His atoning work on the cross, and His life giving resurrection.
Celebrate that poverty is down, have hope that it can/should be eradicated, but never (ever) divorce it from the fact that people need to hear, live in, and know the grace of Jesus as well. The grace of Jesus is extended to people in the alleviation of suffering, but you cannot properly care for others without the WHOLE Gospel. Love others enough to share with them all that Jesus calls us to, the Gospel is not simply social change, it is about real heart and life change that begins and ends with faith in Jesus.
I’ve been around “the church” for a long time; I began trusting in Jesus over 40 years ago. I started tithing (giving 10% of my income) very early on in my new life as a Christian. Over the years, the commitment to live this way grew simultaneously with my trust in, and love for, Jesus. A joy of living generously emerged toward God, the church, non-profits, and other people. Don’t think I have it all dialed in; I still struggle with money, material desires, a want for comfort, and an appetite for self-gratification, but through these many years, God has taught and enabled me to faithfully share what He has shared with me.
I’ve been through a number of building campaigns, so when Planting Roots was first being discussed, I honestly dreaded another one. I’d given before and made commitments based on what I thought was the leading of God, only to question later why I was doing this extra giving. After the years of seeing churches struggle, staff members be underpaid, ministry be underfunded, and an emphasis on buildings, I’d grown jaded. I was tired of hearing talk of, and requests for, money. I judged what I’d believed were misuses (and misappropriations) of funds for the sake of structures. My feeling became that of: if everyone would tithe and live generously toward God, the church would have enough money to support facility, ministry, and staff. It just makes logical sense to me (as if what I think or come up with as logical means anything). The icing on my cake of cynicism was a several years ago during another church’s campaign to purchase a new organ, which seemed laced with guilt and coercion. Statements were made to the effect of, “If we are going to worship God rightly, we need this new organ.” Special offerings and pledges were taken, and my heart and mind began to close. My giving beyond tithing shifted to the many worthy causes, ministries, missions, and people outside the “church.”
I did not warmly receive the idea of Planting Roots when we first started. You could even say I had some dread and dismay, but as one of the elders, I figured I’d better get behind it and come up with some commitment to give. Deb, my wife, and I began a process of figuring out what we could do, what we could make affordable. Through the Planting Roots journey, Sermon on the Mount preaching series, devotional, and Gospel Community participation, our hearts were softened. Our enthusiasm for the ministry of the Gospel through Element, the awareness of lives needing rescue and transformation, and our sense that God was up to something all began to capture our hearts. Our conversations went from, “We can afford this” to, “Can we afford to do this?” to, “How about this much? Wouldn’t it be fun to do this?” to, “I’d sure like to be able to do this…wouldn’t that be amazing?” And so the journey began, the course was set, and now here we are…three months in.
Already, I have found myself wondering, “What have I done?” when writing that check. (Maybe you’ve had similar moments.) When I think about the total commitment we made, and the 33 months of commitment remaining, I can find myself feeling stupid or over-extended, lacking in joy, gratitude, and expectation. I then remember what Element is to us, and what it is to so many we see and talk to. Element is not a better church than others, but like others, a church God is uniquely using to reach certain people with the saving grace of the Gospel…and with that reminder, my hand steadies as I sign the check, my heart smiles at the goodness and faithfulness of my God, my worries shrink in light of His generosity, and I am overwhelmed by the scandal of God—that He would choose to not only rescue me, but to redeem me (set me free), and continue His work of restoration in my life.
My prayer today is that we would see the next 33 months as time we are allowed to grow in, and more fully understand, the generosity and graciousness of our God. As we continue to experience His love and trust Him more deeply, may we be able to more accurately represent His extravagance by the way we live in this community and in this life.
Ok, sorry this is a long one. But you have come this far...
Jesus is Lord! By faith you declared Christ's Lordship on the day you were saved by God's grace. But, what is faith? Faith is "...the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). Logically, there must be an object of that hope and a cause for that conviction. In our case, it is the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, by which He conquered death and took his seat at the right hand of the Father in heaven. (Mark 16:19)
Our hope in the Lordship of Christ is grounded in the fact that He has proven worthy of His title as Lord. You and I know that because Jesus is Lord, we are immeasurably blessed. The only sane response to the Lordship of Christ by a redeemed sinner is nothing short of obedience.
Hebrews 10:26-29 (paraphrased) doesn't mince words with believers: " For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins...How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?"
These verses aren't saying that you can lose your salvation. Just as you could not earn your salvation with your works, you cannot lose it for your sin (Eph. 2:8-9, Heb. 10:19-22).
The fact remains that when Christ followers deliberately choose disobedience over obedience to Jesus, we make His sacrifice seem ridiculous. Take that one step further: not only do we deserve judgment because of disobedience, but we are incapable of assuaging God's judgment by our works. Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousnesswere through the law, then Christ died for no purpose." (Gal. 2:20-21)
Sounds like a Catch-22. God has given us the law to obey. We cannot fully obey it, and even if we could, we would still fall short of righteousness. There must be something more.
There is. Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." By the same faith that saved you, Jesus can transform you into an obedient servant. Remember that faith has to have an object. As stated above, the object of saving faith is the belief that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day (Rom. 10:9). What about faith that allows us to be obedient to Christ?
This question reveals God's great love and provision to all who believe. "You shall love the Lordyour God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart” (Deut. 6:5-6). Loving God is the object of our faith that compels the believer to be obedient.
From ancient times believers have demonstrated their faith, not by works, but by trusting in God's work.
"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,of whom it was said, 'Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.' He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead," (Heb. 11:17-19)
"By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward." (Heb. 11:24-26)
"By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies." (Heb. 11:31)
The common tie among all of these ancient believers is not the work that they accomplished, but what God did. "...God was able..." "...the reproach of Christ (was) greater wealth..." Even Rahab, a prostitute, not even a Jew, believed the promises of the God of Israel. Her faith not only saved her life and demonstrated the condition of her soul.
It is worth noting that all of these people lived long before Christ. Two of them lived before there was a law, and yet they were saved through the same means by which you and I are saved: faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:3 tell us that Abraham (simply) believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. If none are righteous except for Jesus and there is no other name by which we are saved, what must that mean (Rom. 3:10, Acts 4:12)? It means that Abraham believed God would save him because he could not save himself. Abraham believed God the Son would die for his sins. While he may not have understood the particulars of how God would save him, he had faith (looking forward) that God would save him (Heb. 11:8-10).
When people of faith trust Jesus to be Lord, He makes them very useful for the Kingdom. Abraham, Moses, Rahab, Joseph, Jacob, Paul, Timothy, the list is endless, all submitted to Christ's Lordship and out of their faith Christ accomplished mighty works through them.
On the day of your salvation Christ began a new work in you. And you can be sure that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it (Phil 1:6). Will you faithfully trust Him? In 2015, I hope you will join me as I seek to yield my will and desire and place my faith in the Lordship of Christ. Surely He can do a better job with my life than I can.
I have a question for all of you teachers out there, if I were to go to your school today, where would I find my permanent grade-school record? The permanent grade-school record is the single most important document in the record of a human's life. We are taught from a young age that if we mess up, step out of line just a bit, the consequences would be a mark on our permanent record. We all know it's out there, serving as an open indictment against each one of us. Worse yet, everyone knows the intimate details of your record. your teachers know it, your parents, your boss, your in-laws. The only escape from your permanent grade school record is death itself…Sweet release!
Hopefully by now we all know that a mark on our record was a farce, an empty threat, used by adults to scare us straight. But, to our core as humans we know that there is a standing record against us. That record, as most of you have already guessed, is sin. We are born with a sin nature; we are selfish right from the womb; sin is inevitable. Sin is the real permanent record... or is it? Well that all depends, is Jesus your Lord?
I offer you the permanent record conundrum because I want you to understand blessing, true blessing from its deepest, most elemental meaning; the blessing that comes from having the biggest burden in your life removed from your shoulders, permanently. Isaiah 43:25 says, "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins."
When Jesus is Lord of us He removes the greatest burden in our lives: sin. We may not feel it from day to day, but remember that the wages of sin is death and once we are dead, we face judgment (Rom 6:23, Heb 9:27). For believers, the reality is that we no longer have a sin burden, Jesus has removed it from us (but He doesn't stop there). In fact, not only are we free from the consequences that we deserve, but He also burned the record. "I will not remember your sins," that means there is no nagging about what you did ("sure I forgave you, but I will never forget"). Your sin is forgotten, as if it never happened.
What a great deal. The only thing closely comparable to this level of amnesia in my life is when Jennifer asks me to do the dishes. You want to talk about a spiritual level of forgetting something, man that's it.
We no longer have to fear the sin-burden that was killing us. "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you...when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you" (Isaiah 43:1-2). Some of you (you know who you are), will read Isaiah and say, "but he was addressing Israel," and you are right, he was, but take heart! Our Lord is the Lord of a new covenant, and to us he declared, "I will remember their sins and their lawlessness no more" (Heb 10:17).
Christ, the Lord and Creator, was the only sacrifice that could lift the burden of sin. Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by a single offering, He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." When you and I trust Jesus as our Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead, then we are among those who are being sanctified. The natural response to a person who has blessed you is gratitude. So naturally, the same is true for us with respect to Christ, we understand the true meaning of blessing because of the Lordship of Christ.
For the believer, there is only one right response to Christ's blessing: obedience. Christ did not save us for our sake; He saved us for His sake (Is 23:25). We use the terms, "bought us with His blood," and "paid our debts," etc. So when Isaiah 43 says, "you are mine," do you know what it means? We are His. We literally are His possession (Ex 19:5).
That puts a different spin on it. As a response to grace we should want to obey Jesus, but as His possession He should expect us to obey. My kids belong to me, and yes I love them and am generous with them, but I also expect them to do what I say. Sometimes they surprise me and bless me with obedience because they want to please me, but even if they don't I still expect obedience. As we are His possession, Christ should expect the same of us.
As I conclude I want you to meditate on obedience as a response to grace. Hebrews 10:25-30 says, "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins”..."The Lord will judge his people”…”It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." The ellipsis (...) in this paragraph should give believers pause.
Remember, as a believer your permanent record is expunged. The days of choosing sin and death are in the past. Just as Jesus was faithful to forgive and forget our sin, He should rightfully expect our obedience. How strange to Jesus that His precious ones, bought with His blood, would choose sin over obedience.
These stern words are not meant to scare you to the straight and narrow, but if they do, great. Just as God knows that we are incapable of saving ourselves, He knows we are incapable of even obeying Him. Like salvation, God has also made possible our obedience.
Join me for one last blog about 'giving up' because I have good news, by faith, Christ has transformed the lives of believers throughout history. Our works are worthless to God. Our faith in His finished work is a precious thing to Him. Here comes the real New Year's resolution: in 2015, I want to yield my life in faith to the Lordship of Christ.
Read Hebrews chapter 11 and you will understand what I mean.
Have you ever felt truly worthy of something? Most of us married guys would look at our wives and say, "I'm lucky to have her." But few of us, if we are being honest, believe we are worthy of such a wonderful creature. It's true: you and I are slobs, and she is an angel sent from heaven (most likely to endure us as some sort of punishment). If you work hard for 40 hours a week and fulfill your obligations to your employer, certainly you are worthy of a paycheck. What about your salvation: are you worthy of that?
When Christ is our Lord, the scripture tells us we are worthy, but not by our own merit. (Col 1:11-14). Christ is worthy to be called Lord, and because He is worthy, we can be made worthy through Him.
How does one go about becoming a lord? It's like the peasant woman from Monty Python said, "How did you become king? I didn't vote for ya!" There are a few ways. First, you can inherit your title by hereditary succession. Second, you can be declared lord by the authority of the one who is in power. A lord can also claim the title by winning a great victory. Christ, interestingly enough, is qualified as Lord on the merit of all three avenues I just described. And no, Aaron, the Lady of the Lake and Excalibur had nothing to do with it.
As Son of the living God, Christ is worthy to be called Lord. He is heir to the majesty on high (Heb 1:2). If God and Jesus were like earthly father and son, Jesus would qualify outright as the first born of many brethren to assume the title of Lord (Matt 3:17, Rom 8:29). Our earthly affairs in no way compare to the already established Lordship of Christ as God the Son. However, Matthew chapter 1 covers all the bases and establishes that by His birthright Jesus should be the political king of Judah. Take a minute to read it. Had the Babylonian Captivity never taken place, Joseph would have been King on the throne of Judah when his adopted Son Jesus was born. Whether by His heavenly or earthly lineage, Jesus is worthy because of his heredity.
Jesus is also qualified to be called Lord because God, the creator of Heaven and Earth and the ultimate authority, bestowed that title upon Him. Philippians 2:6-11 says, " Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Because of Christ's obedience to God the Father, God saw fit to impart His Son's lordship by divine decree. Jesus is worthy because God said He is worthy.
If you did your homework from last time, you already know the third reason Jesus is qualified to be called our Lord. As the winner of the great victory over sin and death, Jesus has become our Lord and Savior.
Hebrews chapters eight and nine are a tale of two covenants. The first covenant was made between God and Israel, when God brought them out of slavery in Egypt (Heb 8:9). The history of Israel has been rebellion against this covenant. Before we start feeling high and mighty, we must realize that we have also run roughshod over God's law. The second, more excellent covenant is enacted by Christ and supersedes the old covenant.
Anyone who has ever attempted a study of Leviticus can tell you that the law is vast and complex. In Hebrews eight and nine, Paul reveals that the law (old covenant) was merely a copy or shadow of heavenly things. When God instructed Moses to construct a tent from a pattern, each intricate piece was a brush stroke in a portrait of God's plan of salvation. That portrait was never intended to save men from their sins, but to point to the One who would. In Galatians, we learn that those who rely on the works law are condemned by it (Gal 3:10-11). The work of a man has never saved anyone; on the contrary, Christ's New Covenant is accomplished by Him and has the power to save men (Heb 8:10-12).
Work is clearly not the currency of salvation. Ancient Israel understood this. Under the old covenant, the Priests would make offerings for the sins of the people using the one thing that does satisfy sin debt: blood (Heb 9:22). Temple sacrifice was a bloody affair, necessarily so, because it was merely a picture of a salvation to come, not salvation itself. If the blood of goats and bulls could satisfy sin, then temple sacrifice would be a footnote in the Bible. As it stands, the only blood that would satisfy the eternal condemnation of sin was the blood of God Himself (Heb 9:14).
Because Jesus quenched sin with His own blood once and for all we can be glad. His death ended the bloodshed forever and secured a great victory. With His victory in a battle we could not have won, over a foe against whom our weapons were insufficient, Jesus is worthy and rightfully our Lord…and because He is worthy, all who believe that God raised Him from the dead and call Him Lord are worthy.
Ok, ok, ok, I know what you have come here for. You have come to get the Element New Year's resolution blog. It's the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, and naturally you expect a blog about making a resolution that matters for the Lord. Well that is what you are going to get, but not exactly.
This year, instead of making big plans to change a habit or start a program, I think you should just resolve to give up. Yep, give up. More accurately, I think you should give up your plans, your will, your desires, and submit. Submit to the Lordship of Christ. Don't act so deflated. The day you followed Jesus as your Savior, when you believed that God raised Him from the dead, you agreed to this arrangement. Part of salvation is declaring to the world that Jesus is Lord...of you. (Rom 10:9) Today is the day to follow through on your commitment.
"You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am." (John 13:13) "Lord" is a word that has lost some meaning in the parlance of our times. Our closest modern use of the word is in reference to the English landed gentry, sort of a Lord Grantham, Downton Abbey arrangement with very dramatic maids and butlers. "Lord," in the sense "Jesus is Lord," means the one to whom full and unwavering allegiance is owed. Your Lord is the one to whom you submit your will implicitly, yielding your desires and plans to His care and direction. When you sing, "I want more of You and less of me" on Sunday morning, submission to the Lordship of Christ is what you're singing about.
I have been reflecting on my own submission to Christ as Lord of my life, and I want to encourage you to do the same. Starting next week, I hope to show you some important truths about our Lord Jesus found within Hebrews 8-11. As I study these verses I am continually stretched and challenged, as you will be in your walk with Christ. These chapters make a few things very clear: Jesus is worthy to be called Lord, because He is Lord; we are blessed; and as a Christian there is no other choice besides total submission to the Lordship of Christ. Egad! I know, heavy. I will do my best.
Should you choose to give up like I have, here is how to prepare for the next installment, first, read Hebrews chapter 8. These verses help establish why Jesus is Lord. As we read, let's pray for understanding of the text and conviction about the state of our submission to our Lord. We will consider submitting to what Jesus commands of us as Lord: to love the Lord our God with all of our soul, strength and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:27). Are you and I obeying our Lord's commands with our thoughts, with our finances, with our actions?
John 13 recounts the last supper when Jesus washes His disciples’ feet. When Jesus begins to wash the feet of his disciple Peter, Peter rebukes Jesus saying, “You shall never wash my feet.” Thinking he was being noble, Peter rejected the Lordship of Christ for his own concept of righteousness. Jesus told Peter (and us) that if He did not wash Peter’s feet then he has no share with Him. Jesus shows us that if we submit to Him, He will accomplish the work of making us righteous.
Submission to the Lord is not about righteousness through works, nor is it about beating yourself up. Submission is about obeying God, who loves you and willingly paid your penalty. Submission is the avenue by which our old life passes away and we are made useful to the Kingdom.
The Prophet Samuel told Israel when they asked for a King that they dishonored God. When we place our desires over God's will, we make ourselves king (1 Sam 10:17-27). Submission restores Christ to His rightful place as Lord over our lives and is the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. All of the “work” we have done for the Lord to earn our righteousness is counted as loss, when compared to the awesomeness of knowing Him. Submission is the way we can know our Lord intimately (Phil 3:4-11).
See you next time in Hebrews Ch 8. Now let's all "GIVE UP in 2015".
Last Sunday night I arrived home after spending my entire day at Element, by "my entire day" I mean 16 hours straight. I was glad to get home and was looking forward to being able to grab a snack, pet my dog, and sit down for a few minutes before heading off to bed. One of the greatest things about owning a dog is the joy they show when they haven't seen you for 16 hours (our 16 minutes…or 16 seconds).
We walked in the door, my wife went to get something and I walked into the backyard to bring the dog in (yes, this was one of those rare days when she wasn't with me). I head into the backyard awaiting my joy filled reunion and I was not let down. My dog pranced around the yard, ran past me 5 times holding her ball, and showed her joy by the smile of her facial expression. I went to pet her, placed my hand on her head, and then realized she smelled like a skunk. It was at this moment I realized her joy was not from seeing me again; it was because she was so proud of herself for catching ANOTHER skunk.
This happens every few months because she thinks skunks are cats that have wandered into our yard…and only one cat is allowed in our yard is ours (and even then its iffy). It's also important for you to understand that she doesn't kill the skunks, she plays with them…aggressively. Aggressively will eventually translate into her being sprayed in the face by skunk juice, which translates into me washing her down for the next several hours.
If you were to ask me what I wanted for Christmas on Sunday night when I got home I would have said, "some peace and relaxation." If you had asked me after I was "loved on" by my dog I would have said, "someone else to wash her." If you were to ask me today what I want for Christmas I could list a myriad of things, and none of them would be related to skunks or taking a nap.
Throughout our lives events happen to us and around us that we do not see coming, do not understand, and definitely cannot appreciate with our limited scope of vision. We are told in Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Many people today use this verse to talk about all of life's circumstances being used by God for our good, and while this is true, Paul also takes this statement to directly move us into a deeper understanding of our salvation. All of our life events, no matter what they are, are redefined in light of the great salvation we have received as a gift of grace from Jesus.
Christmas, for us, should be a time of great joy, but also sober reflection. I think it is important to understand that Jesus birth was a joyous occasion in Heaven, while on earth it wasn't seen the same. A dirty stable, cave, or horses stall (depending on your translation), a poor mother and adoptive father, and the only ones witnessing the birth of God into frail human flesh were probably simple farm animals (maybe even one of them sprayed down by a skunk). Yet this moment of Christmas progresses forward to Jesus death, also not seen at a great joy at the time, and into His ultimate resurrection. All so that God could redeem and restore a lost and broken humanity into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans 8:19-23).
We are told in Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Our hope is not in our circumstances, we are not defined by our past, our present is not solely at the twisted whims of others, and the future is not unsure but grounded in the steadfastness of Jesus.
So, what do you want for Christmas? Our 'wants' are all over the place, but God's desire has remained constant and true, His desire is for His children to be free…always has been, always will be. Now if I could only get Him to do my own personal Christmas miracle and get rid of our neighborhood skunk.
I know the title of this BLOG sounds self-promoting, doesn’t it? “Why do I care so much?” It is like putting, “I just work too hard,” on a job application when they ask for weaknesses; but my “too much” is actually real and true…I do care too much…about my dumb Christmas lights.
Last night I turned my Christmas lights on, you know, to bring people Christmas cheer, but also make my neighbors jealous with how festive I am. When I turned them on, some how, the lights surrounding my front door were off. I looked at all the lights, the strands, the plugs, and there is no reason they should be off. I have been obsessing about this all day. Are my neighbors going to laugh at me for my house being a bright shining beacon on a dimly lit street, only to have my front door pitch black?
This cannot be, this cannot stand! How can the glory of God be shown at Christmas if my lights aren’t on and functioning properly? Yes, I know, these are first world problems, but I live in the first world and so do you.
I guess I should ask that question differently, shortening it up a bit to give a better perspective: how can the glory of God be shown at Christmas? It certainty isn’t through the amount of lights on a house, the cost of a present, or the redness of Santa’s suit. Matthew 5:16 Jesus says, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
We have spent the last year in the Sermon on the Mount, looking at Jesus’ words in how to live our lives in the Kingdom of God. I can't believe how I can still come to something that is supposed to be Christ-centered like Christmas (I mean, His NAME is even in the title) and still lose sight of what is important. Jesus reminds us that when we truly understand the blessing of God bestowed upon us, we are the ones who become Salt and Light in the world.
Matthew 5:14 Jesus says, “You are the light of the world…” when referring to His followers. I guess that puts my house not simply a distant second, but out of running for being the light of world. Christmas is supposed to be seen in our actions, attitudes, and worship. So I guess I would ask you the same question I have just asked myself, “why do you care so much?”
What do you care so much about things that really don’t mean that much in light of eternity? What things should we be caring more about? Christmas is a wonderful time for perspective because we see what God cared most about…it wasn’t Santa, reindeer, Christmas lights, egg nog, or the right ugly sweater to get the free appetizer at Red Robin. God cared about His glory. John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Because God cared about His glory, He cared about us.
The best questions to ask this Christmas would be, how could I bring glory to God by caring about the right things. Not that Christmas lights or ugly sweaters are bad…it is just that sometimes we care too much.
One of the features of the small towns throughout America is Main Street. Without fail, Main Street in any town, in any state is the home of city hall and a collection of traditional Christian churches. Sure in Santa Maria you have Broadway, but the concept is the same. The center of small town culture is that main store-lined thoroughfare that heads straight through town.
We in the season of advent, the time of expectation when we symbolically wait upon the arrival of the Lord. Main Street will be trimmed and decorated. It will play host to parades and pageants, and each Church along its route will set up a nativity scene. As you are out admiring the bunting of the Christmas holiday, take time to consider the name of each of the churches that line Main Street. In any town you will have churches named Calvary, New Covenant, Bethel, or Salem. For the most part we are satisfied that these names sound sufficiently churchy and never give them another thought. But, a lot can be communicated by a church's name.
Somebody deliberately named a church Calvary. Calvary was both a place of sadness and great triumph for Jesus and for us as His Church. But Calvary (also Golgotha) is translated as, "the place of the skull". (Luke 23:33) What an ugly and awful name. Why on earth would you want to be associated with a hill where executions were committed? Because on a very sad Friday, Jesus our Lord, willingly took the full wrath of God the Father in our place (1 John 4:10). In that light, the "place of the skull" takes on a different meaning, and Calvary becomes a name we should solemnly remember.
Consider why a congregation would name their church Bethel. Bethel is nothing more than a heap of stones in the desert where the Hebrew patriarch Jacob slept one night. That seems kind of random. But, Bethel means "God's Camp". Bethel was the place where God began to draw Jacob's heart toward his future as the father of the nation of Israel. (Gen 28:10-22) A church that would be named Bethel, signifies that they believe that their congregation actually belongs to God and His will is greater than theirs. Bethel is a place where we humble ourselves and pray to God, "Your will be done."
Salem means "peace". In Genesis, Abraham was greeted by the Priest and King of Salem (Gen 14:17-24). A church named Salem, reminds us at Christmas that unto us was born Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and that we are a people of peace (Isaiah 9:6).
When a church calls itself New Covenant, we should think of Hebrews 8:8-12. The Lord says he will establish a new covenant with His Church, when He will write His laws on our hearts, we will be His people who will know Him, and He will remember our sins no more. What an opportunity we have to remember God's goodness just by driving down Main Street!
Each one of you who profess Christ as your Lord and Savior is just like those old Main Street churches. Your lives are on display for everyone to see as they go about their busy days. Like those churches you have a name written upon you by which you are known to all who pass by. Is the name written on you a name by which you want to be known? This Christmas season, consider writing the name "Love" over your life. 1 John 4:7-21 tells us that by our love we will be known as the servants of God. Who ever loves has been born of God and knows God.
As Christ's Church, love should be our banner. Advent season provides us a perfect opportunity as we wait upon the Lord, to consider our identity as His Church. Are we harboring hatred in our hearts? Do we love ourselves above others? Do we love others above Him? 1 John 4 asks how we can hate a man whom we have seen, but love a God whom we haven't seen. No, we have been given too much by our Lord to continue harboring hate in our hearts. We have only one option: love.
I hope as you walk down Broadway or Main Street this Christmas season that God will give you opportunities to show that the name written over His Church may read “Element,” but it is translated "Love".
A few months ago, Jon and I came across a man outside a market in town. He seemed desperate as he stood by his bicycle and frantically looked from one person to the next, and we were horrified to see that he, a grown man, had defecated himself. We approached him to see how we could help—as you can imagine, the smell was absolutely unbearable. As we spoke with the man, we could hear the embarrassment in his voice as he described his need to get home. We weren’t quite sure what we could do to help, and then asked if we had room in our car for him and his bike. We physically didn’t have the room, but I couldn’t help but feel relief and then disgust at my own reaction. In that moment, I realized, I had been more concerned about my own comfort and car than a human being created in the image of God. I wonder…if we would have had the room, would we have given him a ride?
We live in a culture that allows us plenty of excuses to say “no” in situations that are inconvenient for us or uncomfortable. We are independent, autonomous beings with the freedom and right to pursue pleasure at almost any cost, as well as guard our own wellbeing and happiness. The more we understand the Gospel, however, these excuses vanish; we are confronted with the truth of a God who relentlessly pursues people.
Philippians 2:5-7says: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
How scandalous is it to think that the God of the universe would humble himself to be one of us? What love and passion must have driven God to execute this plan. Knowing the darkness and brokenness of the world we live in, he still eagerly ran toward it in the only effort to save us. He became a human being clothed in filth—much like the man Jon and I met must have felt—and he did it joyfully (Hebrews 12:2—“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”).
If we are to reflect Christ in word and deed to the world around us, what excuse do we have for not getting our hands dirty? We are co-heirs of a Kingdom that breaks into darkness and floods it with light, transforming what was once broken with the truth of Jesus Christ. At what costs are we willing to live this way? I want to challenge you…
What areas of darkness have you been avoiding out of inconvenience/discomfort?
How can you go toward them and flood them with light?
As the body, how can we encourage each other to engage with the dirtiest, most broken aspects of the world?
Last Sunday was or church wide Agape dinner. If you missed it, or were here and helping serve, or your bonfire was a little chaotic, we thought it would be nice for you to have what was shared around the fire by the group leaders. We wanted everyone to be able to focus for a few minutes understanding food as gift, friendship as gift, and the meals we share together as gifts.
Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Our God is a giver, He loves to give. When we share meals together we are sharing THAT gift, we are partaking in the goodness of God together. God has always intended meals to bring us together. Most of what follows is found in the book A meal with Jesus (discovering grace, community and mission around the table) by Tim Chester.
Throughout the Old Testament and New
Meals were seen as an act of grace. Jesus called people to follow him…Tax collectors (traitors to their country), zealots (crazy hot headed people), Pharisees (who thought they were better than others), prostitutes (you know what they do), and whole group of people just labeled as "sinners." What we see constantly Jesus do is share a meal with them (Luke 5:27-32, Luke 11, Luke 15 prodigal son).
Meals were seen as an act of Community Jesus welcomes us, creates space, listens to, and provides for His people. Meals make people slow down and have conversation. Dietrich Bonheoffer wrote, "Christian community is not an ideal we have to realize, but rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we participate." Meals shape, and reshape, relationships in terms of friendship. It is one of the reasons scripture tells us that God will throw a great banquet for His children.
Meals were about enacted Hope In Isaiah 55 God talks about His provision for a people who cannot buy what they really need. For us Jesus provides for us through the Cross, and resurrection, what we cannot buy, but what we truly need.
Meals are about Mission Reaching, loving, sharing, hosting. The scriptures constantly speak about the poor, blind, lame, crippled…but in God's view that is ALL of us.
-We are the spiritually poor - we have nothing to offer for our salvation -We are the spiritually crippled - we are made powerless by sin -We are the spiritually blind - we are unable to see the truth about Jesus -We are the spiritually lame - we are unable to come to God on our own
Meals are a symbol of Enacted Salvation On Sunday we had baked potatoes, pork, and carrots, can those be about enacted salvation? Yes. It was and is about people laughing, sharing news, passing food. We say "grace" before we eat, we thank God for his great provision for us. Meals are a part of hospitality; bringing someone in and taking care of their needs. This again is what God has done for us, He has welcomed us into His family and given us bread and wine that will cause us to never thirst and never go hungry again.
Meals are Enacted Promise The risen Jesus ate with his disciples (Luke 24:42-43). The physicality of Jesus is not cancelled because of the resurrection.
In one sense, throughout the scriptures, creation, redemption, and mission all exist so that Christ's meal with us can take place. We are redeemed to forever eat meals in Christian community and with Christ Himself.
…A meal, a life, a community on mission for Jesus' name…may you live and believe in that.
These are the questions that were asked around your bonfires:
If you knew you only had one meal left in life, what would be your last supper?
Who do you enjoy sharing meals with?
Do you find the more you “eat” with someone, the easier it is to love/like them?
Why do you think Jesus used a meal to symbolize His life in communion?
Thank you for making the Turkey Drive for the Central Coast Rescue Mission a huge Success! Your Generosity brought them over thirty turkeys! These turkeys could be seen driving around town all afternoon on Sunday and will go to serve hundreds of people in need of a good Thanksgiving meal this holiday season.
