Feb 25, 2012

Reaction to God's Grace

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.” Psalms 111:10

 A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 28:20

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.” Ecclesiastes 12:13

“that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45

Benjamin Franklin was a successful man in most any account.  The 15th of 17 children, and with only two years of formal education, he became a successful businessman, inventor, influential writer, and founding father of the United States.  Most would call Franklin a self-made man, a concept engulfed in the American Dream.  The American Dream says that with enough effort anyone can become anything they choose.  We take great efforts to “better” ourselves through education, work ethic, passion, and hard work.  None of these virtues are inherently bad, the only problem is where do we leave room for God in this?

God made man with skills and abilities in His own image.  All men (saved and not) are created with abilities from God.  He does not ask us to do things on our own, yet often that’s what we do.  We take our God-given talents and blessings, and go to work.  Some people thank the Lord for them and seek to praise Him; while others hoard all they have, seeking only to advance themselves. 

I believe it is our understanding of where our blessings come from that determines many things and worries in our lives.  Below is a table, comparing our attitudes based on our dependence.  The first column is when we depend solely on our own resources, and the second when we seek the Lord, and thank him for what we have. Who are you depending on, and when did you last thank the Lord?

Our Abilities
Us – Work harder, prideful                 God – Thankful, humble
Our Assets (House, cars, etc)
Us – greed, materialistic                     God – stewards, thankful
Our Anxieties (concerns)
Us – worry, hopeless, unable              God – omniscient, omnipotent
Salvation
Us – fearful, not good enough                        God – blessed, loved

Feb 18, 2012

What is your Faith worth?

“I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.” Psalms 119:162

“As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. “ Matthew 9:9

“"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it..” Matthew 13:44-46

This morning many people have come here to church for our worship service.  We call this service a worship service because its intent is to show the worth of God and Jesus (worth + ship).  However many have come for other reasons instead, or in addition to worship of God.  Before saying, “that isn’t me” allow God to search you to be sure.  Many people will come to church on Sundays for these reasons:

Appease a family member               To see family/friends

To hear the choir sing                      To catch up on community events

Hear the pastor’s sermon                To be entertained

This is in no way a complete list of side reasons to attend church.  What if we removed the pews, the HVAC system, and the bathrooms, would you still come?  Or if the only part of the service was the teaching of God’s Word?    Grant it that these other things are good and needed, except if they take the place of worship of God.  Do you love the message of the Gospel enough that it draws you? If not, ask God to give to you the faith of the Bible.

The faith we see demonstrated in the Bible shows extraordinary worth. Jesus told the disciples a parable of the man who found a treasure in a field, and sold everything to acquire it. The twelve disciples left their professions, families, and normal life to hear more about it.  Then after their leader was taken away, they took the message to people they didn’t know.  When they were threatened and beaten for preaching, it made them preach it loader.  The message was worth losing their life over.  What is your faith worth?  Is the Gospel worth all this?

Feb 11, 2012

Hidden Things - not of God

 “Get up, sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: "There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you."  Joshua 7:13 (read whole chapter)

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV

“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”Matthew 15:18-19

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5

When we survey our life, we find three areas of it: mind, body, and heart.  As a world we have put billions of dollars into science finding ways to control and modify our body, and to a certain point, our minds.  We find medicines, surgeries, procedures, techniques, and so forth trying to modify our life.  These methods are limited to only affect our mind and bodies.  It leaves, what the Bible tells us, is the most important part of our lives, our hearts (Proverbs 4:23). 

It is our nature to desire acceptance, but also to crave the best for ourselves.  These conflicting desires often cause us to make a decision about whether we do the best for our self or others.  Sometimes we make these decisions for others, but we keep a hidden desire (sin) in our heart.  Left unchecked the desires stashed, or hidden, in our hearts can become so strong that we can no longer control them.  Then what we thought was hidden from everyone (except God) comes into the open and our sinful nature is exposed.  Usually this happens in a way that suprises and hurts someone around us. 

This tendency is why God reminds us in scripture to not keep hidden things. This can harm a church also, as the battle of Ai in Joshua.  Take a look at your heart and see what you find.  If you find remnants of greed, jealousy, anger, or other hidden sins in your heart, take action to remove it, at all costs.  This may mean praying to God and asking him to take it from you because you cannot let go on your own. 
Adapted from "It Came from Within" series of messages by Andy Stanley of Northpoint Ministries.

Feb 4, 2012

Trust and Tithe

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths... Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” Proverbs 3:5-6,9-10

“So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had." Luke 21:2

“Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress . . . Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account . . .And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:14,17,19

Do you trust me?  If you have ever asked this question to someone, you know that there is an element of faith and also vulnerability.  You are asking someone to put their faith in you, while opening an opportunity for loss for them, if you should fail.  The same is true for tithing for God.  He asks us to give, until it hurts, for His glory, and there is no guarantee that we will receive anything in return. 

Looking at the Old Testament, first fruit offerings were a real sacrifice in a society that was agriculturally based.  The Israelites would bring these offerings in from the first harvest of their season.  Giving before they knew how the whole season would go, before knowing if locusts would come and clean out their fields; and before taking any for their family’s pantry.  It was certainly a sacrifice in faith that God would continue to meet their needs.  Too often we take our eyes away from God’s provision and focus more on our bills.  When we focus on our omnipotent and omniscient God, He will provide and we will be able to give to His glory.  This is not a health and wealth message, but just a matter of focus.

There is also a thought that when you have no money to give, that you will make up for it by giving more time/prayer/etc.  While we certainly should offer to God these resources also, it disallows God out of our finances.  God has said He wants to be a part of our entire life, including finances (or whatever else you keep stashed away.)  This is certainly a hard teaching at a time when it is hard to make ends meet.  We already have a place for every dollar to go, but God should be included.  God is glorified in our sacrifice (whether $1 or $100) and focus on Him.  May our prayer be something like, “God, please take this sacrifice and accomplish your purposes.  I don’t know how my finances will work out, but I trust you.” (Read Deut 26:13-15)